Sarah was 20 months when Hailey was born, so still much a baby herself. We tried to prepare her by talking about it to her, letting her feel my tummy, seeing other babies, and talking about what babies are like when they’re born and come home (i.e., they cry a lot, mummy needs to hold them, they sleep, etc.). We also got a book that we read about bringing home baby. We got her a doll so that she could take care of the baby while we were taking care of Hailey.
One thing I would say, is that I made a point of keeping her in her room and her crib. I didn’t want to give her room to Hailey b/c I didn’t want her to feel as if Hailey was taking her room and her things away. So we started a new baby room for Hailey, and borrowed a new crib for Hailey as well. We waited and held off on all major transitions like potty training and transition to a bed until Hailey had been in the house for a while. We also tried to get her on a good routine prior to Hailey’s birth so that we could try to maintain that routine after Hailey came home.
The truth is, I don’t think that anything really prepared her for that day that we brought her screaming little sister home. I actually had a lot of guilt and sadness in the first few months, and still sometimes when I think back on it, about the amount of time that was taken away from Sarah in those early days b/c they were so close in age. But, when I see them together now, they’re so close and they love each other so much and it’s so sweet that it was worth it. Good luck. When’s the baby due?
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