We have just brought our second child home from the hospital. Our first-born is a three-year old angel whom we adore. She is excited about her brother but a little disappointed that the baby sleeps so much! We did talk to her before the baby was born and prepared her for this addition to our family. We involved her in the preparations for the new arrival, right from shopping to explaining why she needs to make less noise around baby sleep time. In fact, she chose the baby bedding and blankets for her brother. As we expected, once we got around to preparing the baby’s crib with the new bedding, she was reluctant to let ‘baby” use them and wanted to sleep on it herself. She said she wanted to make sure it was just right or the baby’s sleep would be disturbed.

A couple of days after we bought our son home, I was surprised to find my daughter’s favorite teddy bear in the baby’s crib. When I asked her about it, she said wanted the baby to have it, so that he won’t be scared and cry at night. I explained to her that baby sleep is not continuous and they may cry at night because they are hungry or because they are wet and need a change. She watched me change a diaper and asked me why he needed one. I explained about the baby being unable to talk and tell us he needs to use the toilet. When I suggested that we move the baby’s crib to his own room, she was reluctant to let the baby go. So we explained to her that she can’t share her toys and her books with the baby just yet. We all decided that the best way to share would be to put all the toys and books on the little shelf by the window so that they can see them in the moonlight.