And Baby Makes Two

Bringing home baby

When baby comes home from the hospital, instead of celebrating the baby (because the baby doesn’t care), have a big sister or big brother party.

This is the best thing we did: We wore hats, made my daughter’s favourite meal, decorated with a few balloons and ate cake. We called it her, “Big Sister Party.” She loved it and felt acknowledged and special instead of jealous.

Wendy
Hamilton, ON

Regular routines

We didn’t make any drastic changes. Any changes that needed to be made, were made early during the pregnancy. We had always co-slept with Alex, and we continued to do so after the twins were born.

We chose to keep Alex in daycare during my mat leave. He did go fewer days during the week, and we dropped him off later and picked him up earlier. Not seeing his beloved friends was an upheaval we were in a financial position to avoid. The results: Alex is six now, loves his brothers, and we have had very few issues with sibling rivalry. More importantly, he wants more siblings.

Samantha
Calgary, AB

Diaper duty

I had change supplies for both kids upstairs, downstairs and in the basement so that I wouldn’t have to leave one kid to change the other.

Laura Bickle
Managing Editor

Playtime

It’s easy to include your baby in games with you and your older child. Everything from hide-and-seek — baby pretty much always gives away your hiding spot, much to big brother’s delight — to playing with stuffed animals, cars, etc., can work.

My kids all loved listening to stories on tape. In addition to purchasing cassettes, I made tapes for them of their favourite stories. I found this to be a great alternative to TV, which we avoid, whenever I needed to keep the older child occupied while I dealt with baby. This was a true lifesaver.

Lisa
Toronto, ON

I used to put my four-year-old son in the playpen to play with his Lego, or other small toys while his baby sister was crawling around free on the floor. I did have not to worry about her choking or ruining stuff.

Leah
Chilliwack, BC

Room exchange

My son and daughter had to share a room in our small two-bedroom house when they were little so I switched bedrooms with them and gave them the bigger master bedroom (much to my husband’s chagrin). It gave them so much more room to play!

Leah
Chilliwack, BC

Tiny travellers

In the early months, I found the easiest way to get around was to put the baby in the carrier and the toddler in the stroller: so much easier to navigate than a double stroller. This is key because getting the older one out and burning some energy (at the park, play group, etc.) — makes everyone happier!