Gearhead Mom

Monday, July 14, 2008

Big Sibling Gift - Books!

Posted by Missy W. @ 8:51 AM

Welcome to Big Sibling Week.

I’m mighty curious as to how Sy is going to react to having a new baby in the house. Jenny and I were discussing tactics to help the eldest cope. Nothing says coping like a new present, right? We both think it’s nice to give the big sibling a gift, not the wee one, since really, the baby doesn’t need a whole heck of a lot, do they? I think books are always superb gifts; they don’t make noise, they are easy to pack and you usually learn something. Not only that, but you can breastfeed your newborn while reading to your older child. Two birds with one stone, my friends.

When I told my pal AJ I was going to have another baby, she immediately sent us, “I’m a Big Sister,” by Joanna Cole and Maxi Chambliss, published by Harper Collins. They also have a boy version, I’m a Big Brother with similar verbiage, just a different gender.

We’ve read this book to Sy about three times a week since we told her she was going to be a BIG SISTER. The text and illustrations are simple yet effective. The book is narrated by the big sibling and refers to the new baby as “our” baby, which I think is a nice touch. I hope that Sy feels like this new kid is hers, too, not just a wicked interloper (a girl can dream, right?). The book touches on what new babies do (sleep, eat, cry, poop) and things that they cannot do yet (walk, play, eat pizza and ice cream). It’s a very positive spin on becoming an exalted big sibling. It reminds Sy that she’s very excited to do things like get diapers and help to make the new one laugh. The message I like the best is on the last two pages, “Mommy loves me. Daddy loves me. I am special to them. I’m the only me in the whole world. I’m special in a new way, too. I’m a big sister now!” Sy walks around the house saying, “I’m a big sister now!” about 10 times a day.

Also in the series are “My Big Boy Potty,” “My Big Girl Potty,” “When You Were Inside Mommy,” “How I Was Adopted,” and “Sharing is Fun.” Let me tell you first hand that Sy would disagree wholeheartedly with that last title. That’s just crazy talk.

Another timely series is “Picture Me with My Grandma” (Grandpa, etc) published by Playhouse Publishing.  I think this is a good one to have around if grandma is going to be helping out when the new baby arrives, since it focuses solely on your child and the grandparent. You slide a picture of your child and grandparent into the back of the book so that they are featured in every page. This is another all time favorite of Sy’s from her grandma. She loves the part where they garden together and then make cookies. She loves that she spends a whole day all by herself with her grandma, even if it’s just in a book.

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