In order to maybe help alleviate some of his fears (and ours), we signed Sawyer up for the Sibling Class at Mercy. We loved their prenatal/birthing classes when we were having Sawyer and were excited to try this one too. This class was 2 hours long and really focused on the experience for the kids.
Here is what the class entails....
- Heard an adorable little story called "My Mommy has a house in her Tummy" and watched a movie (with snack) about being a sibling
- We learned about how he can be involved before, during, and after childbirth.
- Sawyer learned what toys are safe and not safe to share with his new brother as well as how to safely hold him
- Sawyer got to dress and diaper a newborn doll
- Hospital tour of the Mercy newborn nursery, the intensive care nursery, and mom's room
- Decorated his very own "big bro" shirt
- Made a hand print to see how big his hand is compared to his brother
We highly recommend the class, especially because he got to experience "the hospital" before it is actually go time. They also had great pointers to keep attention on him while all of the attention might be on the baby. One huge thing we took away from the class that we will definitely be doing is to make sure Sawyer is the first person (after mom and dad) to meet his brother. We plan to have him spend an hour or two in the room with us and the baby and then have Sawyer introduce him to the rest of our family and friends. That way he feels like he has a role and isn't left out.
Get more info here: http://www.mercy.net/teddy-bear
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| Took a nice long nap after, being a brother is exhausting!! |
