{Pregnancy Week} 4 Ways to Include Older Siblings in Pregnancy

It’s Pregnancy Week here on Scottsdale Moms Blog! If you are just tuning in, be sure to read the rest of the week’s posts here.

Our little bundle of joy on the way will be baby #5! We will have 3 older girls and two little boys!! I am still in shock of being blessed 5 times over!!  Our girls are a tender age of curiosity and wonder.  At 6, 8, and 9 years of age, they understand a lot about what is going on (remember, I wrote about when we had “the talk” EEK!)

And still, a lot of it is very abstract to their little minds. From the moment we told them about their new sibling, we wanted to make his life real and tangible to them, even though they could only see my growing belly from the outside. Here are my TOP 4 ways to making a pregnancy experiential for older siblings.

1) We have found out everything we can about our little man. We share with them videos we take of each ultrasound and point out little treasures we discover. For instance, the baby loves to play with his feet and seems to be a thumb sucker. We found out the gender and celebrated with a gender reveal party. Once we knew he was a “he,” we were determined to choose a name for him. We loved that the girls could call HIM by NAME. He became a real little human being, with his own identity and DNA and his own name.

2) We got a fetal doppler. This was especially fun in the beginning when I wasn’t showing much. It was hard for them to look at my belly that didn’t look much different and imagine a baby inside. The doppler allowed us to share his heartbeat with them whenever we wanted to. I have to say it was also a great pick-me-up for my husband and me if we had had a long day or wanted to feel connected to our son. You can rent them month-by-month through medical supply companies or purchase them online. We were able to borrow one from a friend who had found hers on eBay.

There are a couple of important things to note if you get one. First, you can pick up two rhythms. One is the blood flow to the placenta and one is baby. The former is much slower and shouldn’t alarm you if you hear it. Also, some babies like to hide. You must go into the use of a doppler knowing you are not a professional, may have a sub-par device and may not be able to find baby. Don’t let that freak you out, thinking something is wrong. It is supposed to be fun, not add fear and worry to your world. At times, we couldn’t find his heartbeat. I always chalked it up to my lack of skills and would try again another time.

3) We began creating a weekly photo chronology of our bump. Each week, we would find out how long the baby was in fruits and vegetables. It was neat to be able to hand them a banana, for instance, and tell them it was how long their brother was that week. We went to the trouble to purchasing the item, so we went ahead and took pictures, too. It has become a little ritual for us as a couple. I get showered and dressed, we go snap some pics, and then have a little mini-date with a quick dinner sans kiddos. It has been super fun.

4) A couple of years ago, a friend of mine found out she was pregnant with her third baby.  She, too, wanted to make it tangible for her older kids. She purchased a Touch of Life Fetal Model Set. These soft, life-like models show the story of life from conception to birth. In her set, there are 8 babies showing weeks 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 20, 26 and 30 weeks gestation. They really are amazing and such a special way to show your little miracle. She has let us borrow the set and my kids have been so tickled to be able to touch and hold these models. They are a bit expensive. It would be great to split them with another family. Or better yet, purchase them knowing you would lend them out to others or donate them to a crisis pregnancy center or similar organization.

These are just a few ways we have experienced this pregnancy together before our baby boy comes. There are probably a million little ways that we can celebrate new additions. Is there something you have done that has made your pregnancy special to your family?