I should be having my lunch now but decided to take little bit of the lunch time to blog this.

How do I prepare my kid for the new baby?
Children will naturally curious why Mommy tummy become bigger and bigger. Bigger toddler will start asking. Some will naturally cling to the mother more, cause they start to feel insecure and that mother will not love them as much as the past.

What I have start doing….
· I give an honest answer. Telling my child, Amabel, "There is a baby inside mummy's tummy." and I let her feel the baby movement inside my tummy but think the movement is still mild to be feel by her. She actually hit my tummy initially but now she learns to sayang and kisses my tummy. I think she is still too young to understand. I asked her before, “Do you want a meimei?” Surprise that she answered me with a “NO”. Haha! . I know kid of Amabel age (not more than two years old) will not understand much about what it means to have a new brother or sister.

· I assure her that I still love her. It never been change; I still hug and kiss her everyday and told her that “I Love You”. When she sayang and kisses my tummy, I told her “Mommy sayang you also” and give her a kiss and hug and told her, I Love her. Sometime she will reply “I Love You”. We look through her baby photos and told her that she was once a baby too.

· Prepare a present for her. I have been searching around for the best gift for Amabel and will tell her that this present is from her baby sister or brother.

· I involve her in preparing for the baby’s arrival. I bring Amabel along for all my gynae visit for the pregnancy checkup. I show her the ultrasound scans of the baby and also hers so she knows she was once before. And mommy that time was exciting too. Will let her choose some of the baby's stuff when I am start buying it.

· Tell her the story of her birth and when I was pregnant with her. This will reassure my child of her importance to me, and help to make it clear why I'm excited about the new baby. But she blur blur don’t know what I am talking about. She ignored me. Haha!

· I already take her on a brief tour of the hospital (where the baby will deliver) a few times. Will do it and brief her once again when I about to deliver.

· Keep the child's daily routines as normal as possible before, during, and after the birth. Try to keep a sense of normalcy so my child will not feel like the new baby is changing everything. I am thinking since we may need to shift her to sleep on the other side of our bed. I will get her into her new sleeping area soon before the baby deliver. I also told hubby and maid that I am going to remove and keep the playpen from the room this few day so when I set it up once again for the new baby, Amabel will not think of it as her playpen. I intend to buy new bedding for the baby so as to not let Amabel feel like she’s giving over her entire bed to a newcomer.

During the later part of the pregnancy. I will…
· Explain to her when my delivery date approaches, who will be taking care of her when I am not around during the hospital stay. And for how long. Assure her that she can visit me and the baby those few days in the hospital.

· Talk to her about what the coming of a new baby. Such as baby crying, feeding, and the joy of having a baby. This will help her understand her position as an older sibling and discourage her from attention-seeking behavior. May let her practise by buying her a doll to play, let her try feeding, carry and change the nappy of the doll etc.

What I can do when the baby is delivered…
· Give her lots of attention when she visits me in the hospital. Give her a hug and kiss which I everyday do. Show her new baby sister or brother and encourage her to pat the baby.

· Give her time to adjust to her new role. Will try to reinforce gentle and loving behavior towards her though I know may be a bit difficult due to the stress and sleepless night of taking care the newborn. Will spend time alone with her and not to overlook her physical and emotional needs.

· Will not make older child stay quiet while the baby sleeps. Since baby will usually adapt to noise, and so older child’s life will be less disrupted.

· If in the middle of an activity with older child when baby begins crying, I will need to wait a minute or two before responding to show the importance of what we two have been doing and so that my connection to my older child remains strong.

· Figure out positive ways for my child to interact with the baby. By letting her hold the baby (can do this under close supervision. Let her sit down, with the baby on a pillow in her lap), sing to the new baby, read to the new baby, and so on.

I believe I will feel very bless to see them play together albeit tiring of taking care two kids.

Shall stop here to have my lunch. Will write on Amabel's PD visit and her development tonight.