There are tons of ways that you can involve your toddler in your preparations for a new baby. I've found that involving your toddler helps to make the whole transition a little more real for them! That isn't to say it will be easy once the baby actually gets here but it can be really helpful to just give them some experiences before the baby is born. These simple ideas can really help to make the process seem more real.
Help Your Toddler adjust to a New Baby
Some ways to involve your toddler in your new baby preparations include:
- bringing your toddler to doctor appointments
- involving your toddler in creating baby spaces
- looking at old pictures of your toddler as a baby
- folding/picking out baby clothes together
- making something special just for the baby
- explore old baby toys and books together
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With Augustus we've been trying to do as many of these things as we can as we are reaching the final days of this pregnancy. Making a project was a nice easy one to check off the list that he really enjoyed. It was a fun time for both of us, plus now our baby area has a nice piece of high contrast art work!
For this simple project, I got an 8x8 canvas, some round foam brushes, and black acrylic paint.
To make, I gave Gus some painters tape to block off some of the area (just to ensure there would be some whiter areas left on the canvas.) I ripped the tape but he choose where to put it. Then, I just gave him a small dish with some of the paint and the brush. I loved the sponged look that left some of the circles very dark and others more dabbled.
I let him continue until he had filled the canvas and was satisfied. At this point, I removed the painters tape to reveal some areas that were completely white. Then, we filled in those areas together a little more sparingly (to ensure some contrast.) Finally, we let it dry!
We placed the final product on our baby shelf using this small stand. Gus was so proud to show off the canvas to Henry and Nora when they came home from school. And, I'm sure he will be thrilled to introduce it to Theodore when he's born!
How are you involving your toddler in your baby preparations?
