Advice for someone about to get a sibling...

[biggs682]

enjoy it and make the most of every moment because you never know whats round the corner

 

[Arch]

Thanks, way to cheer me up...

I treasure every moment with Oli already, don't worry. And suddenly I understand why my Mum still frets about me, at 40. And I'm not even his parent.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Thanks, way to cheer me up...

I treasure every moment with Oli already, don't worry. And suddenly I understand why my Mum still frets about me, at 40. And I'm not even his parent.

Yes well - I ask my 19 year old who is at uni if she is eating properly. I'm turning into my mum

 

[Arch]

Yes well - I ask my 19 year old who is at uni if she is eating properly. I'm turning into my mum

hang on....

"All women become like their mothers, that is their misfortune. No man does, that is theirs..." O Wilde, I believe...

My Mum worries about me to my sister. Then worries about my sister to me. Then my sister and I talk to each other, and laugh about what she's worrying about. And then worry about her.

 

[fossyant]

Suggest a buggi board for Oli... brill he'll love it....... resale value is good too.........

Just google them...........

 

[skudupnorth]

Just try to make time for #1 as he's bound to feel left out a bit at first. Tis difficult tho'. Try to get him involved is best I think but not all should appear to be about #2

It does get easier...........

+ 1 ...... except for the easier bit LOL !!!! Three girls and more grey hair,Doomed !

 

[Chris James]

Again, no advice but my two are 20 months apart and initially the first problem was stopping Doglas (the eldest) thinking Daniel was a toy. When he went to visit mum and new brother in hospital he grabbed a toothbrush and started trying to brush Daniel's (non existent, obviously)teeth.

Breast feeding was hard for my wife as she would have to sit still while Douglas got very agitated, to the extent of throwing himself around and hitting himself to get attention.

But most of the time Douglas loved having Daniel and was very proud to show him off to friends and relatives. Nowadays we mostly get round any older sibling jealousy by appealing to Douglas' vanity by telling him what a great big brother he is etc - sometimes it works!

Just read Gary's comment - yes, things are much, much easier with one. Having said that, with Daniel now almost two things are getting easier than they were and they play together reasonably well - until they start trying to strangle each other etc!

 

[Campfire]

Oli is very lucky to have such a considerate Auntie, Arch!

I might ask that question to CC members if I were to get another cat! Mine is definitely an 'only' cat! Good luck to your sis for her Caesar.

 

[GaryA]

Here's Oli. He'd been given, in lieu of christmas pudding, a 'yellow cake' fairy cake (he likes yellow cake best), with a big dollop of the chocolate buttercream icing Mum made for the family chocolate cake (my favourite!). He ate the icing off the top first...

I can't get it bigger. See this post for original attachment:

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5112&thumb=1&d=1261936585

By he has 'narff changed' but so has James
I'm not sure about this so called 'terrible twos' mind........ with him it was more like terrible ones! He is so much easier now that he can entertain himself and now we really feel like we are getting something magical in return for the baby hassle and sleepless nights. I get quite emotional just thinking about him while I'm at work, the innocence and delight he shows is totally capitivating. As an accidential parent its a aspect of parenthood I never suspected (although i should have) existed; how much you think about them all the time.
The other aspect is the almost frantic desire to make the most of every passing moment because I know how fleeting it will all be soon, sure new delights take over as they age, but capturing the essence of how he is right now-at him most cutest- is like trying to pick up dry sand-it falls away through your fingers I'm half coinvinced this is why lots of parents have another baby; to relive the experiences, those moments in time, they want to keep forever.
Sorry I'm rambling a bit.... I'm off home now to pick him up and get a cuddle- its become a sacred act !

 

[Arch]

The other aspect is the almost frantic desire to make the most of every passing moment because I know how fleeting it will all be soon

That's how I feel, being so far from him, and seeing him only every few months. I get regular updates of course, but so often I wish I'd been there to see something. Still, he knows me, and that means a lot, even if he thinks of me as a bringer of stuff (it's always good stuff, I think, and a lot of it very good value like charity shop trifles...) And he's just starting to talk on the phone, although he doesn't quite get where the other voice is coming from. And I sometimes need him translating. He wanted a 'con harster' for Christmas. Obviously, that's a combine harvester, when you're told...

A while back, I found a tractor magazine in the recycling, and it was quite clean, so I sent it to him, c/o my sister. She rang and thanked me, through gritted teeth, having spent days obeying his demands to "read it mummy!". I fear tractors can be very dull... But I'm so pleased he likes books, and gets that books contain information, and that that is a good thing to have.

 

[fossyant]

Arch......bike pics only.......goodness me....... I've been training (brainwashing) my kids for years................ Thomas Tank Engine....looser........

 

[Arch]

he has a bike... I don't know if he's taken to it. Maybe he was a touch small when he got it. I'm hoping he'll fancy it more this spring...

If all else fails, it's there for the next one.

 

[summerdays]

One of the BIL's works for JCB - so when we would visit the grandparents there would be their staff magazine hanging around - my son loved it. (And also visiting to see all the real JCB's when we passed the factory.)

 

[Bromptonaut]

Not really advice 'cos circs may differ. Our two are 22 months apart. Both were caesarians first an emergency, second elective.

We knew a week in advance when Tom would arrive. Jess was told about it and got some treats of her own one of which was a doll for her to "look after". She gots lots of quality time with Dad and Granny while Mum was in hospital and afterwards - she was just old enough to regard mundane stuff like shopping as a treat. She also had a great time fetching me "doozedrivers" and stuff while I was fitting baby alarms, extra cupboards etc.

Apart from a few tantrums, or on at least one occasion a polite rquest to "put tom in pram" she adapted very well. Being Mummy's little helper who could fetch and carry the change bag and do other simple errands probably helped her feel needed as well.

And it was amazing how soon they were playing together - sitting him in the baby walker and wizzing him up and down the hall!!