For months we’ve been preparing our oldest for the birth of our second. And for the most part it’s been pretty straightforward.
She sees my belly growing and asks:
- Where’s the baby mama? – In my tummy.
- What’s the baby doing? – It’s sleeping. Growing. Kicking. (I describe what I think it’s up to.)
For us, the trickier part is preparing her for the home birth aspect. We have her birth video – do I show that? I get pretty loud in labor – do I demonstrate that?
I’ve settled on this approach: I tell her a bedtime story that involves some of her favorite characters from Cat in the Hat or Diego and weave in what I’d love to happen with our birth.
That her “Ami” (grandma) is going to be here to play with her, take her to the park, that mommy’s going to make roaring sounds and noises to help her get the baby out, that she can go outside or come back into the house any time.
She’s a bit scared of the roaring and so I’m happy that we have a back-up plan that involves her going to stay with my brother’s family.
I also found a lovely home birth video on YouTube that she asks to watch over and over:
I’d love to hear what you’ve done to prepare.
