5-Year-Olds & New Babies?

First of all, just wanted to especially say hi and hello to those of you who might remember me from the 'old' days! I visited TS daily when I was pregnant with Jacob & Gabriel and the year or two that followed their arrival. Got busier as they got older, but I still activated my account when the boards moved with the feeling that I might be back.... And so here I am with another set of twins due in July! Yikes! (I [topic="53171"]posted in the Expecting forums[/topic] with the mini-history earlier today.)

So, here are a few of our questions, wise moms & dads of TS: Jacob and Gabriel will be 5-1/2 or so when the new ones join us. We've been thinking that at least they'll be able to do more than a few things on their own while we're taking care of the babies. We're also hopeful that they can help out in small ways. If you had older kids before your twins, or baby(ies) after your twins, what kind of stuff did the older ones do to help out?

Also, I know that regression can happen when they are closer in age to the newborns (like potty training undone in toddlers), but should we expect much regression from them at 5-1/2 and if so, in what ways? Hopefully not much more than baby talk?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.... Glad to be back!

 

Congratulations on another set! That's so exciting! As far as advice, hmm, my kids are all so close together in age. My oldest is about 4 1/2 years older than the youngest. My older kids would sing to my younger ones alot. It helped during times like getting dinner ready for the family or getting the babies' food ready or running baths. The older ones would entertain the younger ones and keep them happy and smiley for a few minutes while I was doing something else. Hope this helps a bit.

 

My son was 5 when my twinkies were born and I included him in as much as I possibly could. He was so excited about the babies that he was always looking for ways to help me. So I let him go get diapers for me when they needed changing, bath stuff at bath time, lovies at bedtime, clothes in the morning...a lot of this stuff would have been so much easier and quicker to do on my own, but I made myself take the time to include him. It made him feel so important in the lives of the babies and they adored him from moment one. They smiled at him first, laughed first for him and today follow him around like he's a rock star. They both squeal and start singing and dancing when they see him coming :wub:

Congratulations on your new babies

 

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I just had a baby boy a week before my twins' fifth birthday. They love helping me. Kelly sings to the baby and tries to show him his toys. She wants to entertain him. They both will get me diapers, bibs etc (whatever supplies I need). They've both fed Eric but I still sit with them when they do. They help me carry his stuff from the bedroom upstairs to the main level.

Mine haven't regressed at all. Kaitlyn seemed a little wary of the baby when he was first born which suprised me. But, once she realized that nothing major was going to change for her she was fine. We haven't experienced any babytalk or wanting to be treated like a baby though.

 

My girls were almost 4 when my son was born. They did wine more and want more attention from me in the beginning, especially Katrina who needs extra attention to begin with. But after a while things got better. They love to help, get diapers, wipes, bottle, pacifier, you know the baby things. It was nice though that the girls started pre-school a month after he was born so they still got out of the house and got to play with others while I got some alone time with my son. They both love playing with him and keeping him company when I just need to do something real quick.

Congratulations on you pregnancy.

 

Welcome back, and congratulations!

Jackson was 4 when his brothers were born. He was overjoyed to be a big brother (still is!) and helped in any ways he could. Even something as simple as handing them a small toy or a bottle would make him feel proud.

Jackson didn't regress at all. He considered the birth of his brothers to be a very positive thing. DH and I made sure to spend special time just with him, and when people would comment on the twins in front of him, we always pointed out what a great big brother he is and included him in the conversation.

 

Sean turned 4 only six days before our twins were born. We included him in everything right from the start and referred to the boys sometimes as "his" babies as well. He honestly was terrific. Never a jealous moment or a whine that he wasn't getting enough attention or anything. He would help out by being our "gopher" and running for diapers, toys, helping with diaper changes (handing me powder, diapers, dangling a toy to distract a baby, etc.). He loved being included this way. As the babies grew a bit, he especially loved to "entertain" them. He'd sing, dance, just generally act goofy and the twins loved every minute of it! Sometimes he'd even read to them in their bouncy seats. (He started reading right around the time the boys were 6 weeks old.) If I ran up to take a quick shower, he'd alert me if the boys woke from their naps too. He was also a big help with the dog, letting her outside and feeding her, etc. I actually was amazingly surprised at just how much help a 4-year-old could actually be! I couldn't have done it some days without him. In turn, we would take just Sean (our "big boy") out to do special things just for him, or spend time just reading and playing after his brothers were in bed at night.

We never experienced any "regression" or acting out from him at all. But understand it is normal if your kiddos do. We were just lucky that Sean really took to being a big brother and never had any jealous moments or anything. In fact, he used to say, "Mom, could we have six more babies?" (Ummm, no.)

To this day, he is terrific with his brothers. And they adore him. They spend all their waking time at home, hanging out in his room. When there isn't any school and Sean is home, they almost always spend the night in his room as well. Sean likes the company and they love just hanging out with him. I feel blessed that they all get along so well. I know when Sean goes away to college, B&C will really miss him.

Congrats on the soon to be new arrivals!!!!