Siblings

I know it is silly to start thinking about this now, but last night I really started thinking about the "jealousy" issue. My daughter will be 2 1/2 when the twins get here and I am a little worried. All of my friends have kids that are about 4 years apart. Kylie is very clingy to her mommy. How does one handle the jealousy?

 

My daughter was almost three when the boys where born. Honestly, I think it was harder on me than her - I felt guilty about not being able to spend as much time with her alone as I used to. It was definitely an adjustment and not always easy but having her feel like the "big sister" really helped her. She felt like her little brothers needed her to show them how things were done. She LOVED giving bottles and used to tell me, "Mommy, I'll love on Keaton which you love on Logan." (or vice versa)

 

None of my kids ever had jealousy issues, and they were 20 months, 17 months, and 28 months from each other. Include them in everything you do. Give them jobs and responsibilities (getting pacy's, diapers, wipes, etc). Let them hold them whenever they want to (especially when newborn, they never wake up even being passed around). Involve her in the feedings by saying it's snack time, and then have a lot of healthy snacks (raisins, fruit, cereal) that she can eat when you feed the babies right beside you. She'll be fine, and so will you!

 

My son's are 2.5 years apart. I did a lot of reading to my older son before his brother was born. There are some great kid's books about becoming a big brother/sister. I especially looked for ones that were clear that newborn babies aren't that much fun but eventually they will be. Mercer Mayer has one like that. Another one was titled Hello Baby. The transition went very smoothly. I never noticed any jealousy. I think he was a little more clingy before the birth because he was worried about me. I obviously wasn't feeling too great and he could sense that.

 

My oldest just turned 2 when the girls were born. She was great with the girls until they could move & get into her stuff (around 7mo). We had a pretty tough adjustment period, but now they play so well together. It's like I have my own playgroup at home all the time!
Good luck!