Elias and Adeline
We are so fortunate in that Elias has done so well in transitioning to the roll of big brother.
He is incredibly sweet to his sister. I can’t help but think about how on the day we found out we were expecting, he proclaimed it was a girl baby. It is as if he was made to be a big brother to sweet Adeline.
Thanks to the advice of some friends, we made sure to have a small gift at the hospital “from Adeline” for Elias.
The three dinosaurs she “brought him” were a HUGE hit, and he loves showing them to other people.
He has been fascinated with me breastfeeding.
A few days after Adeline came home, I was nursing on the couch. He brought his cup up to me and said, “I want some of Adeline’s milk mommy.” I laughed and said, “your milk is in the fridge, Elias. This milk is just for Adeline.” 🙂
We have been making it a point to have special one on one time with Elias. Things like:
- taking him swimming
- playing outside
- blowing bubbles
- going to starbucks with Daddy
- reading stories in “the big bed” (our bed)
- art time with Mommy
Check out this video Matthew made of Elias at the pool on Tuesday. Elias is like a little fish. He LOVES the pool and is getting so big rocking his Nemo swimmies!
Elias has been getting to watch a little more television than normal, but it is just a season. We got cable for the first time in years, and he is digging Cailou and Barney. We are doing our best to limit it to just the morning since that is when we are running around, getting everyone ready, etc.
What did you do when your family transitioned from one child to two?
My daughter had just started pre-school when my son was born and my husband made a visit at her school to help her to tell her class about her news. Our little one was in the NICU and she let the class know that she was a big sister and that her ‘baby brother’s brain was working but his liver was not’ and he was still in the hospital! I tried to make his naptime special time for her and I where we would spend time reading or doing a puzzle, making cookies or a craft. Then when Daddy got home, he always took her to the park for a little bit, just the two of them because the baby was up later then she was and he had time with him alone too. It worked out well and there were no adjustment problems.
Elias has been raised to know how much his parents love and adore him and he is confident in that, it shows in him! He will continue to show that love just as it has been modeled to him.
I’m asking the same question as we prepare for a second child.
My daughter Kate (2 1/2) wanted to watch the video of Elias over and over.
Okay the milk thing was hilarious! My brother “came” with a gift for me too when he was born. It was a red viewfinder (it was the late 80s) and I thought it was the best thing ever. I definitely thing that one-on-one time with him is important and giving him the “big boy” treatment so he realizes he has a sister now but he gets to do new things because he is the big brother and not a baby anymore. Good luck with it all! You all will be awesome, as it sounds like you have been!
I got two valuable pieces of advice from friends when we made the transition from one to two:
1. Keep Parker’s life as close to normal as possible, we sent her to daycare everyday when I was on maternity leave even though it would have saved us a ton of money to keep her home.
2. Every once and a while when Grant cried, I would say to him “just one minute, your sister needs Mommy now.” I felt like we were always telilng her “one minute” and just sprinkling a few times made her feel special too. The baby was okay waiting a few minutes for feedings/diaper changes.
Side note: Parker used to “nurse” her babies when I nursed her brother. Kids are amazing little people! Yours are adorable.
I am not an alarmist or a fanatic in ANY way when it comes to TV and my kids but I might offer a little warning about Caillou. I don’t know if you are watching it much with Elias or if you have seen it before but Caillou is a whiny little boy who is not always kind (in fact, is often unkind) to his little sister. I always ry to steer clear of anything that would foster a sense of sibling rivalry or unrest. And the whiny Caillous…um…no thanks! Just wanted to offer you a different view on that show so that you might watch it with him and see if it meets your standards! Best wishes on baby!
thanks for sharing your thoughts. We talk about Caillou when he is not being a “goo boy”. 🙂
We made the same mistake allowing our son to watch Caillou. The whiny tone is contagious.
I am so happy to hear that Elias is loving on his little sister. When my son was born my daughter wanted us to give him back and exchange him for the sister that she had requested.
Jessica…I am so glad to hear that Elias is doing so well. MM just ignored Lizzie for the first two weeks and then she decided life wasn’t so different and really took ownership of her. I made it a point to let MM hold Lizzie (with my help) and not to treat Lizzie like she was so fragile. Incorporating MM into Lizzie’s care was very helpful and good for bonding. Get rest/sleep when Elias is at school….8)
Love that. Elias doesn’t like to hold Adeline for more than a minute. It is hilarious. He says – mommy hold her. 🙂 I am definitely taking a nap every day. I don’t think I would be functioning nearly as well without that afternoon hour of rest.
I had to laugh about the milk thing. When our third child was born, my older 5 and 6 yr old came to me wanting to know “how that milk thing works.” So I told them I would show them, and show them ONE time only. It was quite silly for them, they were amazed, and quite thankfully, they don’t remember it one bit, some 12 yrs. later. So thankful that all is going well and she arrived safely.
When Reese joined our family, at some point his feedings fell right around lunchtime (I was a stickler for breastfeeding on a schedule 🙂 ). At first I tried to breastfeed at the table but it wasn’t comfortable so I ended up putting my daughter’s booster seat – with tray – on the carpet by the couch. Kind of like an indoor picnic. We also watched quite a bit of Berenstain Bears.
I can’t seem to play the video on my iPhone. Do you have a direct YouTube link? Thanks :).
Libbie watched a lot of TV for the first few months after David was born. Give yourself a break and just go with it. Take all the help you can muster up! Soak in every minute of baby alone time you can get.
Libbie was also funny about me nursing. Especially when she told me that her baby needed “Libbie milk” and proceeded to lift her shirt up and nurse her baby. Ha!
We are still in the transitioning phase too. And I’m incredibly surprised by how well my little man is doing. We have involved him in EVERYTHING. He’s 3 and a huge help to fetch things, to tell Daddy that Mummy needs his help, to give his little brother cuddles, etc. We are also sure that when we talk about our “family” we mention everyone. During dinner time if it’s our newborns feed time I will sit at the table so we are a family. My 3 year old says “Welcome to the table Simon” everytime. He’s really happy to include his little brother. It’s pretty awesome!
What a precious picture of Elias loving his sis …..He is pretty sweet I knew he would like being the big brother !!! xoxoxo to all Mom
That is so sweet! this is one of the precious memories from your kids..I guess he is proud
brother for her.
is it just me or does Adeline look like she’s grinning in that picture? and I LOVE the video. he’s the cutest boy there is.
They look really cute and how awesome it is to know that at that young age elias knows how to love and how to take care of his baby sister.. Cute!
That’s so sweet!