Guest Post: Preparing For A Second Child, by Chelle McCann

“When we found out we were pregnant with baby number 2 in December at only 5 weeks we decided to tell our daughter, Fizz, straight away. I have to admit I am surprised she managed to keep it a secret all through to Christmas when we told family and friends. 

Fizz and I have such a close relationship that I wanted her to get involved in creating a bond with baby pretty early on. It is really important to me that Fizz be involve with my pregnancy as much as possible so she understands and accepts her baby brother when he arrives. 

Here are a few things we have done:

Bump shots – I do a weekly bump shot and I try to get Fizz involved with these when she wants too

Scans – we took Fizz to our 20 weeks scan and let the sonographer tell Fizz if she was getting a baby brother or sister. Cue big sighs of relief that she changed her mind 2 weeks prior to the scan. Before then she’d been adamant that she was having a sister and a boy would be sent back.

Bump art – Fizz draws on the bump with non toxic crayons. Decorarting with her random art work sounds fun until she’s drawing sausages on your belly 😉

Cuddles and singing – I let Fizz cuddle the baby and talk to the baby whenever we want. This is mainly at home as twice now she’s tried to lift a dress up in public to show people her brother

Time – just have time to answer any questions or just be. Don’t let the world revolve totally around the new baby

Teddies – I took Fizz shopping for a present. She’s picked out the most adorable Paddington Bear for her brother.

Most of all try to have fun with your pregnancy. I have been hospitalised and had regular sickness. I try not to get down in the dumps around Fizz and instead tiredness has become afternoon film time. There is always an alternative way of making sure you first born still feels important while you get a quick nap!”

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