I am VERY pregnant with my second child. I am scheduled to have a c-section in 11 days. I currently have a 4 year old (almost 5) boy who is extremely excited about getting a new baby, but I would like to think of a thoughtful or meaningful gift to give him.
I am looking for suggestions.
My brother was 2 1/2 when I was born. My mom gave him some silly putty (his favorite) and a couple other small things that were "from the baby". I guess it helped him put up with me in the early stages. :-)
This was a long time ago but when i had my second baby naturally everyone came over to see the new baby. But i had one friend that came over and said she did not want to see the new baby. She came over to see my older daughter. She spent the day pampering my oldest one, playing with her, even taking her out shopping and for lunch. Making my oldest daughter feel very special. My girlfriend did not even look at the new baby until a few days later when things calmed down. During the first couple of weeks she just paid attention to the oldest one.
We gave my son his own baby book about his sister "My New Baby and Me - a first-year record book for big sisters and brother" by Dian G Smith.
It is really cute and involves him in watching for developmental milestones.
J.,
My kids are younger than yours (they were almost 2 and 3 1/2 when baby came) but what I liked was to get them a gift they could play with to keep them occupied at the hospital. For my boys, that meant little cars (for they are car obsessed!). I would think of something you know he would enjoy and that would keep him busy for a bit at the hospital... since he's older, maybe coloring books, or a special sticker book or something... plus, books are always good - there are lots of "big brother" books out there. Another one I like is "You are all my favorites".
Good luck to you!
Jessica
Depending on how much you want to spend. I am sure that Hallmark has something for the "older sibling" like a figurine or something. A few more ideas are the "Im the big brother" shirts or his own Camera to take whatever pics he wants to take and then maybe a pocket scrapbook where he can put his pictures to show off whatever he wants to. This way when everyone is taking pics of the baby he can too (of whatever) and be able to show them off. This is very exciting for him. Another huge thing that may mean a lot to him is after the baby is born and you are more mobile to take a day or partial day where baby stays home with dad and you and he go and do something fun just the two of you. Congrats!!
My son is very into Playmobil horses and the accouterments, so we bought him probably the biggest present we've gotten him: the stable and the horses that go with it. We told him that the baby was getting so many presents, we thought he should have one, too (he was 3 and getting frustrated with all the gifts we got...that were obviously not for him). It was fantastic; he loved it, and he played and played and played happily and we could be in the room with him, watching him play, while also dealing with new baby.
You definately want your gift to be somthing he can play with independently in order to buy you some time to take care of your new baby. My boys (5 and 3) love remote control cars. Plus, it might entertain the baby, too.
Good luck!
I gave my daughter a Tinkerbell outfit when my son was born. She didn't take it off for three days. She was three then and is twelve now. She still keeps it in a keepsake box. I think any gift you give him will become special.
I have a seven year old girl and 7 month old boy. When I was still pregnant I didn't know what I was having, but I bought a frame that said "I love my sister" and put a picture of my daughter in it and put it in the baby's room. That way it sort of entangles the fact that you are becoming "more" of a family and she felt included in the planning of his room. And she knew that the baby already loved her! Congrats!
When our second was born, I had already picked out a gift for our oldest (who was 4 at the time). She was very into My Little Pony, so I picked out one she didn't have and got a card and wrote something to the effect of "I'm so glad to have you as my big sister, I can't wait till I am big enough to play My Little Ponies with you" and I signed it from the baby (who is also a girl; if we had had a boy 2nd I would have worded the card different). I signed it from the baby after she was born and then when my husband picked up big sister from daycare to come meet the baby, SHE got a gift right away from baby sister. She thought that was soooo coooool that the baby "knew" she liked ponies (and I did tell her that Mommy helped baby Lauren pick it out). It was a big hit! Good Luck! p.s. I found that many friends and neighbors who brought gifts also included something small for the older one (even if it was just a sheet of stickers or something)
When my third was born almost three months ago I had big brother and sister shirts at the hospital wrapped for them to open from their baby sister. They LOVED them! There are a lot of cheesy ones out there, but my favorite is from Pluto: http://uggamugga.blogspot.com/2008/05/pluto-sibling-shirt.... Actually, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's daughter Violet recently wore the same one to meet her new little sister!
And congratulations on your new little one!!!
We gave our daughter, who was 5 when we had our second, a digital camera. It was a little more spendy gift than we at first wanted, but we gave her the job of documenting the new baby's first days. She felt involved and proud to have such a big (and fun!) job. They way they make cameras these days, it's pretty tough to hurt them and they are getting cheaper all the time.
Good luck and I hope all goes well with the birth!
