My first son will be nearly 23 months old by the time the 2nd son is born. I have heard it's nice to have the baby "give a gift" to the older sibling. I'm trying to decide what might be an appropriate gift - at ths point I am eaning towards the Leapfrog Scout Dog that talks and can spell the child's name. I think my son (21 months now) would have liked it a few months ago, but now I'm not so sure... I'm debating whether some kind of truck or other vehicle with wheels, or something else would be better. It just seems more appropriate to me to have the baby give a "stuffed animal" versus some kind of "car toy" especially since my older son's 2nd birthday will be just few months later. Any other suggestions or recommendations?
*** So I should add that I haven't really bought any new toys for him that cost more than $5-10 since Christmas (and even then, only recently); perhaps in general I need ideas on some appropriate toys for soon-to-be 2 year old boys. I guess maybe 3-6 months ago, would have wanted to buy him the Scout dog since he really seemed to like it when he was younger, and at the time, I thought would make a great gift from baby sibling - but now that he is getting older... offered it to him at the store recently, he seemed less interested. He's interested more in wheels, gadgets, levers, etc... so maybe I just need to generate some ideas on what would be more age appropriate, developmentally beneficial, but also 'memorable' as a gift from his baby brother.Thanks!!
I think a book about being a big brother would be nice. As for anything else I think you should go with what you know he likes.
Congrats!
I had my daughter give my son a toy he really wanted and some T-shirts that said I'm a big brother...
It wa important for me that my son actually love his gift to jumpstart a Bond between siblings... It was a simple toy I found on sale nothing spectacular in my eyes but my son sure found it spectacular in his!
What's your goal with this action? Ideally, what would you do or want to buy for him?
My son was 23 months too. He loved trains, so we got him a battery-powered train from his sister which was good b/c he could play with it in the hospital (and he still will tell you that his sister gave it to him in the hospital). My parents, however, bought him a geotrax train set (doubled as a birthday gift, and at 2, he didn't notice not getting a gift from them on his actual birthday)....but it was a great gift b/c it captured his attention during those early days when he was "adjusting" to his new crazy life! :) So I'd suggest skipping "memorable" and go for something time consuming!
My son was 3 1/2 when his sister was born. He was just getting into Thomas trains when I was in my second trimester. So we went to a garage sale and bought a bunch of them for about $30 - those suckers are so expensive new that it made sense to buy 15 of them for $2 a pop when we could find them. As our due date was getting closer, we started giving him the trains "from the baby" on a semi-regular basis, saving the two that we knew he really wanted for when she was born. He was so excited.
The baby just had her first birthday, and our son still talks about how his sister gave him all those trains. And he has always loved her. He never did the classic "Let's take her back to the hospital" thing. I'm not saying that the trains did it, but they sure didn't hurt. :)
We just had #2 about 8 weeks ago. Our older daughter was 25 months. So just about the age of your son. A couple of weeks before the baby was born we took M to Build a Bear to make a bear for baby sister. It was so cute, we let her pick out the bear, the outfit, and the bows. The staff there was wonderful, we told them what we were doing and they totally went along with it, during the whole "stuffing" , birth certificate, and check out process. While we were there I snuck the teddy bear sized Rapunzel dress into our purchases, and in the hospital baby gave that to big sister, for the bear that my husband and I got M for her baptism at 2 months.
She was thrilled by the little dress and talks about it being from her baby sister. I know it hasn't been long, but she still LOVES her sister!!! I love love love the fact that they get along so well. M is always wanting to hold baby and kisses her constantly. She loves when they wear clothes that coordinate or match. and she loves to make up songs for and about the baby. It melts my heart.
By the way I love Scout and my almost 2.5 year old still loves it. I think she has had it since she was about 10 months, but she is now to an age where she can really play with it. It also helps to reinforce imaginative games (like "quack quack, what animal and I pretending to be?) and spelling her name. Things we do daily, but are great to have the toy reinforcing. We will be getting the baby the Violet dog in a few months. Also if you do decide to get a scout they now make a little infant scout and violet if you want them to have matching but different toys.
Good luck deciding!
I agree with what many other people said, make sure to pack some crayons and coloring books and other little quiet toys. I was in the hospital less that 24 hours with this baby, but I guess that's rare.
Our baby "gave" her big sister a teddy bear, and then big sister got to pick out a gift for her new baby sister to bring to the hospital. We also had an "I'm the Big Sister" shirt ready for her to wear to the hospital. That was neat because then all the nurses would stop her in the hallway and say, "Oh! You're a big sister? Wow!" and my older daughter felt so proud (she was 2.5 years at the time, and felt very grown up! LOL)
Very honest answer... don't invest too much into a toy at this point b/c of the proximity to his birthday and the fact that kids have no concept of cost! Beyond that, he's not going to remember "why" he got the toy unless it's something that he will want to keep around. Consider a wooden train set or something else that he will grow into and may keep as a "memory" later on in life.
When my friend had her second child, we did a box of "toys" for her older child to open throughout those first few weeks. You will be in the hospital for 2 or 3 days, which seems like an eternity to a child. MOST people will bring a small gift for the "big brother" when they come to visit, but some won't. He will need to "be quiet" a lot in the beginning, which is tough on a toddler. So... when you're in the hospital grandma or daddy or you can have a little gift for him each day (crayons, books, small cars, etc), ditto for the visitors and the "you need to be quiet" times.
If you would like to do a "big gift" from the baby & he's into "gadgets" consider the Home Depot tool box w/tools from Toys R Us. We bought it for my son around the same age and 18 months later it's still one of his favorites... and he's "fixed" pretty much every piece of furniture in the house!
Both of my older grandchildren, ages 7 and 10, still love stuffed animals and the plan was for the baby to give them stuffed animals.
My daughter had just turned two when my son was born. At that time she was very interested in playing ball, any game involving a ball. So when the baby arrived he brought her a soccer ball with princesses on it. She absolutely LOVED it and still has it. She now refers to the ball as "the one my brother got me". So my advice is get him something that he will really Love, that way it will be more of a positive experience from the baby. It does not matter if it eventually is ruined, the point is for him to accept the baby and if the baby already knows his favorite things, all the better. :)
When my youngest was born, he brought cars for his brothers aged 2 and 1. They loved them!
My son was just shy of three when his sister arrived. We got him a kid digital camera. We told him it was his "job" to get extra pictures of the new baby. We were hoping he would be distracted when everyone met the baby and came to ooh and ahh. It worked like a charm. There is not one single human in any of his pictures on that day. He photographed everything else....my i.v.'s, the tile floor, the trash can. I love it though. It's a gift for him and us, we love seeing the world through his eyes. He's now 5 and still takes the camera on special trips and outings. And now he occasionally shares it with his two year old sister. My mother got the "big brother" shirts. I think he wound up with three, because she just couldn't choose. ;) And my sister in law made up a great "big brother survival kit". She found a cute cardboard suitcase and filled it with little things to entertain him while he was at the hospital waiting. It was filled with things from the dollar store (cars, crayons, coloring book, little plastic bugs, etc.), but my in laws mentioned that it was great in the waiting area for keeping him occupied.
As for Scout. We have the girl version, Violet. My daughter got it for her first birthday and it was ignored until she was about 22 months old. For about five months, Violet was her toy of choice and seemed to go everywhere with us. I even had to change some of the things is said at night while she slept, so it would say different things. The leaptop computer toy does similar things to Scout, so it may be another option for you.
My 1st son will also be almost 23 months as well when my second son will be born. I purchased this toy train top for him as a gift from the new baby: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GFCLZQ
I paid $18.61 total.
If you want a "memorable gift" then I wouldn't do a toy. It's going to get banged up and not be any sort of keepsake/momento.
If you really want a toy then I'd make it something SUPER like a nice little bike or some WOW item. At 2 he's not going to remember anything, just how excited he is to get a gift...how about a big boy bed? Since he's the big boy and the baby is going to need the crib? He doesn't have to use it right away, but can start using it for naps.
If you just want something cute from the baby, and simple, what about a little stuffed animal with (Dad's) favorite sports team t-shirt or hat on it and a matching shirt for your 2 yr old? That will give him and dad something to bond over while you're busy taking care of the baby? We still have our "keepsake" toy - a little stuffed panda wearing a Sox tshirt. Our kids will still say that was from ______.
Finally, I suggest you get him a plastic baby doll now. It really helps for him to understand "gentle", and he can mimic you taking care of your baby while he takes care of his. It doesn't have to be girly at all, you can get "boy" baby dolls. I think this goes a long way in helping them to adjust to not getting all your attention. My kids would change, feed and put their babies down for naps just like I did. Not only was it SUPER cute, it kept them involved. And really helped me to teach them that the baby needed special attention.
Best wishes. Sorry this was so long - I hope my ideas help you to decide.
