My youngest daughter turned a year old this week and I found myself looking through photos from this past year and reliving those wonderful memories. Introducing your new baby to their new siblings is a magical experience, however something you must plan for. Bringing home a new baby is a major event on it’s own, but helping the older siblings adjust to this drastic change makes it even more challenging. I am happy to share with you how we experienced a successful transition when we brought our new baby home and how we were able to make it a happy occasion for our two older children. First and foremost you want to make sure your children are as much involved with helping to bring home baby as they possibly can be. Make them apart of the experience, allow them to choose the outfit baby comes home in, give them a gift to bring to their new baby, make them feel proud to be a big brother/sister. I look back at the hospital stay and think of how much love and excitement the children had and how excited they were to show off their baby sister. I also remember that my mother made it a celebration for them and she gave them each a gift, this was such a great idea and I recommend you have a family member do this if possible.

Once you are finally home with your new baby, life is going to be pretty hectic while all of you adjust to this new life and routine. Something that really helped my children to transition was allowing them to help with the baby whenever they could. Getting me diapers, blankets, or a change of clothes for the baby. What is really great about newborns is that they sleep a lot and this is the perfect opportunity to let the children hold their new sibling. Having a nursing pillow for them to use will make a world of a difference, your child will feel more confident holding the baby. Allow them to have that special time with their new baby brother/sister, this is a beautiful way for them to bond and get to know one another. My oldest daughter use to come home from school each day, run off from the school bus and straight to her baby sister. This also just so happened to be baby Adeline’s nap time, so Skye would immediately ask to hold her, and then her baby sister would fall asleep in her arms within minutes. I use to joke with my husband all of the time at what an expert Skye was at getting the baby to nap and how he should ask her for some advice. Allowing Skye and Adeline to have that one on one time and bond paved the way for the sisterly bond they still carry to this very day. Skye never felt left out or jealous because she was so proud of being able to help with the baby all of the time!

Each child and each family is different, we all find our own ways to adjust when bringing home a new baby. The main focus is to remember to keep the older children involved as much as possible, don’t ever let them feel left out. It’s also a great idea to once again, take advantage of all that napping a new baby does in the first few months and spend special time with each child. Whether it’s a quick trip to the grocery store, or a drive to the local ice cream shop, all that matters is that you took some time out of your day to make that one child feel special. Give them the uninterrupted time to have all of your attention and let them know that you still love them more than anything. Also remember that good sleep (for your baby and your family) is an essential component of this beautiful journey. The journey isn’t always perfect, but getting support every step of the way helps.  That is why Gerber® Good Start® Gentle is happy to introduce a Certified Sleep Consultant for your little one’s needs. Gerber® Good Start® Gentle believes that the Formula for Happiness™ can be a lot of things, and moms have different ways of enjoying the journey through motherhood. Looking for additional resources? You can make a free appointment with a certified baby sleep consultant, or with a nutritionist or certified lactation consultant on the Gerber website!

If you have some tips you would like to share, make sure to use #formulaforhappiness and tag pictures of those tips and show how you achieved baby’s happiness in the first few months of life.