There's a Baby in Your Belly

I fully realize that Charlie is only 19 months old, and he really does not understand that he is about to be a big brother in less than four months. But, we are trying to prepare him for the transition by talking about babies and teaching him how to take care of them. Lucky for us, we have a lot of friends who have recently had babies, so Charlie has been around many newborns in the past few months. There are two newbies in playgroup that he often sees every week.


I hold the babies every chance I get so that he can get used to seeing me with a little bundle. So far, so good. He has never shown any signs of jealously when I am holding a baby. He is just very curious about them. He LOVES to touch their heads, and really I can't blame him. What smells sweeter and feels softer than a newborn's head? He is also eager to help. He finds their bottles and pacifiers and tries to give them to the babies. We have taught him to say "shhh" when the baby is sleeping and are working very hard to show him how to be gentle with his toys and the poor dog.


In addition to being around babies, I have started to tell Charlie that there is a baby in my belly. The other day I was telling him about all of the fun things that he will do with his baby brother, and I mentioned that he will give the baby kisses. Before I knew it Charlie was leaning down to kiss my belly. I know that this must be a confusing concept for him because many times during the day he will pull my shirt up or peek down into the collar of my shirt looking for the mystery baby that I keep talking about. I just can't wait to see his reaction when the baby in my belly is finally here!