Celebrating Siblings: Bringing Home Baby

{Host a Big Brother or Sister Party for Celebrating Siblings after Baby}

When you bring home a new baby, you’re bringing a lot more than just an infant into your house.  You’re bringing tired parents, a noise and poop machine, and a lot of guests all excited to do one thing – see the baby.

It’s understandable that in the weeks leading up to birth and the weeks after birth momma, and everyone around momma, has a one-track mind: BABY.  And despite how awesome you are about making sure older siblings stick with routine or are lauded and praised throughout this process, they might be feeling left out right about now.

Now let me first state: I am not a parenting pro.  Sure, I’ve kept two children alive for a number of years, but I’ve had my missteps.  Many of which you have read on this blog.   But, I’ve also had my wins.  And, I had a pretty big “win” after my second child was born: The Big Brother Party.

You see, after having my second son, 3-year-old Graham decided that I was no longer as awesome as I was once.  To be honest, I kinda agreed with him.  I was tired.  Grumpy.  Leaky.  And just plain-old bad company.  Graham went from being my #1 fan to thinking I was no longer his person.  Not only did he not want his mom-cuddles, but he also started acting out a wee bit.

It depressing, it was also frustrating, not something that is good for a mom that suffers PPD.  Then, I proposed a Big Brother Party.  The idea came from a rather desperate moment when I needed to bribe my son to give me hugs, but it ended up saving those first few weeks.

Whenever I had to nurse the baby and my son wanted something, I asked, “What kind of cake do you want for your Big Brother Party?”  (The answer was “green.”)

When I was bouncing a screaming infant and Graham was feeling ignored, we chatted up balloons.  And when my temper was short and I should have had more patience, I made up for it by talking about who we would invite to the party.

About four weeks after bringing Will home from the hospital, we celebrated.  We celebrated Graham’s status as Big Brother with a Big Brother Party.  It wasn’t a big deal (trust me, a new mom doesn’t need a big party to plan!), but we ordered a store-bought cake (with green icing), got a few Thomas the Train balloons, and invited family and a few friends over to celebrate Graham.

It  felt great to focus on something else other than the baby for a change.  I plan to have another big brother party for both boys after the birth of son #3 this summer.   And at this one there just might be margaritas. 🙂

I’m sharing this post as part of the Ultimate Guide to Baby’s First Year, a series that started yesterday and runs through May 20th.  I along with 30 other family bloggers are sharing everything that you need, want, and never thought you’d need to know about babies!  Plus, we’re giving away some serious bundles of baby and parent goodies.

For the rundown of who’s writing about what and when, visit: http://lemonlimeadventures.com/youre-invited-celebrate-babys-first-year/

To check out what we’re pinning, visit:
Follow Dayna :: Lemon Lime Adventures’s board Everything Baby on Pinterest.

And most importantly, don’t miss our giveaway (including many of my featured Perfect Registry Items):
a Rafflecopter giveaway