Sibling Gifts

Hi!
When my son arrived at the hospital to meet his new sister she gave him a Luv Cub that he adored! He could feed it and it would respond to him - he was taking care of his "baby" too. Another idea is an American Girl Bitty Baby. My daughter, who is 2 1/2 received one for her birthday and loves her. You can order them online and choose from different colors of hair and skin tones. They're not the large American Girl dolls like the older girls have - they're actual baby dolls. For other holidays you can get accessories, which don't have to come from the American Girl line. Other brands fit and work just as well. Congratulations!

I did almost the same thing, but my son was 3 at the time, and I had a girl. I got him a small toy that I knew he would love, it went along with a toy he got for his birthday. I didn't have him give her a present since she was receiving them from family.
He also got to play at McDonald's before they came to visit. Although, I don't know that I would recommend getting all germy before seeing a baby. Depends what season it is I guess.
The lady that mentioned the footprints, sounds like a great idea. You might even be able to have them put them on a pink t-shirt instead. I think you might be able to heat set it with an iron later so it would be washable.
One other thing might be a scrapbook, for afterwards. Take pictures of your daughter and the baby, and her opening her gift, and other pictures from the first few days. Then put them in an inexpensive scrapbook(has plastic sleeves). 8.5 x 11 is what I have for my son. He loves to look through his own baby pictures and his relatives.
It does seem that little kids have great memories. My son still will tell the story about the day my daughter was born, and what he did, and that his little sister gave him a present.
Maybe you can have a family member do your shopping. Just print out a picture from online of what you want them to get.
Good luck with this & delivery.
M

E.,
First my suggestion is to give your daughter a brand new baby doll. That way when you have to focus on caring for your new baby she can too! She will enjoy pretending to be a mommy. You may even find her mocking your actions. Now, for a gift for the both of them... why not take a picture of them together when they get to meet for the first time. I have seen picture frames that say "I'm the big sister" and "I'm the little brother". That is something that can go in each child's room and they will enjoy seeing that photo as they grow up. Just a thought. Good Luck with your new addition!!

I don't have a girl, but you could have him give her a pretty necklace or bracelet or something. That is something she can grow with and have it be sentimental. We just gave our older son a toy we knew he would love. But, we also had a big birthday party for the new baby when our older son was at the hospital with us. We had a big cookie cake (less messy than a real cake) and we had candles and balloons and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to our youngest. Our oldest loved the party, and I think it helped him to enjoy his little brother. Our youngest is 16 months old now, and my older son still talks about our youngest's birthday party we had at the hospital.

Have you thought about Build-a-Bears? When my sister 'n law had her 2nd, we gave the baby a smaller bear with a t-shirt that had her name/birthday on, and we gave the big brother a bear he would like. He was so excited when he received it!

Congrats on your upcoming birth. Maybe personalized picture frames, I know you can get them in the mall or like others were saying the build a bears, maybe get them matching ones that she helps make so its special to her. Good luck your last few weeks I know its hard. Keep in mind we put up 8 foot storks to announce your new baby and we can personalize it to have big sister on it. Call me if you are interested. ###-###-####. Thanks, J.

My daughter has a bear that she sleeps with every night. When she and I went shopping for a gift for the new baby, we chose the same bear for her sibling to have. This was the gift that she presented to the baby at the hopital. As for a gift from the baby, she was really into Thomas the Tank Engine so he gave her Thomas and his coaches for her train set. Nothing huge, just something that she would appreciate. She still says "I got these from Jack." when she plays with them.

Hey E.,
I just had my second 3 months ago. We brought a toy to the hospital with us so our older son had something to open up from his new brother when he came to visit. We just got him a bubble machine from Target ($12) and some suckers. We also bought him a Kite that he could open up at home. We had our older son bring the baby a present as well,it was a squeaky teether. I don't think they have to be large in monetary value, it's really the gesture that matters. That being said, I have a friend that had her new baby buy the older syblings a water slide ($400). So I guess it depends on how much you want to spend.

We had our 3 year old go to Build a Bear and make a bear for his new sister. We let him pick it out and recorded "I love you Molly" for it. It's so adorable.

Awww ... what a thoughtfully sweet idea to create a special bond from the beginning between your two children, E.!

What about having the hospital make a second special set of footprints of your newborn son that can be "presented" to your daughter? This personalized gift from your son would be super special for your daughter to have and you would not have to purchase anything before your son is born as well as it would be a great keepsake for your daughter! You or your husband just need to remember to ask for the hospital staff to make a second set of footprints (maybe your daughter can even be present and watch her "special gift" being made for her by her new baby brother before her very own eyes??). If you wanted to hang your daughter's gift from her baby brother in her room, you could then consider purchasing a picture frame after you return home from the hospital.

Please share with us what you do ultimately decide to do for your daughter and son when they first meet. I'd love to know!

Congratulations and I hope everything goes well for you with your upcoming delivery and birth!

Blessings,
B.

We had our daughter bring our son a little teddy bear to the hospital when she met him. It is now on a shelf in his bedroom. It's not much..but she was very excited to give it to him. Also, what about some sort of picture? Not exactly sure what, or she could draw him a picture and frame it. Good luck!

A baby doll is always a good idea,that way she also has her own baby to take care of...My sister did this for my niece when my nephew was born...