By Jenny Hopkins

One of the greatest challenges to welcoming a new baby to the family is making that transition as easy as possible for the older child(ren). That transition can be especially hard for the child if there is a significant age gap between the baby and the sibling and the older child is used to getting all your attention.

My husband and I recently had this experience, as we explained to our six year old daughter that she would soon have a baby brother.

How would she react? Will she be jealous? Will she like the baby? Will she think she has been replaced?

These are just some of the questions I had about the transisition while I was pregnant. Here are some suggestions I was given by friends and family to make this transition as easy as possible:

1. Let the older child be involved in the pregnancy. Take him or her to appointments to hear the baby’s heartbeat, and the ultrasounds to see the little hands and feet. Your child will see that there really is a little person inside your growing belly!

2. When buying supplies for baby, explain to the child what they are used for. Remind them that they were once that small and needed those items too!

3. Show your child pictures of them when they were a baby and maybe even tell them about when they were born. Kids love to see pictures of themselves when they were little!

4. Try not to change your routine. Kids rely on a schedule at this age. If possible, try not to stray from that. Keeping things as “normal” as normal as possible.

5. After the baby is born, the older child may ask to help you take care of the new baby. While there is only so much he or she can do, the older child can help you by getting you a clean diaper, handing you a dropped toy, etc. The older child can also play simple games such as peek-a-boo with baby.

6. Make sure you and your older child(ren) get some together time too. You will be spending so much time with the new baby that the other child(may) may not feel he or she is as important in your life. Take the older child to the park, a movie, shopping, a bike ride, etc. with just you and him/her. Take your daughter on a “girl’s day” and get your hair and nails done together. There are a lot of things you can do to let the child know they are still important to you and you can still have fun together.

7. The older child can help pick out a toy for the baby's arrival. Have the older child(ren) pick out a stuffed toy such as a Teddy Bear to give to the baby when it is born. The child will enjoy the fact that the baby has a toy that is just from him/her. Likewise, some parents buy the older child(ren) a gift for them "from the baby."

We want to hear from you! What did you do to help your child adjust?