Involving siblings in caring for new baby brother/sister?

[shaybrown0924]

I work in the post- partum and nursery area of our women's center. And a lot of times see younger siblings 3 - 6 of the new baby. I also know how it can be scary seeing mom in a hospital setting. So I was looking for ideas to help involve them so they don't feel left out by the excitement of the new baby. And make seeing mom in the hospital less scary?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Your post has been moved to the OB/GYN Nursing forum with the goal of attracting more responses from nurses who work in your specialty areas of postpartum and newborn nursery. Good luck to you.

[debsgreys]

Many years ago I started a sibling class. The children would see where mom would be, a book would be read, a pic was taken with them and a doll or stuffed animal. The hospital stopped the classes several years ago. We now give siblings big brother or sister stickers and a coloring book about bring a new baby home.

[Husker_RN82]

I really like where you are going with this post. I hope there are a lot of good suggestions. I also wondered this during my wife's pregnancies/deliveries and also when I started working in the setting. Things for bringing it up!!!

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

The hospital where I had my children gave out 'big brother/sister' bands so they wouldn't be left out of getting armbands like mom, dad, and baby. Of course there is no baby info or any numbers like we use to match baby bracelet with mom and dad, but my son (6 at the time) was REALLY proud of his big brother bracelet when his sister was born. They had blue bracelets that read 'Big Brother' for boys, and pink ones that read 'Big Sister' for girls.

[WoundedBird]

I remember a few things from the big siblings class the hospital where my sister was born (way back in 1989). We brought a doll so we could learn the correct way to hold our new sibling in the "nest" and always supporting their head. We also dressed up in a hospital gown, scrub cap, and mask to probably alleviate fears of those items. Not sure if a program like this is offered there anymore, but I think it was a nice way to show the older sibling some attention and how to care for the new baby.

[ReneeRN0521]

I work in labor and delivery and we transition our own babies in the room, they almost never go to the nursery so I am usually there the very first time the siblings meet. I personally will let siblings usually 3-4 or older depending on maturity level "help" me give the bath (usually they just stand there with dad and maybe wash a foot or hand) but it makes them feel special and many of them get so excited about helping. I have also turned a plain red allergy armband into a #1 big brother or sister band with my handy dandy sharpie. They always get so excited showing off their big brother or sister band. I think just including them in the care, let them put baby's hat on, help give a bath, and making them feel special too is wonderful and although it takes a little extra time the parents are usually very appreciative of me including the siblings and not just being all about mom and baby and the medical side of things.