One of the classes offered at the hospital that I’ve been most excited about is the Sibling Class. My mom and I took Kye when I was pregnant with Britt and you can read about it here! I have great memories from that class with Kye and have been looking forward to experiencing it with him again and to be able to experience it with Britt for the first time. Plus, Zach could go with us which made it even better! I’m allll about some family time right now for sure 🙂
Kye must have some memory from the class before because he asked to bring Mickey with him again! We were all looking forward to it all day and it went pretty much exactly how I had expected. Kye took it all SUPER seriously. Answered all the questions the teacher asked. Followed every instruction exactly as it was given. Was basically in hardcore big brother mode. Britt was kinda all over the place. She took a bit to warm up and did really well overall!
This class was much different than last time around, and I think it was an overall improvement. When we first got there they showed a 20 min video about being a “Super Sibling.” It was TOTALLY cheesy and over the top but it drove home all the major points at a kid appropriate level. It talked about how the baby will look, what it will sound like, what it will eat, how they can help, and even discussed feelings they may have and how to handle it. My favorite part about the video was the “what the baby will eat” portion because it ONLY showed breastfeeding!!! No bottle was shown at all and it was such a nice change from all the sibling books we have that only show the bottle 🙂 It was, of course, tastefully done and you only saw the back of the baby’s head nursing on the mother, but I really appreciated that! I also thought it was great that the video showed a real family and what they went through when adding a sibling. Britt sat in my lap the whole movie and really did pay attention and Kye was literally on the edge of his seat the entire time!
When the movie ended Kye asked me “when will we learn how to hold the baby?” So sweet 🙂 He is SO pumped about having so many responsibilities this time around! He held his Mickey so sweetly and listened intently to all of her instructions about how to properly hold it.
I cannot believe THIS was my sweet boy not-so-long ago!!! He was so excited about being a big brother back then and is, for sure, even MORE excited now 🙂
I love, love, love watching Zach with Britt. There is just something about a daddy and his daughter that melts a mama’s heart…am I right?!?!
The instructor handed out Super Sibling booklets to each family (they had a LOT of multiple siblings there for the class and didn’t have enough supplies prepared!). The kids did well sharing but I’m sure Kye will be the one who actually does most of the workbook at home 🙂 We will be sure to go over it with Britt, of course. Kye is all about teaching her what it means to be the older sibling. They each also got to wear name tags that announced they are Super Siblings!
While the kids worked some on the workbooks the instructor asked some questions to go over the video. Kye answered every single one, of course. I don’t often get to see him in a school setting but oh my goodness he’s my child. I remember in school always wanting to answer all the questions and always being eager to ask questions as well. Total teachers pet and that apple didn’t fall far from the tree I believe!
She asked them ways they will help with the new baby and Kye said he will help pick up things so I don’t have to bend over (which is something he’s already doing haha). She also asked what they will do if they get “storm cloud feelings” (something the movie discussed). Kye said he will talk to Mommy and Daddy about playing special games with just us and Britt said she will cry. Which sounds about right haha.
Kye was the most excited about getting to practice changing the baby’s diaper. Of course she didn’t have enough diapers for us since we were in the back of the room. Thankfully another family didn’t need theirs and let Kye use it because the kid was pretty bummed! He wanted to do it by himself and followed all the instructions to put the diaper on Mickey!
We then took it off and let Britt have a turn. She was more into it than I had expected!
The favorite part of the course ended up being swaddling the baby. Kye LOVED it and told me very proudly that he will be able to wrap up the new baby for me now. And he was also thrilled that he got to take the blanket home and said he wants to put it in a special spot to save for when the baby comes. Britt also loved her baby blanket and wanted it just right the whole ride home on her baby. I can see a LOT of baby doll swaddling in my future…
One of my favorite parts of the class was watching Britt with her baby. She has such a natural mothering instinct. Whenever she was carrying her baby she was automatically patting it the whole time! She was comforting her doll and loving on it and it was so cute. She has named all of her baby doll’s Carter at this point and Casey actually had Carter at our house Tuesday for the day and now as soon as Britt gets up from bed she gets out all of her baby “Carters” and puts them in her bed and tucks them all in and turns off her light and turns on her fan for them to sleep. She’s def getting ready for what a new baby in our home will be like and this week I went from being really nervous about how she’ll do to feeling SO MUCH more confident!
Each child got a certificate to announce that they are Super Siblings and we ended the class with getting to tour the labor and delivery floor! Both kids were SO excited about it and I kept telling them that the next time they are there will be to meet their brother or sister 🙂
Zach made a good point that our hospital doesn’t allow children to come visit new babies unless they are siblings…yet they allow that entire class to go tour the floor. I bet we could have just brought Kye and Britt with us to meet Carter and no one would have said a word about it!
We got to check out a labor and delivery room and the instructor showed the kids where the baby will lay and where the mommy will be when delivering. Lord willing, it’s where our kids will get to meet Leo for the first time! SO PUMPED! Seeing it all made it very, very real!!!
We also got to go see a postpartum room and I told the kids that it’s where they will get to come get Mommy and Leo to bring us home. I also pointed out the super comfortable fold out chair Daddy will sleep in the night Leo is born haha!
To end the tour we got to go by the nursery and lucked out and a new baby was in there! The nurse even held the baby up (who was adorable and had a head FULL of hair!) for all the kids to see. It was precious and they LOVED it! Kye talked to me about it more after we were home and how cute the baby was and how it was crying a lot. Just get ready buddy 😉
When we left the hospital we lucked out again…a new mommy and daddy were actually loading their baby in the car for the first ride home! It was a TINY baby girl and so we all gushed over her and I’m sure the new parents were freaking out about all these kids gathering around haha. The dad said “I’d tell her to wave but she can’t wave yet” hahaha.
We knew a couple of the other families at the class and it’s so neat to see other kids who are so excited about a new sibling. I think we were the only ones who don’t know if we’ll be having a new little brother or a new little sister! I actually got teary eyed when we were at the nursery and when they held up that baby for our kids to see. Pretty soon it’ll be OUR baby they are holding up. This is really happening and we really are going to have a sweet new baby to love on and enjoy!
Both kids did so great and it was a fabulous class! It gave ME a lot of pointers on things I can talk to the kids about in helping them prepare for this transition. I already talked to Kye when I tucked him in about the feelings he might have and how important it is for him to know he can talk to us about his feelings. I worry more about his feelings than I do Britt’s because he’s older and understands things on a deeper level. I am nervous about my expectations of him and the pressure he’ll have as the oldest sibling. I want to make sure we don’t put too much responsibility on his shoulders! Having an open line of communication is so important during such a big transition!!!
I’m very thankful we were able to attend the class and I HIGHLY recommend it if your hospital offers something similar. It was totally free and well worth the one hour time it took! I love that the kids will feel more comfortable when coming to the hospital because they have seen it and I love that they have more confidence in their abilities as “Super Siblings!”
