Family learning time: Sibling class helps prepare for new baby’s arrival

Introducing your newest baby to your first born seems a little daunting.

How is my little guy going to react to his baby sister? Have we prepared him enough? Will he like her? Will he be worried that we are trying to replace him? Thoughts and insecurities race through my pregnant mind.

To help alleviate our concerns, we decided why not enroll him in the Sibling Class at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford? What better way to help prepare our boy for the arrival of our new baby than a sibling class at the hospital where we’ll deliver!

The teacher, Carol Speed, did a great job of educating the attendees – whose ages ranged from two-and-a-half (our little guy) to probably seven – on what to expect when their baby brother or sister arrives.

The mommies and daddies of the attendees were invited to stay so we all took a tour of the Siratt Women’s Center and then went back to the classroom for snacks and a short video (which was a big hit).

When the video mentioned the proper way to hold a newborn, Miss Carol passed out baby dolls to the soon-to-be big brothers and sisters. Dylan, my son, was not interested – he was too busy eating his snack. But when one of the girls in the class was asked to demonstrate how she will hold her family’s new baby, he decided to give it a shot – sort of...

Next came story time – Miss Carol invited the kiddos to read a book with her while sitting in a circle. I’ll never forget the look on my son Dylan’s face when she showed an illustration of what a baby growing inside a mommy looks like!

After a brief conversation about the new baby, it was time to practice diapering a baby doll …We missed that part, since Dylan was busy making his own diaper dirty.

Overall, we left with additional information on what to expect when Dylan’s baby sister arrives – plus a daddy-made Boo-Boo Bunny, educational materials and some goodies for the big brother.

Since he’s still a real little guy we won’t know for sure how he’ll react when the time comes, but after experiencing the class I think we have a good head start. Now, if we can just get baby sister to come out to meet us…

Mandy Forbus
Senior Marketing Specialist
Texas Health HEB