sibling rivalry | Imamother

cbh

Tue, Jul 21 2009, 10:32 am

Help!
I b'h gave birth to a baby girl 2 weeks ago. My older dd, 13 months old, feels threatened by younger sibling. She begs to be held all day which I assumed would be, and I try to hold her, hug her whenever I can. When I tend the baby though, she starts acting wild. She tries to pull the baby out of my hand, slaps the baby, etc. I sit her down next to me when I nurse the baby, and I read her books and I make the baby 'kiss" her. Nothing helps! She just hates the baby! Any ideas on how to make my kids be good sisters and friends?

sho770

Fri, Jul 24 2009, 9:09 am

My oldest daughter is 21 months, and I just had a baby girl a month ago.
B"H" I don´t have your problem, all seems tobe well, except when my oldest daugter is tired, themn she might scratch the baby or hit her, indeed. But then I take the baby away from hr an maybe put her in bed - because tat´s often sign that she´s tired.

In the afternoon, when my husband comes home, I "retreat" to my room with the baby, for a more comfortable feeding time without having to bother controlling what the oldest does, since she´s then under her father´s surveillance. Sometimes they go out for a walk, to the park, play ball, etc.
Quality time with daddy, whom she loves.

Of course, since she walks, maybe that doesn´t apply to your oldest, but going out for a walk with daddy, even sitting in a stroller, is fine too. And it´s good for daddy as well.
The idea is to disctract her from the baby at least once during the day, so she won´t have it all the time in front of her, that might be hard for her to cope with.