When we create a family, apart from the birth of our children, their reception and arrival in our family can be different. Much more so when the baby is introduced into a family that already has other children, we will have that responsibility of introducing the new sibling into our family core.
We will go through several phases, the first contacts, the first glances to realise who the new person is, the first questions, the first moments of affection and strangeness. There may also be moments of jealousy and not paying enough attention to the other children (although this is not intentional). Attention is more focussed on the newborn and it's perfectly natural, they're the smallest and we'll have to take more care, just as we did with their brothers or sisters.
However, we will always try to create a balance here and, ideally, the children will sympathise with each other and be the best of friends.
All this is normal. It's new, no matter how many times the parents have told them that mum is going to have a baby and that they're going to be brothers or sisters. Well, for the parents, no matter how much they've explained and answered all their children's questions to prepare them for the news to come, the moment arrives and they themselves create some kind of expectation of how their children will react, which may or may not be exceeded.
But we can add more factors when we welcome a new family member. We can mention the reaction of our relatives, the spaces our baby will live in, whether we have everything we need for the little one - pram, products, the right clothes and so many other things.
We mustn't forget that the arrival of a baby requires preparation in terms of equipment, physical and psychological. Once you arrive home with your baby, the journey begins and everything changes.
The question of how to welcome a new baby into the family can be answered in various ways, depending on each person's experiences. Above all, we want it to be a moment of joy and a homecoming made with love and serenity.
So we brought one of our Wedoble Talks guests, Andreia Vasconcelos - author of the blog Tomás My Special Baby and the book Maternity, Love and Trisomy - to talk to us about her experience of welcoming a new baby into the family. In Andreia's case, she tells us about her experience with two children at home. All her reactions, the care she took and what the whole experience was like.
We think it's an interesting and challenging topic because of the various contexts that can result. We want this experience to be rewarding and happy for everyone. We're sure you'll welcome your new baby in the best possible way and it will be a time of great affection and love.
We'd like to thank Andreia for her willingness to share her experience and answer some of the questions that came up during our conversation.
Here is the video of her sharing her interesting experience.
The video is available on Wedoble's Facebook page - https://fb.watch/lqpixyFey7/
What about you? What were your experiences? For the new parents, what's is like returning home with the new member of the family? We want to know your opinion.
