Families come in all shapes and sizes, but every family loves a new baby! Whether this is your first child or your twenty-first, though, your home life is bound to change a bit over the next 9 months.
Your other kids
One of the greatest challenges many women face during pregnancy is explaining to their other kids how this growing bump came to be – seriously, think about it! Your curious critters may be young enough to stall with tales of the Stork, but older kids’ questions may be a bit more probing. However you choose to proceed, just make sure you have a plan thought out for if this occurs – it’s better to be safe than sorry (incidentally a likely lesson in “the talk”).
Even if your kids don’t interrogate you about where Baby came from, balancing your pregnancy and new baby and your pre-existing kids can be difficult, so depending on their age, it might be nice to let them know in advance that there is going to be a new brother or sister on the way who, as a baby, is going to take up a bit of your and your partner’s time.
Make sure they know they’ll still get plenty of time with you, and prepare for a little jealousy, but the best way to help your children feel good about the new baby is to encourage them to get involved with helping you out with the new arrival. It’s definitely better to let them know sooner so that they have time to prepare for Baby, and don’t see the new addition to the family as a rival for your affection.
Your partner
Of all people, your partner should be the most supportive and understanding while you’re pregnant – after all, Baby is theirs as well! Make sure that your partner knows what you’re going through if you’re experiencing any particular difficult symptoms or times, and is available to help.
On the other hand, it’s also a good idea to keep in mind that other children might not be the only ones who’ll end up feeling jealous of your time – your partner may be an adult, but that doesn’t mean they might not still end up missing you, with so much of your time and energy going towards the new baby.
The best way to cut any jealousy off is to make sure they’re involved as they can be in preparing for the new baby, even if they’re not the one who’s carrying them.
If you are the primary caretaker of your children, you might need to explain to your partner that they need to up their domestic duties, as you may need help with the kids and maintaining the house during the 9 months to Baby.
