"Getting ready for baby" reading basket

Lately there has been a lot of prep for the new baby. And most of that has come in the form of talking with Logan about it. Here is a story that I wrote for the other blog that really touched my heart: Taking care of my now littlest before my future littlest gets here

In the reading basket right now is a whole bunch of books about bringing home a new baby. I wanted to list them for anyone else who has a toddler and is getting ready for a new babe. :)

Sam's New Baby from Abingdon Press

A Christan view on a older child (school age) that is getting a new baby sister. Very cute story and beautiful watercolor drawings. It talks a lot about how each child is different and special.

Biscuit and the Baby by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

A cute 'I Can Read' story about Biscuit the puppy and how he wants to meet the new baby in the house. This book features a big sister who is 'helping' Biscuit to wait until the baby wakes up before he gets to meet and smell him.

Froggy's Baby Sister by Jonathan London

Logan's favorite for the last week, this story is about how Froggy gets a new sister but she doesn't have legs yet and so he isn't able to really help. When she finally grows legs he teaches her the basics of being a frog (ie: eating flies). Logan really loved the idea of baby frogs getting 'fly mush' in a bottle. lol!

A Baby Sister for Frances by Russell Hoban

Frances has a new baby sister and she is not sure about all the changes. No one pays much attention to her... at least that is the way it seems to Frances. So she decides to run away to under the kitchen table and her parents have purposeful dialog about how everyone in the house needs Frances... even the baby. (At first the 'running away' portion bothered me, but Logan really related to the story.)

The Barenstain Bears: New Baby

This one really touched just on what we have been dealing with. Brother Bear grew out of his baby bed just in time for his new baby sister! Considering it was only two weeks ago that we got Logan his twin sized bed, Logan not only loved this book but was able to have some great conversations about growing up and getting bigger. A very cute and highly recommended book!

And my two favorites:

There's Going to be a Baby by John Burningham & Helen Oxenbury

An adorable book about a brother who is getting a new sibling. The brother is probably just about 4 years old. The drawings are incredible watercolors and there is a beautiful back and forth dialog between the mama and the little boy about what the baby may be when he grows up. There are also questions lingering like "Do we have to have a baby?" that come in during the time she is pregnant and they are very open ended, so may be very wonderful points of conversation for children who are thinking the same things, but may not know how to ask.

What Baby Needs by Dr Sears

My personal favorite so far. This book is perfectly suited to my family due to it's natural take on birth (which it doesn't go into detail), breastfeeding, co sleeping, baby wearing etc. It explains beautifully about how the baby needs to be next to the mama "just like you were" for a long time and it may seem like you never get alone time with mama anymore, but soon enough, the baby will be big enough to play with you and your mama will be able to take time to be with just you too. Wonderfully done with nice illustrations, this book may just be my standard baby shower gift for anyone with a older sibling. :)