Being pregnant is exhausting, time consuming and more often than not you simply want to spend your days with your feet up, at least in the first and third trimester.
However, when you have other children to care for, you can’t simply sit back and relax or change your schedule too much – older children might already be feeling a little left out as it is without having to endure too much change.
Thankfully, staying connected with your older child is not that difficult nor is it that exhausting - we have some great tips to help you:
Each of you should keep a journal
Get a journal or a diary for yourself and your child and both of you write down how you are feeling each week - not just about the impending arrival but everyday things as well. Sometimes it can be hard to talk about your feelings, but writing them down is a great and effective way to share what both of you are thinking and help you connect.
Read a bedtime story
Choose a book together – a series or a child-friendly novel will take you right through the majority of your pregnancy. Why not take it in turns to read to each other - this would definitely work in your favour when you are tired. It only takes about ten minutes and you can get into bed beside them and cuddle up.
Organise a date
Schedule in a day, either weekly or monthly, when it is just the two of you. It could be a trip to the cinema or the park or you could even go out for lunch together, it doesn’t really matter as long as it is just you and them and little baby talk.
Talk about their birth
Your little one is obviously going to be very interested in babies, pregnancy and birth in general, so talk to them about their own birth. This will help them not only understand what is going but also enable them feel connected with you as you reminisce on what they were like as a baby.
