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Thanks to BoBux shoes for sponsoring this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Recently on Instagram I asked my followers to send in any question they wanted. About anything in my life. And someone asked “how are we preparing Parker to become a big sister?” What a great question! Can you prepare a 3 year old, only child for her world to be completely rocked?!? UHHH NO! ha ha. But the more I started thinking about it, we have done a few things. And as the weeks have gone on I’ve actually been a little more diligent in talking about her baby sister, helping out with her baby sister, and what it looks like to be a BIG sister.
Keep in mind – I have no idea what I’m doing! I’m no child rearing expert. I have no clue if these things will wind up being helpful, harmful, or totally irrelevant. But this is what we’ve been doing to “prepare” around our house lately…
Getting Into a Big Kid Bed
The first thing our pediatrician recommended when she found out I was expecting and Parker was still in her crib, was to move her to a big kid bed. She was 2.5 and I honestly was loving her being contained in a crib. {she never once tried to climb out} But the ped brought up a great point – if the new baby comes AND Parker has to give her her bed…there might be some animosity.
So, I jumped on Wayfair and ordered THE cutest “big kid” bed I could find. I didn’t want to fool with the transition of a toddler bed {and plus our girl is used to sleeping in big beds in hotel rooms} so we ordered a full size bed and 2 sets of rails. We hyped it up for a few weeks before it arrived and the day Uncle Jim came and moved the crib out and the big bed in, we made a huge to do out of it. She’s fully aware that her baby sister will sleep in her old crib, but Parker’s had a solid 4 months to get adjusted to the idea. Fingers crossed…
Buying Small Gifts for Baby Sister
When we went to Des Moines to visit Tom earlier this season I stumbled upon the most adorable kid shop! Since little nugget #2 is another girl, I’ve tried to refrain from buying too many new things. But some things you just cant share…like pacifiers. So I brought Parker over to the paci section and we talked about the one that looked like hers and how she’s a big kid now and doesn’t use it anymore…especially since “Charlie chewed it up” (wink wink). And then we picked out one for our baby sister. It was so much fun seeing Parker get really excited about buying a gift for her sister. Honest truth – the entire rest of the trip she had to open the shopping bag at least once a day and say “dis is for my sister”.
Since then we’ve bought a few “matching” things. Like PJs and sweaters. One for Parker and one for her baby sister. But there have also been plenty of times that we just get gifts for baby sister. {and my heart melts} A few nights ago we were in Target buying pull-ups and randomly P says “mommy. I want to get a gift for my sister.” {I die} So we head over to the baby department and our baby sister now has a unicorn “lovey” waiting for her arrival. Seeing P want to give something to someone else, especially her sister, is quite possibly the sweetest thing in the world!
Organizing Toys
So I can’t take credit for this one! This one goes out to my mom! So in the midwest we have basements and praise Jesus for them! Ours looks like Toys R Us barfed from one end to the other at any given moment! Although it’s super nice that most of the mess stays downstairs, it still gives me anxiety to go down there most days. {which is probably why I avoid cleaning it up — whats the point?}. So when my mom was in town a few months ago she put her 32 years in early childhood education back to work!! She printed pictures of certain toys, glued them to construction paper, and attached them to all of our toy bins. And then proceeded with the daunting task of ORGANIZING what was Toys R Us vomit!
Fast forward a few months and Parker is correcting me on where things go…. “no mom, it doesn’t go there! SEE!”, as she points to the picture on the correct basket!
I found similar toy cards on Amazon (here). I HIGHLY recommend this! I even called her this week to say “thanks mom! You’re saving my life!” and she gave me some education schpill about pictures clues and responsibility and blah blah blah! All I know —- its made my life a heck of a lot easier. And Parker thinks cleaning up is legit fun!
Learning to Take Responsibility for Small Tasks
- dressing ourselves: This is something that I think comes naturally for 2.5 year old little girls, but we’re definitely rolling with it over here! Don’t get me wrong….when I’m in a rush its annoying, but most days its most helpful! Parker understands that “tags go in the back”, the rubber gripers of socks go on the bottom, and we’re working on left and right feet. She doesn’t always get it right, but its DEFINITELY helpful to be able to so “start getting dressed and yell if you need help.”
- bathing ourselves: Ok – lets be real for a second. I’m definitely not going to trust my 3 year old to bathe herself. ha ha. But starting the process of learning to hold a wash cloth and laying down in the bath to rinse out her hair hasn’t been the worst idea ever! Well…until this weekend. When, after she’d already had a shower, she decided to “scrub” herself with bubbles in the driveway. Hair and all. ha ha. Needless to say – we’ll keep working on this one.
- taking our plate to the sink: This one started in school. And at first it was quite annoying to me. At school they are expected to take their PAPER plates and cups and throw them in the trash/recycling after a meal. Well that’s great, because they are paper. But the minute she tried to slam my Pottery Barn ceramic plate onto our granite countertop I nearly had a stroke! BUT…we’ve worked on it! Mostly because it mattered at school. But now I’m so glad we did. She knows how to carry her {PB ceramic} plate to the trash, dump her food, and gently place it on there counter after a meal. She even knows if its a plastic kid plate to drop it over the edge into the sink. Ahhhhh! It’s the little things!
Again – I have no clue if these things will help or all go flying out the window the minute this baby arrives. And part of why some of these were implemented was because I was a single, working, PREGNANT mom for the last 4 months. But none the less – they are our efforts at “preparing” for baby sister!
PS – thanks of the question! I welcome ANY and ALL questions on any platform. So ask away.
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BOBUX KIDS SHOES
I feel like our generation is becoming increasingly more aware of comfort over style when it comes to fashion. We enjoy brands like TOMS, we wear sneakers with dresses, and rain boots have become a fashion statement. So what about for our kiddos?!?! From first learning to walk to growing like a weed, why aren’t we as concerned about whats beneath their foundation?!?! They may not be able to complain about a sore back, tight calves, or blisters – all shoe related issues – but it can happen!
Just waiting on baby sister
So when I was introduced to BoBux shoes and I did a little research I was totally blown away! Endorsed by podiatrists, this brand covers it all! From your infant to your school age kid – they’ve got it all! Head over to their website to read the EXTENSIVE info they provide about the barefoot philosophy and the growth and development of your child’s foot at every stage. They even have a video on how to properly measure your kiddos foot.
Hoping baby sister loves her shoes as much as we do!
And y’all know I don’t promote anything that we don’t truly LOVE! I can TRULY say I see a difference in Parker’s gait when she’s wearing these adorable shoes. You can tell she’s comfortable and can move with ease. She has even been begging to wear these boots in this 80 degree weather! ha ha. Not only are their shoes functional and healthy for your baby, but they are adorable as well! From tennis shoe styles to boots, they have you covered! They are made with good quality leather and insoles that come from scientific research about your childs ever growing and changing foot! What parent doesn’t want to give their kid the best foundation possible 😉 
