Waiting for Baby

When I was expecting, one of my biggest considerations was how to prepare my children for the massive transition of welcoming a new baby into our family. Waiting for Baby is a beautiful book written in the style of a child’s internal monologue and illustrated with simple, accessible artwork that meets young readers at their level. The story is driven by a young narrator reflecting on all the new and changing things happening while his mother is pregnant. It is simple and effective, gently reinforcing that curiosity is normal and that it’s okay not to know exactly what will happen. We’ve had this book for four years, and my five-year-old recently chose it for storytime again—proof that its appeal lasts even beyond the season it’s written for. I would recommend this book to any family with young children preparing to welcome a new baby.

Perfect for older sisters

I read a few negative reviews about the words before I bought it and I see what they mean but I personally liked it. It doesn't follow a story line like most books but it seems to be questions from the child's point of view. Each line is something a child might think or say so it makes for great conversation starters with your little one. The pictures are brightly illustrated and very cute. My 2 yr old son would point to the mama's belly or the baby clothes (everything really) and ask questions. I feel like it got him thinking about the process and what it means which is exactly what i wanted. I thought the book was very well done.

Everyone who says the dialogue sucks is right… BUT this book is fantastic for the pictures. My two year old loves this being read to him, and I just describe what’s going on for him. I think this book is a big part of what helped him get that there’s a baby in my belly, he loves to touch my belly and point out the baby. I’m also planning on bringing this book to the anatomy scan so he has it to reference. I also have been emphasizing “getting the baby out” at the end; like “the baby is OUT of mommy’s belly!” I’m finding this book great for conversations with my two year old, highly recommend!

Our absolute favorite big sibling board books are from Rachel Fuller's "New Baby" set (a total of 4 books, we currently have 2; "Waiting for Baby" and "My New Baby"), as they are better aligned with our "crunchy" parenting style, "My New Baby" includes breastfeeding and babywearing in a tasteful way that treats nursing as normal, and the mom in the pictures doesn't "whip it out", as some breastfeeding critics might say. I really appreciate that Fuller's "Waiting for Baby" incorporates going to prenatal appointments and ultrasounds with Mom, and toddler and Dad fixing up dinner while tired, heavily pregnant Mom is resting, an all too common sight at our house since I've had numerous health issues throughout my pregnancy, and require frequent rest, so Daddy being shown participating in the preparation for baby is greatly appreciated. EDIT for fall 2017. Big sister adjusted to her brother very well in July 2016. The only thing she didn't quite grasp from the get go, was that a baby doesn't start off as a fully fledged toddler playmate, but we didn't notice any behavior that could be described as sibling jealousy. We've gone from one big sibling to be to two kids and a third on the way, and we still love the now full set of all 4 books. I catch big sister and her brother reading these together, with the three year old "narrating" what's going on in the pictures, and the one year old middle child to be brings me this book to read quite frequently. It helps a lot to have a means of illustrating rather abstract concepts to the kids. Our now 15 month old is a little too young to understand everything he sees and hears, and I expect to see some sibling jealousy and confusion when we bring home a new baby in the coming couple of weeks, but we are hoping the illustrations will still help with the transition, as they helped his 24 month old sister when he was born.

This is a combined/comparison review of 4 “new sibling” books, for an 18-24 month old: I’m a Big Brother by Joanna Cole — my favorite sibling book. It shows a story of a new baby arriving at home (could work for adoption families too). It talks about the things babies likes to do (drink milk, sleep, cuddle) and the “special” things the big brother gets to do (eat pizza, ice cream, walk, play with toys). The main theme of this book is that the big brother is special too (mommy and daddy love big brother, it’s fun being big, now I’m special in a new way/by being a big brother). Waiting for Baby by Rachel Fuller and My New Baby by Rachel Fuller — BY FAR our toddler’s favorites. He consistently chooses these books. The book is written in a disjointed, choppy, stream of consciousness, which supposedly mimics a toddler’s thought process. Well, it works. He loves these books, he really seems to appreciate the short, simple language, and then we talk together about what’s happening in the illustrations. I love that My New Baby normalizes breastfeeding mothers. There is a 3rd book in the series about the evolving sibling relationship, which we’ll definitely be introducing after baby arrives. I am a Big Brother by Caroline Jayne Clark — our least favorite, but still a nice addition to the set.

Kids really enjoyed it

My older kid loved this book whilst waiting for his younger sibling ... He was 2.

We read this book to our son for months leading up to the second baby’s birth. I think it really helped with his transition from an only child to having a sibling. Highly recommend.

Bel libretto di facile approcci oanche per bimbi molto piccoli

Genial para explicar la llegada de un hermanito. Las imagenes son faciles de entender. Da igual qur este en ingles