Mommy Breastfeeds My Baby Brother (Hardcover, Ages 2-6)
While Jenna’s new baby brother is being breastfed, she learns the importance of nursing and looks forward to her own time with Mom and Dad and her special Feeding Time Toys.
I am not sure if it was all the ‘big sister’ hype Bob and I did for Brooke, our preschooler, before Brie was born, but Brooke loves being an older sister. I was super concerned she would not feel that way because everyone seemed to come out of the woodwork when I was pregnant with my youngest to tell me about sibling rivalry! I was told and given advice that seemed to contradict itself in no time. Stuck between elation and horror, having another baby may/may not be the best/worst thing that ever happened to my first born! We took several approaches from story telling (books were the best and she still loves and wants me to re-read several we used) to dressing up in big sister gear to even packing Brooke a bag to go to the hospital for when I went into labor. Yet, I think the main thing was that we kept a lot of conversations going as to how life would be after little sis was here. Brooke loved to mimic and talk to her bear about the baby who ‘didn’t know how to do anything’. I didn’t have the book Mommy Breastfeeds My Baby Brother when I was pregnant, but as someone who reads a lot of children’s books and cares about early childhood education, I thought this book was a brilliant idea and one I had to check out!
The author of Mommy Breastfeeds My Baby Brother is a father who wrote this story through personal experience when he and his wife brought home a baby brother to their two year old daughter. His oldest child was confused about breastfeeding and he, like my family, likes to tell life experiences through books with his kids. There are lots of great tips from parents who have been through a new baby with a older sibling in the age range of two to six. I love the importance of talking to your older child about playing quietly during the baby’s feeding times. We did the same thing for nap times, too! In Bob’s and my experience, talking through and role playing before new situations with Brooke greatly reduced her apprehension of having a new baby come stay with us – gasp- permanently! It is great to reinforce new situations by re-reading books like these and we do like to appreciate Brooke by saying how much we enjoy when she is a sweet big sister. She will usually say, “Yes, I am a sweet older sister” quite proudly.
I’d love to see this book in a version where the baby is a sister. Since my child is still a preschooler I had no trouble saying ‘sister’ instead of ‘brother’ in the book and I will note that those distinctions are important to my daughter who is quite adamant she has a sister and likes her books to talk about sisters! Preschoolers!
Letter to the Parents! This is a must read letter to parents who want to or have purchased this book to read to your child.
Did you hear about this one? Since not everyone has easy access to breastfeeding support, Google is providing free support through their health section of Google Helpouts. They have lactation experts that can help with breastfeeding problems. Spread the word about this FREE resource. (from: Forbes magazine taken from Mommy Breastfeed’s Facebook page.)
Mommy Breastfeeds My Baby Brother (Paperback, Ages 2-6)
List Price: $ 16.99 (Currently on sale for $13.42 through Amazon.com)
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