Books for Big brother to be!

My sister works in an independent childrens bookshop and is a literatury genius in my eyes. She recommended the first of these three books for explaining a new baby in family and I'm on a hunt for some more!

There's a House inside my Mummy did not strike me as a good title at first, but I'm pleased I took it out of the library as it's so beautifully written and illustrated with a gentle feel that encapsulates how a toddler feels on understanding how there is a baby in his mummy's tummy. I like how it was written by a dad, Giles Andreae, when imagining how his 2 year old son was thinking. TBH I'm a bit bored of it now as Leon insisted on reading it so often, but I love that he loved it and could relate to the little boy in the book.



We also borrowed There's going to be a baby (John Burningham & Helen Oxenbury) with fabulous illustrations of daily life of a pregnant mother and her son through the seasons. This one goes a bit further with the child imagining how the new baby will be in the future and all the questions he asks his mother. It's a bit longer and I edit the text when reading it aloud to Leon, but think it's beautifully illustrated and interesting to understand an older toddler's point of view.




Although there's no older sibling in The Story of the Nativity this beautiful book (Anna Milbourne & Alessandra Roberti), a gift from my mother, was read a lot in the run up to Christmas and shows a pregnant Mary and then sweet baby Jesus spelling it all nicely out for my toddler. He always points out 'daddy' as the Joseph illustration does resemble my man quite a bit!

Baby in her tummy

Baby out of tummy

So, with those books, seeing other real young babies, and listening to my explanations, I think he now understands what will be coming next. I hope he accepts his little brother when he comes, and understands that he's here to stay and that I love him just as much.

I find I'm making the most of our last few weeks/days together before we're joined by the new baby and cherishing our 2 years we've had already. It will be a lot to grasp- someone mentioned an awful analogy: it's as if your husband brings home another woman and everyone says how beautiful and lovely she is and you're expected to live with it. I hope that Leon doesn't feel sidelined but that he learns to share our time and love his new sibling.

If you have any tips to share for introducing a newborn to a just turned 2 year old please let me know!