Learning to be a great big brother.

Yesterday, we attended the "Sibling Class" at the hospital. We talked it up all week and told Jack he'd learn lots of cool things about the new baby coming soon. He was really excited and very attentive, even though he was the youngest in the class by at least a year! 

It is such a neat program that they put on. We got a quick hospital tour, which saved Justin and I from doing any type of pre-baby class ourselves (it would have been the only reason to take the refresher course for us - we feel like pros now! Ha ha ha.) Anyway, the teacher of the class was great - she was very patient as the kids all yelled out hilarious answers to all of her questions. ("Does your Mommy sometimes say that she can't pick you up now because she's carrying the new baby and she's really tired?" One kid, sounding very ticked off: "Yes, my Mommy sleeps on the couch ALL THE TIME and she likes to sleep A LOT.") It was really cute! 

Here are a few shots we snapped of Jack. It was pretty hands on for the parents so we didn't have a lot of time for photos, but we got some of the funniest stuff :) 

We started by learning the benefits of drinking a lot of water (?) - I think this was just a way to keep the kids entertained with a free book until everyone arrived. 

Jack inspecting his book about water. 

After everyone got settled, we read a book about how babies live in Mommy's tummy until they are big enough to come out. We watched a quick movie about how sometimes having a new baby at home makes you feel mad or sad, or left out of all the excitement, and that was okay. We all went around the table and showed off pictures of the kids as babies and talked about how much they had changed, or how much they still looked the same. 

All the kids got to "introduce" their new baby brother, sister, or surprise. Jack very clearly said he had a baby sister but when the teacher asked if he knew her name, he said "I don't know. Go go?" Like - my parents are too silly to decide a name yet and I am tired of this discussion! It was pretty funny.

We learned that babies sleep a lot, eat a lot, and cry a lot. We learned that we have to be very quiet when baby is sleeping. (And sometimes we have to let Mommy sleep too.) 

After a bunch of round table discussions like this, we got our hands on some real babies (dolls.) We learned that we can ONLY touch the baby if Mommy or Daddy said it's okay. We learned how to hold the baby...well, sort of. 

So far so good! Support her head, hold her tight...

"Hey Mommy, look at her eyes!!" Poke poke. Oops.

"She's hungry! FEED HER!!" As he shoves his hands in her mouth. 

Here is where he gently sang, "go to sleep, go to sleep"
like I sing to Jack at night. It was super cute until he
suddenly yelled "WAKE UP BABY!!!!" after that. Again - oops....

 After learning to hold the baby, we got little "diaper bags" with clean diapers, wipes, and a blanket. We practiced changing the baby, wiping the baby, and swaddling the baby. Sadly, Daddy and I needed a refresher on that (how is it possible that we forgot?!) Anyway, Jack loved it, although he kept taking off her diaper and poking her umbilical cord belly button. :)

Then we took our tour of the hospital. We saw the rooms where Mommy would be resting when we came to meet the new baby. They were as nice or nicer than my room at Newton Wellesley in Boston, which was a relief. It was, however, quite humbling? Scary? To see all of the equipment again, from the IV poles to the beds with all kinds of crazy medical stuff. It made it all a little more "real" to me and I think I started to panic. Jack loved it though and asked if we could watch the TV in the room. So funny, little man :)

After that, we went back to the classroom and made cards for our new baby. They said "Welcome New Baby" and "Happy Birthday Baby" and we put stickers and colored with crayons. Jack was excited to bring them home and I know he will like giving them to the baby.

Daddy helping. 

Making my card :) 

Overall it was a great experience for all of us. We are very excited about baby sister (still nameless!!) coming super soon!