Ellie's Big Sister Gift

In case you missed it.... it's baby week! I know I’ve said this so many times already, but I can’t believe how quickly this pregnancy has flown by. It seriously shocks me how fast time has flown. I was reading an article recently about how life changes when you have your second baby and one of the points that stood out to me was how quickly time goes the second time around. With Eleanor, I truly savored every minute of it. I held her constantly, I took a million pictures, I sang and talked to her, and it wasn’t perfect every day, but I really did relish in the moments. Thankfully, I was there for all of her firsts- first word, crawl, and steps (I’m 99% positive I was there for the firsts, but in the event that I wasn’t, thank you to our wonderful daycare for keeping it a secret so I could enjoy it). Having a second one coming so soon, I am absolutely thrilled and terrified at the same time. I texted my girlfriends about being in the single digits and how all of the emojis capture my feelings- I can’t wait to meet our little girl, I can’t wait to see Eleanor as a big sister, I’m scared about the adjustment to two children, of starting over with the newborn/infant stage, etc.

A few weeks ago, I posted about getting Ellie a Big Sister Gift and had such great ideas and suggestions from your comments- thank you so much. One idea was to not give it to her all at once, but one gift at a time as needed. That seems like such an obvious thing, but I hadn’t thought of it! I was just going to give it all to her at once in the hospital. We didn’t buy her a ton of items, but a few quiet activities to give her as we transition to a family of four. In the book Big Sisters are the Best, it talks about playing quiet games inside or noisy games outside so I chose items that would be great for inside when the baby is napping or I need to buy myself a few minutes of sanity.

Baby Doll and Bottles

I was going to hold off on getting her a doll because she has so many already, but I went ahead and got her another one. As a child, I loved bottles like this where the liquid disappears as the baby “drinks” it all and I know Ellie will enjoy it too. We plan on giving this to her in the hospital, that way she has her own baby to take care of while she visits.

Sticker Books

I bought her several different sticker books (Frozen from Target and the other two from the dollar store!) and I’m hoping that each book will give me about 15 minutes of activity before she moves onto the next activity. The things I can accomplish in that 15 minutes of glorious time includes; shower, do my makeup, fix my hair, pick up the house, solve world peace, I mean the possibilities are endless!

Play Doh

She loves when it’s Play-Doh time at pre-school and we don’t have any at home for her, so I’m excited for her to have something brand new for herself. I think this will be a nice quiet activity to do together.

Frozen Fan

Our Frozen obsession is still going strong and it’s super hot in CA right now, so I figured why not?

Crayons

Ellie loves to color and I love these twistables for her! They don’t break and they’re so easy to stash in my purse or diaper bag to keep her entertained while we’re on the go.

On The Night You Were Born and Madeline

Since we love reading books together, I bought her two special ones. On the Night You Were Born is such a sweet story and I can't wait to snuggle up with Ellie and read it to her. My sister and I always watched Madeline when we were little and when I saw this book I couldn't help but add it to my cart and check out! 

 

So we didn’t get her a whole ton (but more than I remembered as I bought everything separately), but enough items to make sure she knows she’s just as special to us as before and items to keep her busy when the baby needs tending. We have some planned activities for her once the baby arrives to make sure she’s getting attention from Matt and I and some outings with family. I’m really looking forward to our new addition and the transitions happening for our family.