| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 905.1 | We say YES | DPDMAI::CAMPAGNA | Where is Harvard Yard AT? | Wed May 15 1991 17:41 | 8 |
| We attended the one offered at Worcester Memorial with a 2.75 year old
and it was a great success. They saw movies, put diapers on their bears
and visited the nursury and maternity ward. It was especially helpful
in my case because I ended up being in the hospital for two weeks
before delivery, and Alexander could visualize where mommy was, and
when he visited, he had been there before. They also gave him a award
certificate for his room for being a "Big Brother" and completing the
class.
|
| 905.2 | I'd recommend it\ | CSSE32::RANDALL | Bonnie Randall Schutzman, CSSE/DSS | Wed May 15 1991 19:23 | 9 |
| We took Steven, who was 5 at the time, to one of these classes
when I was pregnant with David. He enjoyed it a lot, seemed to
learn from it, and was quite relaxed when it came time for me to
go to the hospital.
When we drive past, he still points out the place where I went to
get David out of my tummy.
--bonnie
|
| 905.3 | Sib classes in D.C.! | MAMTS5::DHOWARD | He who laughs, lasts! | Wed May 15 1991 19:32 | 10 |
| I have Chase signed up to attend in July (same month I'm due; and he'll
be 3 that month). The whole thing lasts 2 hours (including a snack).
This sib class includes learning how to hold the baby, what babies do
(cry, sleep, drink), and I think they even get to color a picture that
is filed and hung on the hospital bassinet when the new one arrives!
They have the classes broken down into 2 groups - 2/3 and
4/5-year-olds. I hope he likes it!
Dale
|
| 905.4 | do-it-yourself approach | TLE::STOCKSPDS | Cheryl Stocks | Wed May 15 1991 20:17 | 18 |
| Kate,
My son David was 2 1/2 when his younger brother was born. We considered
signing him up for the sibling class, but didn't get around to it (story
of my life...). However, we did make several visits to the hospital
starting a couple of months before my due date, to show David the
nursery and "the room where Mommy will stay with the new baby". He
was fascinated by the nursery, and when he came to visit while I was
in the hospital, he would spend at most 10 minutes in my room, and then
ask if he could go "look at all the babies, please?". He also greatly
enjoyed the elevator and the drinking fountains.
Our hospital was quite willing to let us do our own sort of orientation
session for him, and it worked out very well. You might call the
maternity ward at your hospital and see if you could do something
similar. (Or maybe you have an idea of how open they are from your last
stay there, if it's the same hospital where you had your first child.)
cheryl
|
| 905.5 | Yes | HYSTER::DELISLE | | Thu May 16 1991 13:16 | 17 |
| We did the Sibling Class with our three when #4 was born, and I too
would greatly recommend it. It didn't cost us anything, only lasted
about 2 hours, and the kids enjoyed it.
Basically they showed a 20 minute cartoon on having a new baby in the
house. They had an actual doll that looked just like a newborn with
the cord still attached etc and explained it to the children. Then
they took us on a tour of the maternity ward, showed us the birthing
room where Mommy would have the baby. At the end they brought out a
brand new baby (with parent's permission of course), and the nurse held
the baby while the children took a good long look.
The kids absorbed a lot in those two hours, and when it came time for
me to go to the hospital, I think they understood quite well where I
was going, what was going to happen, and we'd be coming home with a
brand new little brother.
|
| 905.6 | Yes, the class was good | IAMOK::MACDOWELL | | Thu May 16 1991 14:27 | 25 |
| Kate,
Katie was 2 1/2 when Jenny was born, and did the "sibling class" at
Brigham and Women's Hospital. For her, the best part was the
tour...seeing the room that Mommy was going to stay in, seeing some
real newborns in the nursery so she'd know what to expect. They also
colored a picture for Mommy to bring to the hospital and saw the movie
"What about me?" (which some OB's lend out to patients), that I thought
was a little long and geared more towards older kids. They also
learned "rules" about how to hold a baby (Make a lap, one arm under,
one over) which came in handy after Jenny was born.
My favorite sibling book is "Big Like Me" by Anna Grossnickle
Hines...focuses on a big brother and baby sister..teaching her about
the world. (I know you didn't ask about books--but I have a book on
everything)
And, as long as I've gotten off the track, my favorite sibling/hospital
tip was to bring a picture of the sibling with you to the hospital, so
they'll see it next to your bed when the come for the visit. (I guess
I did ok convincing Katie that I missed her, because at the end of her
visit after Jenny was born, she turned to leave and said "Don't worry
Mommy, we'll come back and get you tommorrow".)
|
| 905.7 | Good class... | NEWPRT::WAHL_RO | | Thu May 16 1991 16:44 | 13 |
|
I vote yes with all the other noters. My son got to bring a stuffed
bunny to diaper. He did extremely well, of course the bunny holds
still...They saw a film, named the contents of a diaper bag and a few
other games. There was also a film for just the parents to see. If I
remember correctly, the classes were broken out in groups by age, under
5 and 5 to 11.
The class also handed out a book by Vicky Lansky, I can't remember the
title. I read several books about siblings and rivalry. It was a real
concern which hasn't happened yet. [#2 will be 1 on Saturday].
Rochelle
|