It’s such a precious time in a woman’s life to carry a new baby, especially if there are other siblings involved. At least that was the case for me anyways. There are many ways to share the wonderful news with your children, depending on their age. I have a four and three year old, so I found some cute ideas on the search engine and pinterest that will spark their interest that is age appropriate. Include your kids with every event happening during your pregnancy! They will be very appreciative if you take them to every baby appointment, plan a gender reveal party with them, and take them shopping for new baby things! Also, it’s best to know your child’s likes and dislikes and think of ways to incorporate gifts, games, and/or food to tell the exciting news. Both of my toddlers are very adventurous and I planned a little scavenger hunt and had them open up a gift relating to a new baby on the way. I’m very open with my children about everything so talking about babies before getting pregnant is a wonderful starting point with any age. Karis and Hezekiah were always so fascinated with babies when they saw a baby anywhere we went. They just stared at babies in such endearment. Karis started to get curious about babies when she was three years old and Hezekiah just followed in her foot steps at such a young age as well. That is when Karis started asking for a baby sister was around three years old. I knew I wanted to grow my family more eventually, but didn’t know when. God is in complete control over that. Karis and I talked about babies all the time in our car driving to places and she would blurt out that she’s praying for one. Hearing those words warmed my heart and made me want another baby, but knew God will give us another baby when it’s the right time.

Finding out I was pregnant

Well, I found out I was pregnant in August of 2022, and started to plan the best way to tell our kids. My excitement grew everyday. After my midwife appointment in September at 10 weeks along, I decided to plan ways to tell Karis and Hezekiah the news in a very sweet way. What’s so special about my midwife, Beth, is that she delivered both Karis and Hezekiah! Now having another one on the way for her to help deliver is such a beautiful experience I will never forget. Before I told the kids the news, Karis started to tell me that I have a baby in my belly and that my belly is getting bigger! I didn’t say much other than keep praying for a baby sibling!

Last minute prep before sharing the news with my toddlers!

Before my toddlers came to their first midwife appointment and meeting Beth the first time since being a fresh newborn, I planned a day to share the news about a baby is on the way! I bought a few items I found at the dollar store for the scavenger hunt that were ring pops, 3 rubber duck bath toys, a teething ring, baby spoons and gummy bears. Then when I got to my car I happily wrote short sentences on a four pieces of paper that would hopefully give them clues about a baby. I knew this was the perfect game for them! My husband Sven, and I told our kids that we have gifts for them towards the end of the day! I love how innocent and excited toddlers are. Early October of 2022, I ordered this pregnancy sign from Etsy (link here). We drove to a park and took pictures of them without telling them the news yet. They just looked cute and smiled the whole time.
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We then ate lunch at zips and drove to a park closer to our house for the game! My anticipation grew with every step I took hiding the clues for the scavenger hunt.

The news is out!

Ready, set, action! The camera is rolling and the game begins. We read one clue at a time until all four were read. After the game ended, there was a gift for each of them. As they opened the gift bag Heze’s reaction was priceless. He threw the book up in the air and found gummy bears at the bottom of the bag! he was so excited.

His eyes were glued on the gummy bears. I laughed so hard that I almost peed my pants, haha. Karis was quietly looking at the book we bought her off Amazon. Sven and I decided to read them one of the books and recorded the time we were reading about a baby in mommy’s belly. Within 20 minutes of us reading and asking them a few questions, we told them another baby was on the way and that God answered Karis’ prayers!!! Her reaction was so sweet and she was thrilled.

John 14:14 “If you ask anything in my name I will do it” is the Bible verse Karis has kept close to her heart all this time.

I planned a special gender reveal party

After the news was officially out and friends and family knew, I then planned a small gender reveal party to surprise my husband and two toddlers with the gender. Karis and Hezekiah went with Sven and I to our midwife appointment and they were in love with their new baby sibling! My midwife has a small ultrasound machine inside her home and was able to see the small baby. The kids were in such awe. I planned a sweet gender reveal to make this pregnancy journey even more amazing for them. I bought decorations from the dollar store and ordered a cake that had the gender color in it! Sven, Karis and Hezekiah all enjoy eating cake and the look on their faces when they saw the color pink was priceless!

Educating toddlers about the new baby

Karis, Hezekiah, and I have a very strong and close relationship, so educating them is a piece of cake. Over the time I’ve been pregnant with this little new one, I’ve been showing my toddlers pictures when they were infants and telling them this is what your sister will look like. Another way, I include my kids on this pregnancy journey is that I have them talk to the baby and put their hand on my belly to feel her kick. They love their little sister so much and will have a wonderful relationship with her. This is my third home birth so I’ve been watching home birth videos on YouTube with them and educating them on where babies come out from. I’d say just be transparent with your kids answer all of their questions that they have and be open. The more you communicate with your kids the better the relationship is.