We always brought out the gift the first time older sibling and baby met. It worked well for us.

Kids know may not fully understand what is going on, but they know something is different. DS#1 was 23 months when DS#2 was born. DS#1 woke up around 2 am when I started going into labor. He refused to go back to sleep. He stayed awake until around 3 pm when he visited me and ds#2 at the hospital. Mil had brought a balloon and we tied that to ds's pacifier. He fell asleep at the hospital with the pacifier in his mouth and the balloon still attached.

Good luck. I hope everything goes well and your dd is happy with the new baby.

Gosh.....My 3 oldest kids must have really felt left out when their siblings were born! They never got a gift from the new baby.Guess I should ask them how they coped!LOL
Sorry,I'm not putting anyone down for doing that but it just sounds so silly to me to feel the need to give a gift to a younger sibling from a newborn.Kind of like giving a gift to a younger sibling of a child having a birthday so the other doesn't feel "left out".(I knew people who did that).LOL Back in my day it was never even thought of.We prepared the older ones for the new baby for the months during the pregnancy and when the baby came they loved it.I guess the new baby was the only "gift" needed.But hey,my kids are almost middle aged now so what do I know!LOL
To answer your question,the most sensible time (in my opinion) would be when the "big" brother/sister is first introduced to the baby.
Congratulations on the new baby Teresa.

That's very lovely and thoughtful of you, Teresa. Older siblings who are used to being the "baby" definitely often have a hard time with the transition. Much attention is all of a sudden heaped on the new baby, and the older sibling can feel left out. I think that anything parents can do to make the new arrival easier is wonderful! I know my older sister hated me for several months after I was born (and she was 3 1/2 then, too)!

When Benjamin was born, Sophie had just turned 3. She had picked out one of her toys to give to the baby, and made him a card. We bought her a t-shirt that says "I'm the big sister" and a few little things for her when she came to the hospital to meet him. She adored him from the start, but there was still a strange adjustment period for her once we brought him home.

As for your question, my suggestion would be to maybe give 1/2 at the hospital, and 1/2 when you bring the baby home?

We always made a big deal about the "Big Sister"....

Like when company would come to see the baby...as they came in we would introduce the new "Big Sister" who we had all dressed up...to them.

It doesn't take a whole lot to make them feel important.

patti

lilliepad so must have mine, lol...the 2 older kids got a baby each to "have", lol...

i think my kids have given the present in the quiet of the home, although my dgs got one from his other grandma at the hospital...

I would give it to her when the baby comes home. And maybe, if it's small enough, tuck it into the car seat or baby carrier with him.

My DD was 3 1/2 when her brother was born--she was VERY excited, she'd been wanting her brother.

She never really was jealous, but I know that when I was nursing, she wished she could sit with me, or on my lap, etc.

So, I made a point of reading to her while we were nursing. Since I was holding the baby, she held the book and turned the page. I had her sit on a chair a teeny bit lower so it was easy to read the words.

We have a good time with that, and it kept her from feeling so terribly left out during nursing, which looked like such a nice snuggle time to her.

And, I made sure to have some time just for us, w/ no baby--it helped that he slept so much. And, at dinner time, it was just her and us, since the baby couldn't sit at the table, so we got lots of familiy conversation then.

Also, at 3 1/2, she wasn't *that* snuggly or needy, and didn't need so much attention, the way she did when she was 2 or so. She normally played on her own, etc., so she didn't miss our direct attention that much. And she could understand the idea that right now, the baby needed me (heck, he was screaming!), and that I'd help her in just a minute.

She also I think liked the idea of doing things a bit more independently, since I couldn't do things for her.

I remember that when my third child was born, my second child & oldest daughter began to stutter. I became very concerned about it and asked the pediatrician's advice. He told me it was very traumatic to some children when they felt replaced by the new baby. He said to let my daughter hold the new baby and feed it, and to tell her it was her baby. I did that and, thankfully, it worked. She stopped stuttering within a couple of days.

When the twins were born, it was other people that gave gifts to big brother. He would have figured out that a newborn couldn't "give" him a gift. Several of my friends sent him gifts, which I thought was precious. One of DD's friends gave big brother a disposable camera and he enjoyed that.

When my best friend from high school had her second son, the oldest was about 3-4 (booster seat size, LOL). A few weeks after the baby came home, I took big brother to the park, shopping, and out to eat. Mommy, Daddy, and baby stayed home. Noah seemed to REALLY like the attention. All of the pictures have him either smiling ear to ear or sound asleep in his car seat. I do suggest that you don't let a little boy that age pick out a "nerf-type" ball. Found out the next day that he had picked the whole thing apart that night! They had let him take it to bed so apparently I wan't the only one that thought it was an okay toy!

Save the gift for when you return home with the new baby. By the way, congratulations! I hope you bring your 3 YO to the hospital to visit the baby. She will be so excited! And don't be surprised if she starts thinking the baby is "hers." This is based on my own memories of the birth of my own sister Bonnie. I was 3 years and 2 months old when Bonnie was born. Her real name is Barbara, I named her "Bonnie".

My opinion, is when the two first meet.

Congratulations and blessings to you and your family!

When I came home with the new baby DH put him in a carrier/seat commonly used back then. I carried big brother's new (doll) baby...in it's own little carrier with it's bottle, pacifier and rattler.

DH didn't much like the idea of his son having a doll but got over it when he saw how well it worked & that there was no jealousy or regressive behaviors. We carried out the same routine when each of the others came along & it made life so much easier than what I saw friends going through.
Suzi