Bringing home a newborn is a little different the second time around. With your first child, you're focused on figuring out how to care for a baby. With the second baby, you're likely to wonder how your older child will react to having a new sibling — and how you're going to meet both of their needs. Here's help making the adjustment. Parents often spend a lot of time preparing for the new member of the family, and after the baby arrives, often the family's attention is focused on caring for the newborn.

All these changes can be hard for older siblings to handle. It's common for them to feel jealousy toward the newborn and to react by acting out. We parents can help with this family crises by:

• Talking about babies, show their baby pictures and discuss what babies needs to grow stronger like them.
• Reading age-appropriate books about childbirth
• Pretend play activities with baby dolls, including lessons on how to hold a baby, explanations of how a baby is born, and opportunities for kids to discuss their feelings about having a new brother or sister.
• Pretend play going to the doctor to hear the baby's heartbeat.