Welcoming a New Baby into Our Montessori Family

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She’s here!!! My new granddaughter (and Zoey’s sister), Sophia, was born on Monday morning! She is adorable!!! We’re all totally in love with her.

Here are some ways we helped Zoey prepare for a new baby along with our welcome into the family.

Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Using a Topponcino

The Joy of Being a Big Sister

A topponcino is a Montessori essential for families with new babies who have siblings. It’s wonderful for anyone with a new baby, though. A topponcino is like a security pillow or small mattress that gives the baby a sense of security, stability of smells, and an easy transfer from visitors who are holding the new baby. It’s also a safer way for a sibling to hold the new baby.

Topponcino from Topponcino n More on Etsy

These are the topponcinos I got for Zoey’s family and my home. We have a mixture of eyelet covers and other covers.

Enjoying Her New Baby Sister, Who’s in a Montessori Topponcino

Obviously, a topponcino still needs to be used with young siblings with lots of supervision. In this photo, you can see my husband, Zoey’s grandpa, on one side of Zoey. My daughter, Christina is on the other side.

Of course, we will have a Montessori baby space in our house with the topponcino on a floor bed when someone isn’t holding Sophia in it.

Our Baby Doll Washing and Baby Care Activities

I have a sweet video and lots of resources for preparing a baby doll washing and baby care activity. These sorts of activities are very helpful for bringing out the nurturing side of a new sibling.

Loving Her New Baby Sister

Some of Our Favorite Books about Welcoming a New Baby

There are lots of wonderful books to help a child prepare for a new sibling. Some of my favorite Montessori-friendly books are:

Family Members You’ll See on Living Montessori Now

Who You’ll See on Living Montessori Now

The blog posts are all written by me, Deb Chitwood. I have blog posts for all ages, even a category of posts for babies. That category will be growing larger!

You’ll see Zoey (4 years old), baby Sophia, Christina (my daughter and Zoey and Sophia’s aunt) and (after March) Christina’s baby on our Living Montessori Now YouTube channel. Christina’s husband, Tom, composes the music for our videos through his site at MusicCatRF.com. (Note: Tom has lots of Creative Commons music that’s free for bloggers – or anyone – even for commercial use with attribution.) You’ll also see new photos of Zoey and Sophia on Instagram!

My husband (Grandpa Terry) and Zoey and Sophia’s parents, Will and Chea, are always there in the background giving love and support and working to follow the kids’ interests. 🙂

We hope you’ll join us as we continue living Montessori now!

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy! I’m also one of the coauthors of the book Learn with Play – 150+ Activities for Year-round Fun & Learning!

The Montessori at Home! eBook and Montessori at Home! eBook and Materials Bundle are AMAZING resources! You can learn more about them here. Buy them in the Living Montessori Now shop.

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