When is best time to tell 2.8yo that they are to have a sibling?

[stclair]

Just that really!

I don't know because I haven't been there, but if i had been I would leave it till as late as you can! I always wonder when people say to a toddler "Your going to have a brother/sister in 8 months" . Do they not realise how long that is to a little one!

Congratulations btw!

i would leave it as late as possible because it's a long time for them otherwise!
i don't think i actually told ds1 when i was expecting ds2 but he just kind of picked it up when i began to get fat and people talked about it and we just naturally started telling him about it

Well my dd turned 3 at christmas and her new brother arrived last week. She has known since the start of the pregnancy really as she and her brother (5) came to the MW with me and the scans. Timing was pretty abstract though .

I would recommend as late as possible, however from bitter experience I would go with whenever they work it out and tell you!

my DD was not even 2.6 when she kept pointing at my tummy 'mummy growing a baby' I tried ignoring for 2 weeks or so, but she was adamant luckily DC2 was due after christmas so we said it would take a long long time baby would be here after christmas

was nice that she came to scans etc in the end though - was so sweet

I told my near 3 year old about a month beforehand.

The day I brought home the baby she asked who the babies Mummy was and wouldn't have it that it was me (even though she has older and younger siblings)

We're planning to tell 2.3 y.o. DS when we tell everyone else, just because we want him to hear it from us rather than pick it up from others. But we'll probably explain that I've got a tiny baby growing in my tummy rather than explaining that he'll have a small brother/sister around.

He is already quite interested in the fact that small babies grow in mummy's tummies. He'll end up coming to all the scans etc I expect, as he's not happy being left with anyone other than me or DH.

I haven't told ds (4) yet, and am 29 weeks. He is completely oblivious to the size of my bump, it seems! Planning to tell him at 30 weeks.

check with the place that does the scans angeldog. ours does not allow children in at all because they can be distracting and of course if you got upsetting news you may not want your child there.

so worth finding out beforehand.

I waited until my Dd (more or less same age as yours) noticed herself. No concept of time and the constant asking would have driven me mad.

DD1 is 3.3 and her sister is a month old. Initially we wanted to wait until 20 weeks, so we knew everything was ok. Then we decided to move her into her new room, so that we could introduce the idea that she had a 'big girls bedroom' and then suggest that as the baby's bedroom was empty we would have another baby to sleep in there. So we told her when I was 7 months.

Toddlers are amazingly wrapped up in their own little world - she came to several MW appointments (although not scans), and accepted that the 'nurse' was just checking Mummy's tummy/arm/whatever wasn't poorly. Several adults asked her 'are you excited about the baby?' - and because she didn't have a clue, she let it go right over her head. Had one of her friends said something, I think she would have paid attention to them, and it was a possibility as several were getting little brothers or sisters and they were starting to comment on my tummy, so in the end we got in before they did. She still found 2 months the longest wait ever, despite having her birthday/Christmas/starting pre school to be excited about as well.

Thank you for your advice. Dd has no idea, she came with us to the 12 week scan and knows there was a baby on the screen but didn't connect it with me, and will take her to the 20 week scan in 2 weeks and take it from there. I think we will leave it as late as possible though . . . She has started taking an interest in friends little babies which is promising!

DS1 was 3.2 when DS2 was born. We told him quite early on that there was a baby in my tummy, but it wasn't until about a month before the birth that we explained it would soon be a baby who would live in our family and be his brother.

He took it all completely in his stride, and thankfully was quite happy with his baby brother once he arrived.

Thanks for the warning thisisyesterday - I'll be sure to check now. I really hope they allow children here, or it means DH not being able to come to the scan. :(