Baby Sister

How do you explain to a 5 year old severely Autistic boy that he is going to be a big brother? Hmmmm . . . .

I’m about 22 weeks pregnant with a baby girl and my boyfriend and I are extremely excited about it. I’ve wanted another baby for a long time so this is like a dream come true.

I have told Evelio that he is having a sister and I tell him that often. He likes to push and lay against my belly as well. I just don’t think that he really understands what having a sibling means. I’m kind of nervous about how he is going to deal with having a baby around.

My sister just had a baby 3 months ago, and he’s really good with him. However, I am Evelio’s mother and he’s had me all to himself for 5 years. I’m not sure he’s going to be okay with sharing me with a baby. It makes me kind of sad for him because I just know that he’s going to be so confused. I never want him to feel as if I have replaced him. What if he wonders why he isn’t “the baby” anymore?

I know that he has a problem with aggression and this is going to be a huge adjustment for him. All I can think to do is to talk about the baby often and hope for the best.

Today, Evelio was lying against me with his head on my belly. I guess the weight of his head was bothering his baby sister so she started kicking. After she kicked his head about 3 times, he lifts up his head and gives me a huge smile and flaps his hand and says, “taaaa”, and lays his head back down. I’d like to think that he realized something was “in there” and it made him smile. I asked him if he felt his sister kick him and repeated it to reiterate the fact that he’s having a sister. Of course he didn’t respond, but I thought it was a good idea to bring up his sister while he had just felt her move.

I’m hoping he bonds well with her and I know a lot of time will have to be put into their relationship. Wish us luck!