A New Baby in Our House

This is Bo.

Bo lives in a house with a blue front door, a squeaky stair, and a grown-up who loves Bo very, very much.

One day, Bo’s grown-up said, “Bo, I’ve got some news. A new baby is coming to live in our house. A baby brother or a baby sister, for you.”

“Where?” said Bo, and looked under the sofa.

“Not there,” laughed Bo’s grown-up. “In here. The baby is growing in here, snug and safe.” And they patted the round, round bump.

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The bump grew. And grew. And GREW.

Bo put an ear on the bump and listened.

“Hello, Baby?”

Nothing.

Then… bump! A tiny kick.

“I think the baby likes your voice,” said Bo’s grown-up.

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Then one day, the baby came.

The baby was very small and very new. The baby had tiny fingers, a squashy nose and no teeth at all.

“Hello, Baby,” said Bo.

The baby didn’t say hello back. The baby just blinked.

And then the baby cried.

WAAAH!

The baby cried in the morning. WAAAH!

The baby cried at lunchtime. WAAAH!

The baby cried in the middle of the night. WAAAH! WAAAH!

Bo put two hands over two ears.

The baby needed feeding. The baby needed changing. The baby needed cuddles, and cuddles, and more cuddles.

Rock, rock, rock. Pat, pat, pat. Shh, shh, shh.

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“Look at my tower!” said Bo.

“In a minute,” said Bo’s grown-up, rocking the baby.

“Read me a book!” said Bo.

“In a minute,” said Bo’s grown-up, feeding the baby.

In a minute. In a minute. Always in a minute!

Bo stamped one foot. Stamp!

Bo stamped the other foot. Stamp!

“I don’t LIKE the baby!” said Bo. “Send it back!”

And Bo lay down on the floor and cried, just like the baby. WAAAH!

Bo felt hot and cross and wobbly inside, all at the same time.

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When the baby was asleep at last, Bo’s grown-up laid the baby on their back in the Moses basket.

Then they came and sat on the floor, right next to Bo.

“You’re feeling cross,” they said softly. “Cross, and a bit sad. That’s all right. Babies are a lot of crying, and not much fun yet, are they?”

“No,” said Bo.

“I miss you,” said Bo, in a very small voice.

“I miss you too,” said Bo’s grown-up. And they scooped Bo up and rocked Bo, just like a baby, until Bo started to giggle.

“How about some time that’s just ours?” they said. “Just you and me.”

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So every day, when the baby was asleep, or someone else was holding the baby, Bo and Bo’s grown-up had time that was just theirs.

They built a tower, the tallest tower ever.

They read Bo’s favourite book. Twice.

They had a big, squeezy cuddle on the sofa.

Just you and me, just me and you, one big cuddle, and a kiss or two.

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One afternoon, the baby was crying again. WAAAH!

Bo’s grown-up rocked and patted and shushed. Rock, rock. Pat, pat. Shh, shh.

Bo had an idea. Bo leaned in close and pulled the funniest face Bo could make. Then Bo sang the wiggle song.

“Wiggle your nose and wiggle your toes, wiggle and wiggle, and off it goes!”

The baby stopped crying, just for a moment.

The baby looked at Bo. Looked and looked, with big round eyes.

“Look at that,” said Bo’s grown-up. “The baby is watching you. I think you’re the most interesting person in the whole house.”

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So that became Bo’s job. A job only a big brother or a big sister can do.

Bo showed the baby how to clap. Clap, clap, clap!

Bo showed the baby how to stamp. Stamp, stamp, stamp!

Bo showed the baby the moon in the window. “That’s the moon, Baby. It comes every night.”

The baby couldn’t clap yet, or stamp, or say “moon”.

But the baby watched Bo. Every single time.

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Some days, Bo liked the baby.

Some days, Bo didn’t like the baby, not one bit.

And some days, it was a little bit of both.

The baby still cried. And sometimes, Bo still had to wait.

But every night, when the baby was asleep, Bo’s grown-up came to Bo’s room for a story and a song, just like always.

“Night night, Baby,” whispered Bo, through the door.

Then Bo snuggled down, and Bo’s grown-up snuggled close.

Just you and me, just me and you, one big cuddle, and a kiss or two.

Night night, big Bo.

The End

About this story

A new baby changes everything for a toddler, and not all of it feels good. Bo meets the bump, then the baby, then the crying, then a grown-up who keeps saying “in a minute”. Bo gets cross, says “Send it back!” and lies on the floor wailing like the baby. Nobody tells Bo off for it. The grown-up notices, names the feeling and makes room for time that’s just theirs.

We didn’t want a story that promises your child will love the baby straight away. By the end Bo has found a job only a big brother or sister can do, being the person the baby loves to watch, but Bo still likes the baby on some days and not on others. The cuddle at bedtime, “just you and me”, is still there either way.

Reading it aloud

• When to read it: it works before the baby comes, as a gentle way to talk about what’s ahead, and in the first weeks after, when the crying and the waiting are real. Read it as often as your toddler asks.
• Make it yours: say “Mummy”, “Daddy”, “Mama”, “Papa” or whatever your child calls you instead of “Bo’s grown-up”, and “two grown-ups” if there are two of you. Swap Bo for your child’s name if they like that, and say “brother” or “sister” once you know.
• Join in: do the big “WAAAH!”, the stamps, and the rock, pat and shush. Let your toddler finish the refrain: “one big cuddle, and a kiss or two”, then do it.
• Talk about Bo’s feelings: “Bo was cross. Do you ever feel cross about the baby?” If they say yes, that’s fine. You could tell them what you love doing with just them.
• Make up your own wiggle song, and let your toddler try it on the baby.