Time Out

Today Tempe had her first official time out ever! She has been pretty good with the baby, but when Dad was getting Helena dressed, Tempe lay down next to her and kicked her! Poor Helena was already upset about getting changed, and being kicked just made it worse. So Tempe had to sit on the couch without her Cookie Monster and Elmo toys for a minute until she was ready to listen and be nice to her little sister. She didn't like it one bit, but she did stay where I put her until I told her she could get down!

We've been trying to think of ways to help Tempe adjust to her new sister, and one of the things we've done seems to be working pretty well. Tempe loves wearing bracelets and necklaces, so I made her a special "Big Sister" bracelet. Every morning when she gets dressed she puts it on, and as long as she is nice to Helena she gets to wear it... but if she takes something away from Helena or does something mean, we have to take it off until she can be nice again. She really loves wearing her bracelet so it has been a big motivator to be nice! Besides that, we have just tried to involve her as much as possible--Tempe helps me by bringing wipes and diapers when Helena needs a diaper change, or picks things up for me when I am holding the baby and can't reach them. She likes babies in general, but she isn't sure about sharing Mom and Dad's attention.