Nested Mama
  • Home
  • Doula Services
    • Fertility
    • Prenatal
    • Postpartum
  • Sleep
  • Classes
    • Breastfeeding
    • Childbirth Ed
  • Online Support
  • About
    • Meet Johanna
    • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact

Postpartum with Older Kids: how audio stories can help

4/20/2018

 
Picture
One of the topics mothers expecting their second baby often bring up in conversation is that of how to integrate older siblings and baby into family life during the postpartum period.

When offering advice and experience on this topic, I often share links to some of my favorite parenting websites (found here and here) or books that talk about sibling integration (found here and here).

Today, I’m going to share with you one of my favorite resources for creating quiet time in our day and providing my bigger kids something to do when we all need a break: Sparkle Stories. We make use of this resource all the time, even though youngest is now approaching two. But, these audio stories can be especially helpful in that postpartum window when the need for quiet breaks may be more frequent.

Sparkles Stories has a free weekly podcast, audio stories for purchase, and a monthly story subscription.  The story subscription offers access to over 1,000 audio stories. You can sort them by age (from 3+ to 9+), topic, or series. Currently, my kiddos favorite series features Martin and Sylvia - a home-schooled sibling pair who love fairies and imagination.

Sparkles Stories offers a podcast with a new story a week, as well as featuring a free story on their homepage and many free stories on the Sparkle Stories Blog. And, fantastically, they also offer a 10-day free trial, if you’d like a fuller sense of the depth of their library.

For us, Sparkle Stories doesn’t replace cuddling together and reading. Instead, the audio stories provide a perfect quiet time activity, and they give us all the a bit of a break, which we all need come the afternoon.

Anticipating a second or more baby and looking for support with sibling integration? Head over to Nested Mama to find out how a postpartum doula can aid you in this time.

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Johanna received a Ph.D. in English in 2014.  Now a postpartum doula and educator of childbirth, breastfeeding, and infant sleep, she blogs about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting.

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    February 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    Categories

    All
    Birth
    Breastfeeding
    Diy
    Doula
    Doula Business
    Eco Baby Living
    Fertility
    Food
    Local
    Local Family Fun
    Loss
    Motherhood
    Newborn
    Parenting
    Pets
    Postpartum
    Preconception
    Pregnancy
    Review
    Self Care
    Self-care
    Siblings
    Sleep
    Support
    Toddlers
    Travel
    Tricks & Tips
    Witching Hour

    RSS Feed

Home

About

BLOG
CONTACT
CLIENT PORTAL
FERTILITY

Prenatal

postpartum

CHILDBIRTH ED

Breastfeeding

SLEEP
​Serving Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and surrounding Corridor communities
Copyright © 2018
  • Home
  • Doula Services
    • Fertility
    • Prenatal
    • Postpartum
  • Sleep
  • Classes
    • Breastfeeding
    • Childbirth Ed
  • Online Support
  • About
    • Meet Johanna
    • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact