If you think that you can bring a new baby home without the family routineskipping a beat, you're kidding yourself. A new family member means change foreveryone: you, your child, even the family pooch or kitty.

The good news is that with a little forethought and patience, you can teacheveryone that life goes on -- not the same, maybe, but with plenty of love togo around.

"One of the major tasks for an older child is to realize they haven'tlost their important position as king or queen of the mountain," says Dr.Joseph Hagan, a pediatrician from South Burlington, Vt., and clinical associateprofessor of pediatrics at University of Vermont College of Medicine. "Nowthere are two (or three or four) royalty holding that place."

With some planning, even Frisky can stay curled on the throne.

Preparing for a Birthday Party

How much your child understands about having a new sibling will depend inpart on the child's age and how much he can comprehend. But nestled together onyour ever-expanding lap can be a good starting point to talk about the new babyand what infants are like.

If your child is still using a crib, try switching him to a new bed at leasta few months before the new baby arrives so that he doesn't feel he's beingusurped. Dr. Hagan says you don't have to remove the crib, but use it forsomething else, such as stuffed animals. And, don't refer to it as your child'scrib but as "the baby crib." Same with old baby clothes.

"You want to disconnect its ownership ... that these are items ourfamily uses for our babies, not just our former baby," says Hagan, whoserves on the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on psychosocial aspectsof child and family health.

Leslie Kincaid Burby of New York took her then 3-year-old son, Henry, to allher midwife appointments so he could hear the baby's heartbeat. She also sharedold photos with Henry so he could visualize what newborns are like, how theynurse and more.

But Dr. Hyman Tolmas, a pediatrician in New Orleans, says not to make toobig a deal too early. You can let them feel the baby kick, but don't focus toomuch on it or overdo the "big boy" or "big girl" role, whichmight exacerbate regression later.

"Nine months is a long time for a child to have to wait for a babybrother or sister," says Dr. Tolmas, clinical professor of pediatricsemeritus at Tulane University School of Medicine, clinical professor ofpediatrics at Louisiana State University Medical Center and another member ofthe AAP psychosocial committee. "Once the announcement is made, I wouldn'tmake a lot of fuss over it because by the time the baby comes, they're alreadysick and tired of hearing about it."