Step away from the baby

Since we brought our baby home from the hospital three months ago, the most often used word in our house is “don’t.”

The reason for this barrage of negativism is our 3-year-old daughter, Nicole, who loves her little sister so much that she is constantly endangering the baby’s life.

Here’s a random sampling:
“Don’t jump on the bed near the baby.”
“Don’t yank the baby’s head like that.”
“Don’t kick the soccer ball around the baby.”
“Don’t cover the baby with that plastic bag”
“Don’t pull the baby up by her arms and then let her head hit the floor.”
“Don’t put hamburger patties and French fries on her head.”

That last one came when I found Nicole staging a strange photo shoot with the baby. Here’s how I found the baby after leaving the room momentarily:

(Yes, I did stop to take a picture before removing the Value Meal from her head.)

There’s no doubt Nicole loves her little sister — maybe too much. She’s always trying to kiss, hug and include the baby in everything. But I hate that her hands-on style of love and 3-year-old exuberance leads me to constantly tell her to stop, settle down and back away slowly from the baby.

I know the constant stream of “don’ts” is eventually going to make her resent the baby. I can only swat away overly excited affection so long without eventually stifling those displays of love.

So how do you keep a new baby safe while also fostering sibling love? Any tips on how to stop a 3-year-old from loving the baby so much that it hurts?