Hilary Duff’s son was sad to give up only-child status—how she’s helping him come around

Hilary Duff is currently expecting her second child and has made no secret of how excited she is to welcome a baby with boyfriend Matthew Koma. But someone who needed a bit more warming up to the idea? Duff’s 6-year-old son, Luca.

“The first conversation was pretty sad,” Duff told AOL of breaking the news to Luca that he’s going to have a baby sister soon. “He was like, ‘Why?’ Because it’s been just us for six years!”

It’s true that adding another baby into the family is a transition for everyone—especially if all you’ve ever known is life as an only child for six years. Duff had a perfect response, though, by addressing Luca’s new, big role as a new big brother.

“I was like, ‘Dude, you have no idea. This is going to be a really good thing for our family,'” Duff recalled saying to Luca, whom she shares with ex-husband Mike Comrie. “‘Mom has so much room in my heart for you and a sister and you’re going to have so much fun watching her grow and teaching her things.'”

And to help Luca really come around to the idea, Duff appealed to him like the 6-year-old boy he is.

“I also told him that babies are funny! I was like, ‘And I’m going to chase you around with her dirty diapers sometimes.’ And he was like, ‘Nooo!’ If I keep it lighthearted, then he has fun with it and I do think he’s excited,” she said. “He’s touching my belly now and saying ‘goodbye’ to her when he goes to school.”

As Dr. Tovah Klein previously wrote for Motherly, it’s normal for expectant older siblings to need time to warm up to the idea. At this time, Klein suggests lavishing lots of love on the big siblings and making them feel excited about their new duties. “Let her bring you a diaper for the baby, or hold the baby’s toy while you get him into the car seat,” Klein says. “These empowering moments give your firstborn a way to be part of the action and to be ‘mama’s little helper.'”

With Luca now on-board, Duff says she’s the one with some lingering nerves over the idea of welcoming a second baby and what it will be like to raise a girl. Fortunately for her, older sister Haylie Duff recently had her second daughter and has been serving as a great example.

“To watch her be a mom of two is very different than being a mom of one, though,” Duff said. “It’s been cool to soak some of that up and see that that’s what is coming to me.”

Duff will know first-hand soon enough when baby girl makes her arrival—and just like with Luca, we have a feeling she’s more than ready.

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