18 mo gap here. all I can say is that you just end up getting on with it and find your own level really. Things that helped me were;

Bath them together.

If anyone offers to take the toddler for a few hours take them up on it.

Try to get out with friends so you have a break from the routine.

it is lovely seeing them play together though and I also think they learn sharing and other social skills better when they are close together.

playpen - definately! We used it for DD2 to sleep in without being mauled by DD1!

I too had 15mnth age gap. It is hard, but so rewarding! I will admitt to perhaps using Cbeebies a little more than I would have liked, and agree with whoever mentioned ALWAYS having a change bag ready to go with both size nappies, wipes, change of clothes and bibs and juice cup (and bottle if FF)

We always had breakfast at the same time, same with lunch and dinner, and a rule of children in bed by 6.30pm.

It meant I often didnt eat during the day (could have but was so tired and stressed couldnt be bothered!)and DH would make me a decent meal in the evening.

Was also tucked up in bed by 10pm myself every night.

Search out a toddler group - it is perfect for being able to pass a new baby around and also to get 10mins to spend with DC1 on a 121 basis.

Without my toddler group which ran monday,wednesday and friday I would have gone fruit de loop!!! It took up the morning so the children would sleep after lunch and I got time to run the hoover round/tidy up and then sit and enjoy the silence!!!

You will enjoy it, I then had a 25mnth gap between DD2 and DS and to be honest, that was sooooo much harder! Would have preffered to have them a lot closer together, but hindsight is a wonderful thing!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

It's really ok I think, as people say. I almost think the whole day can be pretty random-ish so long as bedtime is a big focus. That's where I put my energies towards creating a routine.

Partly because the day is quite full on and you need to know that at eight o clock (or whenever you decide) they are asleep for at least a couple of hours and you can have a tiny bit of time to yourself, which is terribly important as you know.

Also, I'm sure you know this but the small age gap has been great for mine (both girls) as they adore each other and are interested in the same things now as they are so similar in age. They ask for each other first thing on waking up and kiss & cuddle each other all the time. It's very very sweet and totally worth all the hassle It's good because the same activities are interesting to them both, whereas I had a 3 or 4 year gap with my siblings and can remember never really being interested in the same things at the same time.

Yes I had a silver cross pram downstairs that was fab, high up out the way and could be wheeled outside if need be.

Oh just remembered that dc2 would sleep in the pram downstairs quite often in the early months, in the day and in the evening. Worked quite well for us (had a clingy dc1 so it was hard to get away to put the baby down for a nap upstairs as dc1 would hang on my leg and cry and wake up dc2) so dc2 slept in pram downstairs, then wheeled in to the hall where it was a bit quieter.

The great thing was that dc1 slept in the day until dc2 was nearly 1 so giving some 1-1 time with baby or (on the rare occasions when they both slept) a cup of tea/snooze on the sofa/trip to the toilet by myself for me

I had one of them plastic rigid baby supports they are vital for bathtime sanity but I was never big on bathing mine lots anway.

www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Ergonomically-shaped-bath-support/dp/B000IVQQNQ/sr=1-3/qid=1257590633/ ref=sr_1_3/275-2368939-9034669?_encoding=UTF8&m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&n=44537031&mcb=core

I still struggle with bathtime if I'm by myself so only bathed them together when DP was around to help.

Bedtime - we did the opposite, kept baby up later. But dc1's bedtime was sacrosanct and sometimes dc2 had to be left to cry. and yes the focus is the older child at first.

Yes, the comments make you start to fear for your own sanity don't they?

15m gap here (planned), dc1 now 2.9 and dc2 18 months

Some good advice here, basically it will not be as bad as you fear. bf'ing was easy actually, though I became expert at feeding any and everywhere.

side-by-side didn't fit through my (modern upvc) front door so we have p&t but I don't love it. But getting out every day was a lifesaver. mum & toddler groups, playgroups, soft play in the village hall. Often people will help with the baby, who was frequently sleeping in the car seat or feeding on my lap while dc1 played happily. I was surprised how easy the first 4 months were.

Months 4-8 were utterly dreadful but that was a combination of a non-sleeping dc2 and me being quite ill so don't think that will affect you!

I had a planned gap of 14 months (don't suppose I expected to conceive immediately) it was fine.

Playpen was invaluable, pop the baby in it. Basically the older one was put first 90% of the time. Dh started doing a lot for the eldest when I was till pregnant due to me having severe spd however this was wonderful in hindsight. Whenever dh was home the eldest wanted his time and attention and I was left with the baby. It took her about 3 days to be happy with Daddy holding the baby, before that she looked very cross about it but after that there wasn't any jealously.

The age gaps of mine are 5.5 years, 14 months & 24 months. Believe me the 14 month gap was the easiest overall. You change nappies one after the other, shop in the evenings or on-line basically life is a bit limited for a while but it's easier than entertaining a 2 year old.