How to entertain a toddler when you have a newborn

[CaptainWarbeck]

DC1 is 2, DC2 just 6 weeks. It's been raining non-stop lately which is hard on the days we don't have any playgroups/activities on. Baby hates being put down for more than 5 minutes and needs to be fed/walked around for naps. I have a sling but it's 50/50 whether she'll happily go in it.

We've watched loads of Peppa and done a few chores together with baby on my shoulder but I feel like sometimes a day like this can be pretty boring for poor DC1.

Is this just early newborn days and it gets better/easier? Or are there things I can do with the older one I'm just not thinking of? He gets grumpy when I can't pick him up/hold the book we're reading/get up/sit down with him etc.

Definitely gets easier!! I had 17mths between mine a remember it well.

Indoor play centre - I could let my eldest play while I fed my youngest.

Does the baby sleep in the pram? Just getting out the house breaks it up. Shopping malls are good at opening time, generally quite quiet so the eldest can walk (on reins if needed) and you can have a coffee. Waterstones are really child friendly - I was told by a manager that the books on the shelves are there to be read by kids, and any damaged stock gets donated to charity.

Some of our local museums still run toddler activities over the holidays.

TV is totally fine. I think I just ended up doing a lot one handed - drawing, playdoh etc. I have fond memories actually of my 18mth old squashing a lump of playdoh into her 4 week older sister's hand so she could join in. My youngest also got put down a lot, but at 2 seems none the worse for it.

It's hard, but you just kind of muddle through and when the baby starts sleeping a bit more, it gets easier.

Get a tiny tears type doll with lots of accessories and your toddler can copy what you do.

Soft play was the only way we survived in the rubbish weather.

Grandparents too - my parents took my older son out a fair bit when the youngest was tiny.

We do lots of puzzles and orchard games. We sit on the floor and I feed the baby while we play.

I have 2 years between mine with no family to help out. We survived the first few months of DD2's life with getting out whenever possible, which in the wet was playgroups (the children's centre sessions all still run here in school hols), and the softplay and butterfly house at the nearby zoo which we're members of. We kept up 1 day a week for DD1 at her childminder to give her a bit of continuity from her pre-sibling life and something different to do, plus give me some one to one with the baby. And we watched cbeebies. A lot.

It definitely gets easier. DD2 is 13mo now and they are beginning to play really nicely (most of the time!) together. Personally I found the juggling difficult with a newborn, and it got tough once DD2 started noticing everything around her and wanted to be a part but couldn't join in, but it got immediately easier the day she crawled.

Currently feeding my 10wk old while my 21m old sleeps upstairs. I sympathise, summer is tough for those with pre schoolers!

I've found being out of the house a lot easier than being at home, the baby sleeps in the pram I can concentrate on the toddler- park/library/soft play. Just going for a walk with my toddler collecting stuff she finds in a bucket can take up a morning, leaves, sticks etc.

At home we play with bricks, have tea parties with her cuddly toys, play with her happyland stuff, do you have a garden? Big bowl of bubbly water outside and lots of pouring containers to play with. Oh and stickers! Stickers are great.

Maybe you need a different sling? Sounds like you might benefit from one the baby would like.

i have exactly 2 years between mine and i wanted to let you know in a few short years it is actually easier having 2 as mine literally just play together

i second what the other posters have said about getting out and toddler clubs. make friends with other mums and do play dates- this got me through- trips to local pet shops, walks in parks and swimming. colouring making and playing babies

I feel your pain OP! DC1 just turned 2, DC2 is five months old, we've just returned from a trip to the park - he was loving it but the baby got tired and cranky and needed to come home (she doesn't love sleeping in her Buggy). You're doing a great job and it does get a bit easier. Get out as much as you can, soft play is great if you can find a sling the baby likes. It's the complete incompatibility that gets me - they literally never want the same thing at the same time and they are both babies. A friend said to me when I was pregnant the second time - that will be worse than twins. And she has twins...Every single other mum to have been crazy (or, ahem, careless!) to do this two under two thing tells me it pays off hugely after the first year and I'm seeing signs of it already! And failing that I'll be back at work soon