who has a 19month age gap - tips?

[Jamummm]

once this baby arrives there will be around 19months age gap, im super excited as really wanted small age gap but feel nervous about the first couple of weeks/months.

who else has had this length of age gap and how was it?

the worst and best bits?

survival tips even?

16 months here.

Your older Childs sleep will go to shit when you bring DC2 home. Have a plan in place to deal with this - who takes which kid, where does everybody sleep etc.

Otherwise it went OK on the whole, let dc1 help while also being abel to be a baby themselves, so they help baby sleep by sitting next to them in the pram (and hopefully napping themselves), teach baby how to change a nappy nicely, teach baby how to eat nicely etc etc.

you'll be fine provided you OH understands that sleeping through because he has work tomorrow is a thing of the past.

23 months here. Older child's sleep was fine, we took a divide & conquer approach- DH did a lot with DC1 whilst I was stuck on the sofa breastfeeding.

Get out during the day as soon as you can. Church toddler groups were amazing as there is always someone who will happily cuddle a baby whilst you deal with older kid, or entertain older kid for you.

Way too much CBeebies. Easy snacks and lunches. Bulk cook when you can and freeze so you've got pots of bolognese etc in freezer that you can throw in microwave.

Try to keep DC1s routine and fit the baby around them.

Keep nappies and wipes everywhere.

Accept the mess and chaos. Get a cleaner if you can (couldn't afford but would have loved).

Oh and worst bit is two to wake you up at night

thanks for the replies.
i think my nerves are because DC1 doesnt always sleep through and when she does wakes really incredibly early. hope that stops before dc2 gets here. OH works shifts inc nightshift and works away often so will be me on my own with the two a fair bit.
i know it will be better when they get older its just the early weeks. im trying to prepare for the worse and hope for the best.

16 month gap here. My best advice is to get a good bedtime routine for the older one. You need to be able to do bath, story, bed (or whatever you choose) and leave and for them to fall asleep by themselves. The baby (the little baby!) will inevitably need feeding at the older ones bedtime and so the quicker and more straightforward it is the better. Other than that, I found it easier to bath the new baby in the morning with the older one 'helping' than to try and do them both at night and what a pp had said about nappies and wipes everywhere.

Great ideas, I only bath dc1 every other night and mostly can be put down and will go over on her own. With the exception of teething/illness etc
Think while dc2 is still newborn I will bath them either morning or afternoon.

I'm hopeful that by around 4months both dc will have a nap at the same time in the afternoon

17mths here.

Yes, eldest's sleep may go tits up (mine did)...but it might not.

Just potter on and maintain eldest's life, and fit youngest into it. You can do most stuff while holding a baby with one hand.

Don't make a big deal of it, don't stress about it, don't be too ambitious. Babies are surprisingly resilient and survive the odd eye poke/clonk on the head/etc. Just include them both in whatever is going on. Don't make the baby forbidden fruit to the toddler - terrifying as it is, they have to get a go of holding their sibling etc.

I went through a phase of constantly leaving the house with 2 screaming children, but they were fine by the end of the block.

Honestly, it's totally fine if exhausting.

And be prepared for your toddler looking gigantic the first time you see them after the baby is born!

I've got 20 months between mine. 2.5 and 11 months now.

It's been absolutely fine, hard work sometimes, this week has been bad because we are all ill with the flu😩, but generally we have a lovely time together. 2.5yo is generally quite nice to her little bro but we do have quite a lot of 'no baby!!', 'baby touched me!!', 'no baby that's my toy!' Etc etc but on the whole they get on ok.. for now lol.

I like to get out with mine although not for things that require you to be there at a certain time, find that stressful, but park, play dates, shops etc. Try to get out everyday.

Try and get them to nap together if possible - double naps are great!

Don't feel bad about putting CBeebies on, not doing the cleaning etc.

Always have a means of escape! I kept a baby bag packed and ready the night before and used the sling/stroller combo or had a good double that I could push one handed (the nipper 360 was good for this), that way if the older one wanted to walk I could still hold his hand and manoeuvre the pushchair.

It's been really good fun although the baby years are a bit of a blur! Now they are a year appart at school and I've come to know the teachers really well as I have had a child in their class two years in a row.

Thanks for all your replies. I can't wait for my next dc to be here. I'm tryin to get ready for a crazy few months before it settles. My dc1 wouldn't go down for the first few weeks was always held but have a sling etc at the ready if this one is the same.

I can't decide what to do about a pushchair, I have narrow steps from my garden to pavement so might be difficult with a double but I live in the north so very rainy so can't also rely on a carrier as will get soaked

If you possibly can I would get a double buggy. We got our Phil and Teds for £80 off e bay and it's been fantastic. I also used our Caboo sling a lot but we had many nice lunch with them both asleep in the buggy!

I have a 19 month gap and tbh the first 6 months are a bit if a blur. Ds watched too much c beebies and food was really easy to prepare stuff we could just sling in the oven. I found my regular toddler group absolutely invaluable, all of the other mums would happily keep an eye on one if I needed to change the other.

Mountain buggy double is a side by side that fits through a standard width doorway. Its what we had, also meant we could push it around the house and get both kids to nap at the same time (occasionally). We got it second hand for £170 with a carry cot included.

A more useful tip is to get the older one to help out with things, I use to hold DC1 and he pushed the pushchair etc. Also we had a snack bowl (dry cereal mostly) and a cup of water on the side all the times so DC1 could sort himself out temporarily if he was hungry mid feed or nappy change for DC2, but that said DC1 is/was food crazy and goes a bit mental if even slightly hungry. (note though check where your sugar bowl is!)

A travel cot downstairs for naps was great as well as it gave a safe space for DC2, and more stair gates that you can shake a stick at to seperate babies from both each other and dogs.

Oh and invaluable was teaching DC1 the sign for dirty nappy as he would tell us when DC2 needed changing.

brill advice everyone thanks.

i might try encourage dc1 to help out although the very thought of her understanding amuses me. but i guess thats coz she just 11months old just now! haha

i saw the phil and teds but dont fancy one of them sat in the shopping basket, also it looks like it would be a nightmare to tackle stairs with.
will have a look at the mountain buggy though.
i only want a cheaper double or second hand as i want to keep my current buggy and use with sling/carrier and eventually buggy board when possible.

I have a Joie Twin Aire and love it, it's not really suitable for a newborn although the seats do lay flat but if you're intending to use a sling to start off with it would be fine from 6 months or so. Its really light, v spacious seats and only £140 new. I bought a Bugaboo Donkey and hated it - I was so relieved when I replaced it with this one.

Mine are teenagers now but from what I remember...lots of CBeebies, the sling was a godsend, I used to put my pyjamas on late afternoon so I was evening ready

My 20 month old stopped napping pretty much as soon as the baby came

It was an exhausting time but so, so worth it. It has really suited me and our family. Enjoying city breaks and 15 films at the cinema now