Going from 1 child to 2....

[Boobahs]

I'm 3 weeks away from having DS2 (DS1 is almost 3), is there any practical advice that you wish you'd known before going from 1 child to 2? I'm thinking haircuts for DS1 and I, cleaning the house, online shopping, etc... Any suggestions welcome! TIA x

Following please! Mine will be nearly 4 when baby comes. I'm trying to get together bits like colouring and sticker books for when I'm sitting feeding etc. Hair cut is good idea 👍

We'll have almost the same age gap OP! My 2nd is due August, when my daughter will be 3 and 2 months. Also happy to hear any tips! Going to be doing some serious batch cooking myself!

Ditto to the same age gap and I’m here for tips too. Maybe ask MN to move this to parenting.

Get a soft sling. With a bit of practice you can BF in it and your baby will probably sleep in it for ages. This frees you up to chase the toddler and do stuff around the house.

Involve the older one in bringing you nappies etc and praise them for helping

If you have to leave the baby to cry for a bit while you sort out the oldest, do. They will be fine. It's all about triage. It helps to "explain" to the baby for the benefit of your older child. "I'll help you in just a minute baby, I'm just fixing DC1's sore knee".

It's not nearly as intimidating as it feels at first. You will just get on with it and figure out your own coping strategies. Honestly.

Stockpile some new toys- playdoh set, sticker books, blocks etc and save them for truly rubbish days where you can’t please anyone or your baby just wants to feed all day. Make your peace with more CBeebies than you intended. Expect jealousy for a few months.
Know that one day your elder child will make your baby giggle and be so delighted that they spontaneously hug them and say ‘I love you’

It was quite manic for a while while when my #2 was born!!
Sling was helpful, white noise machine was a godsend because baby could nap without being disturbed and I could get stuff done!

Sorry ladies, I've been so busy! Unfortunately the list of things I need to do keeps getting longer and longer!

All great ideas thanks, my little boy is so excited but I think the reality might be slightly different!

I've had my last growth scan today and my c section is booked in for 2 weeks time so it's beginning to feel really real now! My emotions are all over the place, I keep feeling guilty for changing my boy's life forever

I have 3 kids and going from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 was fine. You just get on with it....so much easier than going from none to 1. 😂. Accept help from friends/grandparents. Try to stick to normal routine - like playgroups etc Use the time you are sat feeding to watch TV with older child or read them a book etc You will be fine.

I made the huge mistake of not giving Dc1 enough attention (baby was very poorly) our relationship didn’t recover for a long time.
So my only advise is if you find yourself overwhelmed in those first few weeks/months go to the oldest first, they remember.

I remember when my eldest was being such hard work since baby was born and one day I walked out and I cried to my sister about her behaviour and she said ‘imagine if your husband one day bought home a new wife and said, she’ll be living with us now and I will be sharing my love between you.. how would you feel?’ And as silly as it sounds, it all made sense, so I cut her some slack and we moved forward eventually.

It’s not always plain sailing like people say, I admit I found it really really difficult. But we’re past the first year now and it’s all falling into place!

Yes I'm hoping that once we get into a routine and baby gets old enough to interact that things will be easier. I just have so many irrational (or may be not so irrational) thoughts whizzing through my head! Thanks for the tips x

Following, I have 4yo DD and currently pregnant with twins. Need to get some sort of game plan.