DD was conceived with fertility treatment and born in July 2008. I was told that I am unable to conceive naturally but did exactly that when DD was 4 months old. He is due in 4-5 weeks time.
DD turned 1 at the weekend. She is now in a routine of sorts. She has one daytime nap, although the timing of this varies: sometimes she sleeps in the morning; other times from 12.30ish - 2.30. She has a bedtime routine (bath, story, bottle and cuddle) and is in her cot for about 7.30-8. We have set meal times. Other than that each day is flexible.
Any advice would be appreciated, particularly around getting DC2 into a routine. I was entirely led by DD for a long time and didn't start a bedtime routine until around 7 months. She would fall asleep in the living room with us and then I would move her to her crib. I would like to get DC2 in his crib at a similiar time as DD goes to bed, even though he will obviously wake a few times for feeds. At what point is this realistic and how should I settle him?
Another issue is that DD is very clingy. She always has been. For the first 6 weeks I held her almost constantly because she would cry if I tried to put her down and would only stop if she was picked up again. She hated slings. Am very worried about how I'll cope with DD's clinginess if DC2 also turns out to be like this. Not only will she not let me out of her sight, she becomes very distressed if she can see me but there is what she considers to be too much physical distance between us, say if I'm at one end of the room and she's at the other! On some days it is so bad that if I'm out of touching distance, she starts to cry. I worry a lot about how I can meet the demands of another baby when she is like this.
Would also be good to hear how others coped in general with a small age gap especially in the early months. We have no close friends or family nearby so I have no help other than my DH, who works long hours.