16 month age gap...Worried about my tot feeling pushed out...Any tips?

[Donnadoon]

I have 4 wks to go and it's just really worrying me now
I have my baby(15 month old) sleeping snuggled up with me at the moment and she really is a mummy's girl
DH is great with her but it's me she wants most
I hate the thought of her feeling pushed out when new baby arrives :(
Any tips gratefully received :)

I currently hv an 8month old and im 8 weeks pregnant with my second and i am also worried that my son will feel pushed out, as long as we make sure we still give them the attention that they want then they should b okay

I have a 17 month gap between my DDs. I'm now pregnant again and will have 16 months between DD2 and the next one. Last time we went shopping and let DD1 choose a soft toy for her to give to the new baby. I also bought a soft bodied doll and gave to her when DD2 was born for her to 'look after' when I was busy with the baby.

Other advise is if possible try not to be holding the baby the first time she meets it, then you're free to give her a big cuddle. Also ask any relatives or friends who bring a present for the baby if they could bring her a little something too, even if it's just a packet of chocolate buttons so she doesn't feel forgotten about.

I was really worried but actually DD1 really surprised me by how well she handled it. She was jealous when people cuddled the baby but only because she wanted to cuddle her all the time!

I had 15 months between my first two, and the jealousy was non-existent, I think that at that young age they generally just go with the flow. The only impact it seemed to have was for the first three feeds, my oldest tried to pull the baby away, but then was totally ok with me holding the baby etc.

I did make sure that the first time the baby was seen, I was not holding the baby. I tried the baby giving you a present thing, but to be honest it was a concept that was meaningless to my firstborn as they were so young.

Also remember that in those first few weeks the baby sleeps a great deal of the day, so there is still time to snuggle up with the older one during the day, and by the time the baby is awake more, the new little one will just be part of the family for the older one.

CBeebies, is your friend during feed times too, try not to worry about your older one, they will feel less jealousy than if they were age 3 !