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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Just found out I'm pregnant with #2 - advice needed!

40 replies

firststeps · 10/04/2007 11:55

my ds will be just about 2 when the new baby is born, this pregnancy is a bit of a shock and I'm wondering how we will cope with things like getting 2 children to sleep, co -ordinating bathtime etc - any advice will be gratefully received!
PS is it a nightmare for the first year?!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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PinkTulips · 10/04/2007 18:29

18 months between mine and ds is 8 months now.

i was preparing for the first year to be hell as dd's first year was miserable but tbh it's been so much easier with ds.

congratulations and good luck!

tigerbalm · 10/04/2007 19:31

firststeps, I am in the same boat - just found out I am pregnant and due early December. Dd will be 2.2 when baby is born. I am also worried about how I will cope, as dd has been a high-need baby and toddler. But lots of people manage so surely we must be able to!?

Congratulations and keep in touch

Original poster

firststeps · 10/04/2007 20:23

Did any of you find that the baby's crying woke the older toddler up, and also for those whose babies share a room, did you find if one woke in the night it woke the other one up? Think in a way I am pleased that I'm thinking it is going to be a nightmare then it might not be as bad as I imagine. Throughout my pregnancy first time round I was thinking about life with a baby through rose tinted glasses and got the shock of my life for the first 6 months! on the other hand my DH practically had a nervous breakdown when I was pregnant about how much a baby was going to chang our lives and stop us from doing things and he took to fatherhood like a duck to water!

OP posts:

Loopymumsy · 10/04/2007 20:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Wotzsaname · 10/04/2007 20:44

congratulations, it all falls into place and after a while you can't even remember what the fuss was about!

BetsyBoop · 10/04/2007 20:58

firststeps I'm in the same boat (DD will be 6wks short of 2 when this one arrives in Oct) and feeling equally apprehensive.

I wanted them close together, but now it's happening....eeeek.....

I'm sure it will all work out though, plenty of people have them this close & they all seem to cope, although I'm sure it will be hard at first.

kathrynharriet · 10/04/2007 22:30

Congratulations first steps! My dd was born three days before my ds' 1ST birthday! Am now pg again, ds will be 2y 6m and dd 18m when this
baby arrives! Its amazing how quickly they just slot into the routine! There are days when i think its a never ending round of nappies and baby talk but the good out weighs the bad by miles! Good luck and enjoy!

octo · 10/04/2007 22:48

I found the first few months the easiest tbh - just slept and fed

PinkTulips · 11/04/2007 09:57

we find dd sleeps through pretty much all the night screaming even though we live in a tiny flat where sound travels alot.

the odd time she is woken she seems to understand that it's just ds crying and settles back.... once though she did insist on seeing ds before she'd go back down... i think she thought i was doing some thing to him and wanted to protect her little brother, as soon as i brought him into her though she just lay down and went back to sleep.

they've shared a room a few times, at family or when someone is staying over and it's fine, she does get woken but she doesn't cry or want up, she might call over to him to see is he ok but nothing more

midnightexpress · 11/04/2007 10:41

Hi firststeps, and congratulations. Mine are 14 months apart (17mo and nearly 3mo) and it's not nearly as bad as I feared it would be. Sleep deprivation seems better than with just one (think I've just got used to it with 2 insomniac pgs and then 2 newborns in such rapid succession!) and ds1 is sweeeet with ds2 - comes up and kisses his head about 20 times a day and the first thing he says every morning is 'bubba!'. Looking forward to them being able to play together when they're a bit bigger, but at the moment ds2 content to sit and watch what ds1 is up to. Y9u'll be fine!

pulapula · 11/04/2007 14:12

I am expecting DS in June when DD will be 2.6. In the early months of the pregnancy I also wondered how I would cope, but now am so excited about it I don't care if it's tough at first.

I had an early mc just before this preg, and I wanted to get pregnant again quickly to keep the gap closer so they could play more together etc. I think 2 years is great.

Make the most of help, and consider nurseries etc for older child if not already enrolled. My DD will be in nursery 2 days a week.

Congratulations! And enjoy!

bozza · 11/04/2007 14:20

I'm a bit about some of these posts about settling baby first because it never worked for me. My system though (when DH was not around) was to bath both DC together. I would get everything ready and then get DS into the bath, then DD would go into the bath after him and out before him. So he was still in the bath while I got her dried and into a babygro. Then I would basically dump her, while I got him out and dried and dressed. Then we would go into his room and I would read him a story and either cuddle or feed DD at the same time. Then I would always put DD for a few seconds (whether she cried or not) while I gve DS a kiss and tucked him up. Then I would take DD into my room and either start of finish feed which might take ages.

I agree though that it was harder being heavily pregnant with a physically dependent child than having a newborn and older child.

skidaddle · 13/04/2007 14:44

Hi firststeps,

I just got that book I told you about - it's called There's a house inside mummy' and it's really lovely, I'd highly recommend it.

Was also on the phone to a friend who's just had her second (8 days old) and her 1st is 18months - she says the key is getting them into a routine because there's no other way. She's feeding her ds2 once every 3 hours and it's working brilliantly. She's also putting him down to sleep awake and not rocking him and he seems to be able to get himself off to sleep. I almost can't believe this is possible but maybe the poor old second born just has to lump it and so they do! She says she's knackered but it's brilliant!

madbet · 13/04/2007 18:40

Hi all - found out last week that I am expecting my second in December - dd will be just 18 months and although we planned it that way I am very nervous too - reading this thread has been very reassuring!!

skidaddle · 16/04/2007 09:11

Hi madbet, congratulations! Pop over and join our 'due in december' antenatal club

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