Advice please for new baby

[Mummyp83]

I am 32 weeks pregnant with my second baby. DD is 19 months old and is quite bright for her age (this is relevant to my post not just showing off!) DH and I have been reading books to her about the new baby and talk to her about the baby. We have good support from both families who live close to us and DD has stayed out overnight with DM and MIL since she was weeks old. However she is very clingy to me! I am worried as baby is currently breech so I may need a c-section - any advice on how you managed this or even a natural birth recovery with a toddler would be greatly appreciated. I had a homebirth with DD and recovered very quickly but didn't have a toddler then! Also any tips on preparing/introducing DD to the new baby? And finally any advice on coping with two under two in general please!! I am a SAHM and DD doesn't go to nursery and won't be until pre-school. Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance! x

To help our toddler, I bought him a present 'from' the new baby which he opened when I brought the baby home. It helped avoid him feeling a bit left out of all the fuss over the new baby. It was a little house with people which he loved (and kept him a bit entertained, which was useful!)

My other tip is to make up a small box of books, stickers and toys that you only get out when feeding the baby to keep the toddler occupied. Also, I tried to involve them as much as possible in 'helping' with baby, eg helping choose a babygro for baby, fetching nappies etc.

One thing I noticed was that my toddler wanted to use all the baby items, he wanted to lie on the playmat, get in the cot, sit in the bouncy chair, which I humoured a bit, but drew the line at him getting in the sling .

I'm not going to lie, the first few weeks are hard and exhausting but you'll get through it. Accept any help you can and do the minimum housework required!

Good luck with the birth and congratulations

Thank you for your tips x

I think you'll be fine, as you very luckily have family nearby. I am due DC2 today and DS is 21 months. No family within 7 hours or a flight. I think it's just a matter of getting on with it and living by the old 'e drying fed, no one dead' adage

Oh ffs- 'all fed, no one dead'

Luckystar1 I like that saying, I will remember that one! Good luck to you with your new baby too x

My ds was 19 months when dd was born and we did relatively little to prepare him really, just some general baby talk and he used to stroke my bump! In the end it didn't matter as he fell completely in love with her as soon as we brought her home! I spent the last few weeks of my pregnancy scouring nct sales and charity shop for little toys that I set aside to bring out when needed. In the early days I chose a couple of things that I would always do with ds, I would bath him and we would have a special cuddle after his nap, I would feed dd and settle her as best I could but no matter what I did these things with ds, so he still had some time alone with me every day.

Dd was resolutely breech until around 36 weeks, toes to forehead, bum down he she turned all on her own so there's ages for your baby to turn!