Preparing toddler for new baby
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Congrats mama! :) I’m due in August with my third, and my second was born Feb 2023 (first is 19 months older than him). Always happy to chat :) we did lots to make things easier for our big boy and will be doing the same again this time x
I have two children who are 16 months apart. My first loved my bump and his brother when I was pregnant and couldn’t believe his eyes when he first saw him both at the hospital then at home. It was really easy adjusting big boy to little boy because of the age gap however the one thing I would do when baby arrives is make sure you get an hour (at the least) of playtime with your older one, one on one and play time together where you get toddler to show baby this that and the other, that’s my biggest regret that I didn’t manage that enough. Good luck and enjoy your two
I made a conscious effort to include my toddler in everything, and if anyone visited they greeted my toddler before my baby. He was still hesitant to go up to my newborn the first few weeks, just remember it’s a big adjustment and not all toddlers want to cuddle etc straight away
Congrats!! We got a couple books but mine was a bit small to understand fully (18 month gap). I’d still recommend them though - There’s a House Inside my Mummy & My New Baby I think what really helped was getting him a little baby doll. We would practice feeding it and changing its nappy, put her in the bouncer while he played, and I would put her in the second car seat next to him so he could get used to that. He’s inseparable from that doll now and he’s so incredibly sweet with baby sister
Thanks everyone. Really helpful advice and experiences. I have been using a baby doll and that seems really effective
We didn’t really do a lot. As my bump got bigger we would talk to him about his brother and say things like “your baby brother is in there” pointing at my belly. He liked to cwtch my bump a lot as well so I think he knew! Then when they met he was interested for a whole 5 minutes and went off and played 🤣🤣 They are 6m and 21m now. He says good morning to his younger brother and loves a cuddle.