I couldn't believe it , we hadn't been trying for another and surly didn't think it would happen that quick .
My first thought was how am i going to cope with two under two !!
I turned to goggle and read every possible book but there wasn't a whole lot of information out there so i turned to parent sites and forums where a few wonderful mums gave me some great advice .
I also joined our local playgroup and started attending as much as possible as i knew i was going to be in need of support ( my family do not live close )
My youngest daughter has now just turned 7 months and my eldest is now 19 months and i wanted to share my experiences and advice with others who were in the same situation i was in a year ago .
Portacots and playpens : Buy one ! when your new bubba arrives your toddler will love to touch the new baby which is sweet but toddlers are rough even though they dont mean to be , i found having a portacot meant i could go to the toilet without worrying that my toddler would be poking my baby in the eye or trying to pick her up , it also ment that my bubba could be close to us all the time and get used to all of our sounds especially her sister so it made sleeping at night a lot easier .
Pram : Becoming a mum means trading in your new car for a state of the art pram ( well i missed that memo ) however i did get a pram that was functional for our situation . When you look at getting a double pram there is a lot of choice out there , from the phil and teds toddler seat at the back pram to the mountain buggy side by side they also range greatly in price , we however got a very old one seat in front of the other pram (i will try and add a photo when i find one ) i choose this one as i needed a pram that was narrow enough to fit through isles that could hold a good amount of weight ( i have big babies) , that was easy to fold down and most importantly that was easy to push . we have now upgraded to a newer version of the same sort of pram . So my advice would be pick a pram that is best for you , if you go for lots of bush walks a mountain buggy may be for you or if you are like me a back to back may be the way to go but one thing is for sure a good pram is essential because it helps you leave the house and go places which trust me is very hard if you do not have a good pram
Leave the house : Having two small children makes it seem impossible to every go any where everything takes twice as long and being on time is a thing of the past , thinking of leaving the house when you have a newborn who can be unpredictable and demanding to having a toddler who likes to run free, throw tantrums and touch everything can make even the most sociable person cringe but if you stay at home all the time it can become like a prison and make you go crazy ( or in my case crazier ) . What i found worked for me was always having a nappy bag at the ready and as soon as i had fed my baby in the morning and while my toddler was in a good mod we would go for a walk to a field nearby where i could let my toddler run to her hearts content and if my baby cried it didn't matter as no on was near by then once my baby had fallen to sleep and my toddler was out of energy it was off to the shops for some retail therapy and adult conversation :)
Housework : everyone says leave the house it doesn't matter if it is a mess , well if you are like me it does matter not for the sake of what people think of you when they come to visit but for the fact seeing mess stresses me out , so what i do is simple i create systems that work i have nappies , wipes ect in a set of draws in between my lounge and kitchen so they are easy to access at all times of the day , i have mats under tables and my toddlers area so it is a quick tidy up when there are spills and food dropped i also just concentrate on keeping areas clean that i spend most of my time in and see all the time like my lounge and kitchen with doing this it makes my days run smoother
Introducing your toddler to your newborn : While i was pregnant i worried constantly about how my toddler was going to react to a newborn baby , i mean you cant really explain to a 10 month old that mummy is pregnant and they are going to have a sibling ! What i ended up doing was staying in hospital for a few days to get to know my baby , my mum and partner then brought in my toddler and we introduced her making sure that we made a fuss of my toddler as well as the bubba , she wasnt happy which was to be expected i mean we had just spent the last 12months so close so seeing me with another baby was hard for her to take in saying that however she was very loving to her baby sister . When i came out of hospital and brought baby home we made a huge fuss of my toddler which made her feel so happy also when visitors came around they made a fuss of my toddler which made her feel like all these people were coming to see her and she was center of attention . I truly believe doing this is what made things easier for me in the long run , my toddler doesn't get jealous of her sister even now and they are so close .
right that is all for now , i must get on with some jobs i will add more later :)
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