Hi, I've got a 16-month old beautiful girl Olivia and she's soon to become a big sister to her baby brother Daniel who's due on 26/01/04. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle the new arrival and not to get Olivia's nose out of joint! A few friends have suggested buying her a doll and telling her it's from her baby bro. Anyone out there who's been through this before?

Hi,

Firstly a big congratulations and wecome to the world of 2 under 2!!

What i did was bought her a new video, (wiggles) for the times i was feeding, or settling! This helped in the first few weeks, when everything was still new to me, and i was very tired! I made a huge effort to play with her, whenever the baby was asleep! I found this easy, as i could finally play and muck around with her comfortably (not being prego anymore). Also my hubby took on a special role of making her feel special when i was feeding! I did the baby doll thing, but it was only a 5min toy, she wasn't really interested! But every child is different!

Another idea i heard here somewhere, was to take some small treats into hospital for that first visit! A toddlers attention span is small, so this could help in entertaining him, and also help for him not to feel left out!

Just a few ideas, i hope they might help!
Best of luck over the next few months,
Tepe smile

Hello a friend of mine bought a colouring book for her daughter and packed it with her hospital bag. When she had the new baby and her daughter came to visit she told her the baby had a present for her. It was a great idea as her daughter was so excited plus it gave her something to do while at the hospital. I have heard of the doll idea before and it does seem to work. Good luck!!

Hi
I'm the proud Mum of 2 gorgeous girls 22 months and 6 weeks. We did the "baby has a present for you" and it worked perfectly. The best advice I got was to get visitors to make a fuss of Mia (big sister) before coming and fussing over the baby, the baby was still there and Mia felt very important. I also asked Mia to show off her new sister to everyone that came to visit and that was her favourite thing. Feeding a newborn with a toddler running around is lots of fun, I now make sure my house is completely Mia-Proof before I start feeding that way Mia can play where she wants and I don't stress. All these things have worked for us so far!
Good luck

hi u woulld hve had the bub by now how did olivia handle it? i had my 3rd boy when the olsest was just 3 days off 2.5 he olved being around the bub also the same with my 2nd son they are very conscious of the babys feeling and if ryan is crying they say baby cry and want to cuddle him enjoy the 2"babies" its a special time and kids are so resilient if u would like to email me on virpikaarina@aol would love to hear you are doing

First of all, did you have an Australia Day baby? I have just had my second born on 26/1/04 and we also did the present thing and made sure that the house was toddler proof we were fortunate that our little girl who is 2 next month isn't really jealous of her little brother. We try and do mummy time and daddy time so that she still gets one on one time with both of us. Today we left my 7weeks old with grandma for a 1.5hours while we took her to the park together. She loved having the both of us to herself for a short time and didn't play up when we got home. Also let her help with handing you the nappy etc. They are all so different and your ages are a little different to mine. Try whatever makes your home a harmonious one.

Happy parenting!