Are you pregnant again? Congratulation! Here are some simple tips to help you in your daily life.
Another child will fill your life with happiness, but in return, your patience will not increase tenfold and your days will get longer! Here are some ideas that can give you a unique helping hand!
Stock up
Well, when it comes to food, you already know that your freezers and your pantry must be full to bursting. But that's not all! Unearth the sales, search the thrift stores, run the garage sales to unearth little treasures for your eldest. Small toys, books, special craft materials (buttons, ribbons, sparkles…), be creative (kitchen materials such as ladles and plastic dishes become fantastic bath toys, while a special on lentils dry bags at the grocery store will allow you to create a lens box to play with, much like in a sandbox). Take a large box and hide everything. Do the same with some of your child's toys, hide them.
When baby 2 is born, drip out all these wonderful treasures. This way, you will have something to occupy your eldest when the little baby is at the breast or needs special attention.
Make sure you have a variety of gear for different situations. Your eldest is rather impatient in the car? Have some games (Magna Doodle, seek-and-find books, audio books, etc.) to help her wait.
Prepare your eldest for the arrival of the baby
- Show him with a doll the gestures that will have to be made. Explain to him, even if he is very small, the peculiarities of a baby: "you have to hold his head, he is soft, you have to touch him very gently…" Show him massage movements for babies, that it will be able to reproduce on the baby. If the eldest is very young, he can simply learn to spread oil on the baby's legs or if he is older learn special massage movements.
- By carrying a doll in your arms, show your child that with a baby, you cannot perform such and such a gesture.
- Use figurines to create scenarios, where you are tired, where baby is trying to fall asleep, etc. Let him express himself freely through the figurines. Do not be afraid to tell your child the truth for fear that he will take a dislike to the youngest; honesty secures children, it is the basis of trust after all!
- Show your child pictures of when he was a baby himself. Display them explaining that, like him, the baby will need to be rocked, that you will sleep with the baby as you slept with him.
- There are a whole range of books on the market on the arrival of a baby, find one that joins yourfamily values or involving characters liked by the elder.
- Find a present for the baby to give to his big brother and suggest to the big sister to give a present to the baby.
- If the child must be present at the birth, do not be afraid to play childbirth with him (with the sounds!), show him birth pictures and films, and discuss together. Make sure he feels comfortable with his D-Day companion.
- You can take your child to a nursing drop-in where they will see other babies, the sounds they make, the reactions they have. If your eldest is breastfed and you want to breastfeed in tandem, you can find pictures of co-breastfed children, just to discuss it with him.
The Club Med method
No, I'm not suggesting that you play geos, the Club Med method is to go around our activities and our house to find all the possibilities of problems and find solutions before the arrival of baby 2. Try to find as many plans B as you can.
Think about son who may wake up often at night, while you and your spouse will be exhausted. Maybe you could think of having a place to sleep in your child's room, so dad won't get on the verge of panicking at 3 a.m. when his son wakes up 4th, he'll just have lain on a mattress by his side.
Ask your entourage or on the forums what were the reactions of the elders duringof the arrival of a second baby, think about what you can do for yourself. No need to put everything in place right away, just have several solutions and immediate applications in mind.
A gift list…again?
You have everything you need, but those around you want to celebrate the arrival of the baby. Here are some gift suggestions if you are running out of ideas:
- You have a baby carrier. What? Only have ONE baby carrier? There are many on the market, which meet specific needs. If you already have the scarf, why not add a sling or a mei tai? They are very practical especially with a large one that will take you time. Carrying baby allows you to meet his needs while taking care of your eldest, what could be better!
- You already have your cloth diaper kit, so why not increase it? Add any diapers you like or allow yourself to ask for THE really-too-cute-you-know-the-diaper-that-the-maker-embroiders-the-baby's-name-on.
- There are many baby products: oil, cream, soap… Ask for a set of organic-fair trade-local soap or ask for several! It's always very convenient!
- Ask for time. Grandparents wish to contribute? Why not treat yourself to a few hours of a housekeeping company or pay for a special outing with the eldest. Your friends don't know what to get you? Let them come and spend a day with you, withdinner and take the eldest to the park to let you take a nap.
Finally, the arrival of another child in our family can cause us anxiety. We want to continue to offer the best of ourselves to our eldest, while taking care of our baby, who as a baby, will be very demanding. Don't beat yourself up, you won't harm your child's development by letting him watch a little more TV or by serving him spaghetti very often, all of this is temporary. Above all, the important thing is to listen to him, it's quite an event for him too! Being able to help her adjust is much more important than an overdose of Dora!
