Prepping baby #1 for baby #2?

Karen1024

DD is 9 months old and we are expecting #2 Dec/Jan. So far prepping is limited to sleep training (which might be going well but I'm still not sure I am doing it right) and teaching her "gentle" which she is learning for the cats' benefit. It also helps me because when I say gentle she will unclasp her hand which helps when she is pulling my hair! Any other ideas?

JulyMomma2U2

My 2 are just about 12 months apart, so slightly closer than yours.. as for prepping DS1.. like you said, we practiced teaching him how to be gentle.. sleep training wasn't an issue as DS1 was sleeping through already.. other than the gentle thing, the biggest challenge has been with bottles.. DS1 weaned off of bottles right before the new baby came.. DS2 was 3 weeks early, so I thought we'd have a little more room, but alas, no such luck.. I nursed exclusively for the first 3 weeks before realizing DS2 wasn't gaining weight, and then we had to start supplementing with bottles.. since breaking out the bottle again, we've had quite a few screaming fits where DS1 thinks it should be for him.. same thing with the pacifier (which is odd since DS1 hasn't used a paci since he was 3-4months old??).. we're just teaching him no, that these are for the baby.. it's a work in progress.. so, anyway, if you're planning to wean from bottles beforehand, I'd do it sooner rather than later!  Good luck!

Karen1024

Great suggestion about the bottle so thanks!!!    

DD sleeps through the night most of the time, but we've been working on helping her put herself to sleep and not spending forever rocking her or stroking her back or anything.  We'll give he a bottle and rock her maybe 100 rocks and put her to bed so I don't know if that counts. During nap time she will sometimes go to sleep from pretty awake all on her own so maybe we're doing something right. She used to wake up just as we put her down, or we'd rock her for 5+ minutes after the bottle but now that's not an issue. 

DD never used to use a pacifier but we started giving her one with the sleep training to help her self-soothe. So now she likes it.  It might be a problem, but maybe we'll just have a million lying around? I swear those things disappear into thin air.

DisneyMom0312

My son's will be 18 months apart. I decide at about 4 weeks out to start setting up for baby #2 so that my son could get use to the items and learning they are not his. For example the swing, bassinet and tummy time mat have been put out and when he gets around them we either are telling him gentle or distract him to go somewhere else. 

Besides that I wish there was more we could do to prepare him but he is just too young to grasp what it going on. I do believe he knows something is happening because this past week is has been super clingy towards me and only wants me for everything. 

Karen1024

Good idea about letting him get used to the baby's stuff!  We have a realistic baby doll we used to get our pets ready, putting that in the swing/bouncy chair etc might also help????

lana22

my son was 16 months. the only prep i really did was stopped picking him up toward the end of my pregnancy and having him come over to the couch with me (i'd hold him there where it was easier and less stress on my back). he plays w/ the baby's toys and i don't make a big deal out of it. same w/ when he gets into the exersaucer. the bigger deal we make of things the more he wants to do them, so we just let it go and he usually wants out after a little while.