BTDT: 2U2

LaBellaVida

Ladies, this is uncharted territory for me having a young toddler and a new baby on the way. Is there a way I can help prepare O for a new sibling? I have no idea what to do, if I can even do anything.

I'm worried about him being jealous. He gets pretty upset if I hold another baby, or show any kind of attention to them.

I'm worried on how I'm going to cope also, and how I'm going to deal with 2 needing my attention.

My older kids were easy. I told them a baby was on their way, and that was that. They went to school during the day so I had all my attention during the day with the baby.

Do they have classes for preparing for 2u2, and preparing a 19 month old for a new sibling? Am I SOL?

Any tips are welcomed. I'm really nervous!

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ilovemarfa

My boys are just about 24 months apart and I think that the older they have gotten, the harder it's been as far as jealousy, etc. When ds2 was born ds1 had just turned 2. I don't know if he fully understood what was going on. He seemed eager to share everything with his brother. Once his little brother started to be mobile and take his toys, the jealousy started. My oldest is 3 now and he seems to compete with his brother for everything, including attention. When I was pregnant I made sure to talk about the baby to B. My mom came over a lot for the first year during the day and paid a lot of attention to B while I spent time with the baby. I also made sure I spent time with B. I would bring him shopping and left dh home with the baby. Even now I make sure I do little things with both of them by themselves to make sure they feel special and have their alone time with me.

My cousin's kids are 18 months apart and she's had a bad time with her oldest hitting her brother. Thankfully we haven't had to deal with that but I guess it does happen. You'll figure things out and get in a routine. All will be fine!

needanustart

Mine weren't 2u2 but G was just a little over 2 when Lo was born. Honestly I didn't overthink it. I dreaded the transition but it ended up being not a huge deal. G moved into daddy and Big boy time and I focused on the baby for the first few weeks. It was challenging during maternity leave when I was nursing around the clock and G watched more TV than usually but honestly they get over it! There isn't much we did in terms of mentally preparing him because he was so young, but we did get him a baby sling and a doll and he loved using the carrier and pretending to nurse his baby. Him getting mimic me being a mommy was really fun for him. I'm sure you are putting more thought and worry into it now but in the grand scheme of things the transition period is pretty short even if it is rough for them!

megaroo64

I'm about three weeks away from 2u2 being our reality.

Truth told, we have tried to "prepare" B for getting a sibling, but I am sure he doesn't understand. We have been around other babies, and he doesn't seem to mind- unless the baby is crying and then he just wants to be all in the baby's face.

Our plan right now is to kinda wing it. And bank on the fact that B will never remember being an only child.