Two Under 2
cynnnabun
member
Options
2u2 -- 18 months apart
cynnnabun
member
in Two Under 2
Hey everyone. I'm currently expecting my 3rd, and my youngest will be 2u2. I'm just curious what to expect from my baby, she'll be 18 months when the new baby comes. It's hard to imagine my 13 month old any older and I'm wondering how to explain it to her, if she'll even understand. I'm starting to feel kicks on the outside and I know she wouldn't grasp that at all right now, but would she closer to delivery?
TIA!
Chelsea; 7/22/2005 Carissa; 4/9/2011 Cassidy; 9/6/2012
Baby #4; 7/7/2018
Baby #4; 7/7/2018
This discussion has been closed.
Re: 2u2 -- 18 months apart
Oh yes, and being gentle. My SIL watches my DD2 and some other kids, one is like 8 months old. And she is constantly banging on the poor kids head. We for sure need to work on gentle touches! hahah.
Baby #4; 7/7/2018
Mine are 16 months apart.
No, my oldest never really "got it" before her brother was born. We explained it to her and tried to include her in the pregnancy, and she would kiss my belly and talk about the baby, but not in a way I know she would had she been 3 or 4 years old.
Honestly, she didn't really get it that she had a sibling who wasn't just visiting or a toy of hers until he was probably about 6 months and she was almost 2.
It's okay though. You can't speed up their cognitive ability to grasp pregnancy and siblings. They understand in their own little way. One thing I think is totally cool is that my kids will never remember a time without each other. To both of them, they have both always been there. Buddies forever
.
Married 6/28/03
Kate ~ 7/3/09 *** Connor ~ 11/11/10
4 miscarriages: 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014
*~*~*~*~*
No more TTC for us. We are done, and at peace, as a family of 4.
"Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.” — Charles Dickens
Mine are 16 months apart and we did a few things.
I set everything up very early and practiced with a doll. This way she learned gentle, "no face", not to "push" the swing, throw toys in the PnP.
We also taught her not to step on the tummy time mat. Very early on I realized she would see a toy across the room and just go for it plowing threw everything in her way. We had a few close encounters while I was changing DS on the floor and she almost steps on his head! I never used a changing table because I couldn't leave her alone to walk into the nursery to change him and it was only a 10% chance she would follow me into the nursery so he got changed wherever she was!
I agree with pp she never really "got it" but they do in their own way and now they really never want to be apart. Like twins they don't know a life without the other and although they fight they wouldn't want to be a minute without the other and never had a problem sharing mommy or a toy!
Lastly a new toy saved us in the newborn phase. We got her an annoying ride on toy from target. It captivated her for hours throughout the day while I was stuck on the couch nursing for 20 or so minutes
I found this on parenting.com helpful...
On the other hand, perhaps you're worried that the newborn has rocked your older child?s world. Good news if she's under 16 or 17 months: She might not notice much. Young toddlers are in a great place: They're happy with themselves, not yet pushing the boundaries of their independence and kinda clueless about how a new baby might affect them. "Tessa was just 13? months old when Sienna was born," says Jodi Trivax, of Birmingham, Michigan. "She just accepts that her sister was always in the picture."
If your firstborn is 18 months or older, life probably won't be so rosy. But you can do things to make the transition easier. "No matter how young he is, prepare your toddler for the newborn's arrival -- and revisit the topic in the months following it," says Parents advisor Jenn Berman, Psy.D., author of SuperBaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years. By talking about it you reassure him that everything is okay. "Read books about having a new sibling, buy him a doll to play with, and explain how things will be different -- but also emphasize what will be the same.