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| My 2 girls having sister time! |
Now that I have 2 kiddos, I do things a little differently than I did when I just had Deena. I was much more guarded, protective, and one track minded with Deena and now that I have another PLUS Deena, I find myself to be much more relaxed and easygoing - whatever's going to happen, is just going to happen! There's only so much I can (or even want to) control!
When I was pregnant with my 2nd I thought it was going to be so hard to take care of a baby with a toddler. I actually thought all the work would be with the baby, but boy was I wrong! I realized that I had to have planned activities for the 2 year old in order to get anything done with the baby! It's so important to have the toddler busy and engaged and learning because it makes spending time with baby so much easier!
The first thing I did was try to engage my toddler in lots of interaction with baby. Deena is super sweet with baby Danya and likes to help hand me diapers and wipes, bring her toys and teething rings, and just entertain her. It's sooooo important for me to watch her when she's with the baby though because sometimes she loves her soooo much and wants to smother her!
I've also learned not to be afraid to take baby outside! With my first one, I don't think I left the house for the first 3 months! With the second, I had her out and about with us at 3 weeks. She was lovely! I took her to all of Deena's classes and playdates and she would just sleep most of the time. Now that she's 4 months old, she's awake through the classes and playdates and is engaged and wants to participate. One of the strongest pieces of advice I can give to any new mom, is to GET OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE. All you do when you're home is focus intently on your child, and although that's not a bad thing, it begins to make you go crazy! It's sooooooo important to try to get a routine going and eventually try to get out (even for just a little while) every day! It makes the day go so much faster and smoother and gives you and baby some fresh air and a new environment! I know there's a lot of debate about strollers, double strollers, carriers, etc! I have found with having two, the double stroller (one behind another and NOT side by side) has been great for me! I don't have to carry anything, baby just clicks in, and my toddler slides into the front seat when she wants to and walks next to me when she wants to. I can't imagine not having the double stroller and am glad that we got it. I also love the baby carrier! I have the ergo baby carrier and my first one loved being in it. The second child, not so much, but it's there when I need it!
At first I was taking both kiddos on a walk around the block and that was enough. But soon enough, I was taking both to Gymboree and the playground and to library storytime. While we're at home though, I have baby Danya on a mini rotation of a few things I think she enjoys! My mom got me a 4moms mamaRoo that baby Danya loves (it rocks in different directions and speeds and plays music and can even be connected to your phone for music), I also use a stationary chair (it has music and a vibrate option), and an activity center (a flat activity mat with hanging toys and I put some soft toys on it and books on the wall next to it for stimulation). Those are mainly the 3 things I use with her and kind of go back forth between them throughout the day. I also have a corner of my couch set up with a blanket for play or tummy time. I tote the stationary chair around with me from room to room and even out into the backyard whenever we're out there. It's usually where she sits while I'm cooking!
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| This is my activity center |
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| This is my stationary chair |
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| This is my mamaRoo |
As far as feeding goes, it's been a bumpy road for me! I wasn't producing enough with my first one and forced myself to breastfeed much longer than I ever should have. I pumped when I went back to work and supplemented with formula the rest of the day. It was a disaster and weighed very heavily on me. When I finally decided to stop around 6 months, I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders! With baby #2, I didn't seem to have that problem. The milk came in, baby fed, all was well! Then I realized that I had to be attached to baby every 2 hours and couldn't be gone for longer and so I tried the bottle. Again, disaster struck! She refused to take a bottle! Luckily I had my mom in town and she tried with me every day to give her a bottle and so now I give her one bottle a day (every day) so that if I ever need to leave her with someone, I know she will eat and take a bottle! Now that she's 4 months old, we've started some oatmeal cereal and will begin some green veggies in a few weeks. With my first one, I found it so easy to steam and blend up food that I just made it myself. I didn't see the point in going to the store and buying pre-made food and so I plan to do that again this time around! One of the things I did like to do however, was go down that aisle in the grocery store and get ideas about what food blends to make next! LOL! Pinterest is also a great resource for this!
The flow of my day with baby looks sort of like this:
7:15am
wake up and change diaper and feed
7:45am
activity center on back and then flip over for some tummy time, place in the stationary chair while I feed the 2 year old breakfast and have my tea, then we have sister time and I engage the kids in play together
9:30/10:00
feed and 1st nap ( I usually do some ABC and number activities with my 2 year old during this first nap)
11:00
wake up and change (we're usually out of the house after the 1st nap going to class or playdates or a walk or to the YMCA)
12:30/1:00
feed and big nap (usually for 2 hours - I will feed my 2 year old lunch and try to put both kids down to nap at the same time. While they're sleeping I eat my lunch and then cook dinner, clean, do laundry, etc.)
3:00pm
Wake up time from naps! Both sisters usually wake up around this time and if the older one wakes up sooner, I try to put her in "quiet time" activities until 3:00pm (check the toddler time blog). We usually both go into the nursery and play with the baby in there for a little while. We read books, do some tummy time, play with some of her baby toys, etc.
4:00pm
mamaRoo or stationary chair for a little while
4:30/5:00
change, feed, and baby usually goes down for a short afternoon nap. I try and feed the 2 year old dinner around 5:00pm while baby naps.
6:00pm
Sister play time for a little while and then I give both girls their baths. I have a baby tub for the baby and the 2 year old plays in the tub while I bathe the baby. I usually dry, lotion, and change baby on a carpet mat I have on the bathroom floor and leave her there to play for a bit while I bathe the 2 year old. She's started to move and try to roll, so she's on the floor now.
7:00pm
Dad is usually home and has some play time with both girls and relieves me for a bit! He likes to take the girls outside on most days and spend some quality time with them.
7:30pm
Baby has a formula bottle and Deena has her milk. Baby goes to bed.
8:00pm Toddler goes to bed.
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