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Announcing a new baby in our midst! Our mommy Molly Archibald gave birth this last week to a beautiful and very healthy baby girl. Her name is Georgia Carrie Archibald! Everything went really smooth from what I hear.This brings me to my tricks of the trade question this week. As Molly is transitioning from one kid to 2 and I will be doing the same in about 10 weeks; we are welcoming tips and tricks that helped you in this transition. So let us know how did you take a shower? How did you go shopping? How did you clean your house? And especially how have you been able to give your older child enough attention as well as keep them from harming the baby? Or any other tricks that helped you keep your sanity! Another question... I am interested in buying a sling this time around and am wondering if any of you tried slings and have any recommendations. We have a baby bjorn carrier already, I might just stick with that. But those slings look so comfy and easy for nursing!
13 comments:
First off, your niece is darling how lucky for Quinn to have a baby sister! Anyway, the transition from 1 to 2 for me wasn't really very hard, I did have some emotional problems of my own that I had to deal with but having the two girls 21 months apart wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Of course, at times, I felt like I had two babies. I think it depends on the personalities of your children. My girls have always been best friends, there hasn't been much jealousy from one to the other, and Mikelle never tried to pick on Kaylee more than giving her loves. The way I transitioned from one to two is I just didn't worry about my house, hubby would help when he got home but never complained about the state of the house. Thankfully. Showers, I put Mikelle in front of Dora and would take Kaylee in the bathroom with me in her bouncy seat and then proceed to take a very quick shower to give myself time to get dressed and put makeup on before next feeding. I made sure to spend some one on one time with Mikelle while the baby was sleeping and when Dad got home he was really good at keeping her entertained. Hope that helps. And good luck you only have a few weeks left, now when is Sarah due?
Thanks Anna for your comments. Sarah is due next week, On October 1st. She is definitely ready at this point to meet that new little girl!
Hope your dad is doing well!
Yeah Congrats to Molly and soon to Christine!!! How fun to have them so close in age!!!
Transitioning to 2 was a lot easier then 3! At least you have an arm for each of them still! :) We made sure Parker was getting plenty of attention from us and from grandparents that were visiting. We tried to make him part of the excitement by letting him hold the baby whenever he asked. It was a lot harder for me than it was for Parker. I felt like I couldn't leave the room to go to the bathroom with a 2 yr old and new born... who knows what the 2 year old might do, thinking he's helping or playing. So I would put them in different rooms just to go to the bathroom. And I mostly showered at night or before my husband left in the morning. Shopping's not so bad though, one fits in the back of the cart and the baby's carrier fits in the front! And for cleaning... I did what Anna said! I just couldn't care as much and cleaned when I could. My husband helped out a lot too and he still does a lot more cleaning now then he ever did when we had one or no kids. To keep my sanity I set up lots and PLAYDATES with other moms! On days where I had nothing planned we would go stir crazy! Just take it one day at a time and it will be fine... until that 3rd one comes along at least! :) I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that!!
Oh and as for the sling... we got one with Jaden and I hated it. He seemed burried in it and I was always worried he coudln't breathe. The Bjorn worked much better. But our sling was bought from Target and not homemade so that might make a difference.
Well, for me the transition was ok, as long as we kept the oldest occupied. I did the same thing as already mentioned for showers, I just brought the baby in the bathroom with me in his swing- or I just did it while the baby was sleeping. Cleaning comes later- when you don't just want to sleep during the kids' naps. I think everyone is ok with a not so clean house for a few months after a baby is born!
I also noticed that my oldest would get jealous of my holding the baby so much (because I was nursing) so while I fed the baby, I would have my son sit by me and I would read a story or 2, then I was giving equal time to each. My mom also brought a present for the older ones when a new baby was born, (just little things) so when visitors brought gifts for the baby, they could have a new something also.
I LOVE my sling, I have only used it with one baby but I liked it a lot better than my snuggli. I got mine from my friend at yayababyslings.blogspot.com, but there are a lot out there. I like it when the kids get older also- it really helps if you have a colic baby who wants to be held, the sling didn't hurt my back like my snuggli did :)
While shopping, make your list, keep to it, and make the trips short! Shopping with babies is easier because they usually sleep while you are there, but I have also found that when my kids get a little bigger I let them draw pictures of the things on my list and they help me at the store, if they are involved they are less likely to cause trouble :)
I hope all goes well with all the new baby adventures!!
hi all,
thanks for the well wishes, and thanks to christine for posting this--i've been meaning to but there are lots of things i've been meaning to do recently...like brush my hair? :) just kidding, it's not quite that bad. quinn has been pretty good-just hyper from being so cooped up. geoff's got half days at work for the next 2 weeks and my AWESOME mother in law is coming to help too. so it's good. keep those tips coming, ladies--i'm all ears!
Congratulations Molly and soon Christine! I was really lucky because we had our second at the beginning of a summer break, so with the exception of my husband being gone for two weeks on a trip, I had him to help with our older girl almost the whole summer. Needless to say, I'm terrified to have a third when I'll have to do it by myself! But, really just don't be hard on yourself. Everyone has a messy house, and not great meals for a while and that's okay! And, really don't take on extra projects for a while and just sleep as much as you can and you'll all be a lot happier. I also second the present for the older sibling idea. We gave Rachel a tricycle (that we were going to give her anyways) the first time she met the baby and she was SO excited and even more excited to meet him too. Just take it one step at a time and don't feel bad about asking for help (VT's were a lifesaver for me a couple of times!).
I've never tired a bjorn, but I did use a sling and loved it. It only worked for me for a few months because our baby was huge at first, but it was nice to have free arms (he would get really hot easily, and I'd have to switch sides because it would make my shoulder sore, but it was still worth it!) Good luck and we'll be excited to hear about the new addition to your cute family!
I bought an expensive Maya Wrap sling and liked it for a few weeks, after that the baby was too heavy and it hurt my shoulder. Good for trips, though, where you'd have to carry a newborn. I guess I don't like any carriers much.
Congrats Molly! Very cute baby girl! I'm glad to hear that all is going well!
So, I don't have much advice...is it bad that I haven't showered in 19 months since my 2nd was born? It sounds like you'll have a lot of support from your husband and that makes a lot of difference. My problem was that I wouldn't sleep enough when they were sleeping which left me very tired, emotional and cranky when they were awake so even if my house were tidy (not clean by any means) and the laundry was done (at least one load!) it didn't matter because I felt like a bad mother for being cranky. I forgot how much babies cried and how much energy it can take to soothe them at times...so SLEEP when you can!
I have a sling that I made but I could never get it to really work for me until my son was 6 months old and I could use it more to sit him on my hip. I also don't have a Baby Bjorn but I've used one and they are incredible. It's the only thing I want when we have a third (in ten years or so!) I've owned baby backpacks but none of them have ever felt comfortable or useful. I think it is worth it to dish out the cash for the Bjorn brand.
I love the name Georgia!! That is so cute for your family. Congratulations!
I'm also loving all these comments because I'm 20 weeks (with my second) right now and it is all I basically worry about---another kid. Charlie will have just turned 2 when the second one comes along. These are such helpful tips. We live so far away from family and no one can come for extended periods of time. I'm just going to have to call people to come get Charlie for the first little bit. He'll just need to be kept occupied.
I used a sling with Charlie. I have since done a lot of research on all the different kinds. I've made several for friends and a new and improved version for myself. I've also ventured and made a nursing cover with corset boning, the same as the HooterHider brand, if you have seen those. They are super simple. There lots of websites that teach how to hold your baby in a sling the right way. http://www.mayawrap.com/u_maya_wrap_101.php#. If you make your own, I think the type of material makes all the difference. If you want, Christine, I could make you one of the "new and improved" and send it to you. They are sooooo expensive online. Even with expensive material, I can make them for about $16, depending on the material you want. My sling is like the Maya-wrap with some modifications. I use the same rings they use. I have helped women in my ward with slings and they are doing well. If you are interested, let me know and I'll send you one, or the instructions to make your own!
I have also used the front carrier, like the Bjorn, but a cheaper brand from Target. My husband liked to use that one.
Okay, I'm not part of your group...but I did use a sling. I bought a hot slings. It was nice and I made sure to get one with stretchy fabric. They are a little pricey. I actaully ended up showing a friend of mine the sling and her husbands family runs a custom fabric/design store and they had their seamstresses make us one. They said it took about 10 minutes total, and all they did for the pattern was look at the hot slings I had purchased. The padding in the hot slings is also a nice cushion for bigger babies.
I took a shower with both kids. Even if my hubby was home my toddler ended up in the shower with me. But at fist nursing was easier in the shower till my nipples toughened up.
I found that my new baby was super resilient and wasn't bothered by big sisters "loves". I do think that my baby sling saved us though. Because I didn't put the baby down much the older sister didn't have much of a chance to be rough with her. I had a Native Baby Carrier, but with my next baby I'll need a new one since I don't have my super tiny figure anymore, but with my experience with carriers I think I'll just make a carrier. I really like the baby wraps instead of the slings because the weight of the baby is distributed evenly on mommy's body. What I liked best about the sling I had was that it rolled up small and fit in the diaper bag easily. My husband would put it in his pocket! But it was fitted for size. So now it's too small.
I think my hardest adjustment to 2 kids was adjusting to my toddler reacting to the new baby. She wasn't suddenly naughty like I expected her to be, but she just couldn't understand why we weren't going out as much or playing with kids anymore. The biggest advice I could give to any mom new to 2 kids is ask for help. Ask another mom to take the older one for an hour one day.
Congrats on all your new additions!
Thank you everyone for your good ideas, comments and support! You are all the best!
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