You’ve been replaying it in your head over and over again ever since your test was positive. How on earth are we going to cope with two babies under two and more importantly, how is your beloved firstborn going to react?
Do’s:
- Try and be as equal as possible with your time and energy. Easier said than done I know, but even if it takes a little more effort, it will all pay off in the end.
- Try and involve your firstborn as much as you can and ask them to be your little helper whenever possible. For example, when my husband prepares a bottle for our newborn, he asks my two-year-old to give mummy the bottle. She loves to help and stay involved!
- Stay outdoors as much as you can. After our baby was born, we planned a lot of day trips to farms and children museums, even bringing a picnic to a local park. My two-year-old is very active and social so outdoors is definitely better. I put the newborn in the Baby Bjorn sling and voila, you have yourself a much less stressed environment.
- Have realistic expectations and allow relationships to evolve naturally. As we all know children are like sponges when it comes to the energy field of the house. If you are anxious, chances are it will rub off on them.
- Encourage affection between your toddler and newborn. There is no such thing as too much love and hugs!
Don’ts:
- Always be with one child. It’s very important that you and your spouse take turns with each child so everyone is getting a healthy amount of attention.
- Leave your toddler in the room with your newborn. It sounds obvious but your boisterous toddler might be a little heavy-handed for a newborn.
- Strive for perfection. There is no such thing.
- Forget to clean. As we all know children manage to pick up every type of bug there is and the last thing you want is your newborn catching something. I’m a big fan of antibacterial wipes to clean surfaces regularly and quickly.
Katie Kirby is the author of Could It be You which was written between the births of her two little girls. Katie is a theatre and screen actress, and has appeared in plays like Noel Coward’s The Vortex, Lady Windermere’s Fan at the Gate Theatre, in restaurant drama series Raw, and Boy Eats Girl f or Element Pictures. Follow her on twitter, @katiekay1002.
