Before Baby's Born

I had the same issue last year with my then 2 year old. I told him that he had to be careful of Mommy's tummy because there was a baby in there and we didn't want to give the baby an ouchie and that worked really well! Just be careful how you phrase this as it could backfire and she could be scared to touch you...

I have 5 nieces and nephews, they all were kind of rough while i was pregnant with my son. my sisters and i would remind them when they got wound up about the baby and they would suddenly freeze. kids just forget, once you are bigger they will have a visual reminder and not need the constant verbal reminder but until then keep saying it. i started out with "please be careful remember i have a baby inside me" and after a while it was down to "BABY!" it all worked out!

Your daughter won't hurt the baby, the baby is very well protected. She is little... now if your husband would clime on you like that... that might hurt... both of you!

I have a 3 month old son and when I was pregnant with him my other two boys were almost 3 and 2 1/2 years. They climbed on me all the time and my baby is just fine. There is a lot of cushion in there and 2 year old isn't going to be able to hit, kick or punch with enough force to do any harm. It is obviously uncomfortable towards the end of the pregnancy when the belly is huge. I was constantly reminding my boys to be gentle with the belly and they tried their best to listen.

I am 34 weeks pregnant, and my little girl jsut turned 2 at the beginning of Dec. She is a wild one, too, LOL! We started right from the start of this pregnancy to teach her to be nice/careful of mommy's belly, and that there is a baby in there, she will give the belly hugs and kisses and try to feed her doll bottles to my belly button, and she will talk in my belly botton, like it is a phone to the baby. We read lost of new baby coming books....I have yet to find one about the actual pregnancy, though. Also, I know I am having a repeat C-section, so we are going to have to try to explain that and that I will not be able to pick her up after the baby is born, and she will have to be VERY careful of my belly then!!!! Maybe try sitting on the couch or a BIG chair, and having her climb up next to you and reading or coloring for certain periods of the day. I am not sure, make sure she has "horsing around time" with Daddy, to get all that activity out of her system, maybe find some physical games to play , or even a kids dance video or exercise video she could do to wear her out a little each day!< LOL! CJ loves to dance to Sesame street music, that helps a little. I sometimes just have to tell her, "Mommy can't pick you up, I am too tired." Or, "my belly hurts, so can you sit next to me?" . She is usually pretty understanding, sometimes she has a meltdown, but she is going to have to learn, unfortunately.

We also have tried to focus on her doing some things by herself, like climbing the steps to bed and coming down them in the morning, as well as feeding herself independantly, almost completely, now, much more than she was doing 8 months ago. She sits in a booster at the table (rather than the highchair) - this was done way back at Easter time. We also moved her to a "BIG GIRL ROOM" so the baby could re-use the nursery. We also put her into a toddler bed last month (we have 2 cribs, but both are convertible, so we took the side off hers, so I wouldn't have to lift her in), so she (and we) would have time to adjust to that before the BIG change of the baby getting here. We were working on potty training pretty hard this summer, but she had a relapse (after we tried to take away her pacifiers) - so now we ask, and sometimes she goes on the potty, and sometimes she doesn't, she is still in diapers, and many people say they will regress anyway, so we will deal with that after the baby is here and we are all back into a routine - probably this summer.

We did lots of this stuff WAY before the pregnancy was even obvious to her, we figured, make all the other changes gradually as the pregnancy progresses, so she doen't resent the baby any more than she already will just for being the baby, and so many of the changes in her routine are already done, when the big event happens! We made all the changes all about her and how big and smart and strong she was getting....never mentioned the new baby at all, when changing something.

Good Luck!

Jessie

My daughter climbed all over me and jabbed with elbows and feet and everything when I was pregnant with #2 also. (Obviously not on purpose, she was just being a toddler.) Anyway, my son was born perfectly healthy. Don't worry!

My son was a little over 2 when I got pregnant with my daughter. He got better as my belly got bigger and he wasn't climbing all over me. We did have to remind him a lot at first to be more careful with mommy's belly. Get some books about the baby to get her to understand more. I checked out from the library: There's a House Inside my Mommy by Giles Andreae. My son really liked this book and we kept re-newing it. Also be sure to have her feel your tummy when the baby is moving and talk to you tummy. My son used to hug and kiss my tummy goodnight and that was his way of saying goodnight to the baby. Congratulations and I hope all goes well for you.

I would just continue to remind her of her baby brother/sister being in your belly and to be careful so she wont hurt him/her. As your tummy gets bigger she should settle down because she wont have as much room on your lap; but also because she will be able to feel the baby move.

I have read that you're not supposed to "blame" the baby for your daughter not being able to climb around on you. We hit the same issue, but my son was older and has always been very physical. I made sure to tell him that he was getting too big to hurt me that way (he was; he didn't regard elbows and frequently planted them in various private areas) and that it hurt ME. Supposedly, the older child can grow to be resentful of Baby if he/she is constantly reprimanded on Baby's basis...I don't know if it worked; my son is alternately resentful and ultra-protective of his baby brother. Anyway--I worried about the exact same thing, and Baby #2 turned out fine; no weird bruises in places where Brother elbowed him or dislocated anything. :) Oh, and it did get better when I got bigger; I was naturally more cumbersome and my older one instinctively seemed to "get" that.

You should ask your doctor to be sure, but I don't think that your daughter could hurt the baby. Your baby is very well protected. With my most recent pregnancy (baby now 5 months old) I had a 2 year old and a 1 year old, so I was constantly holding someone, being climbed on, etc, and had a perfectly normal healthy baby with no complications. Good luck to you :)

S.,

Relax, your baby is well protected in your belly! So long as YOU are not in pain or discomfort, neither is your baby.