Here is the situation. We currently live in a 2-bedroom apartment (curse long term leases!), and we have a family of four. We are expecting our third child any day now (went to the doc today and we are 1.5 cm dilated--TMI I know). I have several questions...
1) How would you handle "introducing" a squalling newborn to a 1-year-old?
2) My son is on a very strict schedule--his doing, not mine. He HAS to eat, sleep, play... everything at a set time or else life will be H*&^ for the day. How do you integrate an unpredictable newborn schedule with one so rigid and set in his ways?
3) All three kids are having to share a room (yes, they get the big one). How do you help the 8 and 1-year-olds maintain their sleep with a newborn sharing the room with them?
4) And kind of a different subject... My 1-year-old REFUSES to drink whole milk and to use a sippy cup instead of a bottle. Any suggestions?
Thanks everyone
A.
wow i dont know how you stay sane lol. i have three kids and we also live in a two bedroom house. they are 6,4,and 2. when the youngest was born the middle girl was only 22 months so we kept our newborn in the room with us for a while atleast until she was sleeping through the night that way it didnt mess with the other kids sleeping schedules...good luck
Boy that sounds like a hard situation, but maybe if you put the newborn in with you and your husband in a bassinet until he or she sleeps thru the night then you can put the newborn in the room with the other children. That way the baby is close to you and the boys can still get a good night sleep. It will all work out. I will be praying for your situation.
Be Blessed
B.
I agree with putting the baby in your room for awhile.
As far as the 1 year old it took mine a month to like milk just keep trying. I exclusively breastfed him and he was ready to wean at 11 months so I did. He had no problems except he wouldn't drink whole milk, formula or breast milk from a cup or bottle. I would give him 4oz. water to 2 oz. juice to drink. Mott's makes a 100% apple juice punch that has added calcium. I made sure to give him yogurt and cheese cubes everyday. Eventually I tried milk again and he took it. Good luck
You've received great advice. Ditto!
I would DEFINATELY put the baby in your room.
When you introduce the baby, this is what worked for us & it was AWESOME!!!
The day following my delivery, I sent our new baby to the nursery for a moment because my son was coming up the elevator to meet his baby sister for the first time. When he came in the room, it was just me, so I had a moment to express my love to him and answer any questions he had. (to my suprise, he actually did have questions about my belly being gone) He crawled up in the hospital bed with me and we read a book about him becoming a big brother. Then, I asked him if he wanted to meet him new baby sister. He said yes, so I paged the nurse to bring our baby. She brought her in an gave her to my son (I was helpign of course). IT WAS AWESOME!!!
about the bottle thing, I would totally forget trying to get the 1-yr-old off a bottle right now. Your children are going to need all the comfort and reassurance they can get right now and if you take that away, it may really cause some problems with him adjusting to the new baby. just make sure he doesn't sleep with a bottle to avoid tooth decay. otherwise, i wouldn't push it until the 2nd birthday. what's the hurry?
congrats on the new baby and good luck!!! liz
what do you do to make a paycheck that isn't "work" and lets you stay home with your babies??? i would LOVE to know... i'm longing to be home with my little one. :)
Hi A.,
My suggestions:
1) Take your one year old up to the hospital and start there. Try to involve him as much as you can with the baby AND make a point of giving him his own one-on-one time.
2) Most children, especially young children, love routine. It makes them feel secure. As much as you can, keep his routine the same as much as you can. There's no way around him seeing that the baby's feeding schedule is gonna affect him, but try and communicate with him as much as you can..."just wait a second while Mommy finishes." At one years of age, they understand much of what you tell them. Often times, children get frustrated b/c the parents don't communicate with them (probably b/c the parents don't think they'll understand).
3) I am not a huge fan of co-sleeping all the time, but in your case I would suggest keeping the baby in a bassinette in your room until she starts sleeping through the night. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to keep those kids asleep through the night.
4) VERY slowly, mix the formula/breastmilk with the whole milk. For instance, start with only a couple ounces of whole milk mixed with the formula/breastmilk. Slowly increase the whole milk while decreasing the other. As far as transitioning to a sippy cup, the Nuby sippy cups are great for transitioning. The nipple is much like a bottle. And they are CHEAP at WalMart!
I hope this helps. Congratulations on your new bundle of joy. :D
God Bless,
A.
Well my daughter was not even 12months old when I had my last daughter. It is hard, you will be tired. Can you put a basinet in the bedroom with you and your husband or in the living room, so as not to wake the other kids. Me and my husband each took a kid and slept in seperate rooms for the first couple of months. As far as introducing them, mine were okay. Your 8 year old can probably help you out a little bit. Is your one year old still drinking formula? Mine wouldn't drink whole milk either, my pedi told me to put a little chocolate syrup in it and it worked. I think mine were both on bottles and the beginning. Are you going to breast feed that helps. Good luck to you.
well if it's going to be very hard on the other kids you might try putting the baby in your room. I know with my girls it always worked out better to have them closer the first few months anyway. As for the sippy cup they have these great little nuby sippy cups at wal-mart that have a soft tip and are easier to transition from a bottle they worked very well for my girls. Good luck and congradulations on your new baby girl. Don't worry to much the 1 year old will adjust to the baby faster then you think mine are 11 months and two weeks apart and whithin a few weeks they learned to sleep through eachothers crying and everthing else. :)
