5 Tips for Surviving the Transition from 1 to 2 with a Toddler at Home #SearsMom

Two years ago right now, my husband & I were coming around to the very real fact that we were going to be parents for the second time. DS was only 10 months, and I am not a good pregnant person. Really. I thought that I'd be great at it, but it turns out that pregnancy is just something that my body doesn't enjoy. Fights it, even. I was fortunate that I never had to be hospitalized during my pregnancies, but even on medication I was puking all the way through to delivery. I could barely function for the first 4 months the first time around, let alone the second time when I was getting up with DS during the nights and caring for the energetic little guy during the day.

Our darling little daughter was born a week early, on our son's half birthday. I would love to say that, like so many of my friends' children, DS took to his baby sister and the only problem was that he loved her too much, but that was not the case. Little Hendrik wasn't too fond of sharing his mommy or being second in line for attention to his new little sister, 'Ahnkah.'  Hendrik was also heading into being a 2 year old and everything that entails. We had to confiscate all of Hendrik's toy hammers after one too many incidents involving his baby sister's head. It became apparent that while I had prepared everything necessary (and unnecessary) for Anneke's arrival, I neglected to prepare anything for Hendrik to ease him into his new role and space in the family.

I soon learned that, in order to ensure that both Hendrik and I survived the days together, certain things needed to happen. I'm going to share these with you - for the transition from 1 child to 2 children can be a difficult one for some of us - and I hope that this will help some of you out as you prepare for no. 2's arrival!

1. Make an outing, every day.  As soon as you're feeling able, make visits to friends, visit an Early Years Centre, find a Coffee Break/Story Hour group to join, go to a mall, head to a playground, or stop in at McDonald's play place if the weather's not great. Mix it up, but get out of the house every day, to a space where your LO can interact with other people.

2. Make old toys new again. New toys can be a great distraction and cause of excitement for LOs, but we don't all have the money & space to dole new toys out once a week for months - a great way to do this without buying new toys is to put away a few toys a week into a box for a couple months before the new babe arrives. When you pull them out again, LO will be thrilled with the 'new' toys!

3. Get a stash of crayons, (washable) markers, stamps, scrap paper, & colouring books. These are great things to pull out in the morning before nap, and will help LO practice his fine motor skills.

4. Make a bin of 'Quiet Bag' activities. If you've only got one at home and he's under 2, chances are you may not yet know what these are - Lucky for you, I've got a Pinterest board full of fantastic ideas! :) Quiet bag activities are something to pull out when you're at your wit's end and you need something to distract for a little while. They're fun, quiet activities that can be done by your LO alone (though your LO might need your help & supervision the first time she's introduced to each new Quiet Bag) so that you can have a breather or get something (like supper!) done. I wish that I knew about these earlier than I did - the more that you have, the better - you don't want them to get old and boring for LO! If you've got friends or family asking what they can do to help you get ready for baby, you might consider asking them to whip up a few activity bags for you!

5. Forget the housework. You're at home to care for your baby and raise your LO, not to keep your home immaculate. Forget the housework for as long as you need to - if you worry about getting it done, it'll just stress you out more when LO interrupts you (again) for some reason or another. My mom had the following poem up on the wall of our kitchen when I was growing up, and I always loved it.

From January 17-30, Sears Canada will be celebrating Baby Days - which means 15% off on almost everything in the Baby Room - furniture, strollers, monitors, & more for you! Let Sears take the Baby Prep off of your shoulders while you put some energy into making the transition for your toddler just a little bit easier! There's also going to be some great deals on infants' fashion which is awesome because, let's face it, mom - who doesn't love dressing their LO up every day like a doll?! (No? Am I the only one? Ok then.)


Disclosure: I am part of the Sears Mom Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.