Activities to keep toddler happy when new baby arrives

[juliajaj]

DH & I are expecting our 2nd baby on 7/9. DD will be 23-months. I'm taking a 12-week family leave to stay home with the baby. DD will be going to daycare part-time (2 1/2 days a week). I'm trying to come up with activities/things to buy (not too expensive) that she & I (or DH & she) could do together while the baby is sleeping or not being tended to & also some activities that she can do on her own/close by DH & I (such as, while I'm nursing the baby, changing the baby's diaper, etc.). She loves to color, listen to music, is starting to love Noggin TV (but I don't want to have that become the fallback all the time), "read" stories, etc. I'd appreciate any ideas you can give to me. Let me know if there are any craft projects, activities, activity books, toys, etc. that your 2-year old enjoy? Thanks a bunch!

Julie

[mamahill]

While it's good to interact with your child, it is also important to have her play by herself. Not in another room, but enough that she can us her imagination. I don't have another baby, but Ainsleigh's favorite things to play with are her magna doodle, baby doll, and baby stroller. She also really likes her kitchen and Little People sets. She will play all morning with those things and I can get a lot done. Her magna doodle has saved countless trees, I'm sure. It's a big one and she'll draw for a half-hour at a time. I'd recommend getting a baby doll if you don't already have one so that when you are doing things with "your" baby, she can mimic you with hers.

Those are my suggestions, but since I only have 1 child at the moment, take it with a grain of salt ;). Good luck!

[redhookmom]

How about a "big sister stool" so she can help with diaper changes?

Also thought that books on tape might be a good idea. I have made some for my DD who is 22 months and she likes them.

[JulieL]

I am hoping for #2 and so I have thought about this myself. Here is something I hope to do. I want to make a scrapbook w/DS for the baby. I want it to be about the baby, about my son and what a great big brother he is (would be). This way one I have a scrapbook done that I normally wouldn't have time for, two DS feels involved and excited about the baby. It may not look as nice as my first scrapbook but it may end up being a lot more fun. Btw good luck with your delivery!

[sweetbasil]

I got a...ahem...couple of slings when DS#2 was born, and would wear him in those for his earliest naps when he was a newborn. Then DS#1 and I could enjoy breakfast together, coloring, play doh, or whatever our fun little morning activity might be.

The older DS#1 has become, I've noticed that there's a direct correlation between how pleasant he is to be around and the amount of t.v. he's watched in a morning. The less t.v., the sweeter the boy. Soooo, he might watch 1 hr. of t.v. all morning, but generally 30 min. or none. Tricky, as he's been getting up around 6:20 a.m. If he's good (or it's rainy, like it has been the last 3 weeks here! :() then I'll pop in a Veggie Tales or other character-building (hopefully!) video while I'm putting the final touches on dinner.

HTH,

[Hallie_D]

What a great question--I'll have to bookmark this topic to review in January when I am due with #2--I'll be in the same situation (ds in daycare a few days/week, 12 week family leave).

Two things that ds loves to do right now are to ride his tricycle around the house (rubber tires, indoor trike only) and to do puzzles. I will lay out 4 or more puzzle bases with a huge pile of mixed up pieces in the middle and he will happily put them together, dump the pieces out and start again. He can do this for 30-45 minutes at a time. I find that he is much happier when he gets plenty of exercise, so the indoor trike works well for us. I'm sure this will be key in January since I won't be able to take him out much in the Chicago weather.

[Karenn]

My mom tells me that she and I would read stories together while she nursed my little brother. I guess I would just snuggle up on the couch with the two of them and she would read to me while my brother ate.