Hi, I'm a little worried now that I'm about to have a new baby in 6 weeks and my toddler is just 17 months old

Question

i don't know how or if I wil be able to handle it. I don't have any relative or family member here to help, my husband is working, and my toddler is a picky eater, she doesn;t want to hold the bollte by herself when it's her milk time (I still have to help her drinking milk by holding the bottle for her), she doesn't like to eat anything much but her favotire food (chicken, bread..., no vegytable, no fruit...) I don't know who gonna help and be able to take good care of her when I have the new baby to take care of...please tell me what can I do? Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

Just try and relax. You have 6 weeks left to try and break some of those habits. If SuperNanny can change a family in a week so can you. You need to start planning on how you can change some of her habits. Be persistent, especially with the bottle thing. Its time for a sippy cup. As far as her eating habits, you should offer her food she is going to eat and possibly try. They say toddlers between 1-2 develope their eating habits. If she is a picky eater now and nothing is done it will continue for a long time to come. Now is the time to focus on her and when the baby comes she hopefully for your sake will have matured a little bit by then.

I understand how you feel. My son was 20 months when my daughter was born. Then the following year I had another daughter. So at the age of 20 I had a 2 and a half year old, a 1 year old and a newborn. My husband worked 12 hour night shifts and my parents were about 40 minutes away and my Mother in law tried to help when she could but you just need to learn to manage.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

I can relate the last thing you need right now is some one telling you what not to do and maybe just give you a few pointers. I have three children and at some point there were all in diapers and bub's. I went so back to back it was sick I was home alone all the time and family did not live near by. my first was only 5 months old and I was pregnant again. I had to take steps in making him more independent so I could juggle. I bottle broke on first birthday I gave him a sippy cup for a few months to help with the transition. Then I interduces potty training at 1 this was more succsessfull then I ever dreamed it would be. prepaired my son by telling him he is about to have a little sister he can be a big brother .. He was so eager to help. This could be a good thing for you.. I am not going to tell you this will be easy I would be lien but you will love nap time and bed time because that is your time for you to catch up on the house and on your sanity. Shawn was full potty trained by 18 months this was such a help. Then all I had to do was juggle one on the leg and one in my arms. While you cook, clean or mend clothes. Then My daughter Serenity was born oh dear lord what a transition it seems so over whelming but you get up and you do it may be not because you want to but because they need you and if you don't no one will. Right now you should be nesting ( freaking out) lol... Prepping for the new arrival. My daughter is now three and still wants me to hold her cup I just will not do it .... It is OK for her to want to be a suckie but but I have to draw a line she must still be a big girl.
All you can do is remember there will be real hard days where you think you can not handle even one more thing. Lord knows when it rains it poors. Try and let your daughter help with the baby. Bring you diapers and wipes or hold the baby. This will help her love the baby and bond as well.
Drake your daughter from the bottle and introduce Independence reward her with praise. "Oh my goodness, your such a big girl". "I'm so proud oh you: for wanting to be indapendant..In return she will want to see you happy with her and make this a lot easier on you both.
Multitasking is what makes us good at what we do as a mom .. Learning to juggle your life and theres is a trying feet only the best of the best can do this(moms) see leave a dad with the baby for one hour he is ready to quit a lot of times not all and this depends on the man. You would come home and he will think to him self or even ask how do you do this, you will in turn and say I am good like that.
To answer your next question .. you will be the one to juggle both .. just take it easy put off unnecessary things and do only what you have to for a week. giving your self a chance to heal.

I am no one special I am just another mom so if I can do it I know you can do it to. Your just scared and that is OK..
It could be worse you could have three kids one in your arms one Ina snuggle or papoose and the other pulling on your leggy momma I want can I have....

So my dear you will do fine I promise. Soon you will be a master of head aches , lunches , breakfast, dinner, snakes, cleaning, stories time, laundry. Dr. mom , a lioness in bed. and still find time to be you .. This will all just take a Little time be patient you'll do great.
Congratulations on the baby by the way

Answer 3

I had my kids even closer - my sons were 35 months and 13 months when my daughter was born. The first thing I would recommend is getting rid of the bottle for your 17 month old. Its too time consuming (especially where she won't hold it) and do it soon so she doesn't get confused when they come out again for the new baby. Don't worry if she won't drink milk out of a sippy cup (mine wouldn't) - as long as they get calcium from other sources (in apple juice, orange juice, yogurt, cheeses) - it'll be fine. Other than that, you'll be surprised, its not that bad. The new baby will be sleeping alot for a while, so you'll still have time to attend to your 17 month old. Get a good baby seat and keep it out of reach of your toddler to put the baby in when he/she is sleeping. And when you do have to attend to the newborn (whether its feeding, changing a diaper, etc.) - make sure your 17 month old is occupied before you start - either pop in a video (DON'T feel guilty, you gotta do what you can do to get through this) or a toy - or even better if you can, get your 17 month old involved in the newborn's care (have her pass you wipes when you change a diaper, that sort of thing). You're lucky she's a girl (your 17 month old) because girls seem to like babies more.

Answer 4

My oldest was only 17 months old when my second was born and i do think it was the best decision i ever made. The best advice i can give you on how to handle both the new baby and your toddler is to involve the toddler in everything. My son loved being my "big helper" when it came to getting baby a diaper or throwing them away. Let her stand up to the changing table and sooth the baby while your changing him/her. Keeping my son involved made him see that he wasn't being pushed aside and he therefor really had no jealousy issues.

Since in the first months the baby will sleep a lot it will be easier than you think for your toddler to adjust. Keep calling her the big sister and telling her what a good girl she is for helping you. She really needs to be off a bottle before the baby comes or else she will not want to give it up once she sees he new baby with one. Spend a little time each day (while the baby is awake) holding the baby and her and reading with them.. the key is to make her feel included.

Answer 5

Don't be worried my girls are 18 months apart and I was soooooo nervous about everything! My oldest sounds like she was a lot like yours! SPOILED and catered to constantly I think that's normal with a first one especially!! I would definitely work on her about holding her own bottle though or else that could be chaos maybe try getting her one of the Nuby sippy cups that are the next stage up from a bottle and don't help her much she's completely capable of holding this by herself but she won't as long as your doing it for her! I know another thing that helped my daughter when bringing the baby home was we bought her new baby dolls and all the fun accessories bottles, bouncer, baby doll bed and held it back until we brought her new sister home this seemed to help a lot!! Also let her get involved with the baby, help her hold the new baby talk to him/her, sing to him/her this will help a great deal with the jealousy! Good luck you'll look back in a few months and wonder what you were so worried about I know I did! Good Luck and Congrats!!

Answer 6

17 months is a bit old, IMHO, for a child to refuse to hold the bottle. If you leave her to do it, and refuse to hold it for her, she WILL catch on that she has to assert a bit more independence. You should also probably try to switch her to a cup, for the sake of her teeth. I had a hard time switching my dd from a bottle to a cup, but after only offering her a cup and nothing else, she eventually got thirsty enough to drink from it(sippy cup of course). We had a little power struggle, but as a parent, you have to start early with showing who is BOSS or you are always going to have a struggle. She will fuss, she will fight, she will cry-but if you do not waver and do not give in, she WILL get the idea.
As far as veggies go, if that is all you offer, she will eventually get hungry enough to eat it. Fruit, too.
It is FRUSTRATING as all get out. To the point you may want to scream into a pillow so you don't scream at her, but it really does have to be done.
I wish you ALL the best, Mommy.

Answer 7

Sippy Cups are a must at 17 mos. Now is the time to try to change her offer her the milk in the sippy cup you have 6 weeks. . Tell her her new sibling will need the bottles and that it is time to use a big girl cup. Will she eat cheese and yoguart. I think you may need to hire someone to come in and help you a few hours a day. mine ar 17 mo apart and we had a lot of help. I can't imagine doing it all by myself. I hope you have her on a multi vitamin. She need to take a half of flinestone vit everyday. try to offer her veg and fruit one at a time present. 1 veg on the plate. Encourage her to eat it. After a few bites add a fruit to the plate. Don't always offer her chicken and bread.

Answer 8

I had a similar situation early in my being pregnant after my husband and that i had intimate kin. i'm 19 a million/2 weeks now and each thing is high quality. i think of that only purely a splash of bleeding is conventional. whether, if it keeps or if bleeding turns into heavier, i could actual call your wellbeing care expert. Or while you're fairly annoying, only call your wellbeing care expert's workplace to be certain what they say. i grow to be a afraid of calling at first for each little situation, yet they have been so super. they're used to human beings asking comparable questions. better of luck on your being pregnant. i wish each and every thing is going nicely!

Answer 9

Well your toddler doesn't need to ahve milk in abottle so if she doesn't want to drink it herself then you don't have to sit htere and hold it for her.
As for the picky eating a toddler will not starve themselves to death. So serve whatever food you want and if she doesn't eat it then dont make a fuss, and dont offer her chicken and bread afterwards just because you feel she is going to starve.
She will learn soon enough that she has to eat whats on offer or be hungry.

Answer 10

That is the same age difference as my last two children. You will survive, however the first year is a little rough. As far as your toddler expecting you to hold her bottle, I would suggest it is time for you to hand her the bottle. She will figure it out.