Playing with my toddler AND new baby (2 months) is a new challenge for me. How do you juggle playing with both kids? Did you experience sibling rivalry? A jealous toddler while you nurse? Guilt leaving the baby crying while you tend to the toddler (I’m thinking about potty training in particular!) or visa versa (just more guilt)?
These are all things I’m working through and here are a few things I’ve learned so far. My toddler wants to help but he’s genuinely not sure what to do with a baby. So I ask my toddler lots of questions about how the baby is doing. Is he happy? Is he crying? Hungry? This seems to help my toddler interact and be a part of the mommy-baby situation. My toddler now likes to report the new baby’s behavior, especially in the car when I can’t see him. My toddler also likes to help by getting things for me such as a diaper or water. In the pictures below you can see that my toddler also likes to mimic what I’m doing and take care of “his” baby, who he named Isaac. Since he likes to do everything himself, he can practice doing all the things I do with our little one. This way if he asks to do something to help that maybe is not appropriate yet, I’ll ask him to do it with his baby!
What are your toddler/new baby tricks? How do you handle both together?