Baby #2

Wow! I had a whole bunch of things to suggest, but I think Alexis and Pamela covered them all. My son was "high energy" too, and he loved being involved with helping me with the baby. He usually was fine coloring or doing puzzles or even just watching a show. And if I were busy using the toilet (which was rare...lol), he would entertain her until I got back. He's always loved having her attention and making her smile, and being the Big Brother has made him more responsible and been amazing to watch all that he does to make her smile and laugh. It's wonderful!

Best wishes to you, and congratulations on your new baby! Congratulations to your little Big Sister, too. Don't forget to get her a cute "I'm a Big Sister!" shirt to wear to the hospital. :D

I had a very similar situation with my oldest when my 2nd child was born. He is a very busy boy, but considered me his playmate! He did pretty well, but here is what I wish I would have thought of in advance...
1. I made one of the shelves in our closet down stairs a craft shelf for him. I put coloring books, crayons, color wonder markers and color wonder coloring books, stamps, paper, stickers, sticker books, pipe cleaners, etc. This a great time to make a special trip to Target and Toys R us for her to pick out some special "big sister" prizes. If there is a toy (one that she can play with independently) that she has really been wanting - go for it! My son got his train table and it was true blessing!
2. I have created a snack shelf down low in the pantry and in the refrigerator that he can get his own healthy snacks. I promise you - as soon as you start feeding the baby and you get settled - they will want a drink or snack.
3. I brought books, puzzles, cars and his favorite toys into our family room where I did the majority of day time feedings. It kills the OCD side of me, however, I nursed my 2nd for 14 months and my husband travels almost every week, so I was in survival mode!
4. Have her help with diaper changes - my son was obsessed with this! He loved to retrieve diapers and wipes and ALWAYS tried to make the baby laugh. He also liked to get toys for the baby to look at while I changed him! I set up 3 easy "changing stations" in our house...in the family room down stairs, in the baby's room and in our bedroom so that I wasn't having to leave my oldest alone to go and change the baby.
5. My son was a little younger when our 2nd was born and was potty trained but still needed help wiping. I am not sure if this is an issue for you - but if it is - let her pick out wet wipes, fun soap and make sure that you have a stool available in every bathroom in the house! Practice now!
6. Just remember that for 3.5 years she has been the star of the show and now she is going to have to adjust to sharing the spotlight. It may take some time for her to adjust and just make sure that you and your husband give her a little extra time with each of you.
Good luck and I am sure that it will go great!

If you will be nursing, you can always read to her while you all sit on the couch together. You can also allow her to "help" with the diaper changes. Have her hand you things or hold the diaper until you are ready for it. Ask her to go get a Wal-Mart sack to wrap the dirty diapers in.

After a while, she will probably "head for the hills" when she "smells" the dirty diapers and will find something for herself to do when it comes time to change the baby. LOL ;o)

Congrats!

P. <><

My daughter had just turned 3 when my first son was born.

One thing that I saw that no one had suggested is to let her help feed the baby. If you are going to be nursing, concider pumping occationally so that she can still help by giving a bottle now and then.

Definitly let her help with diaper changes. My daughter loved getting the diapers for her brother and I would even let her help squirt the diaper rash ointments onto my finger when it was needed.

The little ones like holding the baby also. I never refused to let my daughter hold the baby (sitting on the sofa next to me) when she asked as long as he was not asleep. Of course being so high energy, it doesn't take them long at all to tire of holding the baby.

I also let her help bathe the baby. During bath time, I would pull up a chair next to me and the sink. I would let her wash him and rinse him with dirrection and guidance. This is her favorite thing to do, and she still helps me do this with my third baby.

Most importantly, when the baby is down for naps, be sure to devote extra time to her and do fun activities with her so she still knows that you love her and haven't forgot about her. Here and there I would also take her and only her out with me when my husband got home from work. A simple trip to the pet store to look at EVERY creature they have was enough to make her day! Now that my middle child is almost 2, I make sure that I alter who goes with me to do simple errands or things once the hubby is home so that they all can have special one on one time with me.

My son was 6.5 when my #2 was born, so that was a lot different, but one piece of advice that was very helpful with avoiding jealousy issues was to tell the new baby that he/she would need to wait for a minute while you finish playing with the older sibling. The older child has to wait so often while we tend to the babies needs, it's nice for them to hear that their wants/needs come first sometimes. I hadn't thought of saying it aloud to the baby, but it makes sense. Congratulations on your growing family!

When my second son was born, my oldest was just about to turn 3, so they are similar in age. A friend of mine gave me a suggestion I thought worked great, especially if you'll be nursing. She told me to have an activity he can do only when I was nursing. For us, it was some special puzzles we would only get out when I was feeding. I would work it out so I could help him while I was feeding him and he loved that it was his special thing to do while the baby got my attention also. It doesn't have to be a puzzle, though, just a special activity he enjoys doing, even just a new coloring book or something. But we made a big deal about it being special and only let him do them when baby brother was feeding. It really helped in the first few months especially so he didn't feel left out. As our baby got older we eventually just dropped it because he didn't ask for them and really got so used to his brother eating that it wasn't as big of a deal.

Good luck and I hope that helps a little.