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Home / Homeschool / Parenting / How To Manage A Newborn And A Toddler

How To Manage A Newborn And A Toddler

Family, For Home, Parenting, Toddler

Having a sibling is a fantastic gift to give your firstborn child, both as a playmate and, hopefully, a lifetime friend. Yet, planning ahead is essential if you want to have a second child while still taking care of an infant or young toddler. If you fall into this category, having a toddler and a newborn can be a very difficult thing to manage, but there are ways it can be done. Read on to find out more.

Having a toddler and a newborn can be a very difficult thing to manage, but there are ways it can be done.

Accept That It Will Be Hard

There is no point in going into something as big and important as this telling yourself it will all be fine: the new addition to the family, a new routine, less sleep, the newborn photography, etc. You need to be honest with yourself and admit that, actually, it’s going to be hard. Of course it is – your toddler will need you just as much as they ever did, but you’ll also have a newborn to take care of who can’t survive without you.

You need to be in all places at once, and you’ll be exhausted. Plus, it’s crucial you don’t neglect (albeit unintentionally) your first child while you’re looking after the second. It will be hard, and there will be times when you feel guilty because you can’t spend as much time with either child as you might want to, for example. 

It’s a tough thing to accept, but once you understand that it will be like this, you can put plans in place to make it easier. How you do this will depend on your particular circumstances, and the rest of this list will give you some great ideas about the kinds of things you can do. Just don’t hide your head in the sand because that will only make things more difficult and it doesn’t have to be that way at all. 

Having a toddler and a newborn can be a very difficult thing to manage, but there are ways it can be done.

Find Support 

If you don’t have to take care of a newborn and a toddler by yourself, you shouldn’t. It’s great to find plenty of support to help you when you need it. Not only will this mean you can get everything done that you need to do, but it will also make these first few months or even years with your children much more enjoyable. The last thing you want is to look back and wish you had done things differently or feel bad because you didn’t make good plans. 

Support can come from a lot of different places and mean different things, depending on what you need. Perhaps it can come from your partner who will be able to share the caring load with you. They could take the toddler out for the day so you can have some one-on-one time with the baby, for example.

Also, they could do some of the night feeds using expressed milk or infant formula so you can be more awake the next day. They might be the one who spends the day with the baby and it’s the toddler who can have your full attention. They can certainly help with important milestones and research 12 tips to get your baby crawling, for example. 

Or perhaps it is other family members who can come to your aid. Your siblings, your parents, your partner’s parents, and so on, will all be keen to help out – you just need to ask, as they might not be sure about whether or not to ask you for fear of offending you. If they do ask, don’t take offense; they want to help so let them. The same goes for friends. Even if it’s just a visit to your home with some toys for the toddler and some food for you, this is good support. 

Support can also come from strangers. You can find various forums online where you can ask questions and talk to people who are in the same position as you. You’ll get a lot of hints and tips about what you can do to manage a toddler and a newborn, and you might even be able to impart some wisdom of your own. 

When you have support, everything will be much easier, and even if you want to do everything yourself, knowing there is a safety net and a group of people who will do anything for you if you ask them is crucial. 

Meal Prepping

Taking care of a toddler and a newborn is not going to be easy, but good preparation will make it easier. This is particularly true when it comes to food. Your baby will only be having milk, but you and your toddler will need food. This can become problematic when you are trying to care for a newborn. Not only is it a challenge to cook food while holding a newborn and with a toddler around your legs, but it’s not safe for anyone involved either. 

Meal prepping is an excellent idea and one that can start well before you give birth. If you can batch-cook food and freeze as much of it as possible, you’ll have healthy, nutritious, homemade meals ready for you and your family that just have to be defrosted and warmed up. This saves so much time, which, when you are managing a newborn and a toddler, is at a premium as it is. Start doing this a few months before your baby is due, and you’ll have more than enough to see you through. 

As well as this, or instead of it if batch cooking isn’t something you can do, perhaps due to time or storage issues, you should plan each meal through the week. In this way, you will only buy what you need at the grocery store (which will save a lot of money, a crucial consideration when you have a newborn and a toddler). You will also save time because you can just get on with making meals and offering snacks without having to think about what to do. It’s all organized in advance. 

Finally, ask if friends and family can bring food over – again, you might want to freeze this if you get a lot of it. People do like to cook for others, and this generosity will help you spend more time with your children and keep everyone properly fed. 

Having a toddler and a newborn can be a very difficult thing to manage, but there are ways it can be done.

Spend Time Outside 

It might sound strange, but it’s easier to handle a toddler and a newborn when you go outside compared to being at home. To begin with, you can easily put your newborn in a buggy or pram – or perhaps a sling, if you prefer – meaning you have your hands free to take care of your toddler. Plus, being outside means your toddler can play with other children (if you go to the park, for example) or just out in nature. Compared to playing with board games or other toys that might need you to play too, this is much easier. 

Being outside is also great for your children’s health. Fresh air is good for their lungs, their immune systems will be boosted, and they’ll get plenty of vitamin D. Even better, when your toddler is running around outside, they’ll get tired, helping you when it comes to bedtime. 

Tend To The Toddler First 

You can’t be in two places at once, and at some point, you’ll need to choose who you help first – your toddler, or your baby. This might seem impossible, but if you try to do it all at once, the children will get more upset, and you’ll get more frazzled. 

A good rule of thumb is to take care of your toddler first. It’s easy to immediately drop everything you’re doing – including playing with your toddler – when the baby cries, but this can lead to resentment and, if we’re honest, it’s not entirely fair. Take the time to reassure your toddler that you want to spend time with them before you go to take care of the baby. You’ll soon know whether the cries you’re hearing are serious ones or just there to get your attention. This will make it easier to take care of your toddler’s needs first.

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