Hi

Have you had your child checked to see if they have a mild tongue tie?  My second daughter was born with a mild tongue tie and although it didn't affect her feeding she has trouble pronouncing 'k', 'd' and 't' sounds.  She is 4 1/2 so not that much older than your son.  We have been aware of the issue since she was younger and have been helping her to try and say the sounds she has trouble with.

We have been referred to a speech pathologist but in the meantime have been using the activities I found on this web site.

http://www.speechtx.com/articulation.htm

We have seen a huge improvement in her pronunciation and she loves doing her games each day.  I found the site by googling "speech pathology pronunciation" and there were a range of sites to choose from.

Hope that helps 

Hi Rose Mama

Getting organised before the new bub is born is a great idea!  I found that after my second baby (and 3rd and 4th) it takes me a good 9 months to be able to get back on track with everything so starting with an organised home is a big bonus.

Good luck.

Hi Sarah

I'm Julie and have a little girl turning one this week.  I am definitely not expecting again though since she is my fourth baby and I think we are done now.

When my second baby was 10 months old I found out we were expecting again so I understand the feeling of being overwhelmed.  The best advice I can give is to take each day as it comes and try and achieve just one thing every day.  Just choose any little thing and do it each day so at the end of the day you can say "I did X today".   For me it is the washing    Anything else is a bonus, especially with such a small babe and another on the way.

I look forward to seeing you on the forum.

Hi LizzyBee

I also have a small gap between two of my children (17 months) and was a bit freaked when I found out.  Our previous gap was 4 1/2 years.  I found it easier with the close gap because I was already changing nappies, breastfeeding and being woken up in the middle of the night so it wasn't a huge adjustment.  With the 4 1/2 year gap I had just got used to more sleep and independence so it was a shock going back to the baby stage.

Good luck!  Let me know if there's any other questions about having a baby with a toddler and I'll see if I can help.

Hi Sunshine Mama

Welcome to the world of parenting!   I hope you find lots of useful info on the forums and post any questions you have.  I remember being a new mum and wondering if something was normal or not and I wish I had a resource like this.

I'm glad we could help reassure you Saunier

That's true heyblue41 which is why the WHO chart is the one you should refer to as it is based on breastfed babies. 

In Australia the old charts based on formula fed babies have been discontinued after a lot of lobbying by the Australian Breastfeeding Association and the WHO charts are now used instead.  The older charts were showing breastfed babies to be lower weight than recommended and health professionals would advise mothers to top up with formula because their breast milk was insufficient which was wrong. 

That is interesting McDume because we thought the same but boy were we wrong.  Our first two children were 4 1/2 years apart and our first child struggled so much more than children who were younger.  Even now over 4 years later she adores her two youngest sisters but has a love/hate relationship with her second sister stemming from her feeling that her world changed when she was born.  We did everything to try and support her through this and change it but it comes up time and time again.  Prior to her sister being born she had been begging for us to have another baby and couldn't wait for her to be born. 

She was at kindy, had friends and family and other activities that we maintained and nothing changed as far as her activities but it wasn't enough.  She understood but on an emotional level she was upset.

I've also noticed this with other families with a large gap between siblings.  The older child may be easier to distract in the short term but long term remembers the way they had all the attention and is resentful.  Younger children tend to adapt a lot better and although it is harder in the early days they seem to bond better with younger siblings and don't really remember being an only child with their parent's undivided attention therefore don't tend to crave it to the same extent.

Having said all this I also think that the personality of the older child is a huge variable and can make all the difference in how well they adapt, regardless of their age.

About 3% of all babies are breech so it's a fairly common issue in pregnancy.  It's also not unusual for breech babies to turn at the last minute of their own accord.   Up until fairly recently breech babies were still delivered vaginally unless there was another reason for sectioning.  It was considered another variation of normal birth although it was seen as more difficult.  Midwives and obstetricians were trained and had experience in delivering breech babies safely.  Now that most breech babies are routinely delivered via c-section that knowledge has been largely lost which compromises the health and safety of babies who are undiagnosed as breech and limits the birthing options of those whose babies are breech.

This is the study that found that breech babies were more at risk if delivered vaginally than if delivered by c-section.  It is the study that has been used as the basis of the policy of sectioning for breech.

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(00)02840-3/fulltext?_eventId=login

Here is a commentary about the flaws in the above study/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2382853/Term-Breech-Trial-Commentary1

Here is an article about how c-sections are not necessarily the best option for breech births and why Canadian obstetricians are being encouraged to manage breech deliveries vaginally.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/c-section-not-best-option-for-breech-birth/article1186104/

At the end of the day though it's something that all factors need to be taken into account when making a decision.  If there are midwives or obstetricians skilled in breech birth than a c-section has a better outcome but it is a shame that all that knowledge has been lost and our choices as birthing women are reduced.

For my eldest I bought a cheap plywood dollhouse kit and painted it.  That was in 2003 and it is still used on a daily basis by all the girls so was $25 well spent 

My second DD I bought a wooden farmhouse with wooden animals, a farmer and some wooden fences.  It cost about $90 from memory but was worth it since it is really sturdy and is constantly played with.

My third DD I bought some crates of wooden play food which was $40 for 4 little crates plus I spent another $20 on various single items like wooden chocolate and milk and biscuits to make it more complete.  We had bought a cheap wooden play oven for my second daughter that year from a department store for $40 so they share the home corner.

I think for 2 year olds you can't go past sturdy wooden toys and I am noticing they're becoming more available in department stores when a few years ago you could rarely get anything other than plastic toys which tend to break really easily.

For parties we keep it really simple and have family afternoon teas or dinners with grandparents and great grandparents until they are at school.

Hope that helps.

J

I know what you mean.  My youngest is 1 next week.  I also have a nearly 9 year old, a 4 year old and a nearly 3 year old.  I think this time because she is definitely my last I am feeling it more than I did with the others.  Each new milestone she reaches marks the end of an era.  With the others there was always a chance that I would have another baby.

On the other hand I am also looking forward to the extra freedom that my babies growing up will give me 

Hi

I've always found that after the initial excitement of having a new baby which lasts a couple of days there really isn't anything that exciting about a baby to a toddler. They don't do anything, take up Mum and Dad's time and sleep or feed a lot.  Which is really pretty boring to a toddler.

Why are you concerned about your toddler being excited?  Is it because you are worried that they may not bond with the baby?  If this is the case my advice is to relax and not worry too much because once the baby is a bit more interesting your toddler will be more interested in baby.

The  you need to do is give your toddler lots of reassurance that they are important and still try and make time to do things that are interesting for him and are part of his usual routine.  Don't focus on wanting him to be excited or loving towards his sister but allow him to interact with her at his own pace.  I've found that the more worried we become about trying to get our toddlers to do something the less likely they are to do it.  If you give them some space and take your cues from your little boy he will soon be so interested he will want to interact with her.  That's when you need to lovingly support his interactions and show him how he can play with her.

I find that somewhere between 2-4 months my older children have become fascinated with the baby.  This coincides with the new routine becoming more established and predictable and the baby becoming more aware of her surroundings and interactive with her environment.

I always make sure I have mince in the freezer and pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste and kidney beans in the pantry. We usually have onions, garlic and other veges in the fridge too.  With these ingredients I can throw together a few different meals that I call desperation tea 

Bolognaise Sauce

Chop up an onion and garlic and saute in a frying pan. 
Add mince and brown.
Add some mustard or chutney to taste.
Add 1-2 tins of tomatoes and tomato paste to taste.
Add whatever chopped or grated veges you want to use up eg zucchini, carrots, capsicum, tomatoes etc
Season to taste with salt, basil, or anything else you feel like

Serve over pasta.

If we have leftovers I use them up the next night by reheating on the stove and adding a can of washed and drained kidney beans and seasoning with cumin and/or chilli.  You can also add more tinned tomatoes and veges if you want but if you add more tomatoes you will also need to add some more tomato paste to thicken it.  We serve this with rice, on toast or rolled up in flat bread.
 

Congratulations to all of you!  So many little bubs to look forward to. 

It sure does become more challenging to find the time when they are more mobile. 

I love the way they are learning so much.  Everything is new.  My bub loves packing away at the moment.  She sees her sisters putting away toys and starts picking hers up and putting them in the baskets.  I'm hoping this will continue for many years to come   

Hi NadiaD

Our bubs are almost the same age then  I have to admit I love this age when the whole world starts opening up for them. Mind you I say that about every age since they all have their joys and their challenges.