Monday, May 9, 2011

Taking time now means less struggle later ... I hope

When I found out I was pregnant again, I was of course excited and beyond nervous to say the least. Since Calan was 4 months old, I have known that his little sibling was on the way. He is now 10 months. Knowing I'd be a mother of two sooner than later gave me motivation to really focus on Calan's schedule, routine, and behavior.

Now I know that most mother's focus on these things. I just mean that maybe I saw them a little differently because I was always thinking about what it might be like with a newborn around. I can't really explain to Calan that we are having another baby, I have to figure out other ways to help him with the transition. Even at 13 months, I am not sure how much he is going to understand what it is going. I just have to hope that some skills that I have taught Calan help us with the transition.

I have mentioned before that Calan spends 40 minutes in his pack and play twice a day (usually) playing by himself. Even though our parenting mentors suggested starting pack and play time early, it wasn't till I was pregnant that I really thought that I would actually do it. Knowing that there were times in my day that I would need Calan playing by himself happily while I nursed a newborn gave me the motivation to stick with pack and play time. He did not like it right away, but that was 5 months ago and now most of the time he is laughing and singing to himself as he plays with the few toys I put in there for him.

This week we have been working on Calan playing on a blanket. I should have started this skill before Calan was really moving, but I have been told it is never too late to start. Having him play happily on a blanket for a set amount of time, gives him space to play and boundaries to play with in even if there are not walls to contain him. Right now we are taking it slow. I can usually get him to play happily for about 3 to 5 minutes before he tries to crawl off the blanket. We are working our way toward 10 minutes with out me having to reset him on the blanket. And my hope from there is that he will play there for about 30 minutes eventually.

Other things that we are planning are a few nights away from Calan. I don't want our first time away from him to be when his sister gets here. I feel like he needs to know that there are other times when we are away for an extended period of time. And heck, my husband and I need a night or two to get away before we have our hands full.

Any other mothers out there have a few tricks on what I should be doing to help Calan prepare for his sibling? What should I be teaching so that the transition goes as smoothly as possible. He is a pretty easy going kid. I am hoping that characteristic plays well for us come July.

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