I just wanted to say Hi! I have a 20 mo. old and I am 28 weeks pregnant so my little ones are going to be 23 mo. apart... I am also a stay at home mom... Everybody is telling me to get a baby doll and hold it and act like thats the baby for your 1st born to get used to it.. I was sitting here tonight thinking the same thing.. On top of that we got a puppy and we are moving into our first house the 1st of oct. so my son is going to have lots of changes.. but remember no matter what everything will turn out fine.. lol Keep me post and good luck with the rest of your pregnancy

Well, hi! I guess I'm just really worried about the jealousy issue, I'm not quite sure how I'd deal. I'm sure with a new baby, & a toddler.. we'll have plenty of stress to figure out how to manage correctly! The baby doll thing is a pretty good idea, & she actually does have a babydoll that she carries around everywhere with her. I'm just not too sure if anything is going to get her ready for a real baby coming home to stay. She's mommy's little girl, but at the same time.. she's been around babies & seems to love them (gives them kisses & hugs), but their also not in her house, or playing with her toys. lol. But I guess I never know, maybe 8 mos. from now, she will be completely ready for our new addition. Take care, & good luck with your pregnancy as well! Btw, in comparsion to your first, did you start showing sooner this time? If so, how much? Just wondering, I heard you start showing A LOT sooner the 2nd time around. Thanks!

Hi I have a son that just turned 3 and i am 34 weeks pregnant so i am in the same kind of boat as you.. however.. i dont think my son will be too jealous because i have a close cousin that has a baby and he adores her and is always telling me to pick her up and when she cries he tells me that she wants me so i think that i am going to be lucky in the jealousy department... but good luck on your pregnancy!

My two youngest siblings are 13 months apart. It was easier when they were babies. They liked each other then. They're 7 and 8 now. So... much... fighting...

I have a daughter who is 2 and a half and a son who is one and a half and another one due about the same time as you. I dont find it to hard to have them as close as they are. They have each other to play with and my son loves to do whatever his sister is doing so he acts older than he is. It all depends on how your child is. my daughter was like yours with the babydoll and still is so as long as you make time to spend with just her it should be fine

my kids are 10 months apart. i honestly don't find it hard at all. i would of had three under three last year but i had a miscarriage at 21 weeks. i'm not going to lie, they do fight. but most of the time they play together and have fun.

to answer your questions more specifically:

easy times/hard times: once they were both sleeping through it was quite easy for me. it's all about routine. it is hard having two sets of nappies to change etc but your 1st child may be out of them by then.

jealousy: it is normal for siblings to get jealous. they do it no matter the age gap. jealousy issues in my house are usually to do with toys or if one is sat on mummys knee and the other one wants to get on. they will usually cry and if they are really angry they might lash out at the other one. you have to learn to deal with that before a fight escalates

getting along: my two have similar intrerests in toys as the gap between their developmental age is lessening the older they are getting. they share toys (most of the time) they love to play hide and seek and play wrestling eachother.

sleeping schedules: to start with it's hard as the newborn wakes up but once my two were sleeping through it was easy. thy both go to bed at 8pm and wake up at 8am. they also both go down for an hours nap in the afternoon at the same time or if we are out they will fall asleep in their pushchair at the same time. they seem to be in sync with eachother

sharing room: this can be hard. one will inevitably disturb the other. usually to play or to annoy. this can mean it takes them longer to get to sleep or they may wake up earlier in the mornings. they will get out of it... eventually

hope i was of help.

if you need any more help feel free to pm me

Thanks a lot, ladies! It's kinda scary to not really know what your getting yourself into, ya know? & to think, it's only going to be about 7 mos. from now!

I have a 16 month old and I'm 5 months pregnant. My daughter will be about 22 months when this new baby is born.

I know it'll be challenging at times, but I'm also a stay at home mommy. So, I'm sure it'll be easier because I have the advantage of being with them 24/7. But then again, I might go CRAZY being with them 24/7!! hahahaha!

Sarah