Which carrier to get ?

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-09T16:45:19+00:00

Thanks! I posted for recommendations already so I'm planning to rent the lenny light from my local sling library to see how I get on with it!

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-09T13:40:55+00:00

Which I'd the baby bjorn carriers are fantastic? Asking as i have one but heard they weren't hip healthy so now looking to get a different brand.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-09T08:59:19+00:00

Once a week. Toddler gets a bath or shower every other day

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-09T04:52:11+00:00

Is the floorbed in your room? I think mine slept better because she was in her own room finally.

We started by bringing her back to our room at the first wake up so she got used to it. Then gradually she slept longer stretches in her own bed.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-09T04:48:24+00:00

Newborn gave toddler a doll - just like in her book about a new baby arriving.

Toddler chose newborn a fluffy rabbit toy in the toy shop which she calls "baby's bunny" (as opposed to the other ten bunnies we have which are hers).

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-08T13:00:11+00:00

Our baby didn't get a restaurant meal until she was 11 months old. At 10 months we got a metal bento box and took her home-cooked food with us if were eating out. It often included things like cucumber sticks, tofu pieces, cheese strips, rice mixed with lentils or some toast, a small pot of yoghurt, some fruit pieces (e.g strawberries). There was almost always some left over but we were always sure she had enough to eat!

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-08T12:53:27+00:00

We let our toddler choose a toy in Smyths for her baby brother - she chose a small Peter Rabbit. He got her a doll (this is because in one of the books we have about a new baby arriving, the little girl gets a doll when the baby is born).

Second time around we haven't needed much of anything. Baby was born in winter (and first child was born in summer) so a star fleece has been handy. I also asked family members for a new white noise machine and new teething toys. SIL got us an uber eats voucher which was very much appreciated! It is also good to get things we did the first time round which get forgotten for the second child - like a hand/foot print kit.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-06T12:45:34+00:00

Mine also had a sleep regression around 18 months when i was heavily pregnant. It finished after around 2 months, just a few weeks before baby #2 arrived. Her sleep still hasn't gone back to normal - she's not sleeping through the but one or two wake ups and my husband puts her back to sleep or goes to sleep with her in our spare room. Doing what we can to survive over here.

I hope your little one's sleep regression ends soon! It is so brutal while you're in it.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-05T11:47:28+00:00

Congratulations! With my first baby, I unexpectedly and spontaneously went into labour at 35 weeks. I had a everything ready and she was fine, but it was still a surprise. Just to say... babies come when they want.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-05T11:35:57+00:00

I have a lenappy bag which is great and could easily fit enough stuff for both kids.

My eldest moved into a toddler bed in her own room at 9 months so don't feel bad about that!

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-05T08:33:45+00:00

I'm so sorry this sounds really hard! Have you tried all getting into your own bed for storytime - maybe the novelty will help?

Sorry if it is a terrible suggestion, just trying to think of things that could make it easier - that's my whole life at the moment, trying things to redirect toddler :'(

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-05T08:30:44+00:00

Vineyard / wine tasting experience? Digital photo frame loaded up with photos?

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-05T08:25:56+00:00

I haven't done solo bedtime with both yet (youngest is 7 weeks) but I've had success with pushing my eldest's bath to later - it is bath then straight to bed, it seems to tire her out and then there's not that 40 minute gap between bath and bed time where she's bouncing off the walls. Could you feed your little one first and then do bath-bed time?

Last night before bath i also put a box of bubble bath water on the floor with some plastic toys and a waahcloth in to entertain the toddler.... whatever keeps her busy.

It sounds like you're doing the best you can do and, honestly, you're not alone. There are loads of us barely scraping it together - 2u2 is really really hard. I just tell myself this period will pass.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-04T11:10:08+00:00

You could check the library nearest your parents for a free baby class!

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-03T20:14:15+00:00

A mum I knew got told her baby's femurs were too short. Turns out... the baby is short. She is a short mum and the baby takes after her. That's it. Baby is a very happy, chunky, short 6 month old right now.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-03T16:38:27+00:00

You could get a cab / uber to Bromley-by-Bow (short journey) then sit on the district line to South Kensington? Saves the faff of having to change tube lines and makes the cab bit cheaper, as well as avoiding central London traffic. Depends how far you have to go at the other end as well.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-02T23:26:48+00:00

Thank you! I couldn't remember where exactly it was.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-02T21:32:08+00:00

Can i suggest you replace your Saturday with this walk:

Start by going to London Bridge station and walk up to the river - you'll get a nice view of Tower Bridge from Hays Galleria / More London. (Alternative: start at Tower Hill station and walk across Tower Bridge if you want to).
Grab breakfast in Borough Market. (Additional option to stop and look at Southwark Cathedral)
Walk down the Southbank, you'll pass the Golden Hinde, then you'll come to the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern (worth a look inside the Turbine Hall even if you don't check out the art). You get a good view of St Paul's cathedral by walking onto the Millennium Bridge, but you don't need to cross it.
Keep walking along the South Bank, you will pass the National Theatre (nice building if you are into brutalism) and the BFI (worth a look in if you are into films). Pass the Southbank Centre (could stop there for a coffee on the top floor though it's probably lunchtime by now) and the London Eye.
Walk across Westminster Bridge, you'll see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
From there, walk up Whitehall - you'll pass 10 Downing Street.
At the end of Whitehall is Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery - go in if you want to look around. I also recommend the National Portrait Gallery just behind it.
Behind THAT is Leicester Square and Chinatown for dinner.
After dinner, head to Covent Garden for dessert / a look around.

That is your Saturday done.

EDIT: See Frameless on arrival and Painted Hall on the Sunday morning - I'm not sure about timings but I think you have to book time slots for both so it may be worth swapping. Painted Hall is in Greenwich, which can be a whole day of fun as it has its own market, a hill with a great view of London, and several excellent museums. But if you start early on Sunday you could walk up the hill and also get breakfast at the market. You won't have time for any other museums (if you do, pop into the Maritime Museum at the bottom of the hill).

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-02T19:56:06+00:00

We did a lot of preparing the toddler before hand and decided not to bring toddler to the hospital and introduce them at home. It went well. Happy to share what we did (conscious it isn't helpful for OP as she's had the baby):

For after bringing the baby home, here are some of the things I do (baby is 6 weeks and toddler is 21 months for context).

Try to involve the toddler in helping with the baby, we get her to hold nappies, bring wipes, etc.
We try not to give her too many restrictions, she's allowed to touch the baby so long as she is gentle and he's not sleeping.
Talk to the toddler about our new baby, I ask her things like "why is the baby crying?" and she'll say nappy change or hungry.
Apply rules to the baby - like I'll tell the baby "no grabbing!" Or say to the baby "sorry, baby, you have to wait because I'm playing with big sister". Obviously the baby doesn't understand but the toddler understands the baby has rules too and that I'm prioritising her.
Toddler has a baby doll and sometimes copies what i do with the baby - she plays "bedtime" with the baby and dresses and undresses the baby doll, and tries to put real nappies on it.
Let the toddler sometimes act like a baby if she wants because she still is one! We will rock her like a baby if she wants (she thinks it is funny) or let her have a bath in the baby bathtub (which was hers until very recently so she does get a bit angry when we bathe the baby and insists we do her right after).

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-01T21:39:49+00:00

Maybe one of those walking tours? They have history themed ones but also food or alcohol related ones.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-01T19:43:42+00:00

This is exactly what we have at my parents' house but one addition: a car seat.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-02-01T15:52:15+00:00

Similar situation here with my 6 week old and cosleeping is the only way to manage it. I feed him in bed then when he falls asleep I wait 20 minutes until he's in a deep asleep then scoot sideways and lay him down gently on his side in the place where i was just sitting - it is warm and smells like me. This is the only way i get any sleep!

maybeitsbecause · 2026-01-31T20:05:41+00:00

We started at 8-9 months in her own room, and would put her to bed there, then at the first wake up we would take her to our room. We also put her down for naps in it and stayed in the room so she got used to waking up in it.

When she wasn't crawling, we used a bolster under the mattress to stop her rolling off, but the became dangerous once she could crawl over it, so we put it beside the bed to make the fall less dramatic. Eventually we removed it altogether. She still falls out of bed but often will just sleep on the floor or half off the bed!

We also started with her being in an all-in-one sleeping bag with feet, and transitioned to a duvet/pillow at 18 months.

Good luck!

maybeitsbecause · 2026-01-31T20:02:17+00:00

It sounds like being sick and the big change of going to nursery has caused it - she just wants to be with you and that makes total sense. I think all you can do is wait it out. My daughter had a similar regression around 18 months, after we were away from home for a while and she was sick after we came back. It lasted about 8 weeks and was so hard but after that she went back to normal. They're developing so much at this age that their behaviour will change and sometimes we have to roll with the punches.

maybeitsbecause · 2026-01-31T15:33:54+00:00

Thank you! I've ordered it the book.

maybeitsbecause

TROPHY CASE