Have you got a newborn and a toddler? Or perhaps you are expecting a newborn in the coming months and will be making the transition from 1 to 2, or 2 to 3 or more? I’m Ashleigh, mum to my 3.5 year old daughter and 22 month old son. And just recently, in May, we welcomed our third child – another little boy into the family.
The transition into parenthood, is all about working out how to keep this totally dependent little infant alive. I remember coming home from hospital, with my baby and without a manual, thinking that I didn’t have a clue what to do next. And then there is the transition from 1-2 (or more!) – you know vaguely what to do with a baby and have already successfully proven that you can keep a baby alive, but learning to juggle multiple little people and their needs at the same time is a whole other ball game. We have 21 months between my eldest and middle child, and 21 months again between my middle child and youngest. Life can be chaotic to say the least, but I have learnt a few tips and tricks to help smooth the road bumps!
Having experienced newborn life before, you already know that a significant chunk of your time can be taken up by feeding, changing and settling your new baby. How can you possibly manage to do that, whilst you have a toddler or preschooler around? Let me show you!
Busy bags
Busy bags have honestly been such a game-changer for us and have worked well for both the transition from 1-2 and 2-3 kids. The idea behind them, is that when I need to sit down and feed the baby, I let the toddler/s pick out a busy bag each. The busy bags contain an independent activity, and they only have access to it while I am feeding. This makes the busy bags special and exciting!! Busy bags don’t have to be complicated to put together and you can use whatever resources you have on hand. The rules are:
- The child has to be able to do them independently. Ideally this means it is an activity they are familiar with or have been exposed to in the past.
- Aim for mess free. I purposely don’t include anything involving drawing because I just can’t trust my toddlers not to go to town on the walls or furniture with crayons and markers. If you have a responsible toddler, a Hey Doodle mat would be a fantastic busy bag addition!
- Don’t get caught up on this one, but if you can make the busy bags open ended (ie more than one use or way to play), that will extend the life and their engagement with the bag. For example, I have a busy bag that includes an ocean animals memory game and some matching figurines. The kids could choose to play memory, match the figurines to the memory coins or play imaginatively with the figurines. Multiple ways to play all within the one bag!
The On The Road Toob matches great with the Transport Flash Cards.
Some busy bags we have had in the past include:
- Colour matching activities – the possibilities for this one are literally endless. Currently, we are using the metal-rimmed counting chips and magnetic wands with some pieces of coloured paper.
- Animal matching activities – matching animal figurines (the CollectA tube animals are a great size for this) with flashcards, or a book. The Animal Sound Flashcards and CollectA Farm Tube work particularly well for this.
- A tub of playdough with some simple accessories; a favourite playdough addition here is the wooden hammer and wooden nail set.
- Felt balls, a pair of tongs and some containers for sorting (Glass jars, Lola tubes or Grapat Mates work great for this)
- Building materials make great busy bags – for example, a bag with Fat Brain Toys Squigz or Miniland cubes.
- Loose parts (such as mandala pieces) and some DIY pattern cards.
- Simple posting activities such as match sticks and a spice jar or Grapat coins and a box/formula tin.
- Busy Books – we absolutely love the Curious Columbus busy books range. They are full of fine motor activities that the kids are able to work on independently – and as an added bonus, it keeps them engaged for ages!
The Curious Columbus felt letter sets are great for busy bags, they have matching flash cards and a colour coordinated to help young children match them up.
Simple invitations to play
I use this one a lot first thing in the morning. The evening prior, I will prep something simple to pop out when we get up in the morning. This keeps them occupied while I feed and change baby, and prep everyone breakfast. I keep this super duper simple, and don’t spend anymore than 5 minutes preparing them. Alison has a fantastic blog on invitations to play, but some that we have been enjoying lately are:
- I will pop out some animals and magnetic tiles. My 22 month old usually makes boxes to hide the animals in, while my 3.5 year old will create more elaborate set-ups like zoos.
- A muffin tray and some loose parts or magnetic tiles.
- Some silks and their babies.
- A puzzle that I know they can do independently.
Sometimes this may even be something that is already out on their shelf – I just pull it off the shelf and put it in the middle of the play area as an invitation to play!
You'll be amazed the fun kids can come up with using a muffin tray and loose parts.
Role play with dolls
This is such a great one for helping your toddler feel included! Both my 3.5year old and 22 month old have their own Miniland Doll, and we also have the Make me Iconic Doll nurturing kit. While I am tending to the needs of their baby brother, I encourage them to do the same with their dolls; from feeding, burping and changing. We also did a lot of role play with their dolls in the lead up to their baby brother’s arrival, as a way to help prepare the big kids.
A doll and a Doll Nurturing kit are great way to amuse your older children while you tend to bub. They can mirror what you are doing and feel involved.
Books
Reading books together is such an easy activity to do while you are trapped on the couch with baby. My two toddlers are huge bookworms, and so they don’t require much encouragement to pick out a book. If I have enough hands free, I’ll hold the book and read while I feed, but otherwise I encourage them to hold the book and turn the page when I say so. They take turns picking out what book to read, and can easily sit through an entire feeding session and longer – just reading books! It’s a beautiful way to connect with all three children at once too.
Chameleon reader
And for those times where I’m simply not able to sit down and read with them – perhaps the baby is unsettled and I’m having to bounce, rock and pace, the chameleon reader comes into a life of its own. I have used the Chameleon Reader to pre-record a heap of books. We keep these books separate from the rest of our books, and so it is easy for them to find a book that they can use with the reader. They are able to select a book, and read it independently using the reader, and will happily do so for chunks of time. I’ve also used the reader to record blurbs on the flashcards in their busy bags. Its such a versatile little tool!
The Chameleon Reader is great for promoting independence when a new little sibling comes along.
Playdough kits
Finally, themed playdough kits have been another game changer for us. I use the Ikea GLIS containers to set up a themed kit that the toddlers are able to fetch themselves. Inside the kit, is everything they need to set up some playdough play independently. Some themes we have done previously include ocean animals, farm, cupcakes (with silicon patty pans and candles), and transport kits using a combination of playdough cutters, stampers, figurines and loose parts. You can use whatever you have on hand to create a kit. The great thing about playdough is that it is relatively mess free, and when combined with some accessories and loose parts, it can really keep them busy for quite some time.
Themed playdough kits like this Transport one are great for amusing children in multiple ways while you're feeding and caring for your new baby.
- Ashleigh from @3to.play
So many amazing ideas in this blog! Busy bags are genius!!!