PARENTHOOD: Supporting the Transition to Siblings Sharing a Bedroom

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If I'm honest I never really thought any of our children would need to share a room, perhaps because I never did with my siblings but either way it just wasn't something I saw for our family prior to having children. But then we had two daughters, Isabella and Poppy, relatively close together (there's a two year two months age gap between them) and their bond blows me away every day. Don't get me wrong they have their moments, but on the whole they love nothing more than being together. When I do get time one on one with either of them they spend the whole time asking for each other, regardless of how fun the activity we're doing is. I have two brothers, so have never witnessed or had any experience of what a sister bond is like but already I can tell how fiercely strong it is. They'll argue over the same toy, but the moment one needs the other they are there with a hug or kiss. It's been and still is such an honour to witness their relationship flourish as they grow older, which is partially why we made the decision for them to share a room together.

MOTHERHOOD: My First Day Alone with a Toddler and Newborn

As I write this it is a few days before my husband returns to work after two weeks paternity leave and I'm left alone with our two children for the first time. Simply writing that makes my tummy flip - how can I look after two children...by myself? I'm outnumbered. Their needs are so different. The guilt is already beginning to build. When paternity leave came to an end with our first baby it was a daunting concept, but I felt under control. If I didn't get dressed all day it didn't matter. If we didn't leave the house for days in a row our newborn baby wouldn't mind. I slept when she slept. I met friends for cake and tea. I lived the maternity leave dream and for that I was extremely lucky.

FAMILY: 6 Ways to prepare a toddler for having a little sibling

One of the biggest concerns when we decided to start trying for baby number two was how Isabella would deal with it. She has been lucky enough to have our sole attention for just over two years now and having that change is something I anticipate being hard for her. When the health visitor came a few weeks ago she said that if Isabella didn't play up after the initial excitement of having a newborn around then she wouldn't be a 'normal' toddler. So, I'm fully expecting some challenging behaviour and to be honest I wouldn't blame her. Her life will change and it is something she has no control over.