Entertaining 2 Year Old with Newborn

My oldest was two and a half when our next was born, and her big sister present was a doll house, she would sit and play while I nursed and a changed the baby. Other things that worked well were tag jr books, stickers, play dough (there are lots iof easy make your own recipes), moon dough, bingo markers, lift the flap board books, magnetic dress up dolls, and trains. We found lots of great things at garage sales in May and June. Good luck and Blues Clues was our favorite show for nursing time. Also check your local library for DVD rentals, we found a lot of great ones that way too.

I'm in the same boat. SuperWhy and Word World are also big hits. I chose one show the 2 yo likes to watch only when I'm nursing the baby or post-afternoon nap - which he often wakes up from in a bad clingy mood. What about some megablocks or wooden letters? We also went to the local thrift store and bought a ton of books. I've put them up with some of the Christmas toys and pull out a special "big brother" toy/book when he seems particularly needy or stubborn, that's helped a lot.

Oh yeah - we got a little desk from Walmart where he can color, play with play doh, or eat his snack. He loves it.

My twins were 2.5 when my baby was born in June. Yes, try the regular puzzles. My boys LOVE them. Start with 24 pieces and go from there. Playdoh is a huge hit in our house. I would strap them in their boosters and put them at the kitchen table. That ensured the mess would only be in the kitchen, and it's easy to clean up. My sons really like Thomas the Train, so playing with the train sets was good for us. Not sure what toys your daughter likes, but we found something that got our boys really, really excited. If you want to make the kitchen more fun, get some fake food to play with. Put some of her toys away and switch them out once a week. It'll seem like brand new toys. Also, I like the mother's helper idea. A friend's daughter came over once a week when my baby was born. We did this for two weeks until my c-section healed. Good luck to you!

She won't always be "stubborn" and she is too young to be diagnosed with ADD-if she sat perfectly for hours on end and showed no signs of wanting any autonomy or self determination I would be worried-she sounds like a normal two year old. Try more books and more difficult puzzles-letters, colors, numbers, etc. My two yr old Grandson is doing puzzles for 4 yr old children-and he loves to read-he knows the alphabet and how to spell his name-we literally think he "studies" on his own-though a great deal of time has been spent on teaching him.

Im due with number 2 in a few weeks and I too am worried about what I can do to help keep my daughter entertained. She just turned 2 so she has more toys than any of us know what to do with but like your daughter she gets bored with things very easily. I know that her aquadoodle mat is a big hit with her and its nice to have something arts and crafts like that I dont have to worry will end up all over the floor and walls. We also bought her a large Mr Potato Head for $23 for her birthday that has a family of 4 in it and she loves that. Otherwise I find its hit or miss with her when we are home. I try to take her out as much as possible in the mornings before her nap in the afternoons and that helps to entertain her and to break up our day but once the baby is here I feel I will be in the same boat as you. I dont like to just plunk her in front of the TV all day but I will admit that some days its a life saver.
Good Luck and Congrats on the new little one

our daughter, she's two now, really likes being in the kitchen, we toddler-proofed it, putting ANYTHING that cuts, chops, grinds or breaks out of her reach. she does have her our little space under the sink that has tupperware containers of rice and beans, boxes of her favorite ceral, and plastic containers and wooden spoons.that way she has her very own play space, completely toddler safe.
K. h.

My two year old loved her babies. She had little diapers she would take off and put back on them over and over... she also liked feeding them and pushing them in her stroller.

My two year old loved all the stuff on PBS. Dinosaur Train, Curious George, Caillou... she liked them all, but didn't watch them too much.

My kids (all 3 of them) liked the real looking wooden food by Melissa and Doug. The pizza set, cake set, and grocery sets were huge hits. The pizza and cake do have smaller pieces - so if she still puts little things in her mouth they may not work, but there are lots of sets with bigger pieces. We also bought my son a set of appliances from the Lakeshore Learning Store that included a coffee pot, mixer and blender. They have batteries and really go, so they are super fun.

Good luck!
J.

I "hired" a "mother's helper" of sorts. When my 2nd was born, she had a lot of medical problems, and I had an active 3 year old. Our neighbor had a nice little girl who was way too young to babysit or be alone, (she was about 7 or 8), but she was well-mannered and friendly. So I paid her a couple of dollars to come over and play with my 3 year old. She considered it great training for when she could actually babysit. I was in the same room or nearby, tending to the baby, and the neighbor and my 3 year old would color, play with blocks, race cars, etc. She understood (her mother was great at helping her) that her job was to play with my 3 year old and keep him entertained because I was taking care of the sick baby. So maybe you could find a similar situation.

Try buying a huge bag of rice and pour it into a plastic tub or large pot. Hide "treasures" inside like small toys one day. Next time, toss in a little dump truck or loader to scoop up the rice. The next time, give her a spoon and some small plastic cups to fill and dump. Keep changing the items so she'll stay interested. Just be sure nothing is a choking hazard. Clean up will be easier if you put down an old sheet or tabelcloth first.
We also like bath crayons in a dry tub. Let her color on the tub walls for a while. You can then add some water and give her a bath mitt to erase the art work. This works especially well if you put her in a bathing suit first and call this "swimming" in the tub.
If she can handle safety scissors, give her a few magazines and just let her destroy them. My son loved to do this and by preschool his teacher was thrilled that he could use scissors so well.
Build a fort with pillows, chairs, couch cushions and blankets. Stock it with small toys and picture books. You might even be able to sneak a quick nap in by climbing in there with her.
Shaving cream smeared in a dry tub or on a cookie sheet is fun, too. Let her use her fingers or spoons or straws to draw.
Does Play Dough interest her? My daughter loved it, but my son did not. It would be worth a try though. If it gets all over the floor, just let it dry for a couple of hours and sweep it up (that keeps it from getting ground into your floor or carpet).
Good luck! Someday they will entertain each other... in between sibling squabbles :)