MH - it's awfully daunting! We're 5 months down the track .... and the good news is it gets much better. Some suggestions I had were to really state that it was special mummy and toddler time when we were hanging out. My DD1 seemed to like the label - before I did this she didn't seem to get that we were doing special one on one stuff. I also completely gave up doing anything other than focus on her when bubs was asleep early on - once she chilled out a bit I was able to manage other things too. I found this really hard as the house was a mess for ages but at least she was happier and stopped trying to beat up her little sister (no exaggeration - my darling girl swapped overnight for a really mean and violent one). I also found heading outside to blow lots of bubbles and run around the washing line helped too - nothing like fresh air and a bit of exercise to blow off steam. I also got some special crayons/stickers and paper which she was only allowed when it was feeding time - this took ages to get going but we did get there. Similarly the baby gave her a Dora DVD for feeding time - she wasn;t allowed much TV so this worked a treat...but I am now trying to wean her off it! We also went for LOTS of walks/playdates and park visits in the pram.

I found it quite stressful - but like all of these things it passed and now she is a very protective and loving big sister. We've had some funny moments - she spent a period breastfeeding her dolls and also now gets really annoyed if someone holds 'her' baby. It really is a big change - and shock for everyone!

Good luck next week - let us know how you are going!