You mentioned that you have a young toddler and you just found out you're pregnant, so congratulations! But you're wondering how you can prepare for motherhood with a toddler and a young new baby. And the second child is definitely much different than the first, because with your first, you only have to take care of one, and when they sleep, you can sleep, and it's a little bit easier to get things done, because your attention and time isn't so divided. But toddlers are really, really busy and they require a lot of time and energy, but so do new babies. And so my first tip for you is just to lower your expectations of yourself and know that a few things are going to get left undone. And it's okay for laundry to pile up and for dishes to sit in the sink - that's just going to be a new norm for a while as you adjust to motherhood with 2 children. It's really important to plan ahead, so this is going to involve toddler-proofing your house while you're pregnant to insure that your toddler is safe, or as safe as possible, while you're sitting on the couch and nursing your baby or attending to your baby's needs and not fully attending to the toddler, because they're so busy and just into everything at that point. So toddler-proof things, move things that they could potentially ingest or get into that would be harmful to them up into higher cabinets, put child locks on things that need them, use outlet covers, make sure that there's gates on the stairs, and in some cases, you need to get special locks for the doors so that the child doesn't escape while you're taking care of the new baby. You can also plan ahead by doing some shopping and meal prep. You can do a whole bunch of freezer meals and fill your freezer full of food so that you don't have to go to the grocery store in those early days with a toddler and a baby, because that can be a chore in and of itself. It's also helpful to get a bunch of distractions for your child, so this might be a few inexpensive new toys, or a few movies for them to watch, a book to read or look at that they're not familiar with, just something basically to keep their hands and their minds busy. With all this said, there's something special about seeing your older child interact and bond with your new baby. It may take some time for them to get used to having a new sibling, but you can also prepare during the pregnancy for this by talking about new siblings, letting them spend time with other people who have babies, so that they can get an idea of what it might be like for them. Of course, it's always going to be a reality check when that baby comes home from the hospital and lives with them, but it can just get them thinking about it. And you can also involve them as much as possible with the care of the baby, so they can be good little runners for you - they can go get diapers, and wipes, and binkies, and bottles, and all those little things that you may forget. And when they feel helpful, then they will feel special. Take advantage of the time before the new baby comes that you have to spend with your toddler and to be one-on-one with them. Plan special outings and don't stop doing that after the baby's born. Set aside time daily for them so that you can continue to foster your relationship so that they don't feel pushed side. No-one, of course, intentionally does that, but in their little minds, when a new baby comes home and requires a lot of attention, it makes them feel like they're second best, and so do whatever you can to continue to help them feel special by involving them and by setting aside some time to be one-on-one with them. Good luck with everything, and if you have more questions in the future for me, feel free to ask them on our Intermountain Moms Facebook and Instagram pages, and recommend us to your friends and family too.