Hello, friends! Recently, two of my friends welcomed a beautiful baby boy into this world, and in 5 weeks, when mom goes back to work, I will be his new, full-time babysitter. I will also be watching their 4 year old daughter. I am very excited to have more kids in my apartment, and for Liam to have someone to play with, but I’ve been feeling a little bit of anxiety as well. I live in a medium-sized, two bedroom apartment, and while there is a good deal of space for Liam to play between the kitchen and living room, I’m not sure how well the space will serve a 4 year old. We don’t have much of a yard, and what we do have, is shared with neighbors, and is in rough shape, so there is little we can do outside. There is a park about a half a mile away, but without driving, I’m not sure how to get a 4 year old, a 1.5 year old, and a 6 week old there.
I’m also worried about where she will nap. We have accommodations for the baby, but we only have one couch, and it isn’t particularly comfortable for sleeping. Also, when she naps, I will have to leave the room… and the only other room is my bedroom, where I’ll have to sit with the baby. Liam has a toddler bed in his room, along with his crib, but it doesn’t currently have a mattress, and I’m worried that if they do nap together, neither of them will actually nap. She used to go to daycare, where I believe they just used those nap mats, so should I just see about getting one of those? I feel like that wouldn’t be comfortable… ahh, I still have so much to do!
I do plan on stocking up on coloring books, arts and craft supplies, puzzles, etc… but I am worried about keeping the older girl preoccupied for 7 hours a day, nearly every day. I don’t want to just sit her in front of the TV all day, I want to help her learn, and engage with the world, just like I would with my son. I’m not too worried about the baby, since I still have most of Liam’s baby toys from when he was that young, and know better how to spend time with a little one… but a 4 year old? Intimidating. Is that weird?
Am I stressing too much over this? Going from one toddler, to two toddlers and a baby, is a big deal, especially in an apartment, but I really wanted to help them out, and I hope that everything will work out. With that having been said, do any of you guys have any fun (cheap) ideas for keeping toddlers busy, and help them learn? Money will be an issue at first, until I save up a bit, so I don’t have much to spend, but I am open to all suggestions!
So… got any suggestions for me? 😀
Jan
My Life as Jan 
Well done Jan..It would not be easy at first I know.
At least I sense an excitement from you, that’s a good thing. Now you need all your energy and wits to stay focused and manage all these kids.
It’s hard but it will do you good, and of course for Liam.
I don’t know exactly what are the available toys/play pen that you could bring inside the apartment.
A wooden maze maybe, like with different buttons, shapes and something they all could be busy with.
Books, rockers, or a small sand box. Then you could get a large quilt for them to nap..I dunno if their timings will be the same so you will see it once you’re there, you’ll get hang of it.
There are variety of tents, or a kitchen for the 4 year old and lots of interactive toys for an active toddler.
You could also get a mini-inflatable pool where they could splash on a hot day and put balls on it when they just wanna play.
Goodluck and keep us posted how it will go. Have a great day!
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Thank you for all the ideas! 🙂
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