House Size, and Providers with a Small Baby...

[Jenniferdawn]

She is very sweet. It's definitely hard to find the balance between caring for your newbie and other children but I agree with training the children to be able to wait for a bit if possible. Also, my baby carrier is my best friend. The babies I care for Live in them so that I can be hand free but they still get the cuddle time they need. Look into a Moby wrap for this stage and an ergo. Ergos are more expensive but worth every penny!

[momofsix]

Your dd is so precious!!!
I'm from GR too! SE side

[nanglgrl]

I love both of your spaces! Very nicely set up and organized. Maybe you could use the second room like you intended but purchase a video monitor. I have one that I use when I am preparing meals and after a while the kids just started thinking I was magic and could see them at all times so they behave when they are not in my line of site! ::

[nothingwithoutjoy]

Some things that helped when I had tiny babies + several other under-3 kids:

--a sling! I wouldn't have wanted to do it without my Kangaroo Korner sling. Baby inside=both hands free to help other kids. I dressed them all to go out in the winter, changed diapers, made lunch, etc, etc, etc. w/baby in the sling. Also helped with finding outside time; baby could sleep in sling while we were outside.
--a gate. If I had to pee, I could put the baby down in a bassinet on the other side of the gate, where the other kids couldn't bother them (when I was concerned they might). I'd also step over the gate to put baby down for a nap to cut down on distractions from others.
--teaching the "big" kids to help me. Toddlers love to help by, for example, getting me a diaper out of someone's basket, or by "reading" the baby a book on a blanket so I can attend to someone else, etc.
--Lots of the day, baby got my physical attention while the bigger kids got my visual and verbal attention. That way, everyone felt attended to. For example, baby on my lap as I sat in the midst of the toddlers, chatting and assisting in their play.
--Setting up the environment for independence. If the older kids can get what they need to play, do art, wash hands, etc, they don't need you as often.

Good luck! It's exhausting, but fun!