Any suggestions on how to let my 3 1/2 y/o DD and newborn (1 month) "hang out". She always gets in his face and jumps all over the place. I have let her hold him with my help a few times, but normally I am constantly telling her to "back up" and "stop doing that" which irritates us all. How are we all supposed to function together :) ??

It just takes time...been there...a year later...stilllll doing it! LOL, but it is better!! They just have to learn over time and get used to being gentle...
Perhaps a doll of her own to take care of and be 'gentle' with and practice with would be a good idea? Other than that, just keep saying it and showing her better ways to be close and around you all together!

Yeah it just takes time and persistence. When she starts getting bouncey just calmly/politely say "no no you need to settle down by the baby, we have to be careful, be gentle..here..sit down here and you can see him and touch his head if you'd like" that kind of thing. Enlist her in helping...'would you go get momma a diaper for the baby?' 'would you please hand me his blanket?' those kinds of things help too. Gives her something constructive to do, be a part of caring for the baby and learning what's appropriate and what's not. And of course, whenever she sits down calmly and snuggles on him...praise! "aww look, he looks so happy when you rub his head softly like that" and "he likes when you talk to him, he's watching you" All those things will reinforce the 'good behavior' that you desire.

Hang in there. It'll work out and settle down. :)

I totally agree with Tara! Nice one, girlfriend! This is exactly what we did and it worked very well. I made sure to be super calm when my toddlers were around the baby because I never wanted my toddler to use the baby as a way to get my attention (i.e. put finger in baby's eye to get me to jump). We never had that problem, but I've seen other mommies dealing with that, and it's heartbreaking for them. They deal with sibling jealousy at an early age and it can really mess up the future relationship between the toddler and the baby. Like Tara said, 'constructive interaction and praise.' :-D

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Joy [welcomewave]

I agree with what was mentioned above. It's what i did with my kiddos. [loveyou]