You will quickly learn to do all kinds of things while nursing. I had to wipe DS in the bathroom while nursing DD many more times than I would have liked!!

To keep older kid occupied, check out Pinterest for "busy bag" ideas. They really do help when it's time to nurse!

Figure out (takes a bit of practice) how to nurse in a sling or a front carrier and do it hands-free!

My husband usually works normal hours but sometimes one of us has to travel for work.

I try to alternate things with the kids. So, toddler takes bath (a little earlier than normal). Then I nurse baby and put her to bed. If he's playing quietly by himself he does that, or he gets to watch a 30 minute show. Then I put toddler to bed.

Generally, I let everyone get their "turn" as much as I can, and toddler is told it's baby's "turn" and vice versa (not that the baby understands but it makes the toddler feel good).

AH! Please ignore all the "it's not hard at all!" comments!! DCUM is so weird - some posts people jump on as this is IMPOSSIBLE unless I have a housekeeper and full-time nanny, others, people just say "buck up!" Weird.

I have an almost 3 year old and 6 month old baby. SAHM for the moment. Husband works a lot, including several 2-3 weeks away for work. It's HARD in the beginning, but much much easier now. The advice you got above is perfect. You do get really good at putting 2 kids to sleep at the same time- breastfeeding/rocking the newborn while reading stories. It can be hard for the older kid - there is an adjustment period for everyone - for us it was 2-3 months. The first weeks were fine, but then it all kind of settled in for the toddler that he had to share me as his mom, and it became hard. Now it's evened out again and is wonderful. Just realize it will be an adjustment, some days/weeks/months will be really hard, especially depending on the temperament of the infant - my baby ended being horribly colicky, so that just amplified all challenges.

Listen to the good advice here, and ignore those who are brushing off your concerns. 2 young children on your own all day everyday is extremely wearing.

Sorry OP, not seeing what is so challenging about it this.

It's seriously not hard at all. You will get into the swing of things.

You will be absolutely fine and soon will have a hard time remembering when there was just one. I think the key is to not be too hard on yourself if the house is a little messier or your toddler is watching a little more tv. It is all temporary and you can make adjustments once you get through the newborn phase.
One other suggestion I would make is to make sure you have space places to put the baby down on every floor - swings, bouncy, chairs, bassinets. You never know when there is going to be an emergency and you need a quick safe space to put the baby down.
I would also recommend doing as much as you can to get the two on the same nap schedule at least once a day. Our goal every weekend is double naps and it makes all the difference in the world.

I'm a mom of 4 and when my kids were being born/babies my Dh was active duty military and deployed a LOT. I'm actually pretty surprised so many people are recommending formula feeding vs. breastfeeding as a way of time management. If anything, breastfeeding made it easier to manage several children on my own. I didn't have time to prepare bottles, wash the extra bottles, etc. With breastfeeding, I had a free hand to tend to the older child while still feeding the baby--with bottlefeeding, both hands would be occupied.
If formula/bottlefeeding is what works best for you, great--but if breastfeeding works well for you and your baby, I certainly wouldn't switch to formula in an attempt to make things "easier."

You don't need formula. I nurse the baby and read books to my older kids at bedtime. TV or iPad is a backup if you need it.

Oh, it's all such an evolution. At first, I'd wear or nurse sleeping baby while putting dd to bed. Then I'd let an older, more wakeful baby sit in her room while I read a story, put her to bed, and then dealt with him. Now, dd sits with me in his room while I put him in pjs and get him ready for bed, goes to her own room for "lights out" time for a few minutes while I nurse him down and have special time with him. If she's being a real pill about going to her room, I throw her in front of the tv. This happens maybe once every two weeks. Once I'm done with him, I tie up whatever ends I left open with her and then put her to bed.

Most nights, this is pretty easy now. Last night, she wanted to take a bath and our tub is in the basement. When I told her she needed to leave her teddy bear upstairs, which in retrospect was a battle I probably should have left alone, she yelled and cried right outside his room, leading him to wake up and not be able to go back to sleep for an hour. I put her to bed and had to go soothe him. So that sucked and I kind of didn't like her very much last night. But normally, it's fine and we have found our groove.

Check out Galley for food on nights you don't want to cook.

Congratulation!! nothing to worry about, two year old will develop habits like tv/ playing stories, you can use formulas. The first three months are rough but soon you get used to them

Good Luck!

This is all good advice. I think bedtime is the hardest - but you will become a pro at nursing while reading a bedtime story.
Also, remember that crying never ruined a baby's whole life. Sometimes, you have to let the baby cry for a few minutes longer than you might want to - because the big kid needs you (or you need to stop the big kid from doing something dangerous or that needs supervision, like a bath).

Mostly, when things get hairy, it's good to remind yourself to just be methodical - go deliberately through what needs to get done and don't allow yourself to get agitated.

Baby wear - a lot especially in evenings.

I found supplementing with formula made nursing easier. Sometimes a bottle was easier with two kids. YMMV.

Baby went to bed very early when possible. Made it easier for me to have one on one time with toddler.

Stroller walks in afternoon great way to burn time and keep kids mostly happy.

Pre-make toddler meals so you aren't having to cook etc - have everything ready to go.

Involve toddler in "helping" with baby. Teach toddler how to say "I need space" and react immediately to remove baby when they say that. Helps minimize toddler physically hitting etc if they get used to that their words have power. My three year old still yells I NEED SPACE to his one year old sister. Its kind of awesome.

Realize first 6 weeks will be the worst, first 6 months slightly less bad, and all uphill from there! It's all temporary.

You will be fine! You got this!
A couple of ideas:
1. Be more ok with tv/screen time: you can use it to help occupy your two year old while the baby is being fussy or is nursing
2. Have a couple of activities just ready to go. Things like play dough, activity books, sticker books, etc. break these out whenever you need a break
3. Be ok with bottle feeding if you're having issues managing all the kids. Your eldest needs attention too!
Don't be afraid to ask for help!
My Dh works really long hours and I have three (soon to be 4) kids all 2 years apart. You got this-- in two months you'll be a pro!

We are expecting our second child in a month and I am getting nervous about doing 12 (and sometimes way way longer) days on my own. I am totally good with just my one son who is 2 years old but the idea of throwing a newborn in a mix is terrifying....but I know people do this every day so help me get ready. My biggest concern is bedtime and handling all the newborn nursing with a toddler who also wants attention. He is pretty good at playing independently if he needs to (and will be in a preschool program for 3 Am/wk starting in the fall) but its going to be an adjustment for sure.

Any suggestions for those that have been there. We have a little bit of $ to throw at the problem (maybe $200/month) in the form of a bi-weekly house cleaner or possibly a mother's helper a few nights a week. Problem is that mother's helper probably would want a schedule and my DH doesn't know his time home until last minute. I wouldn't want to spend $ on the mother's helper when DH would be home to help. For me I am thinking the easiest would be to loosen the purse strings on things like food bc I find cooking and clean up to be arduous day in and out.

Ideas? I am going to be fine, right?