First of all, congratulations! Like many expectant moms, you may find that the rush of joy and anticipation makes you yearn to bring your future reality to full-color life right now. The months ahead may seem interminable, but it's wise from an emotional-- as well as a practical--standpoint to hold off on purchases until you're well into your second or third trimester.

As the mom of three rather balky waker-uppers, I feel for you. I bought an alarm clock for one of my kids. And he took to it with great enthusiasm, cheerfully setting the alarm for the next morning. Yes, it did manage to wake him. But then my son climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over his head. So, in all, a mixed verdict.

You have my sympathy--and my empathy. As a toddler, my son furiously protested being in his car seat, so I had to entertain him, unseen, from a distance and drive carefully at the same time. Talk about stress! The best options for amusing a car-bound toddler meet the criteria ofrequire novelty, independence, and safety, since --you can't constantly keep handing him things, or play patty cake, nor constantly can you watch him constantly as you're driving. Some ideas:

Sleep trumps everything, so let’s talk about that  first. If your toddler wakes up every time the baby fusses, consider keeping your newborn's crib in your room until he sleeps through the night. We kept our twins in a crib in our bedroom until each was sleeping through the night (otherwise we'd have had their 3-year-old brother to placate at 2 am as well!). And don’t even think of moving your toddler to his big sib's room now; his world is shaken up enough.