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We had a pack n play set up in the living room so I could put the baby down in a safe place. My daughter was 22 months when her sister was born and just wasn’t able to understand how fragile a baby is. She was constantly hugging too tightly or kissing too rough or trying to poke her eyes or shove a paci in her mouth (or share her food). It was all just loving her a little too hard.

I found the bouncer or swing to not be super helpful to keep the baby safe because my toddler would try to climb in with the baby. I also was terrified of putting a bouncer the bucket on a table because I just knew my toddler would pull her down off the table to get to her. So she was only ever in the pack n play alone.

I had the exact same problem. Baby came in March and I realized I had no where to put her downstairs. I also didn’t want to invest in anything too pricy bc she’s my third and last. I also needed a place to pop her in while cooking, getting lunches and bags ready, etc. and I preferred it to be mobile so I can lug it between rooms. It also had to be sort of high bc of crazy two year old boy. I ended up buying the cheapest rock n play on Amazon. It’s been a lifesaver. It’s easy to move between rooms, it’s high so I don’t have to worry about two year old, and he really loves to “help” rock her when she fusses.

@Silva: just saying hi bc I think we have similar aged kids. My oldest was 3.5 years old when younger brother was born. Brother was only 25 months when his younger sis was born two months ago. I worried a lot bc my son is crazy and high energy and just two. But I’ve been surprised at how much he cares for his sister. We still have to remind him to be gentle by he will come running when she cries to help shush her and pat her. He wants to hold her all the time. It’s really sweet to see

even though I found it frustrating because I hate “stuff” I needed several safe spaces to put the baby down when I was around the house. We had the bjorn, a swing, rock n play, and a dock a tot. I used them all in different locations. I couldn’t leave them alone together if I needed a shower (I found my older daughter trying to “warm up” her baby bro with a blanket completely covering him when I ran out of the room for a few seconds.
I’d just buy whatever you can find second hand but safe spaces for baby are crucial the first few months

DS was 18mo old when DD was born. I really needed a safe place out of reach of him if I was ever going to turn my back on them to cook, go to the bathroom, do dishes etc. so swings or bouncers on the ground weren't safe for us.

A friend let us borrow her Halo bassinet for the first two months which we kept in our living room. Babies are so sleepy at first so we just put her in that or a doc a toc on the bed out of reach while she slept. A pack n play with a baby lounger would also work.

I'm going to be the outlier here because I am currently in the thick of this. LO1 2y4m and LO2 3 months.

For us, almost nothing works. No swing, bouncer, or rock n play. My son would knock it over and/or smack her in the face and/or try to pick her up and/or throw things at her. I'm not exaggerating. ETA: also what @newlypregnantlady said (poke eyes, climb in, etc.)

The pack n play bassinet kind of works, but sometimes he shakes it hard and he could still throw things in it.

I haven't tried the carseat in the stroller, locked in place with brakes on, put in the corner so he can't knock it over.

Only 3 things have worked for us:
1) Her in the Ergo.
2) Taking him out of the house as much as possible (parks, indoor play places, mall, errands, etc)
3) Her in one room, alone on her activity mat, with a childproofed door, and him playing in the main area.

Mine are 19 months apart and I could not leave the baby in reach when he was little. I wore him SO MUCH. We had a baby bjorn bouncer that we used a lot. Sometimes DS1 would sit on him in it... not great. Our appartment is super small so I could put DS2 down in our room with the door shut and still feel super close. I also used the uppababy basentte a lot with and without the stroller.