[Help!] Mom with Toddler + 1 on the way! [LONG!]

Hi. I have a Daughter who will be 2 in December. I'm pregnant with my second child (a boy) who I'm due with February 11th, 2013. I was just wondering....

Does anyone have children who are this close in age?
Was your first child this young when you had baby #2?
If so... How did your first child deal with baby #2 being around?
Was it easy or a bit of a struggle?

I'm a little scared to see how my Daughter will react to her little Brother. She does okay with infants now, as my SO's step-sister just had a little girl and we're always around her. But, I fear it will be different when her brother comes into the picture, because this is Mommy and Daddy's baby, so we'll always be taking care of the baby. There's one thing though, my Daughter doesn't get jealous when I hold other babies, it's her Daddy that she gets jealous of. (Actually, mostly men who hold other babies are the ones she gets jealous with..) But, not me, her Mommy. I don't know if I should be happy with this or concerned?

Another set of questions...

How can I prevent my Daughter from acting out when her Brother is born?

And when I ask that, I mean.. Since the baby will be taking up most of our time, how do I make sure that she doesn't feel like we're ignoring her or that we don't love her anymore?

What are some things we can do to make sure she knows that we still love and care for her, even with a new baby? (Like activities or time with her alone..)

And..
I want her to be involved with the baby. Holding him, trying to feed him, burp him (she does this with her dolls already..)
I don't want her to feel like she's being replaced.

Please help and sorry so long!!

-Worried Mommy<3

My boys are 4 days shy of 21 months apart. Ds#1 was brought to the hospital shortly after his brother was born and stayed with me while I was there, it helped him transition and get used to the baby before we brought him home.

The most important thing you can do is direct attention to the one who needs it the most, even if that means letting the baby cry for a few seconds to deal with your daughters needs first.

I let my eldest help me with things like throwing away diapers, getting me bottles, helping me feed his brother, ect. The younger is now almost 7 months and his brother and him play all the time. They're pretty close.

I had DD2 a few weeks before DD1 second bday...it was ok at first then around the six week mark she started acting out. It was kinda like she realized the baby was there to stay. It stopped though and now they love playing with each other. Just make sure to involve her with taking care of the baby and be sure she gets some one on one time with you. DH really stepped up and started taking her with him places too. They would go to the store together or to the park so i could take a nap....it'll be ok  

My kids ages are 10 8 7 3 2 and a week old. My 2 and 3 year olds are just 10 1\2 months apart! Its great seeing them communicate with each other. Theres always gonna be positives and negatives with everything we do... But i dont think u having your LOs that close together will be an issue.

Its gonna be a day by day job to know what u need to do. Your daughtyer might not act out... My kids havent. She might take to the baby and change better than people think.

Just make sure u prep her for it... And make her feel like its about her too. Buy her a small gift from the baby... Have her help make a "big Sister" shirt to wear when she meets her brother... Just a few ideas that might help.

Oh! And maybe try to find a book to read to her about becoming a big sister. With her being 2 she might not fully understand but the reading time will be good anyways