I have a two year old too and he is also an only child at the moment. We have been through the whole anxiety thing. He used to get at the garbage can and spread everything through the whole house. He eats my shoes - I am crazy about my shoes and he has never been allowed to do anything like this. I have lost about 5 pairs of gorgeous shoes, but anyway. It is the price you pay.
Cash still does the garbage and shoes thing when I leave him for longer than 3 hours.
My suggestion would be to confine him to a place where he can't do any harm and get him some activity toys. I got him a Kong activity ball which he loves - you put treats inside and he plays with it for hours. The trick is to get his attention off the fact that you aren't there.
I don't think another dog would be good right now - they can be unpredictable and may hurt your baby. The extra responsibility would make it harder for you too.
I will be praying for you in this hard time. We are all behind you.
