We’re a little more tied to the house now with two little ones (exactly 2 years apart) but we still keep busy running to the grocery and farmer’s market thru the week, library and the odd play date with friends. My husband travels a lot for work so in many ways getting out thru the week is a necessity - it’s not always easy but often easier than staying home trying to keep my toddler busy. The baby’s a walk in the park and my toddler has to have an activity or else he’s “bothering” little brother or causing trouble of some sort (so it seems)!
I love having two but now realize that one was SO EASY! Who knew??!
Our two daughters are 17 months apart (the youngest being just two weeks old).
So far, I’ve just tried to stay on the toddler’s schedule. New [name]Baby[/name] just sleeps and sleeps, and is hardly fussy when awake (knock wood!), so keeping the eldest on track has been key to everyone’s happiness.
We wake up and cuddle in the big bed in the morning, then bathe and have breakfast.
Usually I’ll try to have an “adventure” after breakfast, something like visiting a park or making a very quick trip to the grocery store.
Then it’s home and down for a nap, followed by lunch.
After lunch we hang out and play at home until Dad arrives, or we go get Dad from work and take a trip to the mall together.
Then dinner, then bed!
New [name]Baby[/name] tags along and sleeps through most of it, and Toddler doesn’t feel a strain on what’s comfortable in her life.
Thus far, it’s been a pretty easy transition.
Once New [name]Baby[/name]'s not sleeping all the time…it’ll be a different story…
My oldest, [name]Matilda[/name], was great, very laid back, very mellow until my second one, [name]Eloise[/name], was born.
Once we got home, [name]Matilda[/name], who had weaned herself from breastfeedings, decided that she wanted that again, and she started being very hard to put to bed. She also became a lot more defiant.
[name]Eloise[/name] was very, very cholicy for the first few months, so it was exhausting to have to keep [name]Matilda[/name] down while trying to put [name]Eloise[/name] down. We actually had to move [name]Eloise[/name]'s nursery to our office on the main floor as we feared the crying was the reason [name]Matilda[/name] was having trouble sleeping.
As for errands, well it takes planning, and patience, a whole lot of patience, but it is very doable. I try to schedule any trips at anytime when I am okay with them sleeping. They both ususally fall asleep in the car. That is about my only peace during the day. As for out of the car, I found it easier to get a stroller that is a seat and will hold a car seat. I put [name]Matilda[/name] in the front and [name]Eloise[/name] in the car seat. I will not take the kids to a toy store when they are together. [name]Eloise[/name]'s favourite word is “mine”. Grocery shopping is done, slowly but surely, and I try to include [name]Matilda[/name] as much as possible. Right now we play I Spy. I show her a picture of what I Spy and then she goes to find it. Sure on my end, it takes a little work the night before, getting pictures of things, but it cuts my shopping time in half. Everything takes longer, but I try to have as much patience as possible, and realize that they aren’t trying to do this to make me angry.
Once baby 3 arrives in [name]August[/name], I have no idea how that will change the dynamic, but hopefully they wont both regress.