Monday, September 8, 2014

Outnumbered mom

Sometimes I think about having two kids and it stresses me out ha ha. I love Noelle, she is sweet, silly, affectionate, curious, smart, loving, friendly, amazing, beautiful, helpful, empathetic, she's a great sleeper (now anyway), she loves to cuddle, she's great with other kids, she loves babies, she's a little angel and I adore her! But sometimes she can be quite a handful, as any toddler. She is quite dramatic and can throw a tantrum to rival anyone. When I think about our expectant arrival coming this December I get a little overwhelmed. Noelle gets 100% of my attention right now, and when she has to share me, how will she handle that? When will I take a shower? Or eat?! Most days I do those things while Noelle naps, so what happens when she's napping and the baby is awake? What happens when I have to go to the grocery store? I don't even know how that's possible with two under two! I guess I would have to wear the baby and let Noelle sit in the cart.... Did I mention the lack of sleep?! How can you do that with two kids on different schedules?! Will I ever have any clean clothes? Ok, I could probably manage to wash and dry the clothes, but folding them is like 99% not going to happen. It pretty much only happens about 50% of the time now anyway ha ha. So yeah, sometimes I think about having two kids and it stresses me out.

But sometimes I think about having two kids and it makes me happy. I think about Noelle and all of her wonderful traits and how she's going to make such a great big sister! I think about how my girls will be best friends. I think about all the cuddles and love I will get from my little sweethearts. All those little hugs and kisses I'll get. I think about how little and helpless Noelle used to be and I get an uncontrollable little smile on my face thinking about it, I have loved and still love watching her learn to do new things and become a little person. I love watching her have fun and interact with other people. I still get to watch her grow, but now I will also get to watch another little one grow up! How exciting is that?!

Just yesterday David was like, "Man, what are we going to do when we have two kids?! How are you going to do that all day when I'm not here?!" Uh, yeah, good question honey! Ha ha, I just said, "I guess we'll see!" Because I have no idea! It will be an adventure, that's for sure! We have managed to survive Noelle so far, and she's survived us, so I think our chances of success this time around are pretty good... Of survival that is, not necessarily of knowing what we're doing or doing it well, but surviving, I think we can all manage that ha ha.

I'd love to hear any advice anyone wants to give about adding baby number two to the family. Bring it on.

7 comments:

  1. Having two under two is hard work. Tim was 19 months old when we had Michael. The best trick is to get at least one of their naps to match up, this is your rest time too. You take one hour to nap or sit down and do something that'll help you relax. For the longest time I would use that time to fold laundry or do dishes and by the end of the day I would be too tired for Jon and I to have us time after the boys were in bed. Once I found out about the trick I had to move folding clothes during one of the baby's naps and give Tim some blocks or an active activity in his room and dishes was something I did first thing in the morning while Tim ate breakfast and the baby was done nursing. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of days, and still are days, where I can't get it all done in the nap times or the baby wouldn't nap when Tim would no matter how tired he was. Basically what I've had to come to grips with is, when you have young kids, your house is going to be a disaster somewhere, you just have to try a little everyday to get something done.
    Good luck!!!

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  2. Oh my gosh. I remember feeling the same way. I feel so old and not very wise. You will be amazed at how the impossible becomes normal. You'll be fine!

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    1. Thanks Cyndi, you may not feel very wise, but you sure seem like you are!

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  3. It's totally doable. And stress-inducing. (And Cyndi had two at almost exactly one year apart, so she's basically a champion.) You go grocery shopping when David is home. Or send him for essentials. Or you put the carseat in the back of the cart and Noelle up front and you don't buy very much because the carseat takes up the whole back of the cart! :)

    You definitely get those girlies to nap at similar times. And then you cry when you almost fall asleep and one or the other wakes up and all you wanted was a naaaaaap!!

    Pretty soon Noelle can be an awesome helper at laundry. Millie LOVED matching socks. It was her favorite game to play.

    When all else fails, you call your visiting teacher. She's been there. :) And remind yourself this stage won't last forever. One day, they'll actually be able to entertain themselves!

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    1. Thanks for the advice Deidra! Right now Noelle just unfolds everything I've folded and spreads it around the room, or she climbs in the baskets... It'll be nice when she can help instead of destroy.

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  4. I agree with everything the others commented on, especially trying to coordinate nap schedules! Also, adjusting my expectations is helpful. I'm just not going to get everything I want to get done accomplished, but as long as my kids and husband feel that I loved them that day it was a successful day. You will be a great mom of these two little girls!

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