Things I Wish I’d Known About Having Two

 

 

It’s taken me 3 months to write this post!  We are 3 months in with baby #2 and it’s been a wild ride so far.  Having 2 under 2 is no joke! On top of that, we decided to start potty training Jack a few weeks ago, and it’s taken over!  Why is this not talked about more openly?  Or is it, and I’m just oblivious?  So for those of you who don’t know…potty training is hard!  It’s so much work.  It probably has to do with the fact that we went with the “3 day method” and tried to take the band-aid off and get it over with.  He’s also not even 2, so….. basically we are crazy.  Long story short, it felt like the right time because he seemed to be showing some signs of being ready, and with an older cousin who he watched for a week on vacation going potty in the “big potty”, he was really excited about it.  I also thought I’d give it a go before I had another mobile one and it would be more of an undertaking.  He is actually doing really well, and we are very proud of his progress, but it’s still tough.  I’d hightly recommend this book if you are thinking of starting potty training.  It’s a quick read and she’s very funny.  It’s easy to follow along with and Jack definitely had the hang of everything within a couple days, and I was confident after a week that we were on the right track!

Soooo…. after all that.  On to- What I wish I’d known about having 2!

1.  OMG the laundry!  There is so much laundry!  I know part of it is because William has such bad reflux and we go through like 2-3 burp rags a feeding.  Sometimes I skip the burp rags all together and just drape swaddle blankets around me!  Part of it though is just having a newborn (and a toddler!)
2. The mess.  I thought my house was messy before…  Between playing with a toddler and feeding a newborn, there’s no time to pick up the clutter, let alone clean!  I’m trying to get to a place where I have some type of cleaning routine again, but for now, it’s a mess and that’s okay!
3. Running errands with one seems easy.  I look back at my former self and wish I could tell that girl to CHILL OUT ALREADY.  I remember complaining to my mom that I could never run errands because it was so difficult dragging my kid along. Now, if Jeff has one at home, doesn’t matter which one, I take the other one and am all “let’s go!  where to first?!”
4. Shower?  Who has time for that?!  This one’s pretty funny because if you ask my husband, he’d tell you I probably wasn’t the best at showering before kids, let alone with the one and now two… That’s what dry shampoo is for right?
5. The love.  “How will you ever love another one like you love your first?”  You will! “What if you like one more than the other?”   You won’t!  It’s crazy!  You come to appreciate their similarities and their differences and love them both the same (but differently!)  I was so scared of this before having my second.  Because we didn’t find out the gender, I was particularly nervous if we had a boy.  I felt that I would be more likely to compare them because they were the same gender.  Do I compare them, yes… but I don’t think it’s in a bad way.  I think it’s natural to compare, but you have an appreciation for how they are different and their individual personalities.
6. The bond.  We knew there was a good chance Jack was going to be a really good big brother.  He was in a huge “baby stage” when William was born, so we definitely capitalized on that and pointed out babies wherever we went, found baby dolls for him to “practice” with, and read him books/talked to him about being a big brother. At just 20 months old, I feel fairly certain he understood there was a “baby in my belly” and what that meant.  Only once after William was born did he point to my stomach asking about the baby.  So, I felt that he knew there was a baby coming, but I didn’t know if he understood what that really meant…that a baby was coming home with us, and he or she was going to take his mommy and daddy’s time. Honestly, he has seemed pretty unfazed by it all, and has exceeded all our expectations.  Occasionally he will ask if the baby can go “night night” (his way of saying he wants our attention), but for the most part he can’t get enough of his little brother.  We love to watch Jack give William sweet hugs and kisses.  He often asks to see “baby weeyum” in the mornings, and greets him with “Hi, hi, baby!  Hi baby weeyum!”  We can’t wait to see the bond they will form and how they will play together as they get older.  I truly think the best gift I could give my children is each other, and can’t wait for my boys to be the best of buddies!

 

 

So, that’s my list!  The mess, the dirt, the crazy, is all outweighed by the immeasurable love you have for your new little blessing.  The gift of a sibling is the best gift!  They will always have each other, and what a blessing that is!  So mom of soon-to-be-two… you’ve got this!

Now… off to go tackle that pile of never-ending laundry 🙂