I'm Pregnant! How do you manage?

kmdendy

I just found out that I am pregnant with #2!  My daughter is 9 months right now so that will make them about a year and a half apart.  We wanted them 2 years or less apart but it seems like a shock to me that it happened! We weren't trying or preventing.  

1.  Anyways.. now I'm asking myself.. how do you do it!!? How did you manage the first couple weeks? How about later?  Do you have any suggestions or tips? 

I work days and my husband currently works night so it's likely that we will be mostly outnumbered.  He is currently trying to make the switch to real estate so we will see... hopefully that works! 

Also.. I breastfeed and my milk has gone way down....

ebp913

I don't mean this to sound rude or anything but the reality is you just do it because you have to. There's no other options but to suck it up.  It's nice if family can help out but if not, you'll find your groove.  The first few weeks are hard and I kinda think no amount of advice can help.  You'll figure out quickly what works and what doesn't for your kids.  For me, babywearing is my savior.  Like I couldn't function without it.  We did a lot of walks too since the kids loved getting outside and that really saved my sanity.  Take some breaks, try to sleep a little and just know that it will get better!  

On breastfeeding, I couldn't continue nursing while pregnant.  My supply was gone and both of my older 2 wouldn't drink my milk.  I was sad but I just switched to formula and tried to remember that there would be a new baby to nurse soon enough.  You can definitely keep nursing if you want to though and you might check out the Breastfeeding board for advice.

Good luck!  

SarahRae85

My milk supply tanked in early pregnancy as well, so you're not alone there. :-) You can try supplementing or there are ways to increase supply (useless there, I ended up switching to formula)

As for how do you do it... it's easier than you might expect. Remember, the majority of newborns sleep through the first few weeks of life, then gradually become more alert, so in some ways you get to ease into it. You'll be tired, of course, with all the nighttime wakings, but just plan to take it easy with your toddler.

Also, one bit of advice I offer to every mom that's having them close together: At some point, multiple times, both of them will be crying at the same time and you'll only be able to help one. For sanity's sake, just remember, it happens to all of us and you're not failing because you have to let one of them cry for a few minutes while you see to the needs of the other.

And, like pp said, you just kind of do it. After all, that's how you managed the daunting task of parenting the first one, right?

bookworm982

Congrats! I've nursed during two pregnancies now, and both were very different experiences based on my baby's age when I conceived and my baby's nursing style. DD was 5 months when I got pregnant and loved to nurse. I successfully nursed her the whole pregnancy and then tandem nursed, but my supply did start dropping in 3rd tri and bottomed out at 36 weeks...one week before DS was born. She was thrilled when my milk came back in and nursed until 19 months when I gently coaxed her to wean. DS was 9 months when I got pregnant, and he was a distracted nurser who only ate infrequently. My supply dropped fairly quickly and he self weaned with no warning at 13 months. Because each story is different, I highly recommend the book Adventures in Tandem Nursing. It's my go-to guide on the topic.

For other advice, 2u2 isn't half as scary as people make it out to be. We actually love it despite the occasional chaos and are going to have 3u3 in the next few weeks. Benefits and difficulties will come with any age gap. There are ton's of helpful hints to survive 2u2 (for example, baby wearing #2 leaves hands free to play with #1), but really it's trial and error to see what will work for your family. My one piece of advice is to treat the situation positively and expect that your firstborn will love being a sibling. That might not always be the case, but no matter the age gap I think a parent's tone does a lot to influence sibling relationships.

Welcome to the board!

kmdendy

Thanks! I'm feeling more confident already! 

mek20

My mom said the same thing to me as PP have said. You just do it. You will be great I'm sure

kat+1

DS is just 8 months, I am 4 months along with #2... Supply has almost gone but DS still keeps going.