I've always had in my head that I would have my kids three years apart or something along those lines. My husband even agreed. But then we had our sweet little baby girl this past April and realized we were ready for another one sooner than we thought. So we began trying and as of yesterday, September 15, we are officially expecting again! I am overjoyed and so is my husband. However, now I'm also realizing how nervous I am! I have always wondered how moms with two under 2 do it, and now I get to find out first hand. So if any of you experienced mommas have some advice or personal experiences to help me out, it would be greatly appreciated!!!
Re: 4m/o baby girl with one on the way. Any advice?
We have our "Irish Twins"
DD born 8/7/2013
DS born 7/28/14
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I haven't had my kiddos that close in age but always manage 2u2. It is tough but it gets better and my oldest two are THE best of friends and now they're starting to involve DD#3 since she's finally old enough to join in their shenanigans
Mine are 17 months apart but I just take one day at a time and have low expectations. When I plan to run 3 errands I tell myself I'm happy to complete one
some things that were great about my first round of 2u2: DD1 was in the independent play stage when DD2 was born, which made it easy for feedings and tending to baby. DD1 didn't walk until 15 months, and while people think it sounds so hard to carry her around while pg with DD2, it was actually SO much easier to carry her than have to chase her. Naps - it was pretty easy to get some downtime at first (even if I couldn't sleep my self) because of DD1's naps. We didn't have any jealousy issues, because DD1 wasn't old enough to "get it" and for her, it's like DD2 has always been there.
So far, the best thing about having them so close in age is that there is VERY little jealousy. It's really all DD 1 knows. I know there are many more wonderful things about it too that I can't wait to experience. They will be so close, enjoy the same toys/books/movies/friends/etc.) and since we are only having 2, we will be DONE with diapers/bottles quickly!
Another piece of advice would be to lower your standards a bit for the cleanliness of your house, LOL. It's all temporary. If you expend all your energy picking up toys (not that you'll have too much energy to expend) you'll be sorely disappointed to find them strewn about 5 minutes later. If you have "free time" when both kids are napping, ENJOY it! Read a magazine (you won't have time for books), watch TV (you won't have time for movies), take a shower! (you probably won't have time for baths, lol) , or just sit there and do nothing for a few minutes. You deserve it! At this point, if they both go down for a nap around the same time, I know I have at least 25-30 minutes. I spend 10-15 minutes straightening up, loading the dishwasher, switching laundry, or whatever, then I just relax for a few minutes. It makes a big difference.
Good luck and congratulations!!!!