I firstly have to apologise for the slow down of blog posts over the last couple of weeks. I have still been unwell and very tired with this pregnancy, however to top it off, it has been school holidays which means I pretty much have no day-time to work. As I write this at 8:35pm, there are two cheeky and still awake boys running in and out my bedroom when they should be in bed.
It is for this reason that I thought it might be a good opportunity to flash back to an old (but really good) blog post. This post I wrote for my bestie who due to give birth to her second child. The jump from one to two children is huge, the things you could do with just one and the time you had for yourself gets even smaller and you will be begging to have the one-child spare time back. My biggest tip is to stay one step ahead. Be one step ahead with food snacks, bottles of water around the house, toys in your bag, baby wipes and nappies in the car/handbag/pram, baby proof and toddler proof the house (I threw away any tiny toys so the baby won’t choke on toddler toys when it starts crawling). Apart from all that, see below my advice on juggling two children.
- When your beautiful second child is born, make sure it has a special gift (such as a soft toy) to give its older brother/sister the first time they meet in the hospital. Let toddler give baby a little gift too so he/she knows that they are already doing something like a big brother or sister. This new little baby is going to shake up the toddlers world forever! yikes! Let’s try and smooth this as much as possible with something special right from the start.
- When you are home from the hospital, give big brother/sister all the attention they need, baby won’t know that they are missing out, just make sure baby is fed, changed and slept of course before doing so.
- Two parents and two children means one child per adult. Toddler and daddy will be spending more time together which is a great way for toddler to feel special, trips to the park, or shops to get some nappies or dinner for mum and baby makes him feel involved and responsible.
- Mummy dates with toddler are extra special now, leave baby with someone so you can enjoy some moments alone with toddler and remind them that mummy will always find time for them and love him/her always.
- Read a book to both children, start this as a night time routine, it will be one that will last the longest as they get older.
- When the babies’ routine starts to stretch out, start to do more things at the same time for both kids like all meals, sleep times and baths.
- Let toddler be your number one helper with the baby and reward him with stickers, positive praise or cuddles.
- Be patient, this is a new stage in life for toddler, his/her world has changed out of the blue, they might be angry, jealous or sad. Maybe they might be happy with this change, either way, be patient, try and understand their actions and try not to get angry, toddlers are very clever and by explaining and talking to them, you will find to be the best outcome.
- This is a great time to teach toddler to share, get down on the floor and play with your two children, try as much as possible to keep things equal by taking turns holding toys, giving them both praise and showing toddler that you love them both the same by telling them.
- Call in help, if you need help and find it hard to juggle the two, see if a family member or friend can come and help with the kids. My son Aston used to sleep at his grandparents house once a month on a Saturday night, he loved it as he would get lots of attention and be spoilt by Nana. Other ideas could be as simple as having someone walk the pram around the block to get baby to sleep or take toddler to the park or just help around the house. Calling in help can make a world of difference, just to release the pressure for a bit, then you will want them all to yourself before you know it!
- Take it easy, its hard but gets better every week, well until you have two toddlers! Oh dear! But by then, you will have this two child thing mastered and they will also eventually play together, sleep longer and you will get your time back (kind of) usually when the youngest is 3yo.
- Take time to remember how those two little humans make your heart full and how you wouldn’t change this moment for the world.
And now for a call out to all those with three or more kids! Any advice for me?
