I know it won't be easy, but the posts about "years of being in survival mode" have me scared.
Hello! I recently left my job to be a stay at home mom, and I’m now 12 weeks pregnant. Last pregnancy, I went to my appointments alone or with my husband. Now, I have a 16 month old who’s very energetic. I don’t have anyone to watch her during my appointments. For those who have successfully taken their toddler to their OB appointments, what did you do to keep them calm and occupied? For context, she will tolerate the stroller, but not for long when just sitting still. Any help is appreciated!
Hi - So I'm curious how do you do bath time with two kids solo? I have a 2.7 year old and a 17 month old. I currently bathe them separately, but find that neither kid wants to leave the bathroom while the other is taking a bath. I'm terrified that they will be running around and fall / hurt themselves on the tile. How do you all do this? Should I just bathe them together?
Thanks for any ideas!
Hi people. I’m expecting my second child in two mnths and my oldest is 18 months (I know this is quick). Since we already had much of baby gear, I didnt check my baby registry until now and it hit me that I may need one more diaper pail. We'll have two kids in diapers, so it'll fill up much faster, and I cant realistically take the trash out every day. My current diaper pail from momcozy is working fine with odour control but I’m not certain how well its gonna handle when the quantity of diapers would be double. This assumption made me wonder if I should get one more diaper pail or not. Because I cant walk down the street daily to empty it. I also dont want the poop smell consuming my nursery.
So, parents who have 2u2, how many diaper pails do you have at home? Is it really worth it to get extra one or its better to take more rounds to the big trash can.
I feel like I am drowning today. I have a 7 week old and 18 month old. My husband went back to work today. I feel like I can’t keep up with either child. The baby is still doing baby things, no consistent naps, no schedule, just going with the flow. She has also gotten extremely fussy over the last 1-2 weeks and cries basically the entire time she is awake. My toddler had colic and I was so hopeful baby #2 would be more chill.. and she was.. until she wasn’t. Tbh I feel like I have a little PTSD from the first go around and I’m kind of pissed it’s happening again. I feel like things would be so much easier if the baby didn’t scream/cry 90% of the day.
My toddler has been teething for literally 4 months messing with his sleep, has big feelings, and crashes out 3x a day minimum. He can’t be left alone in any room bc he will find a way to hurt himself by climbing on something, tripping over something, doing a summersault and hurting his head, etc.. We have baby proofed spaces but I still don’t feel like I can take my eyes off him. I feel like any given moment someone is crying. It’s extremely overstimulating. I also have PPD/PPA exacerbated by general life anxiety as my mom has late stage cancer that started progressing again literally the same week I gave birth. I feel like I’m hanging on by a thread.
When did it get even a smidge easier? I just want to know there’s a light somewhere ahead.
I go in for my induction tomorrow night. Will have the newborn and a 21 month old.
We are currently living with my mother in law. My husband will only have 1 week off work.
Anyone else living with family- At least during the newborn phase? Trying to tell myself this is going to be okay. But I can’t help but feel like this is going to be so grueling. I mean, let’s be real. Who can be completely comfortable and vulnerable around their mother in law. Especially now with 2 under 2 with the goal of breastfeeding.
Ahhh if I think about it too much I cause myself to spiral.
My son is 17 months and understandably has zero understanding that I’m pregnant. Baby will be here around 2 weeks before he turns two.
How did y’all prep your toddler for their sibling? I was thinking of getting him a baby doll that he can practice holding and being gentle with and I’ve gotten him some big brother books that we read regularly.
Any other ideas? Things that worked for you?
What birth control are most folks going on after 2under2? I have no desire for a third right now but I also want to keep my libido as intimacy was really helpful after our first (probably since I wasn’t taking anything). I didn’t have a cycle for a year while breastfeeding the 1st time but I knew if i ended up pregnant we would be okay. This time it’s different I really can’t afford a surprise #3. I really wanted the non hormonal IUD but I keep reading about surprise babies on this? I also have a history of PCOS and I take synthroid.
I am 8 weeks pp and struggling soooo hard with trying to split myself between my newborn and 2 year old. It’s specifically challenging because my newborn is 1,000% a Velcro baby who refuses to ever be put down for a second and will not let anyone — especially my husband — hold her. It’s gotten progressively harder for me to spend any amount of 1:1 time with my toddler, who is also VERY mom-centric and was a super Velcro baby too. I baby-wear a lot and it makes my 2 y/o very jealous and sad. But when I hand the baby to my husband, 95% of the time the baby screams the whole time and I have to take her back, which makes my toddler feel like I’m choosing the baby over her, and she understandably bawls while clinging to me. I’ll read books to my toddler while I feed the baby, and I include her in things as much as I can, but she’s 2 and still needs me physically in a lot of ways too. She really needs a lot of 1:1 attention that I’m unable to provide most of the time.
It’s absolutely brutal every day and I feel like I’m drowning. Not to mention that I’m deep in the sleep deprivation trenches because neither kid sleeps through the night. I know it’s just a season, but it’s awful. Can anyone relate or give me words of advice? No one else I know has/had Velcro babies, and that is just a league of its own. When does it get better? How do I not scar my toddler for life??
My wife and I always wanted 2 kids. My daughter is 22 months old and just brought our son home 2 days ago. I knew it would be hard but didn’t quite realize it walls be this hard. I own a business and have to go back to work relatively soon. I feel so bad for my wife. I make good money and she’s able to stay home with them, but I worry for her mental health. Newborn was up every hour last night, our 22 month old girl woke up in a bad mood and wants to hold baby brother all the time. Whenever I try and take him from her she has a meltdown and then he starts crying. She won’t nap now because she just wants to see him. I have only what I can call a pit of anxiety and despair in my stomach and can ONLY focus on the negatives right now.
We did this so that hopefully in 3-4 years we can start going on family vacations without diapers, etc. I’m also in my 30’s and and not getting younger. I also wanted a hunting buddy in the worst way.
My wife actually seems to have a really good attitude about it so far, but I worry it’s going to get worse as our little girl gets into her 2’s.
Give me some positives from the other side if you have them!
Hello! I am going back to work in a couple of months and thinking through care options for the 2 kids. Has anyone had experience with a nanny for 2 under 2? My kids will be 3 months and 21 months when I go back to work, I work from home. How could one person care for both kids at the same time? Thank you
What are you all doing to get your newborns to sleep in the bassinet?! Mine is 4 days old and refuses to sleep in there. He’ll sleep on or next to us for hours, but the second we put him in the bassinet, he’s awake within 5–10 minutes.
We’ve been taking shifts at night staying awake while he sleeps on us, while the other person sleeps solo. We are EXHAUSTED. 😭 Especially with a 20 month old too!
I remember my toddler doing this as a newborn, but I genuinely can’t remember how or when she finally transitioned to sleeping in the bassinet on her own.
Any tips/tricks that actually worked for you? I’ll take anything at this point! 😂 Just desperately hoping to get a little more sleep!
Thank you in advance for your responses!!!
5 weeks into 2 under 2 and I absolutely hate it here. My oldest is 22 months and I feel like I hardly get to spend time with her. I am basically holding my newborn 24/7. My husband and I are just two strangers passing eachother in the house at this point because we each have one of the kids. Not having fun😭 when does it get easier
Currently 31 weeks and starting the countdown to giving birth, prepping my firstborn who will be 21-22 months for his sibling once the time comes.
Because I will have a planned c-section unless I go into labour naturally beforehand, I am nervous about how to handle my active toddler when I get home to recover. He’s very cuddly with me but also wild and unpredictable so I can’t risk holding him when I’m still in the first couple of weeks in case he hurts me. I’m really wondering how to make it easier on both of us because he does want me a lot for bedtime and other routines but I doubt I’ll be able to do bedtime with him after a c section since he’s in a floor bed and wants me to lay with him til he falls asleep. He’s currently in a phase where he doesn’t want his dad for bedtime, lets him do everything else (bath, story) but the putting to sleep is reserved for Mama…
Any advice is appreciated on how to help us through this transition!
My middle child (M25 months) has been increasingly interested in sitting on the toilet. Our daycare is closed for a couple of weeks, and this seems like an obvious time to potty train! But how do I put myself at the beck and call of the toddler with a six week old?
Give me all the tips!
Hi! If you got pregnant again before your baby turned one how did it go? How was the pregnancy? How was dealing with your current baby while pregnant? Did you feel more prepared in the pregnancy or did you feel other issues? If you were breast-feeding, can you still continue to breast-feed while pregnant? Any other information you wanna give me on this I would absolutely love it and appreciate it. Thank you so much!
My 2.5 year old hurts his little sister (1.5). He loves her and they play and make each other giggle. But randomly he'll grab her by the head and shove her over and I do react by yelling because im scared shes hurt and then he tries to hurt her worse as im running over to her. Today we were all having a good night and my husband was feeding them both bites from his bowl and my hubby and I were talking and then he runs over, shoves his hands in her mouth and and squeezes her cheeks so hard that shes bleeding. Its the worst thing hes done to her. We tell him firmly no you cannot hurt sister and put him on the couch alone but he just doesn't seem to get it.... He's a nice boy, I swear and wouldnt do it to his cousins and I love him but his sister has scratches and im so just at a loss on how to discipline because shes getting physically hurt
My son just turned 16 months and he still has a 2-4 oz bottle sometimes at night if he’s falling asleep but he always has a 4 oz bottle when he wakes up, he’s just so hangry in the morning he won’t even eat real food unless he has the morning bottle! We tried to switch it out with a straw cup of his week to wean him off and it was a complete and total nightmare so we went back to the bottle, now baby brother is due in a month so should I just keep giving him this morning bottle for now? I know he will be triggered by the baby’s bottles because whenever we pretend play with his baby doll he tries to drink from her fake bottle so I’m worried about taking away his biggest source of comfort a month before his biggest life change
My sons will be around 23 months apart. My oldest is currently 19 months. I’m wondering what I can do to get him prepared for baby. I try to talk to him about it and read books about it but he doesn’t seem to understand or just seems uninterested. Any advice?
I cannot figure out what to do.
My oldest is still in a crib and I want to keep him in a crib for as long as he isn’t climbing out.
With #2 on the way, I think I’m gonna have that kid keep the crib and buy something by new for #1
In my head, that could either be a convertible crib, for when he’s ready for a toddler bed, or go right to a floor bed with tall rails & a gate.
My issue with the convertible crib is they all look small after you convert them, and my kid is kinda big. My issue with the floor bed is I’m not sure they make tall enough rails where he wouldn’t be able to climb out.
Really curious to hear what has worked for everyone else and any products you have really liked!