The past twelve months have brought a whirlwind of changes for our little family! Having a second baby was so much less intimidating than the first time, but there were a lot of changes I couldn’t anticipate. I wanted to share how I’ve been adjusting to life as a mom of two, in case you’re looking for a little insight into what it’s like to have two little ones! Plus, I have some tips for any of you about to make the transition in your own motherhood journey!
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How I’m Adjusting to Life as a Mom of Two
I know it’s different for everyone but adjusting from 1 to 2 kids was a little easier than I expected. I felt like when Augustine was born it was a huge shock since Matthew and I were so used to our life and routine of just the two of us. We had date nights, went on trips, had a weekend to-do list that was easily accomplished…sound familiar? Sure we continued to do these things after having Augustine, but it was slightly more challenging. 0 to 1 felt like a huge adjustment but we did it and fell in love with our new roles as parents.
When Corinna was born and we went from 1 to 2, everything felt very familiar. We were like, oh yeah, we’ve done this before. Minus needing to YouTube a swaddle video, things came back quite naturally. It also didn’t feel like as big of a change for us because our lives were already in that parenthood world. A second was easy to add to the mix.
Some things have been different this time around, though. For example, the time has flown by! I felt like Corinna was just born, and now she’s 1 year old. Also, I’ve been more aware of how quickly things can change that I don’t get bothered by sleep regressions or the middle of the night feedings like I did the first time. I tell myself that before I know it she’ll be onto the next thing, which she is!
Another aspect that’s been different this time around is that Corinna has an older sibling to entertain her! Augustine loves playing with Corinna already, and while I can’t leave them alone together, I love watching them interact. They’re already teaching each other about sharing and patience, and they’ll even work on their letters and sounds together. It warms my heart more than anything to see them engaging with each other! Sure sibling relationships come with tensions, but ultimately they’re such a gift.
One of the most challenging things of having two kids is feeling like one is being left out. Augustine still gets a lot of our attention, probably the majority, so when I’m alone with Corinna I really try to intentionally engage with her. Augustine got so much 1 on 1 time as a baby and I want to do my best to find those times to give it to Corinna as well.
Personally, the biggest challenge for me right now is not having enough time to get things done. Corinna is crawling, standing, and cruising, but not walking yet. She’s still not totally stable either, so I feel like she can slide down one of our step ups wrong and hit her head, or she could open her play kitchen cupboard and bonk herself in the face. Or she could get frustrated and just fling herself back. Oh, or she can put any little thing in her mouth. Basically, this all means I need to be right by her all the time. Augustine does so well with independent play, but I’m definitely in the very watchful mama stage with Corinna. Sometimes this can be hard because I see a messy house I want to clean, dishes I want to put away, clothes to hold, etc, and I can’t get to it until naptime or bedtime. I’ve been working really hard though to manage my expectations and be more realistic about what I can and can not do. I also have to remind myself that one day the house will be clean, there won’t be toys everywhere, but I’d do anything to get back to that stage again. At least I’m pretty sure! I just know this time with them is so incredibly special so who cares that the house isn’t clean and my To Do list feels untackled. I have to be content with where I am right now, and appreciate this gift of motherhood. It’s so worth it, even when it’s challenging!
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I hope you like this little look at adjusting to life as a mom of two! Let me know if you want to see more posts like this where I share snippets of my life. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!
xox
photos by Priscilla Frey
