Two under Two

I can remember the hate I got when we announced we were pregnant with our second baby not long after our sons 1st birthday. We had hoped, prayed, and already invested a lot of money into this pregnancy and some of the comments, even from family broke me. Our son was a huge surprise but from the time we had him, we wanted our children close in age. If not for just the excitement and fun, but for the bond they could have. As far back as early elementary school, I dreamt of my future kids. What they would look like, how many, and even their names. Although many things changed down the road, there was one thing that I was set on from the time I was little. I wanted my children to be close in age. Growing up, I was an only child till 2 months shy of 9 and again a few months shy of 14. I had always wanted to be sister and loved my siblings dearly, but I never got that close in age bond. I never got to go to the same school, be able to vent about high school trouble or boys, and had more of an aunt bond due to such a big age gap. I dreamt of having two little ones running at the park together and laughing as best friends. When our daughter was born, my heart felt complete at last. She was the final piece to our puzzle. Our children were born 19 months apart by one day and since the day they met, they have been best friends. The way our sons eyes light up talking about his sissy or how much our daughter looks up to her bubba for every little things reminds me exactly why we choose to have our children close in age.

Now your probably thinking, wow two under two sounds great. Although I’d love to say it’s all rainbows and butterflies, some days are hard. I will never forget adjusting from one to two. Both were still so little and needed the extra care. Macyn went from being an overly spoiled only child to still be spoiled but having to share not only his toys but his mommy and daddy. Let me tell you, that was by far the hardest. Having two under two means for the rest of your baby/toddler parenting chapter being outnumbered by one at all times when daddy isn’t around. I still to this day remember the women standing at Walmart glaring at me as my 4 week old cried wanting breast milk and my 20 month old crying because sissy was crying. Having two under two means your gonna loose a lot of sleep, more than most people can function on. Cue the coffee! I’m thankful both of mine got on a very good sleeping schedule but there were days it was hard. Having two under two means when you get the baby down for nap, there is a chance the toddler is going to wake them up. Say goodbye to a few minutes of rest(or slight rest since you still have the toddler awake). Having two under two means some days you are gonna feel like you failed. No matter if it’s because you couldn’t clean the house, didn’t finish a single meal, or got a little to upset, I promise you that you are kicking butt! Your children could care less about how messy the house is and if you break down, lean in for a hug. I swear hugging my babies always takes my stress away.

But most of all, having two under two means you have twice the love, twice the giggles, and twice the joy.

Now, trust me the good days most definitely outweighed the hard days. As my children get older, now 3 and 1, I am more and more thankful that we stuck by our decision. Nothing beats looking over as we are on a walk seeing them hold hands and my oldest telling sissy he will play cars with her when they get home. Nothing beats the moment when your kids won’t go to bed until they have done their bedtime ritual of a big hug and forehead kiss. It’s the moments I realize that they will get to grow up together and always have each other by their side for whatever the world brings their way. Through mothering two under two I learned so much. Not just about mothering, but about myself. I have stopped worrying about all the little things and reminded myself to always live in the now.

How far apart are your children?

XoXo

Christian