Two Under Two

My life with a newborn and a toddler under two years old has been quite the whirlwind this past month. I still can't quite believe that my Little Man is already a month old! Where does the time go?!

Having two under two is busy-that's no joke. Thank heavens for having Hubs home. I honestly don't know what I would do if he wasn't here...how do people manage? Between recovering from my c-section, to only being able to do the stairs once a day, to nursing pretty much around the clock, he's been a total lifesaver. I will never ever take for granted the fact that we were able to get him paternity leave. Especially since there is a WHOLE LOT more laundry. And it's nice having family time too of course. 

People have been asking how it's going. Honestly it hasn't been too bad. Of course we are tired and of course it's draining but thankfully our only job has been to be parents. So right now we have man to man coverage on the little ones so we aren't quite outnumbered. Clearly the fact that we don't really have any other responsibilities helps out too. Ask me how it's going in a month when Hubs goes back to work! 

There are of course some challenges. 

The laundry is insane. I don't quite understand how adding one more little human into the mix adds so much more laundry? I feel like we are doing loads every day. Thank goodness for the new high efficiency washer! Having two in diapers is rough, but even though we're washing every other day instead of every 3-4 days I still wouldn't change a thing. Having to do an extra load here and there still beats spending loads of money on disposables and also contributing that much more garbage to a landfill. When Little Man was in sposies for the first few weeks I was sick over the amount of extra garbage...and the cost! 

Keeping our little house organized and uncluttered has been a challenge too. Our house is only 1100 square feet with two bedrooms and a playroom. The kids share a closet, and we don't have much storage so we've had to be creative. We only keep out what we need and we are constantly rotating out toys and clothes. We have shelves and shelves of bins stacked in the basement that we're trying to now be very diligent about keeping organized. So far so good. My craft and creativity center has moved from the dining room table to the basement which I'm excited about. Hubs cleared out a corner just for me and my arts and crafts.  Once I can do stairs I can't wait to work down there in the evenings. We've created an extra living space in the basement as well with a tv corner and futon. I'm sure the tortoises are excited for the company! 

Keeping toys in the playroom only has been important to us as well. We want Little Miss to understand that everything has a place and she is very quick to pick up on where things go. She is learning young that it's important to put things in their proper place and every night we put everything away together so she learns the value of her things. I truly believe children can learn and accept responsibility even at such a young age!

How else has life changed with two? Well for starters Little Miss isn't the center of the world anymore. And for the most part she is ok with that, which is a good thing! She's very helpful, throwing things in the laundry, trash, or diaper pail. Or this morning when she was able to go get the boppy for me. She really likes being a helper and retrieving things or putting them away. Most of the time. She's really been patient with the fact that sometimes she has to wait for mommy's attention. Nursing a hungry newborn leaves me confined to the couch much of the day so we try to do things together from there like read stories or sing songs. Baby wearing Little Man has helped too, because it leaves me hands free to play with her. Don't get me wrong, sometimes she gets sad that mama is busy, but thankfully Hubs can usually distract her. They've been having tons of fun with all of their daddy-daughter time! 

I'll tell you though, I forgot how much I LOVE having a snuggly newborn! It is so amazing to hold that little baby and realize that you made him!! I love the smell, the snuggles, the nursing-and this time around it seems even more fleeting. Now that I know how fast it goes I appreciate it all even more! I love my toddler and seeing her grow and change into a little mini adult, but there's just something about the newborn stage that is so incredibly amazing. 

My favorite part of it all is watching Little Miss with her new brother. She can't quite say his name so she just calls him Baby. It's quite adorable. She brings him his blankies or his lovies and rattles and things. She points to his eyes and nose and names them. She was very concerned about his umbilical cord stump, and still checks to make sure it's gone. And she even gives him a tiny little kiss on the forehead every once in awhile...which melts my heart every time. I'm so excited for them to be so close and to grow up knowing one another and being buds. My siblings are my best friends, and I can't wait for my littles to have a built in best bud! It's so important to me for them to have each other. It's the little things every day and knowing they have each other that make all the craziness that much more worthwhile to me! 

Love and laughs,

Danielle