WTF am I going to do with 2 kids??!?!?!?!?! - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[Tear78]

jodie, that was such a nice response. Thank you! And you're right, we're hoping that having been through the newborn phase once will help us be more relaxed and make it easier this time. It's so nice to hear people say two is easier than one, since several people I've talked to IRL says it's more than twice as hard! Like that's what I need to hear now. Anybody care to burst that negativity bubble with stories of two under two not being extremely hard? DD will be 20 months-ish when the little guy is born. Everybody's responses are so helpful!

[buko]

Jodie, you are our ray of sunshine!  Slightly OT, but I have been super-busy the past two weeks and just wanted to let our recently-spotlighted people know that I have been reading those threads and loving your stories, advice and thoughts!

[ClumsySugarPlum]

Thanks, everybody! I am feeling so much better. I am going to re-read this thread when it is not too late and make a couple additions to my list of things to get done before baby gets here including obtaining/ stashing toys/ treats for ds for when I will be occupied with the new babe, plus any other time saving devices. Since DS's birthday is coming up, we should probably look at some new toys out there that would keep him occupied. He got a Leap Frog pen thingy for Christmas, but we haven't purchased or downloaded any books yet, so that might be a good place to start. He is learning to use a salvaged laptop and loves playing sesame street games, but he still gets stuck often enough, that I would worry about him having a fit when I'm in the middle of nursing the babe. Hmmmm....Thank goodness spring will be just around the corner when this one arrives. Playing in the dirt is his favorite activity.  

[jodieanneanton]

Clumsy-  Starfall is a great (free!) place online to go.  Very easy and child friendly... very hard to get stuck, especially after going through it a few times... And BONUS!  He can learn all sorts of things including letters and sounds and early reading!!! :D

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by Tear78 
 Anybody care to burst that negativity bubble with stories of two under two not being extremely hard? DD will be 20 months-ish when the little guy is born. Everybody's responses are so helpful!

My kiddos were 22 months apart.  It was great, because my older one was too little to be jealous, but old enough to climb into his car seat himself and fetch diapers for me and other things like that.  He adored his sister and I remember snuggling together with both of them and just being totally blissed out!  It was awesome.

The transition was so much easier than what I had been imagining and stressing about (and we were insanely busy at that time, too... Our house had been burglarized just days before my due date with DD (I confronted the burglar in the middle of the night... yes, we were home... yes, it's a long story!  haha.  I'll share sometime) And I was subpoenaed to attend multiple court dates as a witness testifying against him.  It was a nightmare!  I had to go one time when I was only 4 days postpartum and they wouldn't let me bring the baby with me to court... yuck.  Anyway.. because of the break-in, we VERY QUICKLY searched for houses, put an offer on a house just an hour before I went into labor, negotiated the sale of the house over the phone 4 hours after the birth the next day (!!!) and then went through all that crazy paperwork/inspections/etc those first few postpartum weeks as we were packing our old apartment and moving to the new place when  we closed, when baby was less than 2 months old.  ACK!  AND.... to top it all off... my husband had recently started a new job and was only able to take 3 days off after the birth, so I was more or less on my own to take care of two new YOUNG kids and pack up our house (and tour our apartment to potential renters) and then go back to work at 6 weeks postpartum.  Wow... it was so insane now that I'm remembering it all!  haha.  Anyway.... I'm sure your life will not be anywhere near as crazy and bizarre as all that, so if I could do it (and enjoy it), you'll be just fine!  

Also... seeing your first baby next to the new baby is so emotional and amazing-- seeing how much he or she has grown... and how much love he or she has for the new little one... it's enough to make your heart just overflow with wonder and love!  

[mariee]

Clumsy, I am so there with you right now.  For this whole last 8 months, when DS has had a particularly stressful moment with me, I can't help but think, ".....and how would I chase him through the parking lot while taking care of my infant exactly?????"

DS is incredibly, INCREDIBLY physical.  He throws things CONSTANTLY.  He is going to be 3 in a few weeks and he still has great difficulty in just walking with me.  Honestly, walking with him is like trying to walk one of those out of control dogs that Ceasar Milan retrains.  No kidding.  And so it means I carry him often, for his own safety.  How will I carry an infant and a 40 lb preschooler?  No clue 

I have no idea what to do with two kids.  But I have asked for plenty of input from friends with more than one...

1. If you have an upstairs/ downstairs, have 2 of everything so that you will have what you need at each level.  

2. sit on the floor to nurse so that you can still play with your older child

3. have new toys or "special" toys that only come out during nursing time so that older child is engaged

4. use TV.  sparingly, but use TV

The biggest thing that freaks me out is that we have no help.  DH's family lives 40 minutes away, but god forbid that they get in the car and visit.  MIL will not drive on the highway.  FIL will drive her, but complains about it the whole. Damn. Time.  And to be honest, they are not the most enjoyable people to be around sometimes, anyway.  

I'm hoping that DS will be really enamored of his new sister and that it may slow down his crazy tendencies to throw things.  

[Tear78]

Chappie, holy cow what a story! I can't believe everything you went through at such a momentous time! Thank you for sharing. :-) yu made me feel much better, and you're right: it will be amazing to see them together. I hope they snuggle with me like yours did! Btw, where in western ny are you? I'm in the Rochester area.

[Chapsie]

Tear- wow, you are so close! I'm in a suburb of buffalo! (We were living in the "city" -haha if buffalo can still be considered a city!- in a really fun area close to all the crunchy and cool shops and artsy people for years and loved it! We were a one car family and walked everywhere. We lived a block from the local organic food co-op and would walk there literally 2-3 x a week for groceries and for fun. . We loved living there... But then one night (at 39.5 weeks pregnant!), I heard noises at 2:30am coming from our living room. I, of course, at 39 weeks pregnant!, couldn't sleep well, so I got out of bed to investigate. I thought it was our upstairs neighbors. My husband and 22 month old son were sound asleep. I flipped on some lights and saw that the screen was missing from the front window. (It was June so the windows were partially open at night for air flow). I walked up to it to take a look and then, over my right shoulder, I saw a strange man crouched in the corner by our computer desk. I was shocked. "What are you doing here???" I yelled. He stood up slowly with our MacBook Pro laptop in front of him (he was using it as a shield in case I had a gun or something). I began screaming for my husband to wake up. The burglar then pushed me out of the way because I was standing in front of the open window and I instinctively (without much conscious thought!) reached out and grabbed onto his Tshirt. We struggled for a minute until his shirt ripped in my hands and he ran out onto the porch. By that time, DH was in the room with me and he saw the guy on the porch and thought he was trying to come in, not that he had already been inside and escaped. DH ran outside but could no longer see him. I began screaming and then called 911. Police were everywhere! Our whole living room was fingerprinted (a huge mess!) and they took our story. Thankfully, I was physically ok. Just really shaken up.

Here's the miraculous "praise God!" part of the story! My son never woke up! Haha. He had no idea what had happened. We were all physically ok (it makes me sick to think of what could have happened to me or my unborn daughter). The police caught the guy 2 hours later (he tried to sell out laptop at 3am and the buyer called the police on him instead!!!!). We were able to get our stuff back ! (He had stolen more than just our computer). We had just a month prior gotten a pretty decent chunk of money from an insurance settlement (my husband was hit by a car 2 years prior and we FINALLY got the money from the accident) and it was just enough for a down payment on a house! (The timing here is just amazing to me how God worked out all these details). So... We wound up buying our first house in a week, haha, and moving to a "safe" suburb right after the baby was born!

I really miss living in the city, but I was just way too anxious living there after that! I still make DH wake up and check the house if I hear any suspicious noises, an it has been 2.5 years since the break in.

We have a lot of crazy stories, haha. But God has always worked them out for our good! It's really amazing to see how everything we've been through had brought us to where we are now!

[Tear78]

Chapsie, that is an incredible story! I'm so glad that you and your DD were ok and also that your DS didnt wake up and get scared! My grandfather lives south of buffalo. Wouldn't it be fun to meet up sometime? I've always been jealous of mdc mamas that live close together.

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by Tear78 

Chapsie, that is an incredible story! I'm so glad that you and your DD were ok and also that your DS didnt wake up and get scared! My grandfather lives south of buffalo. Wouldn't it be fun to meet up sometime? I've always been jealous of mdc mamas that live close together.

My sister lives in Rochester!

I'd love to meet up! I'm thinking a fun summer play date with our babies would be totally amazing. I would drive out to Rochester-- you guys have "simply crepes" restaurant (in Pittsford, I think) which had the most delicious crepes I've ever tasted, haha. And, of course, the museum of play! Buffalo is not quite as exciting, but we do have Niagara Falls.

I want to meet up with jodieanneanton, too. She's in Cleveland, which is only 3 hrs from buffalo (prob 4 hrs for you).

Anyone else in the midAtlantic states that want to plan a play date?

[Melany]

Whoa, Chapsie! That is some story. 

[eternalw]

You guys are so close! I live just north of Ithaca.

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by eternalw 

You guys are so close! I live just north of Ithaca.

You would totally have to join us if we met up in Rochester!

[Tear78]

Originally Posted by Chapsie 

You would totally have to join us if we met up in Rochester!

Heck, yeah! Simply crepes and the museum of play or one of our awesome parks sounds perfect!

Ps - sorry for hijacking the thread...we should probably start a new thread for this.