2 under two

[carries]

Hello all!

When my lo is born there will be about 18 months between him/her and my son. AM starting to panic a little especially as they will have to share a room from about 6 months ish.

I just wondered if there were any ladies who are in or have been int he same situation that would like to share any advice/opinions/stories?

How did you all find it? Any tips for coping?

 

[rosyfeathers]

hiya, my girls are 18 mths apart. Faith is 2 and Christina is 8 mths & they share a room/bath/toys/food with no problems at all.
I absolutly love it!!!

Everyone had said i would not manage, & that there would be jealousy issues, tantrams, etc from Faith, but none of that has happened touch wood.

As soon as Christina was born, i encouraged Faith to 'help mummy' with ie getting me a nappy, towel for Christina, & saying things like, ' Look, Faith, Christina's done a poo poo!' ie involving her in the care of Christina - & also staying consistent with Faiths original routine, & now, she is so caring for Christina, ie tries to wipe her mouth, tries to console her if she starts crying etc, & they play very well together

When Christina was born she was in a moses basket in our room till she was 6 mths old, & then i moved her into a cot into Faiths room - Faith was still in a cot at that time. & again there was no pbm, just Faith trying to 'chat' with Christina, & thus waking her up at times, but now, no matter how loud Faith sings, if Christina has fallen asleep, she wont even stir..
So once ive put them down at bedtime, they sleep thru till morning in the same room.

At the moment they wake up, eat, sleep, have a bath, naps, play together & its working brilliantly!So much better than i expected!

Also, during the day, i also make sure i spend some one on one time with each of them thruout the day, ie when they are playing, watching tv, etc- & so far, they never seem bothered about that - if i sit down with Faith, i just give christina a toy/activity to play with, & vice versa, & then leave them for short periods to just play quietly together, & so even during the day i can still sit & put my feet up for a while & they will just glance over to see where i am, but continue playing for a while before they start coming over to mummy

the only downside so far is that if Faith starts crying, so will Christina, & if you dont take control of the situation quickly, it can easily escalate into 2 crying babies...

& Tbh, the only difficult part was looking after Faith towards the end of the pregnancy & the first few wks when Christina was born. As Faith was only about 18 mths, although she could walk she still insisted on being lifted & carried around- & then she still needed to be lifted into the car, her cot , highchair, bath etc, & i found this quite taxing, specially with a huge bump and backache! And then i had a section for Christina & lifting in the first few wks was impossible, but then bcoz Faith was still young, in nappies,being fed, etc, i was looking after 2 very dependent LO's for the 1st say 3 mths.
But after those 3mths, Faith came out of nappies, learnt to feed herself, & got more independent so its just got easier &easierCOLOR]

 

[lynnikins]

my 2 will be 20ish months apart and im hoping it will work ok, at the moment im struggling with coping with ds's needs as hes still in a cot ( changing that tomorrow ) and still needs lifting a bit and im not supposed to do that due to my spd so things are changing around so i dont have to from tomorrow , thankfully his highchair splits to chair and table and when its in 2 bits then he can climb in and out i only have to bend down and buckle him in then have him next to a chair so i can sit and feed him,

 

[carries]

Thanks for your responses ladies!

Rosyfeathers, its the room sharing I am really worried about...them waking each other up etc. I know its silly to worry about it now as it may all be fine but I cant help it!.

Oscar is such a good sleeper I suppose I have just got to hope for the same second time round!

 

[rosyfeathers]

i know carries, i was just as worried, but once LO arrives, youll see, youll manage.
I would just advise if you decide that they share a room, do it as soon as you can, that way they will grow into it...

 

[KatienSam]

Mine will be 18/19 months apart and this post has really made me feel better

xx

 

[penguin77]

I was also wondering this as mine will be 16 months apart.....thanks for posting carries
Oh..and thanks rosyfeathers....you have given me the confidence i need that thinks will be ok with 2 so close together.

xxx

 

[Sam9kids]

You can see from my ticker that my little ones are indeed little! When this one is born, i will have 5 kids age 4 and under EEK!

But im sure that you will do just fine xx

 

[emmajane]

Mine are 13 months apart and I love it. Is very tiring at times but Rosyfeathers wrote almost exactly what I was going to! Only difference is that Theo isn't very independent yet - although I am very much looking forward to that bit! Never had a problem with Theo sleeping through any crying and I think I am so much happier now I have two babies to look after rather than one. I'm sure you will be fine.

 

[ryder]

Im not sure if im necessarily worried as much as im interested ha ha.... Jasmine and the new baby will be about 20 months apart.

I am a little concerned because I still rock Jasmine to sleep at her nap and bedtimes. But the will have to change by summer. Also the same with her being in a crib.

I think the others are right that you just need a good balance of one on one time and including the other child. I am hoping that works anyways! The baby stage goes by so quickly though so im sure we will manage!

 

[TigerLady]

Mine will be 13 months apart. I am definitely worried!

The posts here have made me feel a bit better, thank you.

 

[Becki77]

Oh my goodness, i thought i was the only mad person having two kiddy winks under the age of 2!!!!........Im so pleased i'm not alone!
This thread has given me much confidence! Mine will be 21-22 months apart (not sure of dating yet!).
Im sure everyone will cope just fine, i guess the hardest part is getting use to having the 2 to care for and not just 1.
Good luck to you all x

 

[E&L's mummy]

like the others have said, im so glad im not alone in this. mine will be 21mths apart, and i have a 7 year old who will be nearly 8. im ot as worried about the 2 little ones its the eldest i natter about. its helping with homework, etc etc and looking after the little people that worries me more. DD1 is so understanding about DD2 but im not sure how she wil be with number 3. maybe im worrying for nothing, i dont know.

we have already decided to get things sorted like bedrooms etc for DD2 and number 3 and move in to the bigger room so she is settled in there before baby turns up. and baby will be in with us for a bit and then move into joint room with DD2. im hoping to give BF a go this time round too and really not sure how thats gonna work as i will be learning that one from scratch.

 

[Taurustot09]

me too. i will have two little Girls with 12 months age difference, baby is due actually 6 days before Lucy's first Birthday. so glad there are others

 

[emz87]

I think there is roughly going to be around 22 months between my 2, i have been worried i know the first weeks are going to be difficult but once we get into routine im hoping all will go ok.At the moment we are getting tyler to sleep in his cot all night as before i was pregnant he used to come into bed with us in the night...so far so good somenights he will sleep 7-4am with no waking in between and othertimes he will wake but is really easy to settle and sleeps in his cot until 4.If i hadnt got pregnant he still would have been sleeping in our bed,weve tried and tried to get him in his cot befor but we didnt have the wil power. Anybody else lo's dont sleep through and have another on the way?

 

[carries]

Glad there are a few of us...can we move this to the lounge area and have a group? Im sure we will all need each others support in the months to come!

 

[E&L's mummy]

sounds like a good plan. will keep my eyes open for it. xx

 

[E&L's mummy]

emz87...my little one doesnt sleep thru every night. sometimes early hours of the morning she starts crying in her sleep, i think she is dreaming. but she comes in for a cuddle and we normally all drop back off with in seconds. sometimes she needs a bottle to get her off again. some nights she goes thu so im not worrying about it tbh.

 

[Bec L]

Hi
Poppy will be almost 23 months when the new baby arrives (assuming it's not prem). Can't say I haven't worried about how I will cope and how they'll get on, but am hoping Poppy will be as affectionate with the baby as she is with her dollies ha ha. (Other than the times she shuts her dolly in a cupboard or dunks its head under the water in her bath )

A group sounds great. I know there is a Back to Back pregnancy group but maybe a specific 2 under 2 group?? Great to know there are a few of us in the same boat!

 

[nikki-lou25]

I am not pregnant yet, but I am hoping to be soon. My little girl is 9 months old, its nice to see how you all get on with 2 under 2. Anyone I tell I am broody tells me I am crazy and that I should wait!