Top 10 Things I
Didn’t Know About Raising Two Kids
When I was pregnant with my
second son I scoured the internet for articles that would calm the fears I had
about raising two children. Would my oldest feel neglected? Would I manage two
different nap schedules? Was I insane for choosing to have two children? I am
happy to say that having two children has been a wonderful experience but I
definitely have learned a lot of things first hand that the articles never told
me.
1.Your oldest child will not hate
you for having another baby. In fact your oldest child will probably be very
uninterested in the baby unless the baby is crying. At which point they will
sit on the couch with hands over their ears pretending they can’t hear you ask
to give baby a pacifier.
2.Your oldest child will remember
every toy or article or clothing or blanket that once belonged to them and will
insist baby doesn’t use it. I expected this issue but I had fooled myself into
believing it would occur once baby could walk. I was unprepared for my oldest
to hide all of the baby blankets when baby was a month old because they were my
oldest’s blankets at one point.
3. Your laundry will quadruple
because of this little person. You think it was bad when your laundry exploded
from a two person to three person home? Just wait until there’s another baby. I
still haven’t figured out the universal law of how one little creature can turn
my two load per day schedule into a four load per laundry schedule.
4. Your new baby will know how to
get your attention. I naively believed that my youngest would be shadowed by
his walking and talking sibling. I was
wrong. My sweet infant has learned a special shriek cry just to get my
attention.
5. You will get to nap. I promise.
My oldest had given up naps when I was pregnant. A month after baby came he
started napping again. During naps I find I can lay on the couch with baby and
get a few minutes rest as well.
6. Your house will never look good.
Ever. Unless you forego the above mentioned nap which would be foolish. Your
house will still be there when the kids are older. And as anyone with a
preschooler can attest it will not stay clean for more than 1.2478 seconds once
your oldest is awake.
8. You will forget all of the tough
times of raising a newborn that you went through with your first. With your
second at least you have the knowledge that you survived it once and forgot, and
you will survive and forget this time again. Some people may forget so well they make the choice to have a third or more child.
9. You will be late 95% of the time.
Once you finally get out of the door you will have realized you forget at least
three crucial items between two kids. Whether it’s a change of clothes for the
older child, a bottle for the second, or your phone you will have to turn
around every time.
10. People will forgive you for your
tardiness, disheveled appearance, and many other things because they know how
much hard work goes into having two kids.
Bonus: You will love baby two as much as baby one. It may be a different kind of love but it will be just as strong.
