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I can easily say the two biggest impacts we felt after bringing home our second child involved time and our older child learning to adjust to the baby’s arrival.
Parenting Two Children
When we brought home our second child it quickly became divide and conquer. We typically had one parent focused on each child. This could be when doing meal time or trying to get out of the house for an outing.
We quickly realized that we lost some of the free moments we used to have.
For example, with only one child we would alternate who did bedtime. The other parent would straighten up the living room or have a few moments to themselves.
When parenting two children there became double the work.
A toddler and a newborn are living very different lives and have very different needs. Both want attention and need a lot of help. Because we are typically each on one child we don’t find ourselves with much downtime.
Maintaining Our Home
We are pretty clean and tidy with our home. Adding that second child really made an impact on our home. Because we were both spending time with one child there wasn’t a free parent to follow behind cleaning up or tackling another area of the house.
We have started to find our rhythm a bit more and know this will not last forever. We are constantly teaching our toddler about cleaning up and she has become a little expert at folding washrags and matching socks.
If you are looking for ways to challenge your toddler and help them continue to grow and learn check out The Surprising Things Your Two-Year-Old is Capable of Doing Independently.
This may sound silly to say but adding a baby made a huge impact on the laundry. Obviously, another person equals more laundry; we knew that going into it. We just quickly noticed how we felt the additional work.
Getting Out the Door
Getting out the door in a timely manner is much more challenging with two kids.
Before one parent would prep the child while the other parent loaded the diaper bag and other various supplies. We could be out the door soooo quickly!
With two kids, one of which is a newborn we are so much slower.
We are packing for two kids at completely different stages. We need diapers and burp rags for the baby, while the toddler needs extra undies while potty training and snacks because they have food allergies.
It is also more difficult to pack up because we are managing two children the entire time.
And the final part that makes us slow out the door is that I like to typically breastfeed right before leaving the house. This means I need to have myself ready before then feeding and burping the baby.
Basically, I have to start the process an hour before leaving the house.
I think once we are through the breastfeeding phase things will move much more quickly.
Check out My Top 5 Reasons for Deciding to Breastfeed Baby #2.
Overall that second kiddo makes you slower to get out of the house!
First Child Adjustment
I believe the person most impacted by baby #2 was our first child. My husband and I were both already used to being parents and caring for a child. Adding a second child was adding more work and time commitment, but we were familiar with the dynamic.
Our toddler though was an only child who got all the attention from two parents. Bringing home baby #2 impacted her life the most. All of the sudden she was being told to be quiet, gentle, kind, wait and so much more.
Overall she handled it like a champ. We were impressed with her. There were bumps along the way of course though.
Conclusion
Welcoming a second child into our family resulted in huge changes and adjustments. We felt the lack of time for ourselves, our home, and even for our first child.
We also have been blessed to see what our second child has brought to our family. She is still a tiny little thing but we already see the relationship between our two girls.
We see how our oldest child is learning to share and care for someone beyond herself. She is learning patience and kindness.
We are incredibly thankful to embrace the changes that have come with the addition of our second child to our family.
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