10 Tips To Survive 2 Under 2

1. Do a “10 minute miracle” with your older child most days. Your first baby in most cases will find it soo hard not having the same amount of attention from you that they had before, but at the same time you can’t possibly give that to them. So one of the absolute best things that I found worked, it literally was an actual miracle for us, was just spending 10 minutes, one-on-one completely present with my firstborn at some point during the day. No phone. No distractions. Doing whatever they want! That time every single day with your older child will make a hugeeee difference let me tell ya.

2. Don't “blame the baby”. This was a total game changer for us!! Instead of saying to your older baby, “I can’t play with you because of the baby, I can’t get you that because I’m feeding the baby, I can’t do this or that for you because I’m holding the baby,” try to say it without saying “because of the baby!” Otherwise your older baby will just think oh - mummy can’t do all these things because of this annoying little baby! But if you just say “I can’t do that right now, I know it can feel hard to wait”, you are being super empathetic, without blaming the baby for it. Removing the baby out of the equation means less chance of your older sibling feeling resentful or jealous of the new baby.

4. Nail the basics. If you’ve always got your nappy station stocked up, with a few nappy caddies ready to go in other areas of the house too, this will save you running around like a headless chook. You’ve now got pretty much 2 babies to look after with one on the go, so make your nappy-changing life easier and make sure you’re never stuck trying to find those basic items like nappies or wipes. Plus, with a crying newborn, you’ll feel like you want to change your other little’s nappy as quick as possible, because you don’t want to have to be putting them down for too long while you get your other small toddler settled enough for a nappy change and get it done!

5. The baby carrier/wrap is your other best friend. Sometimes you just need to get sh** done, and you need your hands free. The best thing you can do is get your new baby used to being in the carrier or wrap, since they’ll want to be close to you all around the clock, but you’ve got to somehow still get things done.

6. Have toddler busy bags/boxes prepared. Sometimes you will just need something fast to keep your older baby occupied. A great way to do that is to have some busy bags pre-prepared. All you need is a zip up pencil case (or a few), or a box or two the same size as a lunch box, and you can fill it with stickers, toys like magnetic tiles - or anything you think your older child will love to play with!

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When I sat down to start putting this blog together, I’ll be honest - I found it quite difficult to think about what my tips for 2 under 2 would be. And I was trying to figure out why I was finding it so hard, when I’ve done it before pretty recently! Honestly I think it’s because most of the time, it was merely survival. There are so many moments where you just simply do what you can to make it through the day. Plus, my memory is seriously so foggy. Post-partum with a toddler to look after at the same time with your newborn is not for the weak that’s for sure.

Going to 2 is the first time you have to balance multiple children’s needs. Having one of them still being under 2 years of age, you’re pretty much looking after 2 babies! Twin mums would beg to differ I’m sure, but still - it is a huge juggle. Most little ones are still in nappies at that age, they’re bordering on the terrible twos, learning how to speak and express their little-big emotions, and they are on the go. Yet still too little to get their head around everything going on. I would almost say they’ve almost got no clue!

And that’s something that I found the hardest - I could read books to try to explain what was going on, but for the most part, my eldest didn’t fully understand - and that’s what broke my heart the most. I knew she was going to be fine and she would eventually love having and being a sister, but I knew she was going to go through some shock and a lot of adjusting and I could barely warn her.

7. Don’t forget just how small your first baby is. This will help you to go easy on them because they are going to have difficult moments adjusting to it all, and so will you and it might feel frustrating because you also just need to look after your newborn. I’ll never forget once a friend said to me, “I looked back at photos and realised just how small my firstborn was”, and she said she felt she was too hard on her. Sometimes you’ll do that because you’re human. But even if it eases it a little bit, just remember how small they are as well.

8. Use your screen if you need it. If you need to use your screen, just do it! I remember giving my toddler my phone with Peppa pig on it while I fed my baby to sleep to get her down for a nap. Yes it’s your whole world for a while, but it truly does not last forever. It is so fleeting and sometimes just do what you have to to get through it.

3. The bouncer is your best friend. When you’ve got to do things for your older baby, or even just go to the toilet, trust me, that bouncer is your bestie!

I don’t want to scare you but for the sake of being real, for me, 2 under 2 was the hardest so far. Everyone will say different but I led myself into a false sense of security thinking, “Oh I’ve done it before and learnt so much!” Well, I had never had multiple children at the same time though, and my second was very different! Going to 3 was also very hard, but the difference was that I kind of had this really strong trust with it all, knowing that it will certainly pass, so I could focus easier on purely hanging in there. Whereas 2 was sort of a shock and the first time I had to deal with multiple kids. So after coming out the other side of 2 under 2, what would I say my top tips are? Let’s get into it!

9. Chant to yourself daily on repeat that “this is NOT forever”! You WILL sit down on the couch watching your favourite shows again after getting your kids down. You WILL have your hands free again one day. You won’t always have a crying baby to tend to. It will all pass. This is seriously really honestly - just, temporary.

10. Simplify meal times. I remember trying to work out what to have for dinner all the time and getting so stressed about it. Now I have a quick cheat sheet for our meals, and usually for sides, I always just have frozen veggies in the freezer and I make something easy like rice or chips. Get an air fryer or whatever you need to do, and plan what nights you’ll eat what meals. It’ll make your life soo much easier!

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