Harder Raising Two Kids - Wiggletot

“I actually think the harder parts aren’t with the newborn but with the toddler!” Kim Kardashian

Most parents of more than two kids can agree with Kim Kardashian when she says she “didn’t realize how hard it would be” to care for two kids. It is especially hard in the beginning if there is only a two three-year-old age gap between the birth of the children. I remember when I had my second daughter who was born 2 years and 2 months after her older sister. It was sad for me when I had to stay in the hospital for two days because it was the first time away from my daughter. She was super excited to see her younger sister for the first time even though she was sad to leave the hospital without me.

Just like Kim, I went “into overdrive to give my first daughter attention and make her feel loved.” I could tell she started getting jealous of her new sibling. She started reverting into actlng like a baby and didn’t like that she had to go sleep in her room anymore. Putting her to bed started to become a problem at 2 years old when I hadn’t had any problems prior.
I started involving my eldest in helping with the baby, which made everything a lot easier. She would hand me diapers, wipes and towels. It really helps when you involve the older sibling.

It was very tiring looking after two young children but I learnt a lot of short-cuts which helped me make the most of my time through trial and error of having my first daughter.

Mistake Number 1

I made the mistake of pumping milk for my daughter because she was taking too long during the night when I was nursing and it was hard for me to keep awake while feeding. I was so afraid I was going to crush her by falling asleep that I pulled out a battery operated breast pump. She would never nurse from me again!

Lesson Learned Learned

I worked from home and I only breastfed. I saved a lot of time not having to pump milk, wash and sterilize bottles, and caps. Washing, drying and packing bottles and accessories takes about 45 to 70 minutes a day.

Mistake Number 2

It took me 6 months to learn that a manual breast pump only takes five minutes to squeeze a bottle but the battery operated one takes 20 minutes. My daughter refused to drink milk from my breast so I had to pump and I was always running out of milk and time to pump. How did I learn my lesson about the manual pump versus the electric pump? I made the mistake of dropping the manual pump into a bowl of soup. It never worked after that. And this was the second electronic pump that I had bought in two months. At $300 apiece, I had to buy try a manual pump. Little did I know, I was able to fill a bottle in less than five minutes.

Time Saved
Yay, if you pump an average of 7 times a day, you will save an hour and forty-five minutes

Mistake Number 3

With my first baby, I made all of my own baby food when she was old enough to digest solids. I made the purees, meals, desserts and veggies. I would freeze portions and alternate meals every 3 or 4 days. That was way too much work for me considering I cooked food every day for my husband and myself as well.

Lessons Learned

Make solid foods that are compatible for everyone in the family and just add salt and/or hot pepper flakes to the adult plates. Annabel Karmel has amazing tasty recipes that everyone is happy eating. Plus, my kids were exposed to spicy foods at a young age, which reduces fussy eating syndrome although some textured food still freaked out my older daughter. I saved at least an hour making one meal for the entire family everyday.

To end on a high note, There is one of the biggest time saving benefits to having two children as opposed to just having one. When I had one daughter, I always had to entertain her and put myself in a position to meet other moms for play dates. I joined so many kid clubs from Gymboree, soccer, and art class to name a few. I was on the hunt for mom friends with kids my daughter’s age. As soon as her younger sister became 18 months, they were each other’s best friend. They enjoyed playing with each other without leaving the comfort of my home. How can you ask for anything more? I wouldn’t even know where to begin in calculating those hours saved.