Thursday, April 28, 2016

Two Under Two

While 'two under two' was short lived for me--lasting only two months--I feel it is still important to talk about life with two littles and to finish up this mini series. As you can probably guess, life with two has been quite hectic, leaving me with little time even to sit down and write this post. Actually I have had very little time to sit down and do much of anything, as I am constantly protecting Ayrton from Liana's loving, but deadly, grasp. (Okay, not literally 'deadly', but there was a point that she managed to pick him up out of his bouncer and as his head became too heavy for her, she dropped him on our hardwood floor!). Without further ado, let's dive into the diaries of a second time mum!

Ayrton

While pregnant with Ayrton I was more exhausted than I had ever been in my life. I have an 8:00 AM-4:00 PM office job and every day by 3:00 PM I was completely wiped out. I'd be sitting for a good portion of the day and suddenly be in desperate need of a nap. And I mean desperate need. I even caught myself from nodding off a few times! (Oh boy, I apologize to anyone from my office if you're reading this!). The utter exhaustion came down to the little sprout growing inside my belly. I am not sure if he ever slept because from where I was sitting, all I could feel was a baby bean bouncing between zumba class and practicing self defense moves.


Not surprisingly, outside of the womb, our little man is still as busy as ever. I have several videos of him lying by himself just kicking around, cooing and smiling his big goofy grin. Of course this is completely entertaining to Liana, who can't keep her little paws off him when he's within reach--but we'll get to her in just a moment. Time has absolutely been flying by with him; I am going to blink once and he'll be sitting up, blink twice and he'll be crawling, and three times he'll be walking. It seems as though he is growing up so fast already and hitting his baby milestones like it is his job! He coos like a maniac, smiles like it's going out of style, reaches for objects he's been tracking, pushes down on his legs when his feet are on a hard surface, briefly calms himself by sucking on his hand, and is consistently rolling from tummy to back (I can count three times in the past two days as consistent, right?!).
(You can read Liana's two month update here).

Liana

Liana's biggest achievement and area of drastically noticeable growth has been in her speech. Hearing her talk now I am shocked that her pediatrician ever recommended early intervention speech therapy (click here to read my blog post on that). Of course, she was only fifteen months old at that time and was in the care of a wonderful and caring woman who only spoke Bulgarian while Liana was there, which made it hard for Liana to put sounds together when she was hearing so much of two different languages at the same time. By eighteen months old, after being moved to a day care program, she finally had ten distinct words. Presently, only six months later, Liana has well over 100 words in her vocabulary, uses several word phrases, correctly uses "manner words" (please, thank you, you're welcome and excuse me), uses the names of people appropriately (she has even been known to call me Danielle on occasion!), and repeats everything she hears.. literally everything. Yesterday I had the GPS on while driving and I hear her in the back seat repeating, "Mill Street" and "three miles."


Other developmental milestones she has reached include jumping with both feet off the ground, kicking a ball, throwing overhand, standing on her tip toes, running, walking up and down stairs on her own, climbing onto and down from furniture without help, mimicking behavior exactly how she sees it being done, impeccable ability to follow directions (example- telling her where something is when she can't see it and she walks right over to it as if she's known the whole time), recognizing songs and beginning to sing along (she loves her ABC's and Wheels on the Bus), imaginative play (especially if it involves her play kitchen or plethora of baby dolls), and naming objects when I point to them.

I don't mean to brag, but being a mum it's kind of inevitable that I say this... I have the smartest two year old in the world. I am not exaggerating. Since Liana has mastered all of her two year milestones, her pediatrician decided to test her on three year milestones. These are the ones that Liana is showing amazing progress on already: showing affection for people without prompting, showing concern for someone who is crying, understanding the idea of "mine", "his" or "hers" (thanks to her older brother, haha), dressing and undressing herself, understanding on/off and open/close, saying her own name and age, naming her friends without seeing them, screwing and unscrewing lids and turning door handles (she's been a pro at these last two for quite a while now).

Life With Two

Adjusting to being a second time mum has been wild, but also surprisingly easy. It's a bit crazy seeing my family grow together, introducing a little man into what used to be mummy/daughter time, and also knowing two other lives depend on me. To be honest, I don't think I quite felt like a real mother while caring for Liana. There were a few points with her that were definitely rough to get through, but overall, I feel like parenting her has been way easier than I had ever expected. She's fun to watch and play and interact with, and we genuinely enjoy learning from each other. I feel lucky to have her in my life as my little companion. Enter Ayrton to the scene and the whole dynamic changed. He is also a fairly 'chill' baby--he's not fussy about where he naps or who feeds him, he enjoys car rides and babywearing, and he actually likes a tiny bit of alone time on his play mat (unlike Liana at that age). Despite them both being easy to handle separately, when they are together it's a whole different story. Juggling the two of them makes me feel like a proper mum, in every sense of the job. Competitions for attention, necessity for discipline, and at times, utter chaos, is what real parenting is about. Not to say that anyone with only one child isn't a 'real parent', I just personally did not feel like I knew the ins and outs of parenthood until I had to do it with two. With only Liana, it always felt like I had a cute little sidekick along for the ride. Structure, discipline, and boundaries are the game changer for me.

Speaking of boundaries, let's talk about personal boundaries. Liana loves Ayrton. She loves him so much, that she cannot stand to be away from him for a single second. This means that Ayrton cannot nap without Liana squealing in his face or lifting his eyelids to make sure he is, in fact, napping. Ayrton cannot lay on his playmat alone; Liana will crawl under the little gym to lay next to him every time. Liana cannot enjoy a popsicle without offering some to Ayrton (and by 'offer' I mean shove into his mouth while exclaiming, "yummy!"). But on a sweeter note, she insists on hugging and kissing him every morning when she wakes up, every night before going to bed, and each day she leaves for school.


It has been quite the task to keep Liana entertained while feeding Ayrton, and keeping Ayrton calm while I'm playing tea time with Liana. Loving them is easy, but giving them both my attention is proving a bit more difficult. We are learning to remedy this challenge together, and so far we've come across a few activities we can all enjoy together, especially being outdoors. As difficult as certain points during the day are right now, I am excited for my family to be growing together and growing closer as the children get bigger and can interact more. When Ayrton was born, I was relieved by the thought of no longer being exhausted by 3:00 PM every day. Little did I know, exhaustion was about to be my entire life--at least in the beginning. We've come a long way in the past two months and I can already see that, together, our little family is growing as a unit. (Click here to read about how I dealt with exhaustion during the early months with Liana).

This is where my journey ends with two under two. Last week on the 20th, both of my babies celebrated their second birthday together; Liana turning two years old and Ayrton turning two months old. What a bittersweet day for me! The two of them are growing so fast, but I am happy that they are close enough in age to be growing together.


This is the third and final post in the mini series surrounding Ayrton's birth. You can catch up on the first two posts here... Life is Unpredictable and Meeting Ayrton


Also, keep an eye out for a post on Liana's woodland fairy themed birthday party!

33 comments:

  1. Having two under two, for no matter how short a length of time, is huge! Your mini series has been great :)

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  2. I had two under two for 4 months and it was totally exhausting. I've loved your mini series

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    1. Thank you! It is pretty exhaustin some days! But totally worth it!

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  3. I'm going to be reliving this again soon, a hectic blurry time it has been. I've a just turned two year old an eight month old and I'm expecting in July. Your right there is hardly time to sit down but they'll *hopefully* be the best of friends. Great idea for a blog series :)

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    1. Wow! It takes a whole lot of bravery to have 3 so close together! But it will definitely be rewarding, congrats mama. I know later on we will be thankful our kids are close in age.

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  4. I know what you mean about feeling like it' proper parenting once you have two, but I love it! Three is 2years4months between mine and I think much less would have been a real challenge.

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    1. It's such a crazy but wonderful time. It's hard to think that later on I will look back and think about how short this phase is!

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  5. It must be crazy, my little girl at two was everywhere and still is lol x

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    1. Yes, some times she just won't sit still and there is absolutely no stopping her! It's as if I just gave her a meal of sugar at 8AM! Haha

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  6. That's a lot of work, for sure! Seems like you did a wonderful job!!!

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  7. a great idea for a mini-series! It is exhausting having little ones but lots of fun too x

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    1. Absolutely! Thank you for following along with the series! x

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  8. Oh I don't know how you do it. I don't think I would be able to manage two under two. There is an age gap of 2 1/2 years between my two and that's hard to manage enough.

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    1. I keep reminding myself that later on I will be happy they are so close in age!

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  9. Sounds like you have adapted to life with two really well and they're getting on great! I had two under 2 for almost a year! It's all a blur now ;) x

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    1. Some days time flies and others I feel as if I am being dragged through hell! The woes of patenting! Lol

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  10. Sounds like you are doing a fab job! I had two under two - my eldest two are 21 months apart, and then I had number three when those two were 4 and a quarter and 2.5. It was challenging at times having two under two - very full on and I often felt like I was doing a half-job with both of them. However, it all soon fell into place and being so close in age, the three of them get on so well. I love their sibling bond. x

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    1. That is what I am looking forward to! We're currently in the phase of making sure our 2 year old doesn't terrorize our 2 month old too badly. I'm expecting the next phase to be chasing them around as they cause a ruckus together. But eventually we'll land somewhere between sibling rivalry and bonding. Such a journey parenthood is!

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  11. Gosh that does sound like a challenge. I'm currently 30 weeks pregnant with baby number 2
    When she arrives my son will be exactly 2.5yrs. He actually becoming a little bit of a handful now wheras before hand I thought parenting was an absolute breeze. He was the easiest baby and up until now easiest toddler to look after. I'd like to think the two will get on when little miss is here but I fear there may be sibling rivalry from a young age. Watch this space 😂

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    1. Haha, well you never know! My daughter gets so jealous sometimes but other times she is so sweet and loving toward her little brother. I just have to keep a close eye on them while they're together until he gets a bit bigger.

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  12. Aww i always wondered what it'd be like with two under two! I'm definitely not ready for another one yet so well done you, sounds like they're both very loved and i'm sure you give them more than enough love and care that they need!

    Cydney x

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    1. Thank you! It's so encouraging to hear these words from another mama! x

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  13. They look adorable together. What a gorgeous photo to cherish and bring out when they are 18 :) I don't envy you but I bet it's all worth it when you see them tucked up in bed.

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    1. It is definitely worth it. I can't wait to see them grow into each other and begin to play together. ❤

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  14. <3<3<3 Your two kiddos are adorable! I think they'll have so much fun growing up together being so close in age!

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    1. Thank you! I am definitely looking forward to them strengthening their sibling bond! x

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  15. Lovely photos of them together, it is hard work having young children, let alone two close together! You sound like your doing great and it is funny how more children just fit in together into the family.

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    1. I agree. I was so worried about having a second child. My daughter and I were so used to having only each other so it's a bit different with my son thrown in now, especially since he can't really participate in much and my daughter has to be patient with me while I tend to him even when her and I are having a play date together.

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  16. Oh I love this post I am a mummy of two My first was one in January and his brother joined us in April. I found I was really anxious about it all but it turnt out better than expected!!

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    1. Congrats on your new little one! It's quite lovely to have children so close. I become more thankful with each day that passes. It's getting loads easier. I think I just had to get used to them together is all. xx

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  17. Great post Danielle. I loved having my 2 girls close then came my third wooohooo triple the fun.

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