Threesomes are WAY easier

I remember people telling me that going from no children to one child was the largest life changing jump of all. And although that is true, I feel that that is misleading. It led me to believe that going from one child to two children was a piece of cake. Not the case.

Looking back on Drew being an only child, it took me a solid six months to get in the hang of things. I may be a slow learn, but I felt by the time he was six months old I was sufficiently in a groove. He was sleeping better, I understood what was necessary in feeding him, I was back at work and used to leaving him behind, etc. I remember feeling like I was less frazzled on a daily basis at that point.

After Gabby came, I remember thinking things were WAY harder than I was led to believe. The whole baby thing I got, and maybe that’s why people speak of the zero children to one child jump. I understood how to nurse her comfortably from the get go. I was used to not getting enough sleep so I was less affected by being under slept. I felt confident holding her, bathing her and overall tending to her infantile needs. But handling a baby and a toddler was so much harder than I had ever expected.

I used to feel an increase in my level of anxiety at the sheer mention of being left alone with the two of them for even five minutes. Part of it may have been that I didn’t have many opportunities to be alone with them so I never faced that fear head on. Part of it was because it was a really challenging undertaking. Drew, as mentioned too many times to count, was always a wild man. He would manage to get into the worst kind of trouble as I was nursing the little angel. I never got more use out of the Baby Bjorn (carrier) than after Gabby was born. It was the easiest way to wrestle Drew and hold Gabby. Drew’s ability to block out necessary commands only got worse as Gabby came in the picture.

I think its fair to say that it took 18 months for me to comfortably manage the two of them without any concern! Once again, I realize I may be a slow learn but I’m just being honest. I now can get them both in and out of the car without having panic over one of them getting hit by a car. I now feel comfortable taking them to public places and feel pretty confident in controlling them as they run in different directions.

Some of the challenges are that its hard being one person with two kids. Other parts of the challenge are the behavioral issues that occur by adding another to the mix. And lastly it can be difficult as each child is ever changing. Drew is finally at the place where he has an attention span for longer than one and a half minutes. Gabby is mobile and more likely to find immediate trouble. Drew is able to communicate better. Managing their challenges, as well as working with their strengths is easier now.

The single handed greatest thing that happened to help me tackle the two of them more comfortably is that I get to do it every day now. And as I try to teach Drew, practice makes perfect…or as good as you probably can get!