What I’ve Learned about Life with a Newborn and Toddler

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Wow! The past few months have been a whirlwind! Thankfully, I did tons of prep work before Little Miss was born and the business has pretty much kept itself running. Sorry I haven’t been able to drop in and update you on our new life yet, but here’s a brief taste of what life has been like with a newborn and toddler over the past few months.

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Life with a Newborn and Toddler

Bugs is a full blown toddler

Right around the time Bugs turned 2 and Little Miss was born, he started doing all the officially 2-year-old toddler things. Refusing naps and bedtimes. It now takes us around 30 minutes to keep him in bed once bedtime starts. At first, it ended in tears every night now not so much.

Carriers have saved my life

If you’re following me over on Instagram you probably know that I’ve fallen in love with carriers. I carry Little Miss in a ring sling almost daily. It’s how I do shopping trips, park play, hanging out at home, or working with two kids.

I own a WildBird, and I’d love to one day soon get a Sakura Bloom. Bugs has also fallen in love with being carried. We bought an Onbuhimo from Sakura Bloom so dad could carry him on his back. He thinks it’s the coolest thing ever and says he’s flying.

Newborns are the easy part

I remember when I was pregnant dreading the newborn stage again. I loved once Bugs was crawling/walking/talking. I kept thinking how I would fit a newborn into our crazy on the move life. Little did I know that the newborn would be way easier! I wouldn’t have spent quite so many nights worrying.

There’s never a minute alone

Alone time with my husband is practically non-existent. My parents will occasionally watch the kids so we can have a date night, but it’s much harder finding babysitters for two kids. And one of the kids constantly needs one of us.

Alone time for myself is also non-existent. I used to laugh about moms who complained they couldn’t take a shower alone. I thought ‘how overdramatic’. Oh, how naive I was. I literally have to lock the door or my toddler will come bursting in as soon as I’ve left the room and immediately need me or want to get in the shower with me.

Every kid really is different

People told me this over and over again, before and during my pregnancy. Little Miss is so different than Bugs was and it was immediately obvious that they were different.

She loves breastfeeding, he hated it. She is finicky about taking bottles, he loved them. She sleeps and loves to sleep alone, he wanted and still wants to be held to sleep. He has extreme FOMO (fear of missing out) and she’s super laid back. They’re complete opposites and I see so much of my husband and me in each one. It’s insane.

Teething still sucks

Little Miss started teething right around 2 months. She’s still more laid back then Bugs was. But teething turns all babies (in my experience) into extra cranky, drooling little messes. Also, Bugs started getting his molars, and teething doesn’t get any better with age.

I’m loving every minute of it

Seriously, I am. I may joke, and trust me I look forward to the days (years from now) where I’m not quite so tired, physically run down, and I can have a conversation longer than one minute without being interrupted.

But I’m soaking up every single minute of this time. I’m truly trying to enjoy it all. I started a gratitude journal right before Little Miss was born. 3 things every day that I’m grateful for. It helps to remind me that even on the hard days, it’s not that hard.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. Life with a newborn and toddler is so much crazier than I expected but somehow easier than I anticipated too.