When does two under two get easier? …thought every mom ever with a toddler and a baby! We’ll get into the short answer and the more extended answers!
When Does Two Under Two Get Easier? The Short Answer:
In my opinion, there are two pieces of this.
First, two under two get easier, or at least more capable, when your little one is sleeping through the night. Without coherent sleep for yourself, it’s hard to do anything…let alone raise two tiny kids.
Click here to grab my free sleep schedule for four month-olds!
The other important piece is this hard truth: Two under two gets easier as your older child becomes more independent.
We’ll talk in a bit how to actually make that happen.
My Two Under Twos (x2)
My three little ones have let me have the great blessing of having two under two twice. At one point, they were actually three under three.
In doing the math, I also just realized that I’ve had a two year old now for basically three years straight. Whoa.
My two oldest are 20 months apart. The middle and the youngest are exactly a year apart. Which means when the youngest was born, I had a one year old and a two year old…and the newborn. Wild times.
There’s Been a Shift Lately
Over the past few months, I have noticed a subtle shift in things. It’s like things have gotten just a little bit easier.
The kids are now 2, 3, and 5. Which is obviously easier than a one year old and a newborn.
But we’ve been neck deep in baby for a long time now. And things have just changed a little lately! For the better!
What’s Changed?
I think the most significant changes have been with my middle. He’s been coming into his own as a three year old, with a boatload of more independent skills. (Okay, that might be an exaggeration.)
He’s been potty trained and is dressing himself. These might seem basic, but they are game changers!
I mean, I used to have three in diapers, and now we’re down to one.
The independent skills from my two older kids have been huge, lately.
Independent Skills
My oldest has always been rather independent, which has been great. She caught on rather quickly when it came to dressing herself, potty training, and just following directions in general.
Like I mentioned, my middle child is starting to hit all these now, and it is making such a difference in the day to day routines.
For example, if we’re heading out the door, I can just tell my older two to use the bathroom…and they actually do it! Without any help!
Learning to do tasks independently is crucial for two under two to become easier!
Less Supplies
The other thing that has been great is just bringing less stuff everywhere!
The holidays just passed, and I was reflecting back on Thanksgiving just two years ago. And three years ago. And four years ago.
I would bring a travel bassinet, a sound machine, a breast pump, plenty of bottles, burp clothes, and who knows what else. And I would spend a good majority of the time feeding the baby and trying to get him or her to sleep in an unusual place.
Once the baby was finally asleep, I was worried the whole time that they would wake up upset. Not the most relaxing of holidays. But we made it through, and we made it work.
However, this year, I brought the kids’ water bottles and some snacks. Maybe a diaper and wipes were thrown in.
But that was it!
It was just a stark contrast to how things used to be, really not long ago at all.
How Can I Make Two Under Two Easier?
The truth is this: Make it your mission to constantly practice and encourage independence skills with your older child.
I really do know that this is way challenging with a bunch of littles. It’s so much easier in the moment to just do it ourselves.
But it does eventually pay off. Slowly but surely, things will get easier.
Click to read about teaching your little one to dress independently.
Conclusion
Two under two becoming easier will be different for each family. For my double set of two under two, the answer is now. Yours might be in a month or six months.
I promise you, though, it will eventually get easier.
Hang in there, Mama.
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