11 Feb
A Quick Thought on Two Kids at Just Shy of A Week Post-Partum
My mom left yesterday evening, TH is still on paternity leave, and my sister comes on Wednesday for just shy of a week, so maybe I should wait to write this out until I’ve managed things on my own for a bit but…
I was terrified to have two. It felt so overwhelming and I had no idea how I was going to manage any of it, with or without help. I know it’s going to get hard when it’s just me and two young children on the afternoons and nights during the week, but I can see how it’s possible. There will be lots of tantrums from T1, T2 will sometimes have to wait (T1 is learning this lesson already), and I might not ever get anywhere on time, but it’s possible.
Hopefully writing that out will buoy me up in a few weeks when I’m a hormonal, lonely, overwhelmed, sobbing mess dealing with two children who refuse to sleep the way I need them to in order to stay sane. 
Here is a similar picture of T1 right after birth if you’d like to compare!
She actually weighs 2 ounces less than he did, but he looks like the more petite one here doesn’t he?
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
Awww, she is so cute!!
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1They do look similar! Praying for rest and sanity for you in the weeks ahead! You’ll do great!
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2jenna- congrats! she is beautiful. and has a beautiful name. and i hope that i have the same recovery and feeling that i can do two as you do
. what amazing miracles these little growing families of ours are right? seriously. anyway-i’m still out here lurking. hope that you are still so happy and tell Swav hi for me and congratulations!
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3You hit the nail on the head. Everyone will just have to wait until Mommy can do what she needs to do. It takes a little practice and some common sense preparation – have snacks available for T1 that he can reach; it won’t damage T2 if she cries an extra 60 seconds – but it will all work out. You CAN do this. Also, if someone dares to come visit you, say “How nice to see you! Mind if I run take a shower while you watch the kids? Thanks so much!”
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4Oh my gosh, she is so squishy… and look at all that hair! And her cute little toes! Cute cute cute.
And you’re right, it’s all going to be OK. Apparently I always reference Mrs. Train on Hellobee when the going gets tough, but somehow she manages four children all under age 5. It can be done.
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5They definitely look alike! She looks sooo peaceful! And don’t worry, you’ll do great, even in a few weeks when help leaves. Like you said, I think we all build it up in our minds to be harder than it actually ends up being. You find your new routines and life goes on as before–busy. I think whether you have one kid or ten everyone always feels busy!
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6You’ll figure it out
. In my opinion learning how to do one was harder, and took longer than learning to do two. Or maybe that was just the temperament of my kids.
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7Congratulations! Have courage! Mine have grown and left the nest, but I remember the happy surprise of feeling so much more confident with my 2nd child as a newborn (and she was a premie). The learning curve is so different and you’re easing another baby into your family rather than creating something out of nothing. You’ll be tired sometimes, but I always found that my confidence made up for it. Enjoy.
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8Oh, Jenna, they are incredible! You and TH make some lovely children. And that newborn picture of T1 is just wild — he was so tiny!
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9Wow! I just barely checked your site, Congrats!!! I’m so excited that you have a sweet little girl. Things will even out a lot, give it 3 months and all 4 of you will be doing great in your new roles.
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10My goodness! What a darling little girl – those cheeks!
Even though I am past the baby stage, and it was haaaard managing him on my own – in retrospect I can hardly remember the drama of it all – ha ha. In the tough times, just remember it gets better. It always does!
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11You are going to great. It’s wonderful that you have the blog for an outlet and a large community of friends. I think you are right. The hardest part about too is the lack of time. My youngest is now 6 months and I’m horrible at making time for myself. That will be your biggest obstacle but if you are aware of and work towards making it better you should be ok.
Congrats on T2, she is adorable!!!
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12I just had my second baby about a month ago, so I understand the overwhelming fear. But it does work out. Sometimes there are moments of pure chaos with both of them screaming and you feel like screaming too, but you’ll all survive. The hardest part for me is not having enough time or energy to get done all the things that I used to. But I remind myself that I want to enjoy every minute of them being little. And they’re totally worth all of the challenges that come with it.
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13I’m not a CIO-Er, and I only have one, but: I really believe that if mommy is ok baby is ok. I have absolutely shut the door while I go to the bathroom for a moments peace, even if he’s crying the whole time. Just take your time and breath and I’m sure they will be loved and loving and that’s the point.
Also, I don’t have a twitter but I read tweets (creepy? Maybe?) and my almost 2.5 yr old growls and screeches with frustration despite having a perfectly usable vocab. I just remind him that mommy can’t understand and he repeats whatever got him so riled up (usually trains, Dino’s, or our dogs) in normal toddler language.
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