Surviving Back to Back Babies

Wildbloom | Sep 11, 2009 |

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Life can get a little complicated when you're celebrating your oldest child's first birthday while cradling a week old baby in your arms. Having children close together is both exhausting and rewarding and sometimes frustrating. Each stage presents its own unique challenges; from feeding to play time to falling asleep at night. It's a constant whirlwind of go go go! with scant time for a weary mother to rest.

Time management becomes crucial almost immediately. It helps to organize things according to how your day unfolds; have any and all breakfast foods or bottles pre-made the night before and in containers, ready to go. If you're breastfeeding and trying to micro-manage another baby in a high chair with a jillion Cheerios in his fingers, a baby sling might be the thing for you. It never fails that both babies want to eat at the same time, but staggering feedings is of course the ideal way to go if you can.

The sling also comes in handy to keep your hands free when the older baby is pulling up on furniture and starting to toddle around. A bonus is that the constant motion often lures cranky, irritable infants to sleep when nothing else is working.

Nap time and bedtime can become a circus if both children share a room and even if they don't. Baby One cries and keeps Baby Two from falling asleep. Baby One is in a toddler bed and Baby Two wants to be in one but just isn't ready yet. Both babies want mommy time and there just aren't enough arms to go around.

Letting babies cry for a little while won't hurt them. See if they will cry it out before taking the next step. There's no need to rush right in the room the instant they make a noise. Consistency is key. Follow the same routine every day at nap time and every evening at bedtime (when possible). If you are in the habit of rocking your baby to sleep but cannot hold two at the same time, perhaps keeping the youngest one in a bassinet at your side while you tend the other will help. Switch off to give both babies equal mommy time without putting undue strain on yourself.

During those precious few hours you claim as your own, do the things that make you happy. Whether it's down time with a book, a power nap or organizing your household, enjoy the solitude until the cycle starts all over again.