It’s no secret, we’re nuts.  We had our babies 14 months apart.  Not on purpose, mind you, but that’s what happened.  My greatest fear upon learning that I was pregnant again was not being able to physically manage babies so close in age. 

Some days, managing is all I can do.  Other days, I laugh at how scared I was. 

There are logistics involved, ya know?  Like how do you get the toddler and the infant out of the car at the babysitter?  Do you sit the baby on the ground while you get the toddler out?  Or do you get the toddler out first and hope he doesn’t run away while you’re getting the baby out?  What if it’s snowing?  Then what?  You can’t sit the baby seat in the snow.

What do you do with the danger-seeking toddler while you’re nursing the baby?  Especially if he’s in that it’s-fun-to-run-on-the-couch stage. 

Well, you manage. 

You tell your car-loving toddler to admire the tires on your vehicle while you get the baby out. Or put him in.  Or you sit him in the yard and ask him to tell you about sticks and leaves.  I’m not sure about the snow thing, we haven’t gotten there yet.  But I can, if necessary, carry them both and all their bags.  It ain’t easy. 

If you’re smart, you buy a baby jail.  I think I already alluded to us not being that smart (this post, second sentence).  We didn’t buy a baby jail.  When Dexter was first born, I would put Theo in Dexter’s crib and sit in the rocker in Dexter’s room while I nursed.  Theo would play with toys.  It was about 1 minute before Theo showed me how easily he could throw his leg over the side of Dexter’s crib.  So I sit on the floor of Theo’s room and talk to him while he plays.  With the door shut.  If we don’t do that, he will flee the room I’m in as fast as he can and climb a cabinet or two.

It’s all about restraint.  When I was on maternity leave, I thought I would go crazy every day I was stuck inside the house by myself with them all day long.  So I strapped ’em in.  Carseats, shopping carts, the stroller.  Anywhere I could put them where they couldn’t get away from me.  Bonus, they were stimulated by the new environments around them.  I was shocked that it was usually easier to manage them out of the house than when we stayed home. 

Then there’s restraining them at home.  The swing.  The high chair.  The baby carrier (can’t find a link to this).  The bouncy seat.  The bumbo.  The jumperoo.  Lots of places to sit these kids where they can’t get away from me.  Hey Theo, sit in your booster seat at the kitchen table and read a book or two while mom attempts to throw something together for lunch.  Hey Dexter, sit in the Bumbo and grasp for Puffs while I update my blog do something really important.  Yep, restraint.  And yep, those are the actual products that saved my life  we use/used.  The swing in the link is a newer version.  I recommend all of these!

I do have some concerns about what I will do when Dexter outgrows his baby carseat.  Because once Dexter can sit in the shopping cart child seat, where does Theo go?  Not in the big part of the cart.  Oh, no.  I can see right where that’s headed.  Maybe I’ll just have to take my double stroller everywhere and pull a cart behind me?  Still haven’t figured that one out. 

What I have figured out though, is that it’s one day at a time.  Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out when we get there.  It’s not so bad.  I kinda wouldn’t have it any other way.

xo,
~C~