My boys are 21 months apart and are now 1 and nearly 3 yrs old. They’re on opposite nap schedules, so we can rarely do outings, they are also both having huge tantrums.
I think my 1 yr old is teething or something bc I can’t put him down to even eat in his high chair or play or anything (aside from ms. Rachel who we’re heavily leaning on). 3 year old is newly potty trained aka still having lots of accidents. This is just so unenjoyable, I don’t get how anyone claims to enjoy it.

We always wanted a third but I can’t imagine that atp. It’s miserable and my nervous system is shot. Just a little rant, looking for commiseration or perhaps some hope that it gets better soon. Weekends are a marathon 😮‍💨🥲

22 month age gap. Baby is 1 month old. My toddler likes to scream and grunt when the baby makes any noise at all. He’s not upset but he just likes to mimic her noise. Is there any way to get him to stop or is it just something we have to deal with? Even if he sees the baby sleeping he’ll growl at her almost just to mimic the grunting noises she usually makes. He means no harm but it is quite overwhelming. We try to teach him that the baby is sleeping but nothing is clicking for him. Has anyone else dealt with this?

My first was such a good sleeper, it was one of the main reasons we started trying for our second when she was 11 months. She remained a good sleeper until I was 9 months pregnant. Her baby brother is now 5 weeks old and a better sleeper than her. 🫠 I think she fooled me so she would get a sibling close in age.

Hoping this is just a phase...any optimistic stories where your toddler went back to sleeping well again? 😅

My boys are 18 months apart and I actually found 2u2 to be fairly ok? A lot to manage but they kind of did their own thing.

Now that they are 3.5 and newly 2….holy moly. Constantly riling each other up to hysterics of either crazy happy behavior (running and jumping on furniture, wrestling, etc) or crazy fighting behavior (toy destruction and unhappy wrestling).

I am just at a loss for how to manage it. Can anyone give me some suggestions or point me to resources? All the “behavior” books I’ve found are focused on one toddler which sounds like a piece of cake at this point!! (And when it’s just one of them they are generally totally fine! It’s the combo that’s out of control)

I had a c section at 29 weeks and my baby died after 26 hours because of congenital heart issues. Today at my 26 week checkup, the obgyn cleared me to try again after 6 months. Now I'm worried if I get pregnant this early, I will be extra high risk because of chd risks as well as the short interval between the c section and pregnancy.

If anyone here got pregnant this early after a c section and had a positive outcome it would calm me a bit.

Thankyou!

This might be a for those who have graduated question so sorry if this is out of place.

Because of the small age gap my kids often both get invited to birthday parties together.

How should I handle presents? One larger gift from both kids or two smaller gifts from each individual child?

thanks!

What age did you struggle with the most? And what age was your favourite
I’m at 27m and 10m and honestly what the fuck 😂
I’ve found it pretty manageable up until this point

Dear past me,

Why did you wait untill your mid 30s to have a baby? Why did you then decide to have two together because of "fertility"? Why did you use all you youthful 20s energy traveling and partying. That energy was for baby raisin', not dancing at the club.

You really signed yourself in for a doozy off a time.

Love, current exhausted, touched out and somewhat drowning future you. She thinks past you is an idiot.

I have a 2yo girl and a 2mo boy. I have been carefully planning my life around my daughter’s nap time just so I never have to face this problem, but I’m sure it will happen someday. How do I safely get both of them out of the car if they are asleep? I refuse to leave either one of them in the car alone for any period of time. I don’t think I could flop both of them over my shoulders and unlock my door. The only thing I can think of is to babywear, but that still feels like it would be really difficult.

I have a 19 month old son and 9 week old daughter and ever since my husband went back to work last month I feel like I’ve lost my happy-go-lucky little boy. He loved to play and giggle and explore and now all he does is whinge and cry. I feel like I’ve ruined his joy and spark and every night we’re ending it with us both crying. He hasn’t finished a meal since my husband went back to work, he has woken up every morning at 4.30am, he doesn’t want to play and instead just sits on my lap and cry, if my husband even goes to the loo he breaks down into tears.

I knew a regression was likely but this feels like I’ve ruined everyone’s lives having this baby and all the joy that used to take up my home has gone.
How do I fix this??

I have a a 19 month old and. 7 month old both boys we went to a wedding today and I felt so discouraged. My husband was handling our toddler while I had the baby while in a group conversation one of his co-workers look over at me and goes "i know hes just one bad ass kid a real hand full huh" im 7 months post partum and there was another mom there girl mom looked a little more put together her daughter was 16 months old super well behaved while mine is running around playing with his dad or crying when I tried to put him in the stroller it just felt like a bigger like slap in the face especially since I often feel completely out of control he does throw fits often but I just say that it's his age because it's not all the time I just feel defeated and as if im failing at parenthood having to spilt myself up

I am two days postpartum with my second kid (22 month gap) and I hadn’t fully anticipated how much I’d miss my toddler. My partner is mostly taking care of our large and rambunctious toddler while I heal physically and I am mostly taking care of our newborn daughter. I miss my son so much and feel so guilty. I wish I could split myself in two and take care of both of them but I just can’t. I feel like I’m missing out on so much time with him. I’m worried that this is going to affect our relationship long term since my partner is the one spending most of the time with him. I’m in love with our daughter and am loving the newborn snuggles but also am feeling this grief with it. :(

What the actual F*** am I supposed to do. We have a 27M and 15M old. Their sleep is absolutely shit. Never once have they slept through the night. The youngest is still in our room, because they can’t sleep together in the same room. We tried, and it was hell. But then again, every night is hell with them anyway. We have the same bedtime routine, and every night without fail they are up one after another every 2-3 hours. I cannot take it anymore. My mental health has taken a hit, my husbands mental health has taken a hit. Our marriage is taking a hit. We are done. There’s days I feel so resentful and I hate that. Idk what to do anymore.

My girl can finally do tummy time in peace away from captain chaos.

My children will be almost 22 months apart when #2 arrives. Currently 36.5 weeks pregnant and just SO DONE.

I am so tired. I am so uncomfortable and can’t do very much physical play right now. This weekend my toddler is sick and is crying SO MUCH and we haven’t been able to leave the house because he is unwell and probably contagious. I just want to lay down and read or do a puzzle or something and relax, but my toddler needs constant attention. I feel exhausted and BORED. Like I am just counting down the minutes until bedtime. Sickness aside, I feel incredibly bored most days lately, caring for my toddler with very little gas in the tank.

What can I do to make things easier and combat the boredom? I keep telling myself that this phase will end, and I know it will … but how can I speed it along? We have usually don’t do much screen time but I am not opposed to it during these trying times … but we only have a projector or a laptop and he will try to mash all of the buttons and it ends up being more of a chore.

Sooo when I had my daughter, I noticed that I just powered through the newborn stage on what my sister told me was adrenaline…. Because I was surprised at how well I was going and managing it all.

Anyway, daughter will be 21m when baby arrives and I was wondering if this “adrenaline rush” thing happens again?

I ask because right now being pregnant, I have moments of struggling to get up if my toddler daughter wakes in the night…… and then some mornings too.

Is that just pregnancy tho? Cos it’s making me think I’ll be cooked if there ain’t another adrenaline rush 😭

I need all of the opinions I can get. Here is my scenario.

I have a five year-old, a 20 month old, and an eight week old. I started my 20 month old in a three day week program at a temple school that we absolutely love. This was so I would have some time with my newborn and so that the toddler could have some activity instead of being stuck at home so often with the newborn. My kindergarten is in school full-time. I am a SAHM but I have a full-time nanny (three kids is a lot).

Since my middle toddler has started school, the house is sick 24/7. I am losing my mind over the constant sickness. I love the school so much because it gives him so many amazing activities, socialization friends and a community for myself – I love volunteering there and being involved with all of the other families.

That said, I’m not sure the juice is worth the squeeze here. I’m wondering if the benefits are outweighed by the constant sickness in our home.

I am seriously considering pulling him from daycare, but I’m afraid I’m going to regret it. Any thoughts? Experiences? Another thing to add is my toddler is extremely jealous of the newborn and the newborn is very needy… It’s difficult to even hold the newborn in front of the toddler without a tantrum.

Hey everyone! I thought it would be a good idea to share some experiences with 2u2 so that everyone can get a glimpse into what it’s like at each stage - feel free to share your age gap, current ages and your experience with 2u2! I’ll go first:

1. Age gap: 15 month

2. Current ages: 6 months and 21 months

3. Experience: I found the first few months a lot easier because baby was sleeping most of the time but now that he’s sitting up and needing more awake time, I’m struggling to juggle them both. However, it also means he’s starting to take such an interest in his brother, pram walks etc. and so it’s fun from that element

Parents with Good Sleepers: Read the Room. I want this to be a vent session for all the parents who have nocturnal kids. I swear I have them (23mo and 7mo) on a routine and feed them well and everything—they both just never want to sleep. Plz send help 😵‍💫

For those with 2 under 2 who have their little ones sharing a bedroom, how did the transition go?
We’re planning to move our youngest into her big sister’s room once she’s sleep trained cat about 6 months. Her big sister will be 2 at that point.

I’m curious how it went for everyone:
Did they disturb each other during the night or early morning?
Did you transition them gradually or just go for it?
Did you do anything to prepare the older sibling?
Any tips that made the transition easier?

Would love to hear your experiences, what worked, what didn’t, and anything you wish you had known beforehand!

My 2nd is only 11 days old and my 1st just turned 17 months. With the first, it wasn't easy with the night time feeds and some respiratory issues. But with my first, I felt that instant connection and that made it all the easier.

However with my second, I dont feel that connection. I feel extremely guilty but he just feels like a stranger and in my half awake half asleep state I constantly have to remind myself that this is my kid and I am responsible for their well being. I want to love them just as much as I do my first but I feel really bad that I just dont. I know it'll probably come with time as I see their personality develop. But its just hard right now.

I am extremely blessed that my wife this time around, her post partum recovery is way easier and not as bad as with our first so the payload is very balanced and she does so much after just giving birth.

I guess im posting here to see if anyone has any advice or want to share similar experiences

Let's have a little group therapy session 😂

Whether it's sleep deprivation, breastfeeding while trying to entertain a toddler, getting two kids to nap at the same time, meal times, juggling outings, constant illnesses, feeling touched out or simply trying to survive the day on three hours of broken sleep...

What's your biggest struggle at the moment?

For me - it's the overall exhaustion. My toddler is generally a pretty good sleeper, but the baby is still waking throughout the night. Then I'm trying to keep up with a ridiculously energetic toddler all day while running on empty. The mental and physical fatigue is REAL.

Drop your struggles below. And if you've been through it or have a tip that helped you, jump in and offer some advice.

We might be able to make someone else's day a little easier ❤️

My oldest is turning 2 next month and my two kids are 16 months apart. Question for the Veterans that still hang around, does it actually feel easier once the oldest turns 2? I know a magical wand isn't going to waive and make my life suddenly easy on his second birthday, but just looking for insight on how things did change then the oldest turned 2.

My 2 year old brought home hand foot and mouth from daycare and now my 5 month old has come down with a fever. I am bracing for the sores to develop. I need people who have been through it to let me know that it’s going to be alright!