Two under 2?!?

[kimmy726]

DH and I have a lovely 6.5 month old DD, who is our world.
Yesterday, after a friends wedding, we dtd(no protection) and I thought, oh when did I have my period, in order to work out when I would be on my 'fertile' days, as we want another baby but not yet! And yes, yesterday I had the highest fertility score (Ovia app, worked excellently when we were actively ttc our DD).
So, given I am extremely fertile there is an excellent chance I am about to be pregnant again.
Any tips on what life is like with two under 2? 

I have two under two! Well, DS1 is turning two next week and DS2 is 11 weeks, so not quite as little as yours would be. It's good so far, DS1 is a whirlwind so I'm always on the go with him but luckily DS2 is quite chilled so far (phew!) so he just tags along to toddler groups.

There's always something to do, someone who needs food, or a nappy change.

It's hard work but we wanted a small age gap in the hope they'll be friends in a few years, be into the same stuff, go to the same clubs etc.

Good luck & congrats if you are pregnant!

We have a 14 month gap

Much easier second time around .
Hoping to have them both in school within a year of each other etc

Clothes- haven't had to store away the last set

They like the same toys - you don't feel you are starting out all over again

Are you taking folic acid - make sure you do

It was fine! I mean busy and chaotic but as both were babies i treated them as twins. To be honest in retrospect and seeing what my friends went through I think it was much easier than having the tradition 2.5 - 3.5 year age gap!

People make a big deal of "2 under 2" (my mother hasn't stopped going on about not knowing how she managed, and reminding anyone struggling with young kids that she had it harder as she had "2 under 2" ... She had 1 year, 11 months and 29 days between children who are now in their 40s! ) but I actually found a small gap (mine was just over 24 months so missed out on my medal ) easier than a bigger gap between dc2 and 3.

With 2 under 2 yes you have 2 in nappies and maybe 2 waking in the night, and eventually might have one potty training while the younger one is crawling, which needs vigilance to avoid spilled potties and worse (all those things can be the case with a 3 year + gap too) but you have the massive advantage of not having to drag the baby out of the house on a preschool/ school determined schedule while on maternity leave/ as a sahm.

It can be so lovely being home with 2 who are quite quickly on a similar level and enjoy the same things and being able to set your own schedule if you've had a bad night etc rather than having to get out for school/ preschool and try to reset the baby's nap times and interupt feeds to take/ fetch an older child from places.

Your DC would be very close in age if you are pregnant but IMO small gaps are both easier and more practical. You can't guarantee the kids will be friends for ever but at least they will enjoy similar activities/ days out/ holidays / books / films etc. while very young, which makes life more straight forward!

I had 16 months between my first two

It was fine

Lots of positives as mentioned above, I didn't see any jealousy from the eldest as I think he was to young to know any different

They are now 7+8, share interests, friends etc but sometimes do clash as I think they need their own space more. School obviously helps with this but the summer holidays were LONG

Thank you all for sharing! I'm not opposed to small or large age gaps, just if I am pregnant again that will be my third pregnancy in three years ( we lost our first daughter at 30 weeks, still birth). Ideally I wanted to give my body and mind a real from the stress and anxiety that pregnancy after loss brings. However, what will be, will be.
I think our DD would be a great big sister!

Yes folic acid, I've still got some left I think!! Xx

We had 11 months between, early days were tough (neither slept) but it's a lovely age gap. As PP says we pretty much treated them as twins. They're 2 and 3 now but I wouldn't change a thing.

I've got a 12 month age gap. People will constantly tell you how "you've got your hands full"- those people usually have no kids at all or a large age gap. It's a bit mad at first, but I think it would be with a newborn and any other child. Mine are 22 and 10 months now and best friends- same size nappies, share toys etc.

Pregnancy- you probably will be deficient in iron as your body won't have had time to replenish, so keep an eye on levels and mention it to midwife as I was absolutely floored until I got my iron supplement. If you haven't already, make your mum friends now so you have a support network for the early days- i struggled to get to groups with my two as I couldn't keep DD in check while feeding DS and didn't bond with anyone because I was too busy watching both babies, so in hindsight I wish I'd gone to groups while pregnant to get those friendships in place. 2nd babies are much easier, they slot into your current routine and the eldest will never remember life as an only child so no jealousy etc.

I found 2 under 2 very very hard for the first couple of years. I have a 14 month gap. By the time they were 3/4 it was much much easier though.

21 month gap here. Wouldn't have it any other way. One school year apart I very handy!

4.5 months into a 23 months age gap here. As pp has mentioned you don't have to be on a schedule as older child not yet. In the 4.5months since DD has arrived we have pretty much continued as normal with DD slotting in perfectly. DS has just potty trained and is doing excellently and it with neither stressful or a big deal. A good sling is a must though.