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The 2 (or more?!) Under 2 Support Thread!

567 replies

GrrrlWith2Boys · 04/12/2007 14:50

Post your woes (or joys) here if you're currently tackling 2 kids under 2 (please say i'm not alone!)

DS1 is super wingey today and driving me batty...the slightest thing and he's whining and crying.

Have managed a 10 min walk with pushchair to get out of house. DS1 watching far too much TV, i haven't brushed my hair and the dog won't stop barking.

I need some gin.

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Chilimama · 06/12/2007 10:32

Can I join in too?!?

I have 2 dd's under 3 and a 7yr old ds, a dog and 2 kittens and a dh who is working away all week!

Usually I am organised and can get by "just" with getting things done on time. I am also in the process of potty training dd1 and decided to ditch the double buggy so dd1 walks everywhere and only wears a nappy at night, which is going well but is stressful (for me!)

Today it all went wrong and we ended up late for school as dd1 escaped into the bathroom (ds left baby gate open) while I was on an important call and flooded the bathroom and kitchen

Chilimama · 06/12/2007 10:34

Can I just add, normally I would have noticed the gate was left open but lack of sleep (dd2 was up all night crying) meant I wasn't as alert as usual

3missyshohoho · 06/12/2007 10:39

Don't worry chili we have all done it! DD1 however thinks tht the gate has to be closed so if a gate is left opened she actually goes and shuts it herself! Don't think she has quite worked out it is to prevent her climbing up and falling! We have them though just in case and of course when DD2 starts to move about!

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hazeyjane · 06/12/2007 11:14

Oh dear plans already fallen apart!
Really raining here, so decided to make big glittery star for top of the Christmas tree.
Now watching In the Night Garden and picking bits of glitter out of dd2's hair, ears, nose etc etc.
Know exactly what you mean jacob(long name!), when we leave the house for the day dh just grabs his keys and wallet and says,'right are we ready then', meanwhile I have packed a small suitcase and am laden down with hats, scarves coats and various toys that dd1 wants to bring out for the day.

Original poster
GrrrlWith2Boys · 06/12/2007 11:36

DS1 loves In The Night Garden, always stops him in his tracks (thank god!)

How does everyone do with their housework BTW?

I got the hoover out earlier and DS1 went behind me with the attatchment, pretending it was his own little hoover!

I usually seem to dash round quickly when they nap- have chucked some clothes in machine, emptied dishwasher and wiped bathroom over, before grabbing a glass of milk and some lunch, which i am now scoffing before Health Visitor comes.

OP posts:
LukesRabbit · 06/12/2007 12:29

This is all soo familiar - there is 18 months between ds1 and ds2, but ds1 is nearly 3 now, so not quite at the 2 under 2 stage, but I do have hazy recollections of that time...

What keeps me sane (mostly) is:
Getting out most mornings or for a walk post ds2 nap
In the Night Garden and Lazytown
Pre-school for ds1 2 mornings a week
Brilliant friends/support network!!

I'm told by many people that it will get so much better once they start to play together though - looking forward to that!

Chaotica · 06/12/2007 16:07

Afternoon, all.

They're actually both napping, so I have precisely four free seconds to type this post...

Actually I was just about to type out a smug post last night about how things seemed to be getting easier with practice (and sit down with a well deserved glass of wine) (or vodka, whichever is closer) when DS's nappy exploded in the kind of way you don't understand a baby's nappy can (until you have one) (TMI, sorry!) and his reflux decided to kick in which meant he screamed and puked on me for the rest of the evening... Aaaaargh. So no smug mummy post for me (at least DD stayed asleep throughout, so I shouldn't complain).

At least we got out to playgroup today (where DS slept off last night's screaming while I played with DD), and she didn't have a tantrum (so all is calm again). Better not sound too smug though...

Chaotica · 06/12/2007 16:08

that would be 'afternoon', rather than 'afternoon' (sounds like I'm trying to type while falling over)

Chaotica · 06/12/2007 18:30

Sorry -- really lowered the tone there... Hope I haven't killed the thread!

lulalullabye · 06/12/2007 18:45

Hello everybody. Managed to get out to the park. Dog fell in the lake and the pram looks like some kind of off road mud splattered rally car. Dog now clean and smelling of baby shampoo and dd's in bed.

Large glass of vino collapso and hollyoaks, how sad is that !!

Hazeyjane, I so know what you mean about the bag thing, but when I leave dh he manages it fine, so do i really need the trunk full of crap ?? (just in case)

The weather was crap today but made lots of puddles to jump in. I have found that if you direct her from one puddle to the next she walks a lot quicker.

MerryKIFmas · 06/12/2007 18:49

Watching with interest - gestating my second under 2 - to make the set of 3 under 5.

People point and laugh at me. I don't know why...

MerryKIFmas · 06/12/2007 18:49

Watching with interest - gestating my second under 2 - to make the set of 3 under 5.

People point and laugh at me. I don't know why...

lulalullabye · 06/12/2007 18:54

People always say 'oh you have your hands full'. My reply is 'do you want one'

jacobandlysetteandabump · 06/12/2007 19:06

grrrl i do housework either when ds is napping, or do a quick flick round for necessaries (toilet etc) and leave the rest till the cleaner comes.

trying to think of a decent christmas name too, and wrap presents, and sort out for new arrival when it happens!

soph28 · 06/12/2007 20:33

just found this thread and I like it! I have ds who is 2.7, dd who is 16mths and am 21 wks pregnant with no.3 so will have 3 under 3 (well ds will be 3 and 1 mth when baby is due).

my coping strategies are to make sure they always nap at the same time- have been managing since dd was about 3 months. Now ds goes to playgroup every morning and dd sleeps and they both sleep for a couple of hours after lunch so I usually get some time to myself. The only downside is that it makes it really hard to get out of the house- especially now it's dark by 3.30pm and dd can't walk yet but if we go to a park she wants to get out and play but she's a bum shuffler so you can imagine what that's like in this weather!!

i dread the witching hour too! my dh doesn't get home till 7pm and when dd was younger he would frequently come home to me sitting on sofa with both of them on my knee and all of us crying!! Now they are just really getting on my nerves by that time of day and they watch far too much tv.

justaboutinonepiece · 06/12/2007 21:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Chaotica · 06/12/2007 22:16

A cleaner -- boy, would I like one of those. (Will have to wait until I'm back in work, I think.)

Forget wine or vodka -- mine's a gripe water tonight (well it's keeping DS quiet, so it might work for me)

hazeyjane · 06/12/2007 22:21

Where did today go wrong! Dd's ended up falling asleep in the village in pushchair, but because it is a Sunday everything was closed, so I walked around in the rain waiting for Doctors appointment for dd2. Dd1 smashed a jar of coffee in the shop, and for some reason had one tantrum after another, and screamed when we put her down for bed, which makes me feel so grim.

I clean the bathroom throughout the day, when I am on the loo, when the girls are having a bath etc, I clean the kitchen whilst dd1 has her lunch and dd2 is in her bumbo, and I do not understand what this word "hoover" means.

Vicky79 · 06/12/2007 22:23

This thread has really cheered me up. Can I join too? I have 2 ds's 25 months and 7 months. Ds1 is in the thick of tantrums and is refusing to wear nappies and prefers to relieve himself on the floor, next to the potty. Ds2 is teething and a bit of a cling-on when his gums are sore. It's not all bad though, the boys do seem to get on really well already and I'm sure once they'll start playing together they'll be plotting all sorts of mischief that I'll be clearing up after.

Coping strategies? Double buggy, Ergo carrier, cbeebies, doing little & often with cleaning and lowering standards by a long way. Over the top emphasising the importance of being "gentle" to ds1 with everything from toys to doors and people seems to be paying off now as I don't have to worry about things like a thomas tank being hurled as a missile toward ds2.

I always keep a big bar of v.high cocoa chocolate in the kitchen cupboard and everytime things get tough (every 1/2 hour or so) I sneak a square in my gob. Each time a brief moment of heaven.

Seriously though, without the chocolate, I just wouldn't get through the day.

oregonianabroad · 06/12/2007 23:25

lulla,
if I had a pound for every moron person who said that, I could afford a nanny!

fortyplus · 06/12/2007 23:28

My 2 are 18 months apart. DS1 is nearly 14 now, so you can take it from me that the first couple of years of HELL are more than worth it for the subsequent years of closeness and friendship that they share.

scouserabroad · 07/12/2007 00:00

I'm glad to hear other people saying that they'll play together when they get older! When the chaos gets too much that's what keeps me going: they'll play nicely together.... they'll play nicely together... (And I'll be watching tv/on the internet/having a shower in peace )

fortyplus · 07/12/2007 00:09

Just wait for the day when they'll bring you a cup of tea in bed... or a glass of wine... they're great!

Josie57 · 07/12/2007 07:30

What a fantastic thread - I love it. I currently have a ds1 (15 months) and another one on the way. DS1 will be 22 months when the new bub arrives and I'm starting to think we were mad to have another one at this stage as ds1 has just started to stamp his feet in protest at things - he's only 15 months!!!!! I naively thought I would have at least another 6 months before we started getting into this sort of behaviour. My only saviour at the moment is that he is a really good sleeper so I can get things done whilst he is asleep - so my mission is to make sure that the new bub also sleeps whilst he is asleep! My problem at the moment is that I am due to return to work full time in february, I currently work part time and my company does a phased return to work after maternity so I have been able to do a year part time before going full time. I just don't know how I will keep the house clean or even reasonably clean once I start back full time. I'm not an obsessive cleaner but I can just see us degenerating into chaos once I work full time. Would it be unreasonable to book a cleaner to come in for 2 hours a week to help keep us under control just for the 4 months that I am back at work full time???? Apart from that and doing online shopping I don't have any other ideas - I suppose I could give up mumsnet No that is a silly idea!

hazeyjane · 07/12/2007 11:18

More rain! I like the splashing in puddles part, but dd2 not so happy stuck in buggy under raincover.

Has felt like a really long week, it always seems worse when nights are bad, and dd1 and dd2 seem to have taken it in turns this week.

Lula everybody says that don't they! I like it when people are all admiring of the pair of them (lots of old ladies in my village), but sometimes I just get looks of pity - usually when dd1 is lying on pavement having a tantrum and dd2 is screaming in back of pushchair

I would love to have a cleaner, but I think the house is too messy for one.