Being the Mom of a Baby and a Toddler Means...

I know this is a short unique period in my life (even though it feels like it's dragging on forever because it can be so hard and exhausting) so I thought I'd record some parts of this experience, many of them sacrifices I will not miss! 

  • Never sleeping in.
  • Planning my whole day around afternoon nap time so I can nap while my kids do. 
  • Always scarfing down my food because there are a bunch of things I need to or would rather be doing, and my food gets cold because I have to get up from the table half a dozen times each meal to get stuff for my kids so sometimes it’s easier just to eat standing up at the counter.
  • Rarely finishing a sit-down dinner with my husband and toddler because I usually have to get up to feed the baby. 
  • Really simplifying my to-do list everyday to the ultimate basics so I can spend as much time playing and reading with my kids as I can. 
  • Doing laundry almost every other day because the baby is always spitting up, peeing, or pooping on their clothes and yours, towels and blankets.
  • Only showering every 3 days and washing my face once a day most days because I hardly leave the house anymore. 
  • Wearing the same nursing shirt from Amazon in 9 colors and the same sweatpants in 5 colors because I have no time or mental energy for coordinating outfits, much less with shoes or accessories. 
  • It takes forever to leave the house and go anywhere because I have to make sure my ginormous diaper bag/purse is properly stocked and my baby's diaper is changed, and my toddler takes so much time to chase down, take to the potty, and put on appropriate clothes.
  • Letting my toddler watch more TV.
  • Having to increase my tolerance of crying children because one is often wailing while I tend to the needs of the other. 
  • Having breast milk stains on our leather couches and arm chairs.
  • Emptying out the Diaper Genie bag every other day and going to Costco alot more often to stock up on diapers and wipes.
  • Reading books to my toddler while the baby is screaming and lullaby music is playing in the background.
  • Not going out to eat at restaurants for the foreseeable future because it's too stressful trying to keep the baby quiet while we wait for and eat our meal.   
  • Putting the baby down on the bathroom rug while helping my toddler go potty. 
  • Constantly trying to block my hyperactive toddler from stepping on the baby. 
  • Exercising in 5-8 minute increments while the baby is doing tummy time, before my toddler demands something. 
  • Sharing my music playing time with toddler kid songs and baby lullabies. 
  • Having to turn down pretty much all social invitations because the baby needs to eat every 2ish hours and I exclusively breastfeed (no pumping or formula).
  • Giving up pretty much all my hobbies - reading books, playing piano, singing, doing dance workouts...and replacing them with blogging because I have this powerful urge to write and share my thoughts and feelings of this intensely personal and universal experience of mothering a newborn and a toddler. 

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