10 Mumma Hacks For Surviving Life With A Newborn And A Toddler
I’m one month in. I’ve survived one month with my (almost) 3-year-old daughter and brand new bubba boy. So in love! My new life is both beautiful and exhausting at the same time. It’s true what they say; you think it’s hard when you have a baby…until you have two! So us mums need handy little tips and tricks to get through the day and make our lives easier. That’s what this post is all about! A must read if you are a mum of two or expecting your second.
Mumma Hacks For Surviving Life With A Newborn And A Toddler:
1. Getting in and out of the car
Toddler = first in and last out is usually the easiest way to go. Plan ahead where you will park, near trolley bays or pram parks can help.
2. Keep your toddler busy
This is so important during feeding times when you literally cannot get up. Reserve a special toy box just for those feeding times of day (my daughter can be kept busy for about an hour with a brand new tub of playdough). Oh, but keep messy things out of reach! You don’t want a whole tub of rainbow rice tipped over! Make sure the remote control is within your reach as well if some screen time is a necessity.
3. Teach independence
Another tip is to make sure your toddler can (within reason) fend for themselves. Be sure that a drink bottle is within reach and even pack a lunch box with healthy snacks they can grab. Chances are they’ll tell you they’re hungry right when you start feeding the baby. Same goes for the toilet and hand washing – make sure everything is accessible, foot stools in place and ready to go.
4. Baby wear!
I didn’t do this much with my first, but have mastered it this time around. Cooking dinner while baby wearing feels like such an achievement worthy of a gold medal! Self five!!
5. Research all your local drive thru’s
When you’re desperate for that morning coffee or all you need is a loaf of bread on the way home from kindergym, it can seem impossible to get both kids out of the car just for that. Drive thru’s will be your new best friend. Whether it be Maccas or On the Run, it makes life so much easier. A bit trickier to find these days are ‘pay at the pump’ petrol stations, but again, so worth it to avoid getting both little ones out of the car.
10 Mumma Hacks For Surviving Life With A Newborn And A Toddler Click To Tweet6. Online shopping
Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to get out in the day and head to the shops for a coffee and a browse around Target, but if you have to combine your grocery shopping with this outing, it can all be a bit too much. We’ve got into a bit of a routine of doing our food shopping as a family on Saturday mornings, but if you have better things to do on weekends, shop online and have it all delivered to your door. It’s handy to plan ahead and order family/friends/kids birthday presents online too.
7. Ask your toddler to ‘show’ the baby how to do things (they may otherwise not want to do)
This one has worked a treat in our house! Miss M really digs her heals in with certain things she doesn’t want to do, eg. washing her hair, getting dressed, eating her dinner… but if we ask her to show her little brother how to do it because he’s just a baby and is too little to do it himself, she’ll do it! Parenting win!
8. Teach the toddler where everything is kept
Baby wipes, spew rags, nappies, dummies… show your toddler where these items are and encourage them to get them for you throughout the day. Trust me, this will come in handy!
9. Organise the nappy bag
Don’t forget now that the nappy bag will need things for all three of you to survive a day out! Make sure you have snacks, drinks and a change of clothes for your toddler as well as the plethora of things the baby needs. You might prefer for your toddler to have their own stuff in a backpack, but I find it easier with just one bag to keep track of. Read these genius nappy bag hacks.
10. Breathe and pick your battles – be gentle with yourself
Most second time parents I’ve talked to ease up a bit with the discipline of their toddler when the new baby comes along. My advice is to decide what your non-negotiables are. For me – it’s climbing all over me and touching the baby while I’m feeding him. A big NO NO! And she knows it’s wrong. But we tend to let the small stuff slide just to get through. At the end of the day as long as the kids are fed, clean, safe and loved you’ve done an incredible job!
With an almost three year gap between our two children, the advantage is that Miss M has reached some ‘big girl’ milestones. Toilet trained, in a big bed, no more dummy… Lots of parents however experience the daily joys and struggles of ‘2 under 2’. If this is you, do you have any Mumma Hacks to add to our list?
Guest post: This guest post was written by Lauren Hunt – a mother of two, early years teacher and blogger from Adelaide, South Australia. You can find her at www.teachertypes.com.
21 Comments
I got 2 girls under 2. When tantrums begin with my older daughter, I count to ten as if am singing and she would stop and listen keenly as if trying to learn. The younger would smile lol. I wash my dishes with the old besides me in the sink and the young one on the other side in her bouncer. Baby wear is a life saver! When cleaning my home, the older gets the broom and the young, in her bouncer but I have to move with the bouncer in every room I go. Otherwise all that is written is perfect in raising 2 under 2.
Thanks Tor, great advice!
My oldest turned 2 yesterday. After 6 months, I’ve just exited the two under 2 club. I feel like someone needs to present me with a little trophy or something!
I’d add that if there is something that you need to do or get to, plan at least a couple of hours in advance. I know all us mamas do this but with 2, it’s all the more important. And warn anyone you’re making plans with that timings may shift so you’re not too hard on yourself if it all falls apart a bit 🙂
Oh Laura, wow!!! I take my hat off to you.
Yes! That is a fabulous tip, keeps both babies happy 🙂
Thanks Frances 🙂
Babywearing is such a lifesaver! Thanks for reading Ellen 🙂
Thanks Talya! One is hard enough hey!?
Thanks for reading Helen! 🙂
Best of luck Helen! 🙂
Great tips! I need to remember these in July, eek! #bestandworst
Excellent hacks, always handy to share some tips like this. Thanks for linking up! #bestandworst
I’ve always wondered how people do this! Now I know…great tips for those with children close together. Thanks for linking up to #coolmumclub with this!
This is really good advice. I only have the one for now but I love baby wearing so I can cook and wash up etc! Total lifesaver. #coolmumclub
Completely agree with these. I had three under three so I know all too well how hard life can be! There is just 15 months between baby 3 and 4 and just 12 months between baby 4 and 5!! We literally had a 2, 1 and newborn and then on the opposite scale a ten year old who was just as hard as the youngest three! My advice would be to just go with the flow, there really isn’t much point putting pressure on yourself as nothing ever goes to plan!!! #bestandworst
These tips are great! Thanks so much for sharing. Have made a mental note of each one! #bestandworst
Fab tips, I especially like the one about getting the toddler to show the baby how to do something. Not only does it get them to do it, but it makes them feel included with the baby #bestandworst
Debbie
Thank you for writing a great piece 🙂
Great tip!! You just have to go with it and not stress too much. 2 under 2 is super hard but I’m sure it’s lovely seeing them together now that the youngest is a little older. Thanks for reading 🙂
Thanks so much for featuring me on Mumma Hack!
I completely agree with all of these, I had 2 under 2 and when my husband went back to work it was a really eye opener of how I was going to manage these 2 little people. There are 16 months between my 2 girls and at the time Big M couldn’t walk independently which proved a challenge.
I did the baby wearing thing mainly as we were trying to encourage my eldest to work but I found the double buggy when we were out to be a little over whelming!
I think my biggest tip is try not to put yourself under too much pressure. Take each hour at a time, and enjoy your babies. My youngest is now 11 months old and I’ve been back at work now for 4 months. I wish I could go back to the beginning and start again without being a stress head! 😄