1. Sleep.
Or should I say lack of? Surprisingly enough, Joaquin or Quino as we call him is an amazingly good sleeper (so far that is. Isla was great too for the first 7months. I'm already dreading Quino reaching that age). Isla on the other hand, never got over her separation anxiety stage and now partially sleeps in her room, mostly in ours (she moves between 11:30am-12:30am), all sleep training out the door! Even then, she wakes up about 2-3times, sometimes more, a night. So...no sleep not due to the infant, but more due to our young toddler.
2. You can never have enough diapers...to buy and to change.
One of the biggest adjustments we had is the amount of work and time it is to change diapers. We are constantly on diaper duty! Our morning routine begins with that and ends with it as well. For our baby sprinkle, we had a diapers & wipes party and man oh man, was that a good idea or what!? We did not have to purchase a single diaper for Joaquin until he was about 3months old. Now, our honest subscription is divided between the two and is covering our diaper needs (wipes, we buy boxes of and we still always run out of it). I'm loving our honest subscription even more so now than ever!
3. Getting ready.
So I think this is true for any mom with multiples, it's been 6months since Quino arrived and I still can't master getting ready on time (haha!). I have now cut my hair short for the sole purpose of not having to mind it. I go out of the house with my hair wet and no make up, I'd be lucky if I can squeeze in a 5minute face which includes, eyebrows, cheek and lip. Forget about impromptu trips, just not possible with two babies especially if one parent is absent. It takes about 1.5hours to get out which includes, prepping the kids (diapers/clothes and shoes), packing their bag (and we pre-pack the day before, so only last minute additions), loading them in the car (toddler fights the carseat at all times now).
4. Time.
This is probably the ultimate challenge of all. Jeb and I both work, schedules are different but because we do work, our time at home, specially mines is very limited. I get about 1-2hours in the morning and about 1-2hours at night to divide between the two. I mostly live with guilt because of this but it is the harsh reality of being a working parent, even if you just have one it is and so much more so when you have more than one child. Because our toddler is so attached to me, there are nights, I have to admit that I only get to hold Quino for one feeding before he is asleep. I certainly wish that there's more than 24hours in a day so that I can squeeze in more cuddles for him and more playtime with Isla.
5. Balance.
Impossible. I would say this and it may not be true for all but I don't think I can ever reach the right balance between all of it--home, work, parenthood. However, there isn't a day that I don't try. Everyday I try something new to make things work better for our children. One always has to give and you just have to choose which one will for the day. Work will always be secondary to my children of course, but there are days where I need to be at work more, I just try to lessen those days. I have come to accept that I cannot do it all. Our home, which I spent so much time cleaning and organizing, designing before has to take the backseat. Cooking is seldom, maybe once to thrice a week. Fortunately, our house is well-maintained by my amazingly supportive and hardworking husband. Thank you love!
To sum it up, is the life of 2under2 crazy? Yes! It is hard, I've cried so many times because of how challenging it is, it is never boring, it is beautiful and ugly at the same time, I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world!
