Having Two Kids… It Ain’t That Bad

I thought parenting was going to be bad. I really did. Blame it on the “experienced” parents telling me I had no idea what I getting into. Or the frazzled moms who were at their wits end.

Actually it was bad for a while. Any life changing event takes some getting used to. I went from having only myself to look out for, to having a small needy person to lack around with all his accessories, and I lacked the experience to know that the saying “this too shall pass” was really true.

But it did pass, my son got a little older, and I really began to enjoy this parenting thing.

Then I got pregnant again. Again people (well, one person in particular) were saying I had no idea what I was getting into, having two kids was soooo hard, yadda yadda yadda.

I just knew that having a baby was going to be twice as hard – if not more – the second time around.

I’m not the only person I’ve met who thought having two kids might be the end of the world, so I’ve decided to set the record straight based on my experience, as well as the experience of several friends.

In a way, having two kids is a lot harder than having just one.

With one kid, going places is easy. you can carry both him, and everything you need for him out to the car in one trip. Not so with two kiddos. You can make two or three trips out to the car, or load yourself down with baby and gear, while hearing the toddler out the car. Not only that, but you have to catch kid A, and dress him, then try to keep him clean while you catch and dress kid B. Travelling with kids is not an easy task. And my dad wonders why he never sees me any more. Pfff.

You have two eyes, so keeping one focused on kiddo, and another focused on your work is relatively easy. When you have a second child, sadly, you don’t get awarded another eye.

Naps are a bit more complicated with two children. About the time you get one to sleep, the other one starts hollering. Really loudly.

On the other hand, having two kids is actually easier than having just one.

They entertain each other. It’s amazing and fun to watch how much little people love each other.

The older child is helpful. When baby H drops a toy, Garrett can give it back to her, or get her a new toy which means I don’t have to stop what I’m doing every two seconds. He can also bring me things (like diapers), which saves me a lot of steps.

Going places can actually be easier once you get everybody in the car because there’s another little person in the back seat for baby to occupy herself with.

So I guess in a way, all these positives and negatives cancel each other out, and in many ways, having two kids is pretty close to the same workload as having just one.

I’m busy all the time, but realistically, I would be busy with something, whether I had kids or not.

So for those of you who are wondering if you have what it takes to bring another hold into the family, you can, and when it comes down to it, you will.

And hey, from what I hear, if you’re going to have two, you might as well have ten.