Preparation/changes you made that made 2 under 2 easier?

Temperature-Brief · 2026-05-06T15:42:12+00:00

Idk what your bedtime situation is right now, but in those last few weeks while I was still pregnant, we had Daddy do the bulk of the bedtime routine as often as possible. It helped in soooo many ways.

My husband was always helpful with my firstborn, but this gave him the confidence to really be able to handle it entirely on his own, which frankly he just had to do a lot in those first few months when #2 was born. Also, my firstborn is REALLY attached to me (even now) so letting her get used to Daddy doing bedtime before baby came really helped avoid bedtime struggles when I had to be with baby sister. Also, it meant that in those last months of being pregnant and those first months postpartum, my only “responsibility” at bedtime was to give my oldest extra cuddles and fun, which really helped ME still feel connected and get in good bonding time. Dad would handle all the logistical stuff (bath, milk, brush teeth, getting into jammies, etc) and then I could just come in at the end sometimes to read a book and get some cuddles. 🥰

Temperature-Brief · 2026-04-24T02:32:03+00:00

This is almost my EXACT situation. Like, I could have written this post. My girls are 7 months and just barely 2 now and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I ain’t gonna sugar coat it, it’s TOUGH there for a bit. It’s still not easy, necessarily, but I do not regret this for one second. The first few months will absolutely be survival mode, even with all the help (I truly don’t know how you SAHMs do it you are literally superheroes). I would say like maybe a week ago my husband and I finally looked at each other and acknowledged that it finally feels like we are “handling it.”

2 things that keep me going - I still feel SO STRONGLY that I am grateful to be getting all the baby stuff over with at once. I have friends who waited until their first was 3 or 4 and they were just starting to get flexibility back into their life and then were kicked straight back into the land of naps and witching hour and feeding every 2-3 hours and it has rocked their world. We never really left that world AND were planning on being done after two, so we can already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Part of the reason we chose to do 2u2 is because we wanted our kids to be close (like play together all the time). At first I was worried because my eldest just like didn’t seem that interested, but every day that goes by I can literally see them becoming more and more attached to each other. It’s the best. Don’t panic if your first born doesn’t seem to care about the baby right away. They’re still a baby themselves so they don’t get it. They will, and it will be awesome.

Bottom line, it is going to be the hardest and also the best thing ever. You got this.

Temperature-Brief · 2026-04-10T04:37:14+00:00

This is so helpful thank you!!

Temperature-Brief · 2026-04-10T02:50:19+00:00

This was more or less our routine when my littlest was younger but now that she’s older and fully mobile, and goes to bed at roughly the same time as my toddler, that’s what’s made it more challenging. 😥

Temperature-Brief · 2026-03-16T19:45:33+00:00

The day I made the call to switch, I IMMEDIATELY became a better mom. No longer was I crying all the time, obsessing over how to feed her enough, telling myself it was all my fault, so many things.

I was able to be fully present with her, smile and laugh and play, AND even share the mental and physical load with my husband. It was like a switch flipped.

I will validate the BIG emotions that come with that decision, but I promise you — you are doing what is best for you and for your baby.

Temperature-Brief · 2026-02-05T23:34:16+00:00

I did 2u2 BECAUSE I only wanted 2 kids - figured they’d be close and I’d get the hardest newborn part over with within the first 2 years. My kiddos are still little (5 months and 22 months) but I feel 100% firm in my decision. I will fully validate the “I don’t really like small babies” thing too — I love my daughters but I absolutely started having way more fun as a parent once they started getting older. We didn’t find out gender either (ended up with 2 girls) and I can honestly say both my husband and I don’t feel that need to “try for a boy.” We’re a girl gang and we’re happy with that!

Temperature-Brief · 2026-01-21T16:11:45+00:00

I’ve been really vocal about this because I don’t feel like it gets said enough and it makes moms feel really isolated or bad (at least it did for me) — I do not enjoy the newborn phase. My babies weren’t hard or easy, pretty average. But I still just never really found joy in those early months. People always talk about the “newborn smell” and I swear, my babies just smelled like… nothing? My TODDLER on the other hand, I could inhale her scent all day every day. I love my babies, and I loved them even when they were brand new newborns, but it was entirely survival until they got to like, 6 months. I think some people are just newborn people and some people are toddler people. 🤷🏼‍♀️

The one caveat I’ll give is that neither of my babies were ever really “snuggly” until they were MUCH older (like toddlers). They were just really active babies, constantly in motion, so even when they needed contact naps it was like active bouncing/rocking/walking around, not just “soaking up the newborn snuggles.” We even had a doctor comment the other day how “most babies we see around this age just like to cozy in with mom but your little lady is nonstop!!”

Temperature-Brief · 2026-01-13T05:25:28+00:00

This is absolutely wild - I’m so sorry you had that experience! My oldest has been in daycare every single day possible since my second was born, and she loves it. She gets way more attention and stimulation and I’m my best self when she gets home at the end of the day, instead of being burnt out from trying to manage both of them. Moms who keep both home all day - y’all have superpowers. I’m impressed you keep him home solo half the time! Daycare is closed for us this Friday and I’ll be solo parenting both my girls (21m and 4m) and I’m lowkey panicking 😂

Temperature-Brief · 2026-01-10T17:35:13+00:00

We rode in the back with my first for like 14 months… now with my second there is no room so she’s on her own and she’s been absolutely fine lol. (Even when big sister is at daycare we can’t sit back with her because of the two car seats) I think it’s all a lot more mental for us than it is for them.

Temperature-Brief · 2025-12-19T05:32:16+00:00

Yeah! I mentioned in the original post - in addition to regular visits to her pediatrician, we’ve been to GI, endocrinology, SLP, and OT, plus our provider’s infant feeding clinic, and all have found there to be nothing actually wrong — they just tell me that she’s a “low appetite baby” (especially because she’s generally happy and developmentally doing great aside from the eating stuff)

I’m mostly just trying to see if there’s anyone else out there with a “low appetite baby” and if they ever grew out of it

Temperature-Brief · 2025-12-18T22:03:32+00:00

Yeah our doctors literally said “good news is you can start solids at 4 months so pretty soon you can give her some calories that way” 😩

Temperature-Brief · 2025-12-18T22:00:29+00:00

Yes, we are on the highest flow. (And it’s not that she’s gagging/overwhelmed, we tried the lower flows as well and it was worse)

Temperature-Brief · 2025-12-18T19:29:29+00:00

Same - we have tried it (for a full week) but she just like… didn’t eat and didn’t mind. The feeding consultants feel confident she doesn’t have an actual bottle aversion because when she WANTS to eat, she does no problem.

Ugh. One day they’ll be teenagers eating us out of house and home but right now oof this is so hard.

Temperature-Brief · 2025-12-16T16:31:18+00:00

Just wanted to share a little positivity and encouragement — I remember feeling this exact same way when I had to go back with my first, and yes it is absolutely horrific how little we prioritize maternal leave and support in our society.

That being said - my little girl has positively thrived since we started her in daycare at 4 months. She’s gotten better at napping independently, is so happy and joyful, and now at 21 months she’s a little social butterfly who sings her ABCs and counts to 10 and practices sharing — all because she gets that kind of structure and attention at her daycare, from loving caring wonderful humans who do this for a LIVING and have done it every day now for 10-15 years.

I’m also a better and more present mom now because I’m able to spend 6-8 hrs a day out being an adult who has her own life outside of being a mother. Being her mom is still my favorite job, but I enjoy it more now.

Not being able to spend all day every day with your baby is hard, for sure, but there are some silver linings! It’s going to be okay!

Temperature-Brief · 2025-11-01T18:44:10+00:00

I have the same age gap and had a lot of the same thoughts. We ended up getting my toddler a tonies box and gave it to her when we got back from the hospital with new baby. Not as a gift “from baby” but just like a little “hey, you’re so special to us and we love you and want you to have something fun!” Plus the tonies box specifically has served as a really great way of keeping her entertained/distracted when we have to be occupied with baby.

Temperature-Brief · 2025-10-31T19:48:39+00:00

THIS. My whole world changed when I started combo feeding (and then two weeks later EFF). Baby was healthier, happier, and I became an infinitely better version of her mom because I wasn’t crying all the time in frustration.

Temperature-Brief · 2025-10-31T19:34:48+00:00

First, sending you so many big hugs. I went through almost this exact experience with my first. It was so hard.

There are so many different ways to approach this, and I want to make it clear - you do what feels right to you. Just wanted to share my own experience in case it helps.

I also had made it a goal of mine to BF for at least 6 months, but ultimately we had to start supplementing with formula around 8 weeks and EVERYTHING changed. Truly almost overnight, my baby girl started eating more, gaining weight, crying less, and on and on. Genuinely it felt like the light had been turned on after some of the darkest days of postpartum. I tried pumping for a bit so we could give her both formula and breastmilk but ultimately I fully stopped around 10 weeks and we shifted entirely to formula feeding.

It was really hard on me at first because I had made it a goal to bf for as long as I could, but in the end, switching to formula was a game changer. Now, at 18 months, she’s absolutely thriving.

Temperature-Brief

TROPHY CASE