Pure Joy. Exhaustion. Unconditional love. Overwhelm. So Blessed. Guilt.
These are the words that come to mind when I reflect on the early days of the transition to becoming a mom of two.
Let's just say no one and nothing can prepare you for it.
Like many things in life, you can imagine what it's going to be like but you won't fully appreciate it until you experience it.
Becoming a mom of two
Of course everyone is different, but for me, the newborn stage is my absolute least favourite.
Having a newborn plus a toddler (my daughter was three years old at the time) is a whole new level of....
I honestly can't even come up with a word to describe it.
My daughter was finally sleeping through the night for about a year and then here comes my son waking up every two hours, leaving me exhausted, and it somehow felt 100 times harder this time around.
Sleep when the baby sleeps
I guess this was because the whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" - which was already difficult with one child - becomes that much more difficult (or more like impossible) with two children.
When the baby is sleeping, that is the time you try to get some one-on-one time with your toddler who might be feeling a little neglected and is tired of hearing you say "shhh keep it down, the baby is sleeping."
And that's where the guilt creeps in. You start to feel like your firstborn somewhat "lost their old mom" who had more energy and time to spend with them.
Juggling act
It becomes a never-ending juggling act because you want to ensure they still feel loved and special while also meeting the needs of your newborn baby.
You also want to ensure (as best as possible) that your older child does not feel jealous and resentful of the baby.
This can be very tricky and so spending quality time with them is extremely important.
Take all the help
We hear this all the time but I'm still going to say it - get and accept ALL the help you can.
You're definitely going to need it to get through this time, whether it’s from family, friends or hired help.
In addition to my family and nanny, we came to a decision to hire a night nanny when my son was about three months old and this was a life saver.
This allowed me to get some much-needed rest and also have more energy to put into my daughter who was desperately missing her alone time with me.
One step at a time
I also try to fit in one-on-one time with my son in the early mornings before my daughter wakes up.
To say figuring out this transition period is overwhelming would be a gross understatement.
But I promise you, you will find the strength, you will find your groove, you will get to a place where you're finally enjoying them - and even better - where your kids are enjoying each other.
It's all worth it
Sure, you will still have very hard days where your kids are driving you nuts and you're just dying for bedtime to roll around, but I promise you the journey does get easier and it does get sweeter!
Seeing your children love on each other, without a doubt, will make your mama heart explode!
And this 100% makes it all worth it! Hang in there, new moms of two!