Grace and Josie | A Blog for Moms

Rhode Island based Mom blogger sharing fashion, shopping, and lifestyle tips.

Life with a Toddler and Newborn: The 2 Months Edition

We've survived two whole months with a toddler and a newborn. Here are a few things I've learned along the way.

1. It's not as hard as I thought it would be
2. Coffee is Essential.
3. It's important to follow The Order of Operations

I know what you're thinking, Melissa and a math analogy? Oh, maybe you haven't heard how terrible I am at math? That's why I'm in Marketing after all. But bear with me here and I will explain...

Life with a toddler and newborn/infant/younger toddler and so on and so forth... is a life wrought with chaos unless you're constantly trying to maximize efficiency of everyday tasks. You'll quickly discover the key to efficiency depends on a strict Order of Operations. For example, when traveling by car we arrive at our destination - I can't just hop out and unleash (or unbuckle) the toddler. You see, I still have to open the trunk, set up the stroller and then take out the infant carrier, get the infant set up in said stroller, and attach the diaper bag. We all know what mayhem can ensue in the time it takes you to do all that. Scary. 

Instead, I learned quickly to follow a specific set of actions. First, I must exit the car with my diaper bag and iced coffee (see #2) and immediately open the trunk to remove and set up the stroller. We use the Graco Snap and Go and UppaBaby with Bassinet intermittently. Each has its purpose and each takes a different amount of set up time. Once the stroller is secured, insert baby and move to toddler's side of the car for a controlled release. Now I have at least one hand free for toddler control. "Hold my hand. HOLD my hand!" You'll only ever have one hand available for a while. Make sure your stroller has a cup holder for this reason. It's up to you to figure out when to let go for the 2 seconds it takes to get your sip.


Here's our Brooke Poppy at 2 months!

Unfortunately, like her big sister, she didn't gain much weight since our last check up so we're working on that. But otherwise she is healthy and becoming much more alert every day. I LOVE her left dimple and with all the smile practice I've even seen a right dimple emerge a few times.

Little Brookie VonCookie is a dream baby who is pretty chill during the day and will usually sleep through the night - BUT oh my word, her witching HOURS are crazy. She's usually a fuss budget from 7pm until she finally relents and goes to bed anywhere from 10:30 to around midnight some nights. We are hoping to be in the final stretch of this as she's 9 weeks and the Doctor said most are through it by 12 weeks. We've tried all the S's and they do work but you can't put her down for a second during this time. In fact, it's currently 6:51 pm and I can feel her getting all rigid in my arms as we speak.

Did you experience the dreaded Witching Hour with your little one?
Any advice?

We know this will end, as it did with Grace... eventually. But : / yeeeesh.


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