First Guest Post-Second Time Motherhood

I am so excited about this link-up with Ruthie Hart.  I reached over to her, and asked her if she could describe the challenges she has faced when transitioning from a family of 3 to a family of 4. Please show her some love and stop by her blog (by clicking here) as well! 🙂

Hi I am Ruthie Hart, a Christ follower, Texas wife, and mother to 2 kiddos that I have coined the #hartlittles on social media. I am a stay at home mama by day (and by night too…) and blogger, crafter, reader, and suburban domestic housewife on the side. My blog chronicles my life, faith, and happenings in the kitchen and I am excited to share with you today a little about my transition to becoming a mama of 2 under 2.

Now that Lucy is 2 months old, we’ve regained our sanity and life is getting back to normal. Lucy is blessing us with good sleep, I am feeling 99% after my C section, and Jon and I are feeling pretty good about handling our 2 little munchkins (we plan on having a few more so we remind ourselves, THIS will be the easiest we have it, ha). I love that I am comfortable taking both of the babies out on my own and I have enjoyed getting back into my routine… grocery shopping, play dates, lunches with friends, pool time, etc. I feel like everyone I know is pregnant these days and most of my friends are having their second so a question I get at least once a day is, “So how is it with two babies?”. I don’t want to toot my own horn but it is great and better than I could have ever imagined.

I have to laugh when people say the transition from 1-2 is hard than the transition from 0-1 because my world was ROCKED when Ford came into this world. I loved every ounce of my squishy little boy but everything was new and an adjustment. I had to learn how to be a parent, learn how to prioritize my marriage, all while healing from surgery. It was a crazy time and I am so glad I had a solid community during the transition. The transition from 1-2 hasn’t been seamless but it was been so sweet. The thing I answer with the most is that my confidence in motherhood has made the transition so much better. I KNEW I wouldn’t feel the pains of a C section forever. I KNEW the witching hour was short lived. I KNEW I would one day get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. And that helped me through the hard times. Experience has given me confidence and hope and I am so grateful for that. I remember when they handed Lucy to me in recovery and I was alone, I just popped her on my boob. I knew how to position my arms and made sure we didn’t have a painful shallow latch. Thinking back to the first go-around it took at least 3 people to breastfeed, baby not included. I’m confident in my ability to physically take care of my children but I am even more confident in my abilities to love them well. I don’t think any mom is immune from baby blues and feelings of “how will I do this?” and I am so thankful that I was able to get through those times reminding myself that everything is a phase. After hard nights with Lucy I was able to look at my sweet Ford who is full of personality and life and know that I will blink and Lucy will be right beside him cracking me up and entertaining us.

Don’t get me wrong, life with 2 is hard. I feel like having one baby was so carefree and easy (I wish I could tell my new mom of one self that I would say this one day!) and with two there is always something to do. I’ve finally been able to get the babies to nap at the same time but two kids means two sets of laundry, diapers, food, chores… and most likely one of them wakes up a lot earlier than the other. Getting out of the house takes intense planning and at least 10-15 minutes of, “Okay we are leaving, wait I forgot this” and breaking a sweat packing their bags, the double stroller, and the million other things that seem to make it into my car. I don’t have much time for myself and that is OK. I sacrifice sleep for time with my husband because my marriage is so important. I’m okay with the fact that I always have a full load of laundry in the dryer and dishwasher waiting to be folded and put away and that is OK. I used to stress about leaving things un-done on my to do list and now it piles up but you know what, I am happy and my kids are oh-so-happy. I read this article right after I had Lucy and it really shaped the way I look at motherhood. Right now I am looking at my role as a mother as the very best that God has for me right now. He isn’t calling me to be a working mom or work from home mom, I am Ford and Lucy’s mom right now and that is it! The chores, blog posts, and crafting projects can wait. At the end of the day if my children are fed, rested, and healthy, I have done my job well! There will be a season where my kids don’t need me to wipe their bottoms, dress them, and cut up grapes at lunch and my callings will change. I am trying to press into the hard times, knowing that I will crave them when my kids are grown.

So yes, having 2 kids is hard but 2nd time motherhood has been the biggest blessing for me! I can’t imagine life without our sweet Lucy girl and I love the relationship she and Ford already have with one another, I know they will just get closer and closer. Life is crazy, exhausting, and FUN! Jon and I talk all the time how crazy it will be that one day Lucy will be running around with Ford and add to the chaos and hilarity of our household. I am very grateful God chose us to be second time parents and I hope we get the chance to have more (although I am sure when we are outnumbered, I may have to re-write this post!).