No One Tells You

I'm just gonna jump straight in and say that there is so much that you are told before expanding your family but there is also so much that you aren't told! Here are a few things people left out that I learnt along the way..

Going from one child to two is fucking hard.

Juggling my time between them both is a mission. I go to bed feeling guilty some days because I know I haven't spent as much one on one time with Lily (my oldest) as I should have.. Luna (my youngest) demands so much of my time that some days it really is a struggle to give them both my full attention. As Luna is getting older, I'm slowly finding the balance.

Just because your children were made by you doesn't mean they will be the same as each other.

You know that saying "Every baby is different"? My god, I certainly understand the meaning of that now. My first slept through from 4 months old, therefore cutting out night time feeds, she loved (and still loves) people and would happily cuddle any one and everyone - my second...not so much. Almost 9 months, she still feeds on demand, wakes multiple times at night to feed and basically hates everyone who is within a 1 foot radius of her that isn't me (ok, that's exaggerating a smidge but she's not a people person haha). Our oldest happily slept in a bassinet, our youngest hated it and co-slept with us from day one. They are all so different and have totally different personalities so you just have to adapt with them.

Just because you don't pump a lot of milk, doesn't mean you have supply issues.

This! Oh man. I swear I didn't stress this much over supply with our first daughter. I haven't been able to pump much milk at all this time around and it wasn't until I spoke to a lactation consultant that my worries were put to ease. A pump doesn't stimulate your milk flow like a baby does! I cannot pump anywhere near as much as Luna drinks. So I won't. I'm lucky to get 20mls in a sitting so I'm not going to stress myself out over it. 

You will probably fail at being a housewife. A lot.

Maybe this one is just me? I see many Mummas kicking ass at getting stuff done at home and looking after the baby but Jesus do I struggle some days. Luna has no schedule especially with Lily being at school so predicting nap times to get stuff done is a challenge. Thank god for baby wearing, it helps me get the bare minimum done. Sure, I'd love to reorganise the house and declutter but you know what? Babies are only babies for such a short amount of time (really, that first year will fly right by) so for now, it can wait until a day that she is a little more predictable.

Your heart with expand in ways you didn't think were possible.

Having two babies to love, care for and help grow is the most rewarding and wonderful thing I have ever done. I feel like it is why I am here. Sure, I have absolutely horrible days where I wish I could go back to bed and start the day over but who doesn't? Deciding to expand our already amazing little family was such an wonderful decision and I can't imagine life any other way. I will take the good, the bad and the crazy on head first always. This is my calling.