Over the past few months we have become the parents of 2 healthy princesses; now I want to share with you how life has been with both of them. There are a list of tips at the end of the blog.
Let me tell you – the biggest change is not for us parents, it is for our first born.
I want to believe Ava is in her stage of terrible twos, but unfortunately I think she is having a hard time adjusting to the fact that she’s not the one and only main priority anymore. Sharing the spotlight can be tough!
When I gave birth to Bella I thought it would be the best for Ava to sleep alone in the bedroom so that she wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night for Bella’s feedings. That was not the reality, this changed quickly because I realized she felt left out so of course she came to sleep with us. Ava or Bella barely wake each other up at night which is the silver lining. I am hopeful that when we get back home to Portland, where Ava has her own room, she will feel more comfortable sleeping alone when we are there full time.
During the day Ava leaves to go to a playgroup (as long as we’re not having a lockdown) so I get to get a workout in, take care of Bella, and sometimes more importantly time for myself to just decompress,
Once I pick Ava up I am always looking for new things to do for all of us. I am in the process of transitioning her out of a mid day nap so doing activities during the day is so important. I have especially come to realize that I enjoy the peasce and quiet time for myself in the evening so an early bedtime is essential, these busy days for kids help achieve that.
Bella is the typical second child, luckily she is so easy going. I want to say she already has a routine down because of the schedule we have Ava on, that has been so helpful. They both go to bed at the same time which is ideal for me, I do find that Ava does not like having Bella in bed with us and proceeds to climb on me to prevent holding her. She was so used to being the only one in bed, after a few minutes she is understanding and we are able to all sleep together.
They also say the second child is usually faster with learning development because they want to do what their sibling does! I mean Bella can already turn on her tummy!
Considering that Bella is in my arms most of the time whether that is eatting, sleeping, cuddling; I try to get as much one on one time with Ava even if that just means running errands together. Sometimes I can see Ava interacting with Bella while I’m in the kitchen and it warms my heart. She gets a little rough as times since she doesn’t realize how small Bella is but for the most part the laugh a lot together & I love it!
Unfortunately due to COVID the ‘take care of yourself’ – part (like getting the nails done or having drinks with friends) is very limited. I can not take the break I need or desperately wish I had… but this should be for another blog.
Here are some tips I use with Ava:
