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Everyone says that going from one kids to two kids is the hardest. And since I’ve never gone from two kids to three, I would have to believe them. And once you have more than three, does adding more to the mix even matter? I am guessing no?? Here are my thoughts on one vs. two:
Pros for One (which would also be cons for two I suppose):
-It’s cheaper. You only need to buy one car, pay for one college education, one plane ticket for trips, one ticket to sporting events, etc.
-One is much easier than two to tote around. Dragging L to the grocery store was one thing. Stick him in the cart and go. But a newborn and a preschooler don’t fit a cart well together. Wait, they do, but you can’t get anything else in it. And let’s get real, L isn’t going to just walk nicely during the shopping trip. Not a grocery shopping trip anyways. I really don’t care about this too much since I hate grocery shopping as it is.
-Juggling things. It’s been in the 90’s this week so we’ve pretty much been trapped in the house. Well, W has anyways. No way will would I think about dragging him to the park, splash pad, pool, etc. in this heat. I’m sure he’d LOVE to sit in his stroller and sweat his diaper off. So it’s a fine balance between keeping L busy and making sure he’s having fun and keeping W happy and cool! I hate to tell L we can’t do things because of the baby, but sometimes I have to.
Pros for Two or Three or Four (which would also be cons for one):
-There will be two of them to take care of me and B when we are old and senile. Kids, I fully expect you to put me in the nicest nursing home you can find. One that takes us old people to the casino. ALOT.
-Built in playmate! Sure L and W aren’t playmates now, but they will be one day. And sure they will fight. But I’m pretty sure that they will be each others Best Man in their weddings. And what’s better than that??
-Brotherly (or sibling) love. Even now it is so sweet to watch L and W interact. L hugs him, kisses him and is just overall the sweetest to him. He checks on him when he’s sleeping. Gives him his sucky (aka pacifier) when he’s crying. Smiles when he smiles.
-I think having a sibling helps you learn to live with and get along with others better than being an only child. I’d imagine it’s a pretty big shock to go from being an only child to living with roommates in college or whatever. But I was lucky enough to get to share a bathroom with my brother, so I know what it’s like when someone is banging on the door and trying to cut your half an hour shower short. The nerve!
-A in-house teacher. You pretty much need an older sibling to teach you naughty things. This goes without saying!!
This is a short list because I’ve got three kids (L has a friend over) in the house who all need something. At the same time. All the time. Ohh, wait these should be pros for an only child. More free time for mama. More time to blog. But you know what, more than one kid means more time to play!!!!
My older brothers definitely taught me all the important things – how to sneak out, how to keep Mom and Dad from knowing you took the car, how to disguise the smell of booze/smokes on your breath, etc.
I’m 12 weeks along with my second baby and my son will be 2yr, 3mo when the new baby arrives. I’m excited to give him a sibling but also worried about the challenges that come along with it!
Do you still like being a stay at home mom? I would love to be able to quit my full time job once the new baby arrives but I don’t think we can financially swing it now.
Congrats on your pregnancy!!! Are you going to find out what you are having?
And I do still love it!!!! It’s so much less stressful not to be on such a tight schedule anymore.
Pros: they help each other a lot. My oldest is almost 11 and she especially helps me so much!
Cons: they’re loud, and they bicker a lot! They also require a lot of running around when they get older and have lots of activities, want to go to their friends’ houses, etc.
And I agree with all of yours too! I tell my kids all the time how lucky they are and that they will have each other for life.
Having had 8 kids, I can definitely say that 3 was the hardest number! With 2 kids, I still had one kid per hand, or one kid per adult. With 3 we were outnumbered! It took a while to adjust. By the time I had 4, the oldest was old enough to help and I was used to being outnumbered 🙂 Loved every minute of it though!
Please also teach your two that they need to take care of their aunt as well. It will be easy, I like the sound of your nursing home!