Irish Twins?

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A dad holding Irish twins.That’s right…Baby Sheerin #2 is on the way! My due date is May 25th, which means the new baby and my daughter will be 16 months apart. The true meaning of Irish Twins is babies born to the same mother within 12 months of each other. Okay so not exactly Irish Twins, but pretty close. My husband is Irish and has 4 siblings all within 1-2 years of each other. He loved growing up with brothers and sisters so close in age so naturally he wanted the same for our children. I was completely on board!

After the initial excitement of our wonderful news, I started thinking logistics. With a second baby comes a second set of almost everything!   While we were always planning to have our children close together, we didn’t know how close they would actually be. Getting pregnant isn’t always as easy as one, two, three so we were both shocked and grateful that it happened so fast for us. But as a person who plans ahead I was caught a little off guard. When pregnant with our first, I made sure to register for all gender neutral colors when it came to the big items…high chair, stroller, car seat, glider, etc….in case the next baby was a boy. I’m now realizing that might not have been necessary because my daughter may still be using all those things when the new baby arrives.

I feel a little lost because, being a first time mom, I’m not sure what stages my daughter will be at when the new baby will need these things. Ideally I’d like to plan what items I’ll need to buy and which we can reuse but there are so many questions I don’t know the answers to.

  • Do I need to buy a double stroller or can I get by with just one since my daughter will (hopefully) be walking by then?
  • Will my daughter have outgrown the infant car seat by May so the new baby can use it? She is currently 19lbs 6.5 oz and the car seat says up to 30lbs.
  • Should I buy a 2nd high chair? My daughter starting using hers around 5 months, will she be ready to sit in a regular chair at 21 months?
  • Should I buy a 2nd glider? I still rock her to sleep in the one we have. Is it time to start weening off this?
  • Will I be able to carry my daughter around when my belly is big!

In addition to planning for the material things, I’m also thinking about the emotional and physical aspects of having two children under the age of 2. I have so much love for my daughter that I can’t imagine having to share that love with another child. Obviously it happens naturally, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it. A newborn requires so much attention that I worry my girl will feel like she’s been replaced. It breaks my heart to think that she might feel not as loved!

I think back to the first three months of my daughter’s life and remember the chaos and pure exhaustion. Although many things came naturally, I felt an underlying uncertainty during those beginnings months. I was always questioning if I was doing things right. Getting the hang of breastfeeding alone took up a lot of time and in between nursing sessions I was either pumping or trying to squeeze in some resting time. It was all-consuming. How can I possible do all that again with a 16 month old who will still need just as much of my time?

So here I am, 14 weeks pregnant, experiencing feelings of joy, happiness, uncertainty, anxiety, and nostalgia all at once! And I thought the 2nd time around was going to be a breeze 😉 I can only hope that with this new baby I will feel less like a deer caught in headlights and more like a mom who knows what she’s doing and that this will give me the ability to balance both children and naturally adapt to our growing family.

How many Moms out there had children close together? How did you handle it? Please share your thoughts, tips, suggestions!

8 COMMENTS

  1. Congrats! Get as much rest as you can now! My son was just over two when my twins were born. Life now is insane…but I love it! My older son is more work than the babies.

    To answer a few questions…definitely get a double stroller! As for everything else you should be fine. Your daughter should be big enough for a bigger car seat and booster seat at the table. I was also able to pick up my son IF I had to, but at the end I was enormous and couldn’t move 🙂

    Good luck!

  2. Congratulations!!!

    I don’t have 2, but I’ll ditto everything Michelle said. Lylah will most likely be in a booster high-chair and a newer car seat by the time the new baby arrives. You are not going to want to try to walk with a toddler while pushing a baby, so go for the double stroller. In fact, keep them in the stroller as long as possible. lol. Seriously, My 7-year-old still gets pushed in her stroller on occasion when it’s just going to be too much walking for her.

    I wish you the best of luck!

  3. Congratulations Gillian! How exciting for you and your family. I will be taking notes for the future as you share tips and tricks for TWO! 🙂

  4. Congratulations! I won’t even pretend that going from one to two is easy. Mine are farther apart and I still wasn’t prepared for how difficult the transition would be! But I recall the magical moment when I caught the two of them giggling together in the backseat in my rearview mirror & I knew it was all worth it. Definitely get the double stroller. I have a Baby Trend Sit and Stand which was perfect for my two and we still use it 18 months later.

  5. I have Irish twins and its the greatest blessing. Both of my children enjoy always having someone to play with! My daughter thinks she was born the same day as my son because she doesn’t ever remember her life without him. The second time around is easier because you literally just went through the phase with your first! You are also an experienced mother. You will need a double stroller but I used the baby bjorn with my single stroller and got a double once my second child was old enough to sit up in the stroller. I moved my daughter out of the infant car seat and into the booster. I also switched her to a booster seat w tray for the table and used the highchair for the baby. It’s definetly a lot of work but also a lot of fun!

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