So you’re expecting another baby (yay!), the hospital bags are packed, the crib is made up and the tiny babygrows are neatly folded away ready for your new bundle of joy but have you prepared for having not one but TWO children?

Having another child Is challenging no matter what the age of your eldest child is but having two children both under the age of two is even harder.

Dealing with the terrible twos while catering to your newborns every need is quite frankly EXHAUSTING so to help make your life that bit easier I have created this Two Under Two Survival Guide.

Child locks – Before your second baby comes along I highly recommend that you put child locks everywhere because there have been numerous occasions when I’ve just sat down to nurse my baby Riley when my eldest George decided to raid the cupboards because he knew I was busy with his sister resulting in a lot of mess for me to clean up and a hyper child that managed to get into the biscuit tin and ate the lot. Save yourself time and effort by installing child locks on every draw, fridge or cupboard that your toddler can reach.

Baby Wrap – Clingy newborn? Not a problem. Get yourself a cozy and secure baby wrap so you can spend some more time with your toddler and be more active around the house (did you know that the more light exercise you do after childbirth the quicker you recover? But be sure not to overdo it).

Toy Baby – My son loves to help out with caring for my daughter but because his so young still often his help is more of a hindrance so get your toddler a toy baby to play with so they can copy what you do to make them feel more included. This is also a great way to introduce the idea of having a baby around before the baby arrives and may make it easier for your toddler to understand.

Pre-prepared food – Toddlers eat a ridiculous amount of food and if your child is anything like my son then I’m sure they will be bugging you for snacks all the time but they can often pick the wrong time to ask when your busy with your newborn so make up a few snacks into containers after you put your eldest to bed so you can quickly grab one from the fridge to give to them throughout the next day.

Breathe – Sometimes when all else fails, both the kids are crying and you feel like your going to scream the best thing you can do is to just breathe. As long as both your children are in a safe place it is okay to go out of the room for a minute to close your eyes, take some deep breaths and clear your mind. You can then re-enter the room much calmer and more relaxed so you can deal with the matter at hand effectively, sometimes just your relaxed demeanour can be enough to defuse the tension and calm both of your children down.

Time flies when you have a baby but that time goes even faster when you have a toddler in tow so don’t dwell on the hard days, relish in the happy moments and enjoy every second that they are still small. Take the time to watch the relationship between your children blossom into a inseparable bond they will share forever. If you have any other questions about coping with two under two feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to answer them. Make sure to share this guide with anybody you think might benefit from the tips I’ve shared with you, us mums need to help each other out where we can. Good luck!