6 Tips For Keeping Sane With Babies Close In Age

Having two under two is exciting, overwhelming, and well, kind of crazy! It’s great to have kids that will grow up sharing similar interests and life experiences, but the first few years are a lot of work. This post contains my best tips for surviving two under two.

Update: As of November 2020, I am now a mom to 3 under 4! This post has been updated with more tips for parents with kids close in age.

I was 25 years old when I brought home my second child. After struggling to conceive my first daughter through fertility treatments, my husband and I were completely overjoyed to find out we were having a surprise pregnancy! We felt like the luckiest people in the world, and we still feel that way!

But having two kids under two is definitely challenging. In fact, I had two kids under 18 months.

This post is loaded with ideas for preparing your life for having back to back kids. It’s a lot of fun and so rewarding to have your kids so close together, but it can also be very stressful and overwhelming. I’m here to tell you it will be OK!

Take these tips and advice and you can do more than just survive, you can thrive with two kids under two years old (or even 3 under 4…haha!)

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Tips for having kids close in age

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare

And I’m talking about everything!

Lay your clothes out the day before, as well as the kids. This is a huge time saver in the morning, and takes one more thing off your plate.

I also like to fill up my daughters’ water bottles and juice cups and stick them in the refrigerator. It’s just one less thing to do!

I also recommend keeping a bin of essentials in your car. That way if I forget to stock the diaper bag, I have everything I need when I’m on the go.

Have dinner prepped and ready to go

After a long day of diapers, spit up, tantrums, fussiness, and whatever else the day brings, having dinner prepped is a huge lifesaver.

I prepped a ton of freezer meals before my baby was born. Let me tell you, they saved the day on numerous occasions! Having a hot dinner ready to go is an amazing feeling.

Prepare some easy activities together for the older child!

This was *crucial* to mine and my child’s sanity the first few weeks!

I prepped activity bins for her to pull out whenever I needed a minute. Whether it was folding laundry, breastfeeding, changing the 10th dirty diaper of the day, you name it, the activity bins were there for her to choose from.

The key with activity bins is to keep them separate from other toys so that they are special. She can always get toys out of the toy box, but an activity bin is a special treat!

To see what kind of activity bins I made, read here.

Simple crafts are also a huge hit at my house! I love these no mess art activities, but we also did our fair share of messy ones, too.

One of our favorite no mess art activities!

In summertime, I would roll out huge sheets of paper and let her go crazy with finger paints. When she was done, she’d play in the sprinkler or water table to get cleaned off.

She was happy, I could snuggle with the baby, and the TV was off for a few hours. I call it a win!

2. Invest in a good double stroller

I go everywhere with my stroller. You absolutely must have a good double stroller when you have two kids close in age!

I’ll tell you, I’ve tried a few different double strollers. We purchased a few cheapy ones for my mom to have for when she’d take the kids while I work, and they are not the same.

The Baby Jogger City Select is *THE* stroller to have. I’m not exaggerating when I say I tell everyone about it. It is worth every single penny!

Why is the Baby Jogger City Select the best stroller?

The Baby Jogger City Select can be a single stroller, a double stroller, and you can even attach a glider board so that a third child can stand and hold on. It folds up super easily and is lightweight but sturdy.

Additionally, you can make it a travel system with an adapter. Just pop the newborn car seat in and you are good to go!

Walking around Disney with the best stroller ever!

You can even use it with a seat for a child and the newborn seat adapter.

The seats can recline all the way back, too. They can also flip around to be forward or rear facing.

When we went to Sesame Place and Disney World last year, we stayed at the parks all day long because my 2 year old could nap right in the reclined seat of the stroller! (I will say, this works best with one seat and one newborn seat, they don’t recline as far when two seats are attached).

babies sleeping in double stroller — Taking naps at Sesame Place! Annaliese is sleeping in her Chicco Keyfit 30 car seat (attached with the car seat adapter), and Eliana is in a reclined seat.

If I had to pick one baby item I couldn’t live without, it would be this stroller. I am 100% obsessed with it.

You can buy it at any big name baby store, however, it is usually a lot more expensive. The coupons usually don’t apply to Baby Jogger products.

Instead, I would recommend purchasing at either Pish Posh Baby or Amazon. They both often run deals on the less popular colors or older models. (At Pish Posh baby, you can get the 2019/2020 model for $539, or the 2018 model for $299!)

I’m telling you – don’t waste money on a cheaper stroller. Go for the good one.

3. Ask for help

I know not everyone has the luxury of having family nearby, but if you do, let them help!

And you know your long lost friend who told you to call if you need anything? Well, she probably means it! Give her a ring, and let her snuggle the baby while you shower or fold laundry.

If none of that is an option for you, considering hiring help. Amazon now contracts cleaning services for an affordable and trustworthy option.

Additionally, you could look for some help with childcare! A friend from work’s daughter would come give me a break here and there and it was so refreshing.

4. Stock up on things beforehand

The days of “stopping by the store real quick” just got complicated.

Now, you have two car seats, two babies, and a lot more can go awry.

Stock up on things like toiletries, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, soaps, nipple pads, etc. so that you will only have to shop for food when you need it (unless you’ve prepped enough food in advance!)

We ended up getting Amazon Prime when our babies were little. It was worth the investment to us, because the convenience of two day shipping outweighed the cost.

Forget to buy your best friend’s kid a birthday present? Prime. Get a stain on your favorite nursing shirt? Prime, baby!

If you aren’t a Prime member yet, you can sign up for a 30 day trial here.

5. Stay organized and write everything down!

Find a system that works for you, and write everything down. The first few weeks (let’s get real, the first few months) are really overwhelming. There will be a lot to juggle and things will get missed.

6. Babywearing

I joke that babywearing is how I kept the baby alive those first few months. I actually had to wear her a lot for safety reasons!

My older child was only 17 months when we brought the baby home, so we had very different opinions on what was safe. She was (and is) obsessed with babies, and wanted to carry her baby sister around wherever she went. With babywearing, I knew she was safe.

I have both the Lillebaby and the Baby K’tan, and I like them both for different reasons.

During the newborn phase, the Baby K’tan is my favorite. I can discreetly breastfeed while wearing it, and in fact, I did so in public many times!

I vividly remember walking around the zoo with my toddler while breastfeeding the newborn in the baby carrier. Everyone is happy that way!

It’s lightweight and easy to wrap. I find it to be much easier than a ring sling or other wraps.