I once was a mom of #2under2. That had it's many challenges. It's like having 2 babies, but babies who have different needs and are in two totally different developmental stages. In that first 6 months of having two under two, we all cried every single day. Then once my little one turned 1, it started to get easier and every day after that got easier and easier.
My kids are now 2 and 3 and they are BFFs, except when they are not. However, at this stage of life, sibling rivalry is just a fraction of my challenge. My biggest struggle is satisfying everyone's ideas. Someone is always unhappy. These children are as different as the sun and the moon, and so are their ideas. One child wants grilled cheese and the other wants a smoothie. One child wants to play outside and the other wants to be inside. One wants to go to the library and the other won't even put on shoes to go in the car. One wants to play alone and the other wants to play together.
You may know that I am pretty go-with-the-flow, so I am absolutely okay running with their ideas instead of bringing my agenda to the table. How, though, do you run with ideas when everyone has a different idea? There is always someone who doesn't get their way, and then it escalates until no one gets their way. As I write this right now, we are recovering from a duel meltdown which ended in a "cool down" in each child's room. Neither is doing their original idea, but instead they are playing quietly by themselves. And still, I doubt if I handled the situation well.
I constantly struggle with consistency and fairness. I worry whether my parenting is making any progress and I wonder if I'm too strict or too lenient.
There is always something to doubt as a parent, and this is a constant reminder that I am not capable of parenting these children on my own efforts. I praise God every day for giving these precious (yet spirited) souls to me to take care of, but I know I can't do it on my own strength. Everyday I have to go back to God with humility and seek his wisdom in parenting these two very different humans and pray that he'll fill in the gaps where I fail. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.
