Two Under Two

Always in a rush with a million things to do and a family to take care of as well? If so, I’m right there with ya! Hi, I’m Ashlie. A 29 year old, small town mom, from rural Ohio. Which if you could guess is where I met and grew up alongside my GOOD friend Alix, who's invited me to be a guest blogger this month. Between my husband Jeremy and I we have four children ages 13,10, 22 months and 16 weeks. We both work full time, live an active lifestyle participating in competitive sports and have a very active family as well. You can find us bouncing around from work, school events, appointments, the kids sports schedules and ours throughout our crazy week, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. With our crazy schedules and big family I’m here today to give you a little insight on our younger members of the crew and how we survive our wild weeks with two under two.

Introducing Blake, our 22 month old wild child. Red headed and fearless, she keeps us on our toes to say the least. She has a big heart, loves animals, the outdoors and has a big soft spot for her daddy and brothers. Quickly approaching the big number TWO, she is always on the go without any sight of slowing down.

Then there’s our smiley little babe Easton. Easton is 16 weeks and is just about the perfect little man. He sleeps throughout the night, eats well and is nothing but smiles and giggles all day in between his naps.

My husband loves to brag that he is four for four with good babies, both sleepers and eaters. The little ones have the best big brothers to look up to as well. Our 10 and 13 year olds are always willing to lend a helping hand and jump in whenever needed. My husband and I are pretty fortunate of their age gaps and their want to help out with their little siblings. Honestly for a big family, we have it pretty easy, but we wouldn’t be able to make our crazy world go round without some must have products.

My number one must have is our Fischer Price Rock n Play. It’s an easy bedside sleeper that will quickly allow you to tend to your baby in the middle of the night. There are several different models that range from simple vibrations, with manual rocking to a full blown app compatible module, with automatic rocker and lullabies. These fold up with the push of a button and are very convenient to quickly grab and take to the babysitters if needed. I’ve found them priced anywhere from $38.00 to $100.00 depending on all the bells and whistles.

Another must have for our family is a pack n play. Now, we hardly used one with our daughter Blake, but with our wild child running around everywhere it’s nice to have to keep the younger one out of reach for her. We use it when we’re outside quite a bit. It’s nice to have Easton out with us while we’re enjoying our time outside with our other littles. Ours has the raised attachment for infants which also doubles as a changer. There are a hundred different, styles and brands but we found ours at Walmart for right around $50.00.

Momma’s invest in a wrap or carrier or even both! Between cooking, cleaning and the constant mom or dad duties do not be afraid to wear that baby. I was gifted a Moby wrap from my aunt for the birth of my daughter Blake and later invested in a carrier also. The Moby wrap allows skin to skin cuddles and always put my babies right to sleep as they snuggled in, allowing me to free up my hands and try to help with homework, cook, do dishes or grab a bite to eat myself while comforting my baby. I use my carrier on hikes, mowing the lawn, ball games and shopping. Two littles in a shopping cart can get crazy quick. My carrier also allows for front or rear carry with the option of forward facing for front carry, which is a nice option to have as well. Definitely shop around for this one and do your research. Find something that suits your lifestyle and your baby's comfort. Reviews helped me a lot when purchasing my carrier.

I wouldn’t be able to function without my double stroller, which by the way I found on Facebook Marketplace for $20.00. That’s right Momma’s $20 bucks! Strollers are expensive, baby stuff in general is expensive and anything with the word double or twins is definitely pricey. So if you aren’t against it buy second hand. I have no shame when it comes to hand me downs, as long as the quality is still good and it’s clean. When using Market Place, I always use a very heavily occupied public place and try to park in an area in view of an exterior camera, especially if my husband is unable to go with me. Now for this find we were incredibly lucky. The stroller was owned by a lady in our neighborhood, the brand I wanted to accommodate our infant car seat and the price was more than reasonable. We have a Baby Trend Navigator, which is a jogging stroller that has the locking front wheels. Our infant car seat locks right in place and secures to the stroller for a smooth ride. It also has a 5 point harness for both seats as well. We preferred a side by side jogger due to our active family. We live at the ballpark basically. The jogger is easy to push through all types of surfaces and has quite a bit of storage. More than enough to accommodate our family of six on our long days at the ballpark. A definite life saver. Do your research though a jogger might not be for you, they are bulky, very wide and not the easiest to transport. I’m not trying to deter you just trying to throw out some helpful info.

There is so much detail and broad range of advice that can be given when it comes to raising kids. This is what works for our wild bunch. It may not be for you but I hope it gave you some insight and help in trying to plan or conquer two under two. Thanks for the read. I hope you all enjoyed it.