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I have found that having two kids has required that I have twice as much attention for them. The love expanded with no problems with my daughter’s birth, but the attention has been harder to multiply.

It was easy when my daughter was still breastfeeding and I could read to my son so he didn’t feel left out and keep him occupied while I was feeding his sister. I also found out fairly quickly how many things you can do one-handed while breastfeeding, like pour milk or juice into a sippy cup, make Spaghettios, or find a lost toy. You become pretty resourceful when you’re breastfeeding an infant and you also have a two-year-old whining and tugging on your sleeve asking for chocolate milk. But, as my newborn daughter gets older it has become even harder to have enough attention for both of them at the same time.

For example, it is inevitable that my son needs a snack or drink as soon as I sit down to give my daughter a bottle. Unfortunately, I can’t bottle-feed one-handed, so I’m stuck - unable to do both things for my kids at once. So, since my daughter can’t quite understand “Hold on one second,” my son has to learn a little patience. And, in case you were wondering, this is not an easy concept for a two-year-old to learn.

Although I stress about this and wonder whether my children are significantly affected by my inability to duplicate myself and satisfy both child’s needs at once, I think in the end they will be okay. After all, they are learning (at their young ages) that you have to wait for things you want sometimes and that things you want don’t come to you immediately.

In the meantime, I’ll still wish there were two of me at times, but I’ll multitask to the best of my ability. I’ll also be relishing those very rare occasions when both children are napping and I can focus my attention on what I want to do - you know, like laundry, dishes, vacuuming….

Tags: attention, dividing attention, mom, multitasking, Parenting, SAHM, splitting attention, stay-at-home mom