what am I getting into?

OK, I'm a total rookie on this board!

And I've been wanting to ask the moms of older kids:

What were the hardest things about the second year for you?

And what were the best?

 

Holly, I have to say that the 2nd year was a GREAT year!!! They learn so much and they get more verbal and able to communicate.

For me the hardest part was right after they turned one. Then around 18 mos. it all just took off for us and was a whirlwind of excitement and milestones!!! :hug99: Don't worry - 3 seems to be much harder so far!! :lol:

 

Welcome to the second year!

For me the hardest things are the frustration they express when trying to do things themselves and they can't get it right, the crying/clinginess/wanting to be held all the time when they regress a little bit after reaching a milestone, and letting them try new things knowing they can get hurt and will suffer a lot of bumps and bruises.

The easiest things for me are (1) more sleep (yay!) and (2) all the independence. They can do more for themselves which means I don't have to do everything for them. That's a huge load off when you have twins. They can feed themselves, walk, talk a little, and they can learn. It's so much fun to see them grow into toddlers and learn so many new things.

I'm gonna have a good cry now! (sniff)

 

I was just talking to someone this week saying this is my favorite stage so far! I am loving every minute of where we are at!! I love now how they are learning so much and so quickly and I love how they show affection!!!

 

What were the hardest things about the second year for you?
Umm....maybe just their frustration levels sometimes. After they turned two their language exploded but they will still be quick to hit or take their frustrations out on each other or a toy things like that.


And what were the best?
So many....they are so fun we really have a good time taking them out to the park, walks, and going other places they love being more independent. I take them alot of places by myself with no thought when before I would be afraid to and Predictable sleep which is probably the greatest thing for me.

 

Compared to the first four months, the second year is a piece of cake. They are so much fun and the things they say--my goodness. As long as you stay consistent, they usually pick up on things pretty fast--like holding hands when we walk or standing still when they get out of the van. They definitely want to run and play and have fun--but I think its great. Meltdowns are inevitable and hard, but not compared to getting two hours of sleep at a time. I haven't had "terrible twos", I had "terrible first four months"! Anyway--this is great fun! Don't get me wrong--it's hard. But it's a manageable hard and so much different than the first few months.

 

Just like the first year, it's different for everyone and I know that my experience was NOT the norm. The hardest part for me was having the physical ability to get into big trouble coming long before effective communication, understanding of danger, or the mental capacity to process discipline. Months 15-20 were, hands down, harder than anything in the first year or in the time since then. The time and effort spent cleaning up mess after mess after mess while they were getting into more trouble every moment I was occupied and repeating the process each and every day was hard. We're currently in another destructive phase but it's more manageable this time since they understand consequences.

It's fantastic watching their verbal skills improve and that's definitely the highlight for me.

 

The hardest thing for me about the second year was that they started having opinions. Rather than me just being able to pick them up and do things to them, I started having to coax them to cooperate.

But for me, that issue was far outweighed by how awesome it was that they were finally paying attention to the world around them. They became much more communicative and interested in everything. Starting right at 13 months or so, I really felt that I had children I could interact with, rather than just babies who were cute & cuddly, but needed to be entertained all the time.

I guess I'm not really a baby person. But I do find that so far at least, everything that gets harder is more than balanced by something that gets better. (From what I've read, I'll probably change my tune as they get closer to age 3 -- but at least I'll have had a couple of good years by then!)

 

I've had a love/hate relationship with their second year. It has been amazing to watch them go from single word utterances to full blown sentences and thoughts. Of course with that comes a little bit of talking back and them thinking they know what's best. I love that they can do a bit more for themselves now and they aren't AS messy. Again, with more independence comes more resistance to Mommy.

Basically the day they turned 2 they turned into completely different children who's ears apparently got clogged really badly but it is slowly getting better. I really think it has a lot to do with YOUR outlook as well. I didn't handle their change in behavior very well in the beginning but now I'm starting to work on how I react to them and my expectations of them and I've noticed a huge difference.

I've had a lot of people tell me that 3 is worse than 2 but I am really (REALLY) praying that 3 will be more fun for us. 2 has definitely been a bumpy ride.

 

I found 15-18 months actually pretty difficult. They REALLY wanted to communicate but couldn't very well yet. They also were into exploring EVERYTHING. But since then I LOVE this age, they are talking so much, I can understand what they want, they can call me at work and talk :wub: They now listen quite well and are easy to take out places.
I really enjoy watching them learn new things, going for walks is now so cool as they point out things and explore.

 

15-18 months was the hardest like other posters have alluded to because of the lack of communication and the frequency of tantrums. we somehow got a handle on the tantrums and have had very few -- only when they are tired and hungry do melt downs occur. We established a routine in the first year and have been on the same basic daily schedule since 14 months old. They are learning so much and they play together fairly well.

The difficulties for me have been "letting go" and allowing them to take forever to do something themselves rather than doing it myself in 1/4 of the time. Also, my stronger willed child has continually challenged my authority, contradicted what i say, disrespected, etc -- all of which is age appropriate, yet still inexcusable and in need of channelling.

 

QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Apr 23 2008, 08:32 PM) [snapback]736219[/snapback]
Holly, I have to say that the 2nd year was a GREAT year!!! They learn so much and they get more verbal and able to communicate.

For me the hardest part was right after they turned one. Then around 18 mos. it all just took off for us and was a whirlwind of excitement and milestones!!! :hug99: Don't worry - 3 seems to be much harder so far!! :lol:

Same here! We really haven't had too much "terrible twos", but 12-18 mos was hard for me. 18 months really was a turning point for us. I'm really having a good time right now, except for potty training and them wanting to do *everything* themselves, but that's kind of cute too in its own way.

 

The fighting and screaming. Mine are two now and the have a four year old brother. They are either fighting with him or eachother. Tantrums aren't fun either. But like another poster said, it's an exciting time now because they can all walk, run and play, as well as talk eat and explore. It's fun!

I forgot to add that they sleep more too!

 

We are in the 15-18 month stage right now and it is so crazy! I am hardly ever on TS anymore. I am having withdrawals. I am always busy either doing laundry or cleaning up my kitchen floor from all the food they throw on it. It is good to know there is a light at the end of this tunnel soon!

 

Between 12 and 15 months was hard. Wanting more, but not able to do it. Getting into everything and not understanding a single word you are saying. They're almost 17 months now and things are getting easier again. The sleep has definitely improved the last weeks (they were early risers for a long time, though good sleepers).

 

Great post Fuschia!!!!!!

I was wondering the same things myself. It seems that ever since the 1st b-day my sweet, complacent boys have turned into completely different children that I have to figure out all over again.