Will I ever leave the house again?!

So life with two is...interesting. I wouldn't change it for the world and it didn't take long for Rosalie to feel like she had always been with us. She arrived 8 days after the eviction notice was given; at least that was better than George who refused to move out. I remember being told 'the second one is normally earlier than the first' and 'they normally weigh more the second time' and 'second labours are easier and shorter'. Well, Rosalie did arrive earlier but she didn't weigh more (a whole pound less in fact) and the labour was no shorter than George's! But hey, she got here safe and healthy and that was all that mattered.

I forgot about all the things you do with a newborn and most is only coming back to me because we are doing it with Rosalie. For example, when George wouldn't sleep we used to take him on a walk up the road and then bring the pushchair inside. I forgot that. I had to eat most of my dinners cold because as soon as someone says tea is ready they also get hungry. I forgot that. When they are crying and the one thing that stops them is to stand in front of the patterned wallpaper for them to stare at. I forgot that. And so many other things that I forgot but are rushing back as we go through it all over again with Rosalie. Part of me wishes I had kept a diary of daily life with George so I could compare it to now, not that I ever had time for that!

The timing of having Rosalie worked out well. Paul had the two weeks off for Easter so we had the first week to sort the house and make the most of George and then he had the second week with all of us. He also took his paternity leave for the following two weeks so had a month at home. During those two weeks I was left on two occasions with both children for a trial run before he returned to full time work. I was nervous. How would I sort out George and Rosalie? How would I play with George if she was crying or needed me? Would I ever get dressed again? How would we ever leave the house? It turned out to be easier than I thought. So here are some things that I would recommend to help you leave the house.

• Set a time to be out by. Now this may seem silly putting yourself under pressure to leave by a certain time but I found it helped. I didn't set an unrealistic goal like 8am but I told myself we would be out the house by 11am and anything before would be a bonus. This made me get us all sorted but not stress about it. 4 weeks in and we made it to the hairdressers for 9am!

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• Keep on top of the bag packing. I have two bags: one for George and one for Rosalie. I can't seem to fit everything in one bag and don't want a massive one either so have stuck with two separate. It also means I don't have to empty the whole bag to find something George wants that is right at the bottom! Every time I took something out of a bag I replaced it meaning I didn't have to worry about it when we were walking out of the door. So far it has worked and I haven't yet left without something.​

• ​Use a sling. I never had one for George but I also had two hands and only one of him! Now with two of them, a sling means I can still keep a hand on George and have one free, knowing Rosalie is safe. This works even at home. Take Tuesday. Rosalie was having a particularly clingy day. I had barely any time with George to play and he amused himself for most of the day. It came to dinner. She was still clingy. George wanted to be with me. So the solution...the sling and the plastic parts of a mixer. Rosalie was in the sling asleep...she was happy. George sat at the table in the kitchen with the safe parts of our mixer (the main bowl, the lid and the bit that goes in the lid) putting it together and taking it apart. I could do dinner. Win for everyone!​

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• Get rid of the husband (well get back to a normal routine!) Whilst we loved having daddy at home with us and couldn't have done the first few days without him, he also seemed to get in the way. I mean that in the nicest way possible! But on the two trial days I had on my own with the kids we were up and out the door earlier than any day he was home. It took a few days of thinking about it but I finally worked out why. When daddy is at work we have our routine. George and I had a routine that Rosalie fits in with. When daddy was at home it was different. It wasn't the norm. So naps weren't great, bedtime was horrendous and getting out the house didn't always happen. Our routine keeps all of us in check. It worked for us as a two and works for us now as a three.​

• If you don't get out...don't worry! I was desperately wanting to get out the house each day, more for George than anyone else. But realistically things happen which mean you can't always get out. I had mum guilt but actually, George didn't know any different. He wasn't missing out on anything except fresh air which we can get in the garden. We can play in the comfort of our home without any pressure to be out every day. That was just a learning curve for me.​

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My journey with two continues to amaze and excite me. We are all learning something new every day. George loves his little sister which makes us love him even more. And if we leave the house, well, it's a good day! ​​