Mamas of two under two that are older now. How do you get through it?… I’m struggling hard and I don’t know how to fix it. There’s so many variables to share in this post but I just feel lost and angry and overstimulated constantly. I hate myself this way. I know I’m hard to be around like this and I know I’m not being my best for my boys… I just feel like I’m drowning in the every day routine of a Velcro baby and a wild toddler being stuck in an apartment because the weather is crap and it’s the biggest struggle to take them anywhere on my own (I don’t drive) I don’t know what I really expect or need from this post basically just a rant… thanks for reading if you got this far
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My advice would be to get out, be around people, attend playgroups and parent classes, go to the park and chat to others in a similar situation.
I was also told this little thing, which is cute, and works. When in doubt, add water! Literally put them in a bath, or a paddling pool, go to the beach, sit in the garden with a bucket of water and toy cars etc… it’s amazing how water works!
Get a double buggy, if you don’t have one and go for walks, fresh air does wonders.
Take snacks, all the snacks haha, wherever you go, if you have snacks, you should be fine xx
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Take a breath you don’t have to be perfect for them everyday. You’ll have plenty more times like this and just remember that you do love them and they love you and it’s ok to need time to rest and recouperate. See if sone one can take the older one for an afternoon. Parenting is hard
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Oh sweetheart it sounds like depression to me. I had 5 under 4 and although they did run me ragged I loved it. Speak to a doc take all the help you can get. It’s over so fast. Before you know it it’s school girlfriends and they’re off living their own lives.
Find you time somehow… Mine are currently 9&11&15… The biggest thing is time for me. Not talking about the 20 minutes grocery shop you get without kids. I mean a solid chunk of time just for you. Even if it’s just once a month… I didn’t learn this until two years ago and the difference it’s made to functionality of our home… Massive.
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daycare. even if its just a few hours. or give urself a break. its ok to want a break!
14 months between my two. My daughter is 7, and my son will be 6 in March.
Both would wake me 7x each at night. Run separate ways and have meltdowns at the same time. Of course, they constantly needed me. My boy would not leave me for one second up until he was 3, and now he’s a daddys boy. We get out every day, even if it’s to the local shop around the corner. There are crafts to always do and getting different toys out. We rarely let them have Internet for YouTube. I get so over stimulated a lot, especially with all the noise, needs, and wants, but I do find it gets easier as time comes. I have always made sure that I’m up and ready before everyone, makeup, hair done and dressed, and it makes me feel ready and calm before the chaos! It has all seemed like such a blur, though, and I wish that I had taken more time to sit with them properly. I was just constantly tired and stressed. I look back on videos and pictures and wonder where the time has gone. Try and slow down. Take your time and YOU time especially. It does get easier 
Get outside is my biggest advice. It sounds daunting and can be overwhelming, but start small. If you don’t have a double stroller I highly recommend getting one, even a thrifted one, it doesn’t have to be pretty. Just start with a walk around a few blocks. It’s amazing what fresh air can do for young kids and adults alike. Bundle up or throw on a rain coat and make a point to get outside for 30 minutes, it’s such a good reset button. As a mom of soon to be 4, who had 2 under 2 at one point and is about to have 3 under 4, I get it. It can get so mundane and I struggle big time with over stimulation a lot of days, but making it a point to get outside every day helps, and it’s nice to have some sort of goal for the day.
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It can be hard I had my second while my first was still 1, both didn’t sleep at all, I found just getting up n out house helped, I found lots diff baby groups, mothers and toddlers etc, being around mums who also felt like myself, visited who I could, long walks with the prams, anything that kept me out house as felt I was just going round in circles, my husband worked away so I had kids on my own most the time, I hated staying in I still do even though kids are bigger, it’s so hard and can be lonely hope you feel better soon x
Find people to give you a break.
Make friends with people in your building. Bake cookies & knock on doors handing them out if there are no other ways to meet your neighbors. Find ones who will help you out. Lonely older retirees who love kids might be a good fit, especially if they will watch the kids for a bit while you recharge or take them for an hour or more. Bonus if (once kids are older) they can teach the kids to do origami, knit, collage, decoupage, tie knots, or whatever talents they have.
Find local moms in online/preschool/other groups who can commiserate and do things with you and your kids. Even if the weather is crappy, dress for it and get outside for a few minutes as often as you can. Ten minutes & you shouldn’t need a diaper bag or anything but door keys and two hands to hold the kids. Walk down the sidewalk and play I Spy. Look for animals, different kinds of trees, clouds, colors, stuff in shop windows, buses, kinds of cars or trucks.
Walk/stroller up and down the hallways. Go forwards, backwards, March, jump, twirl. Visit people in the office for adult conversation.
Set up routines with different activities and times for different days of the week so the kids learn to anticipate and stick to a schedule.
Get a mini trampoline with a handlebar and have the toddler exhaust himself jumping. You can use it to jump away your rage too. If baby is crawling, set up an obstacle course on the floor to crawl in, around, under, over & through. Collapsible tunnels for kids can keep them occupied going through it for a while. Little pianos you play with hands or feet aren’t too expensive and will keep them occupied. Order or download music from Milkshake band out of Baltimore, MD. Fun, some activity songs, nice to listen to and not too cutesy or saccharine.
Learn songs—especially action songs like Baby Shark or finger play—and sing them.
Can you get them to a library? They often have great programs, and after ir before you can pick children’s books to read. Also a great place to meet other moms.
Time honored: park them in front of a kid-friendly TV show or movie.
Do you have a partner or housemate? When they get home, you go do something you like or that brings you sanity. Use public transport/Uber/Lyft. If it’s something regular, offer to pay gas for someone in the class/activity to pick you up and bring you home once you get to know the other participants.
Is there a reason you don’t drive? If it’s just preference, put on your big girl pants and learn!
Find craft projects on You Tube & do them. Put on music & dance. Find kid exercise videos and jump around, preferably when your downstairs neighbors are at work or at least not sleeping. Invite your kids to help you with cooking and housework. Have the toddler pour/dump in pre-measured ingredients, stir things gently, set the table, wash and dry and put away non-fragile pots, pans, utensils, dishes. Get a step stool for the sink.
Have them dust whatever furniture they can reach (get one of those onesies with the floor mop on the front for baby), help push the big vacuum or use a mini vac or Dustbuster. Make it easy for them to put toys and clothes away with bins & shelves labeled with pictures.
Bath time should be fun. Extend it as long as they’re entertained. Of course when they nap, you nap.
Start a gratitude journal. Put something positive in it every day, even if you have to think long and hard to find something. Imagine refugees in third world countries and think of all the advantages you have over what they have to live through. Go back and read through all your blessings.
Talk to your doctor about depression and get screened ASAP.
Medication. I had postpartum so bad after my 2nd was born. I literally lost my mind. I agree with the other comments. Try to get a break every once in awhile. And go outside. Bundle them up and go for a walk.
It won’t get any easier if you don’t get a break from your children.
I have twins that were born when my oldest turn 3. It’s very hard. Take it one day at a time and soon they will be playing with each other. There is light at the end of the tunnel
Breathe mama! You got this! Take time for yourself without your children, refresh. Even it’s a couple hours. It’s important to take care of yourself or you’ll go crazy.
Go outside. I had to overcome my reservations about going outside in the cold, but when you bundle up, it’s actually quite nice. AND, the kids don’t care what the weather is like; they just want to run around. Also, get dressed everyday. Staying in your PJs everyday can be SO DEPRESSING.
This one is harder…change your perspective. For example, i used to open the fridge to make breakfast and think, “ugh, it’s the saaame thing everrryday, I just don’t feel.like doing this again.” When I consciously changed these to, “I am so grateful that there is food in the fridge, and I can feed my babies,” I felt so much better.
If you have a partner, ask if they can do bathtime so you can have a break every evening.
And…don’t feel guilty (this was hard for me) for being human and struggling. Being a mom is THE HARDEST job…but it’s so worth it. You’ve got this, Mama!! 
Ask a woman friend (mom, sister, auntie, whatever) to come over for an hour or two so you can have some you time.
Go for a walk or go grab a sandwich for lunch outside the house.
Sometimes when we’re stuck (literally) in a situation and can’t even go outside much we start going a little crazy.
It’s why “cabin fever” is a thing. People get sick and tired of being in the same small space over and over.
Good luck mama. You can do this.
Get double stroller and get out every day for a walk….see if there are Mom/children groups at your local Y or church. Look on Pinterest for crafts,make cookies, enjoy these days……they fly by in a second!
I never wanted my kids to sit and stare at a tv….my choices were……go for a walk,do a craft,bake some,play a game or read a book………anything but sit in front of a tv.
Breathe. Do what you can do (babies and self top priority) and the rest will get done when it gets done. Don’t beat yourself up for not being super woman, feeling overwhelmed, and being exhausted. This will only further drain you.
Remember everything doesn’t have to be perfect. Routine helped us. I would spend part of Sunday preparing food for the week so all I had to do was warm up some panacakes for breakfast or what or had spaghetti in a throwaway pan to throw in the oven. I bathed them together. Fed them together. We would watch a movie around 1 right after lunch. This is the only time they would calm down. I will admit they both slept pretty well so that helped me. If u need to get dishes done try putting them in the high chair and let the color on a piece of paper. Just remember ur doing ur best even if that means u put the kiddos to bed early so u can relax or they skip a bath or u make them a non cooked throw together lunch. (Lunch meat, pretzels and canned fruit/veggies). You got this!!
Call on a friend or family member to come help you get a break.
Some people are against meds but I 100% and glad to take my Zoloft daily. They really help.
Smoke some weed then deal with them… makes it so easier…
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