Having 2 kids in a 1 bedroom apartment is by no means easy. There are two benefits that I've been able to convince myself of, however. One... we don't have the space to have a lot of toys, so we haven't allowed ourselves to go overboard with that stuff. I never wanted the boys to have tons of toys, so I'm happy about that aspect of it. (Oh what I would do for a separate play area, though!!!). Second... I don't have to worry about what Eli is doing in another room because he's always here in the same room as me! :)
The biggest challenge in living in a 1 bedroom apartment is, obviously, the sleeping part of it all. It was difficult to coordinate with one child...but two is pretty tough. Here is the current routine. 8pm is bedtime for both boys, so the 4 of us head to the bedroom around 7:40 or so for stories. I feed Liam and the 4 of us read stories together. At 8pm, it's lights out for both guys. We lay them both down, turn on their night night music (which lasts 15 min or so) and leave. Eli is very used to this and only very occasionally protests (usually only if he really wants to keep playing). Liam, on the other hand, is not a fan, and usually cries (sometimes bloody murder, sometimes only half-hearted) for about 10-15 minutes. Miraculously, this doesn't seem to bother Eli too much and he never complains about it. I always hold my breath when Eli starts calling out to us long after Liam has been quiet, fearful that Liam will wake up, but that also doesn't seem to happen. Thank goodness. Liam generally sleeps until about 11 or so and then gets up to eat again. This, I will have to cut soon, but I've been happy to feed him since he is so underweight. I feed Liam in the room and then lay him back down in his crib (er...pack-n-play)... and he generally goes right back to sleep. Depending on the night, he'll either sleep through til 3 or 4 or 5. At that point, I get up and take him out to the living room, so I can turn on the light and change him. I can't really change him in the room at this point, cause he's screaaaaaming. I feed him and put him back to sleep in the pack-n-play in the living room and then sleep on the couch next to him. (Thankfully we have a VERY comfy couch). I tried putting him back in the room at this point and could very well do that...he'd still go back to sleep there... but he tends to wake up at 6:30 or 7 and while Eli is a very heavy sleeper at night, he becomes a very light sleeper from 6am on. I'd rather us sleep out in the living room if it means Eli will sleep til 7:30 every morning. This sleeping arrangement does make things very complicated in the morning, however. Mike has to get ready for work in the bathroom and when he makes himself breakfast, it always wakes me up (and sometimes Liam). If Eli wakes up before Liam, he generally wakes Liam up the moment he gets out in the living room. Sigh.
Naptime is a different beast altogether. Liam's first nap is horrible (I'm lucky if I get 30 minutes out of him), no doubt because Eli does not know how to be quiet. For the second nap, I always try to time it so they go down together. It usually ends up that Liam goes down about an hour after Eli does. I can't even think about putting them down in the same room because Liam ALWAYS take shorter naps than Eli and I don't want to risk him waking Eli up. So Liam naps out here in the living room. That means I can't eat crunchy chips, talk on the phone, watch TV. Sigh. One day.
Part TWO: Traveling.
Traveling around, running errands, presents a whole new set of difficulties. I'll use a few examples. One... going to the doctor's for either kid. There are two subway lines by me, but only one of them has an elevator (and it's about 1/2 mile away...not my usual stop). this wasn't a problem when I had just Eli, even when I was pregnant, cause I was able to carry him and his stroller up any set of stairs in the city. Yes, it was very tough, but I knew I could do it. that went out the window with Liam. It is impossible for me to lift my monstrous double stroller and couldn't do it if my life depended on it. So that means I have two options for when i need to get somewhere in the city. I can take the boys in the double stroller and get off at the TWO elevator stations available to us... 59th street or 34th street. The doctor's office is located on 84th street. The doctor's office cannot accommodate a double stroller. I'd have to leave it at the front of the office, which would mean I'd have to take Eli OUT of the stroller, which means I'd never ever get him out of the waiting room filled with toys. So that leaves us with option two.... Carry Liam in the front carrier and take Eli in the umbrella stroller. Still virtually impossible to use any kind of stairs, but it has been done twice... I carried Eli in the umbrella up a flight while squishing Liam. The benefit is, I am much more likely to get someone to help me lift the umbrella stroller than the double stroller. So I could actually go to the correct subway stop... but then I'm pretty much at the mercy of strangers to help me. So I'm still pretty much confined to the elevator stations...but now I have to walk a mile and a half carrying an infant and pushing a not so ergonomically friendly umbrella stroller. If I need to get anywhere in the city other than 59th street or 34th street, this whole scenerio plays out. Not to mention I wouldn't touch the subways during rush hour with a double stroller.
The post office:
My horrible post office has a set of double doors and then three steps (behind another set of doors) to enter. try doing that with a double stroller and packages. Once you make it in, try getting to the window when you're in a teeny tiny line that doesn't make room for a stroller. Do I take Liam in the carrier and Eli in the umbrella? Easier to maneuver, but then how do I carry the packages?
The Grocery Store:
One huge benefit to having a stroller at the grocery store is that I can use my mommy hooks to carry the bags for me on the way home. Milk/OJ/potatoes...bring it! I can carry whatever I want! Woohoo! The downfall? I can't push the double stroller with one hand...so I have to limit my purchases to what I can fit in a basket attached to the back of the stroller. At one of the grocery stores, where they know me (and where Eli is a celebrity), I can also put things underneath the stroller because they know I'm going to pay for them. At other stores, (FaMILY DOLLAR), when I try to do this, they come on the loudspeaker and tell me I'm being watched and will be persecuted for shoplifting. Lovely. Try negotiating tiny NY aisles when they are unloading food/boxes or when someone else approaches in a cart. Not fun. Try fitting the stroller through the teeny checkout aisle. Difficult. I Do recognize that it's a beautiful thing not to have to load up both boys in the car and take them to the store...but maaan sometimes that would be nice.
Parking: Sigh. If you live in a house where you can just pull your car up in front of your house when you get home, don't ever, ever take that for granted. Any time I want to move my car, it involves very careful planning. Alternate side parking (the side has to be clear on either mon/thurs from 8-9:30, 9-10:30 or 11-12:30 or tues/fri at those same times) is a mom's worst enemy. If I'm parked in a Tuesday 8am spot, for example... I'll try to leave the house at 8 and then go to Target (cause it's impossible to find a spot til 9:30) and time it so I'm back at 9:15. If I'm in a 9am spot, I'll get to the car at 8:55, drive around for a while (cause Eli doesnt' like to sit still) and then pull up in front of our apt at 9:15.... and have to wait til 9:30 listening to "I want to get ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuut"x1000. Today, I am driving up to visit Rachna when Eli wakes up.... I'm not parked too far away, so in theory I could carry the car seat and hold Eli's hand... but who knows how far away we will park when we get home. Alas, I must take the double stroller.
Laundry: Forget about it. If you have a washer/dryer and can do laundry whenever you want... or leave your clothes in the machine as long as you want...never, ever take it for granted.
Sorry to complain. There are a lot of perks to living in the city. I'm a block away from CVS, multiple restaurants, etc. There are 4 grocery stores within a half mile of my house, two of which are open 24 hours. I can get anything I want shipped to my house, including groceries. (I just might have to deal with the post office scenerio if i'm not here to get it!). Even though we live in a 1 br apartment, I have a pretty big open area, bigger than some of my friends who have houses. I live near 4 fun playgrounds and three beautiful parks. Even though it's a huge pain, I am close to many museums and I live only 2.5 miles from the Bronx Zoo. I'm very lucky.
But man, I'll be SO happy to have a house.
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