I was looking back on my worries about having 2 kids in our small space and thought answering my own questions might be valuable. Things change quickly with babies and what seems completely overwhelming at one phase is a distant memory at the next. I can't believe this post below was from a year ago (original post here)!  

Here's an excerpt:

At 24 weeks pregnant and counting with our second child, running after a busy 2.5 year old and working full-time I am having moments of panic over the arrival of Baby #2.  I hope that by sharing my fears here it can help if you are having similar fears.  My current fears in no particular order are:

- neither child will be able to sleep and constantly wake each other up
- we will be overrun by toys of every stage of development
- where will we put all the clothes?!
- exersaucer!! (ugh)
- laundry and dishes taking over
- how to get a toddler and a baby out the door to accomplish anything in a day
- will no friends ever visit again or invite us anywhere with 2 kids in tow?

Here are my current answers to these questions.  Nine months in, with a crawling baby and busy 3.5 year old:

- neither child will be able to sleep and constantly wake each other up
Well, yes and no.  This is a serious challenge in a small space. Staggered bed times seem to help.  Theo is a pretty amazing sleeper and sleeps through almost anything including Mae's cries. Though we do tend to respond to Mae's cries quickly because we fear they will wake Theo in the night.  Nap times are also tricky because Theo can play loudly and yell at times which can disturb her sleep.  She has learned to nap on the go in the stroller or carrier so I often do one good nap at home and 1 or 2 on the go. It's not easy but I feel like slowly we are finding our way.

- we will be overrun by toys of every stage of development
We do have a lot of toys for different stages of development but at the moment, Mae mostly just wants to play with Theo's toys.  We have just what fits in our two toy bins and ikea shelf.  Clean up is constant but quick.  Definitely not a big concern at the moment.  I hope that as Mae grows and becomes more mobile our small space will encourage quick sharing and compromise (hahaha! sometimes I write things and even I don't believe it, but here's hoping!)

- where will we put all the clothes?! 
Surprisingly all the clothes are fitting in their tiny closet. Mostly this is due to efforts to edit their closets.  I'll share more on this later but it's a combination of focusing on less clothes of better quality and saying no to hand me downs and gifts.  

- exersaucer!! (ugh)
Yep the exersaucer was annoying but necessary. We borrowed one for Mae's 5 months to 9 months.  It's gone now, good riddance. I know some people are able to go without an exersaucer but I find them invaluable for a short period of time when babies can't move but need entertainment. 

 - laundry and dishes taking over?
Yes, we do a load of laundry every day or two.  We have nowhere to put the laundry to fold it except on the couch.  So we have to fold it and put it away quickly. I like to think editing everyone's clothes will help a bit but babies and toddlers are messy so I don't think laundry frequency will change anytime soon.

- how to get a toddler and a baby out the door to accomplish anything in a day?
To be honest, getting a baby out the door is the easy part.  It's the 3 year old that makes it so tough.  We do get out though, even if it takes 45 minutes to get dressed. We get out for classes and parks and walks, often multiple times a day. It's rarely easy and always worth it.  I do now see the benefit of a backyard to get some energy out with limited adult supervision. 

- will no friends ever visit again or invite us anywhere with 2 kids in tow?
Life with 2 is crazy and we certainly don't get out as much as we used to, even as much as we did with 1 kid in tow. But we still have wonderful friends who love our kids and accommodate our earlier dinners and dine and dash schedules.  We also try and get away separately to see friends.

A stranger in a coffee shop who saw me in the early months looking tired and frazzled told me that "it gets better".  When I asked her "when?", she said, "soon but you have to lower your expectations".  At the time I was disappointed with her answer but I understand better now. I've had to accept that life is different and I can't accomplish what I used to do.  Slowing down and being as present as possible, while letting go of my former schedules, is what lowering expectations has meant to me. If I can slow down then two kids in a space, big or small, can be wonderful.