I don’t know whose brilliant plan it was to have our two children born within two days of one another but for the record? I am not a fan. Two birthdays in April is just stupid. And two birthdays in three days? Freaking batshit crazy.
The irony is of course is I did plan for exactly the opposite thing to happen. We started trying to get pregnant with Piper so she would be born NOT IN APRIL and hopefully not with me being ginaormous in summer. But the universe mocked my plans and gave me the exact same due date. The only reason they weren’t born on the same day is that Piper was not quite as late as Riley. Riley was 13 days overdue and Piper was about 11 days.
Which left me with a party to plan for two children and two actual birthdays during the week I was planning the party. I think next year I’ll just take a break.
There were a few things I did learn though:
1. All of those fine details that I spent time on? They were for me. Not for the girls. The girls got very excited about balloons and cake. The mechanics of everything else and the final touches did not really phase them.
2. Cake pops are genius and I will do them next time.
3. Everything takes longer than you expect.
4. Never plan to make everything on the actual day. Freeze all baked goods in advance.
5. Buy a freezer chest for birthdays and Christmas. You won’t be sorry.
6. Don’t plan on having a third baby in April.
7. Given that planning a birth is impossible just hope really hard and wish on a few stars that you don’t have another April baby.
8. Or do, at this point you are already doing 2 in the one month. This way they’d all be out of the way for the year.
9. Sharing is really hard on birthdays. That’s why parents drink at kids parties.
10. Plan a lazy parent week afterwards. You deserve it and there will be cake pops in the freezer.
My younger 2 are 2 weeks apart in October, with my birthday in between. Which sort of means we’re in birthday mode for most of the month.
Indigo and I have birthdays five days apart, and we’re planning a combined party that I think will last all day and night - relatives in the morning, Indigo’s buddies and our parent-friends at lunch until whenever the kiddies force them to leave, then our friends who are kid-free at night-time. I always have a hard time if I try and please multiple groups of people at once, and end up flustered and bewildered (as I did at our baby shower).
I think I’ve set myself up for waaaaayyyy too much preparation…I reckon I’m going to outsource some of the food this year so I’m not spending my entire birthday cooking!
You know that my current official due date is Amy’s birthday, right? Yes. Yes it is.
Later dating scans show a baby due about a week (ish) earlier than that, but unless this kid is two weeks early (I’m hoping) I’m going to have a similar problem. And god help me if she’s overdue.
three of the five people in our family have their birthdays within about a month of each other — between march 25 and april 30 — and as i baked the last of the celebratory goodies of the high birthday season (as i liked to think of it) i felt nothing short of relief. maybe joy. but mostly relief — and in past years i’ve felt some guilt about that. shouldn’t there be only joy? so, selfishly, this is why i love this post so much: because it feels like i have company in my state of birthday exhaustion.cheers, my friend!
heh… Boo’s birthday is the day after Moo’s and this year is his first high school party and Moo’s 21st.
Methinks we should have planned better.
I’m so so scared for next year! Congrats to you for getting through it
Just found your blog today. My eldest 2 are 8 days apart in August. Luckily my 3rd was born in December. I’m SO glad he’s nowhere near their birthdays! (Just near Christmas the poor bugger!)
Parties can be crazy. I thought a month a part was hard!! x
i’m currently duffed with #2 with an EDD of 4 days after #1. She might be getting a pretty big present this year. They were both IVF so have no one to blame but myself!
I know your pain. May is our month of madness. I have twins born on the 10th of may, a daughter on the 24th of May, and my own birthday on the 31st. That’s just after we’ve been through a son’s birthday on the 23rd April.We also have several other family members born in may that we always celebrate with too.
Our new bub is due 2nd July. I guess that’s a little better