A Dad Got Emotional When Talking About The Difficult Transition To Two Kids

Having a second child can be a major change for a first-born kid. Suddenly, there’s a whole other little person in the house, and not only are they new and loud and occasionally smelly, but they sure seem to take up a lot of Mom and Dad’s attention.

It can be hard on parents, too, seeing their oldest struggle with something that should bring so much joy to everyone in the family. One dad shared how he was attempting to navigate the new dynamic himself, in a vulnerable moment shared on Instagram Reels.

“I'm not really sure how people go about handling the transition from one to two kids,” said Eric, who goes by @kidds_dad on Instagram, as he held back tears. “I feel like it's, like, really hard, in so many different ways.”

Eric explained that he could tell his older son, Kidd, was having a hard time dealing with his new sibling, and wanted to spend more time alone with his parents.

“This morning, I was like, ‘Hey, let's go on a walk and we'll bring the baby with us. Super fun, we can just do a little brother walk, right? And he's like, ‘No, please, just be us. You're my best friend. Please. Just hang out with me, please,’” Eric said.

Ok! Now I’m tearing up, too!

Eric added that he had spent the past few nights sleeping in Kidd’s room, because he would wake up crying and would ask to snuggle.

“Obviously, I'm trying so hard to take care of him and make sure he's feeling accepted and okay, but every time we leave our little baby, I die a little bit inside me. It’s just so hard for me is to miss out on those little moments,” Eric explained.

“If you have any tips, I would love to hear,” he added.

The commenters rallied around Eric, offering advice.

“My 3 year old loves when he can teach or be a helper for things so we tried to give him some roles in helping us out. Ex: When I would change our newborns diaper, he would be the one to grab it for me… little things like that. It made him feel like he was on a team with us,” another dad shared.

“From man to man this is such a beautiful problem. Just keep telling Kidd that he is your best friend but now you guys are adding a new best friend,” another added.

“We started taking the oldest out on ‘dates!’” one mom added. “Whether to the grocery store, get a treat, walk to the mailbox. ‘Hey, let’s have a date!’ Registers as ‘This is special time with mom or dad!’”

While not everyone had a helpful tip to offer, plenty of commenters commended Eric for his vulnerability, and assured him things would get easier with time.

“Give yourself grace…. You feel like you will never have a routine or leave the house in under an hour again. But slowly, slowly, it comes together,” one user said.

“I don’t have any tips or tricks, but I can offer assurance that sooner than later, you’re gonna be grinning from ear to ear watching them bond and play together and develop such a special relationship,” another said. “This season you are in right now is so incredibly tough but it is just that, a season and it will get so much better.”