Are two kids harder than one?

I’ve been counting on the fact that having my second child will be an easier adjustment than when I had my first child three years ago.

At that time, I had just left my career to be a stay-at-home mom, I was adjusting to motherhood and was insanely frustrated by the difficulty of breastfeeding. I had no idea what I was doing and was routinely tempted to burn all those motherhood books featuring smiling mothers sitting in meadows with their delightful newborns. I’d say it took me a about a year to really feel like I was myself again.

So I’ve been assuming this time around would be better because although I’ll have two children, I won’t have to adjust to the major life changes that accompanied my first daughter.

Well, that was until a friend took me aside the other day to say, “I’ve been meaning to warn you about what is about to happen to your life. Having two kids is so much harder than one.” She proceeded to tell me about the chaos that ensues after bringing home a second baby. She explained that she is outnumbered by kids during the day, that getting out of the house with less than an hour prep is nearly impossible, and that two kids was a much harder adjustment than her first.

What? Why am I hearing about this two weeks before my due date?

Sure, it’s double the children, double the car seats to go anywhere and double the amount of human beings relying on me for just about everything, but can it really be more difficult than that first one?

So I’d love to hear your experiences. How did life change after adding a second child to your family? How did it compare to bringing home your first? What about later children – is it harder with each one or does it get easier at some point?