Surviving the Holidays With a Toddler and an Infant
(Or as I like to call it: “May Your Coffee Be Hot or Ice Cold and Your Children Be Calm… Amen.”)
Before kids, the holidays felt magical in a soft, cozy, everything-smells-like-cinnamon kind of way.
Now? They feel magical in a “how did my toddler get three cookies, no pants, and why is my baby nursing AGAIN?” kind of way.
I love this season — truly.
The lights.
The warmth.
The food.
The celebration of Christ’s birth.
But motherhood has a way of adding its own… “special effects.”
Like:
sugar highs
overstimulation
absolute refusal to nap
toddler meltdowns that could register on the Richter scale
and trying to nurse a baby in a house full of noise that rivals a marching band
If you’ve ever tried surviving the holidays with a toddler and an infant, you know:
it’s beautiful, it’s chaotic, and it requires a level of patience only Jesus Himself fully mastered.
Let’s start at the beginning with the holiday that sets the tone for everything that follows.
🦃 Thanksgiving: The Official Kickoff to Chaos
Thanksgiving is supposed to be calm and cozy the warm-up lap before December.
But with small kids?
It’s basically the 400m sprint of overstimulation.
My toddler typically eats:
a crumb
a bite of turkey
and five desserts
…because apparently sugar is now its own food group.
And with every bite of pie, he transforms into Tornado Toddler —
running, spinning, laughing, yelling, and melting down in 30-second intervals.
Meanwhile, I’m trying to nurse the baby in the ONE quiet-ish corner of the house…
which somehow becomes the new hallway everyone needs to walk through.
All while praying:
“Lord, please don’t let my toddler choke, spill, fall, escape outside, or find something breakable.”
But even in the chaos, I try to notice the small blessings —
a shared laugh, a family hug, a moment of calm amid the storm.
A reminder that motherhood is holy work, even when it looks like a circus.
And as exhausting as it is, I remind myself:
God gave me these kids because He knew I could handle them —
even on days when I’m not fully convinced.
🎄 Christmas: Beautiful, Holy… and Absolutely Exhausting
Christmas is my favorite.
But celebrating the birth of Jesus with small children is a delicate balance of:
holy moments
sugar crashes
overstimulated toddlers
nursing marathons
and trying to hold a baby while chasing a toddler who is suddenly allergic to pants
We walk into church on Christmas Eve feeling grateful and hopeful —
and within minutes, I’m whisper-hissing:
“Please sit.”
“Please don’t yell.”
“Please stop trying to use the hymnals as building blocks.”
I’m moved by the meaning of the night —
and also trying to prevent my toddler from reenacting Noah’s Ark with the manger animals.
Then come the gifts.
We spend weeks teaching them to say “thank you,”
but the moment they unwrap something that isn’t dinosaurs or monster trucks…
the lip quivers.
The meltdown begins.
And suddenly I’m trying to convince my toddler that socks are the most exciting gift ever created.
Meanwhile the baby needs to nurse again.
My husband is restraining Pants-Less Toddler.
And I’m attempting to slip into a quiet room…
which magically fills with people the second I sit down.
Why are moms literal magnets at family gatherings?
✨ The Faith That Holds It All Together
In the sugar, the noise, the exhaustion —
I find myself whispering the same prayer over and over:
“God, help me. Give me patience. Give me grace. Remind me this is holy.”
And He does.
Every time.
Motherhood doesn’t pause for the holidays.
If anything, it intensifies.
But so does God’s presence.
He’s in the laughter.
He’s in the meltdown-recovery hugs.
He’s in the quiet moment nursing your baby behind a closed door.
He’s in the reminder that:
these wild days won’t last forever
someday Christmas morning will be calm
someday Thanksgiving will be peaceful
someday you won’t be chasing a pant-less toddler yelling
“PLEASE COME BACK, YOU HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU!”
(until grandkids arrive, of course)
For now?
This is sacred chaos.
❤️ Final Thoughts
The holidays with little ones are:
chaotic
loud
overstimulating
beautiful
exhausting
and absolutely full of grace
Here’s to the moms doing their best to keep everyone fed, grateful, alive, and wearing pants (well… mostly).
Here’s to celebrating the birth of Jesus while navigating toddler meltdowns and newborn feeding schedules.
Here’s to finding joy in the mess, laughter in the chaos, and faith in the middle of it all.
And here’s to remembering:
You’re doing better than you think.
God sees you.
And there is grace for every holiday meltdown — even the ones involving no naps and way too much pie.
Stay caffeinated — K.
