Moms of 3 come in :)

luvmygirls22

Hi ladies! I don't usually post here but felt this may be a good board to ask for insight. Was wondering if you had the same concerns and how you "solved" them. DH and I will be trying for number 3 in January (well we are pretty sure) but we have some concerns. One being that we are afraid that our 2 girls we have now will be affected negatively. We know that everyone will adjust to a new routine and such, but a new baby brings more stress and we are also concerned we may not be able to give all the kids the attention they need-the one on one. It seems like we struggle sometimes now for one on one time with them. Our hope would be to bring our already close family even closer.

 

Also, our oldest daughter will be in kindergarten while my youngest will still be in preschool when baby comes. Was trying to figure out how you made it work with a newborn that is establishing a routine (feeding primarily) and our two others who have a routine right now. (Traveling in the car to take kiddos to school with newborn in the car for an hour+.)

Any thoughts or insights very much appreciated. Thanks ladies. 

eaglesfan700

I just had my 3rd in August.  My oldest is in kindergarten and #2 is in pre-k.  We never were concerned about attention, I think because I came from a big family (I am the youngest of 7) so it's just what I know.  I definitely try to do things with #2 on the days she doesn't have school and I get one-on-one time with #1 on the weekends (as does H).  So far, it is working out great.  They are really happy with school and activities and they just love their little sister to pieces

I have definitely noticed it is harder for the baby to fall into a routine in terms of nap.  Her feeding has become predictable, but it is tough with school pickup/dropoff.  Especially because she wants to take a big afternoon nap at around 1, but I have to pick up DS at 2 every day.  Sometimes she naps in her carseat and sometimes I can transfer her.  If she doesn't get adequate sleep it definitely affects her, so I try to make sure I get her down as soon as we come home.  Luckily the school is literally 5 minutes away and next year both will be at the public school and will take the bus, which will eliminate a lot of the problem.

Right now, the baby is happiest when she gets a 2 hour morning nap and 3 hour afternoon nap.  The next couple weeks will be okay because they are off from school.  We'll see how it goes the rest of the school year

It is also tough because DS is a little wound up after school and the house is just louder.  Especially if he has a friend over and they are playing in his room, next to where DD is sleeping.  But really, both my older ones have been great with the adjustment, no jealousy at all

Good luck!

penguingrrl

My girls were 5.5 (in K) and 3.5 (in preschool) when DS was born. They adore their brother and we make a point of spending time 1 on 1 when we can. We both came from families with 3 kids, so attention was never a concern since neither of us felt deprived (and my parents divorced when I was 12 and my father was gone from then on, so my mom found a way to have a career and raise three kids alone and give us enough attention).

My son has absolutely no nap routine whatsoever. He sleeps when and where he can, sleeps well at night and is fine. He nursed every 3 hours round the clock for months and sometimes he just had to wait until we got where we were going or got home. Luckily he's the most flexible of my kids and can thrive despite the lack of infant-based routine. 

Our family is definitely complete with three, but the three of them adore each other and I can't imagine life without him. 

luvmygirls22

Aww thank you ladies Love hearing about your families