one last "large family" WM question

potbellypig

If you have 3+ kids, how do you make time for you? I have two kids (2.5 and 9 month) and I work 8-4 M-F I find I have enough time for me, but I'm wondering how I would fit in the two things I like to do for myself (play the piano and run) with 3 or 4 kids.

2chatter

My DH travels, so I don't get any time during the week because someone has to be here with the kids. That isn't a scalability issue. I think if you can run now, you can run with three. Same for piano. I have started getting a sitter every other week so I can do things - unfortunately, me time has looked like PTA Board meetings and parent conferences this month, but next week I am getting a sitter and going to dinner with a friend. Three was harder when the youngest was a baby; I felt like it was a little much to ask anyone to do dinner and bed with them all. Sports season I get no weekend me time; when two are not playing at the same time I do the occasional weekend pedicure or shopping trip.

itsmevkb

Right now I have four and am pregnant with my fifth. All the kids are in bed no later than 8 so I find that I have my own time after that.  Then, there are times on the weekends when my husband will take all the kids to the park or somewhere and I'll get an hour or two at home.  If I were a runner, I think I would be able to get up in the mornings and do that some days and have my husband handle getting all the kids up.  There are also some weeknight where I'll go out with friends and my husband handles all the kid stuff.

I've found that for us, the key to having a larger family is that both my husband and I handle the childcare.  If it were just me, I'd feel very overwhelmed.

alli2672

You can still do the things that you love if they are important to you. 

 I do think that having a large family is sort of like being a surgeon.  Unless spending time on kid-related stuff or doing surgery (respectively) is what you want to do with your free time, then that lifestyle probably isn't for you. 

 

MammaBear81

itsmevkb said:

Right now I have four and am pregnant with my fifth. All the kids are in bed no later than 8 so I find that I have my own time after that.  Then, there are times on the weekends when my husband will take all the kids to the park or somewhere and I'll get an hour or two at home.  If I were a runner, I think I would be able to get up in the mornings and do that some days and have my husband handle getting all the kids up.  There are also some weeknight where I'll go out with friends and my husband handles all the kid stuff.

I've found that for us, the key to having a larger family is that both my husband and I handle the childcare.  If it were just me, I'd feel very overwhelmed.

all of this