Tell me about 3 close in age

maribel922

A few months ago, I was thinking maybe I was good with two babies.  DH and I have always thought we'd have three.  Now God has started to plant that seed in my head that is making me forget the early difficulty and think that maybe I might be ready to begin thinking about (not acting on! a third.  DH is 10 years older than me and I'm mid-30s, so if we have a 3rd, we'd like to have them close together...  Right now, older son just turned 3 and little is almost one. 

I had a tough time with transitioning to two.  Our house got way crazier and overall I felt more homebound, until recently.  But, it's crazy already and honestly, I feel like DH and I have gotten more close and our marriage stronger, so why not have a third?

Moms of three, especially with three close together, how was going from two to three for you?  I wonder about things like how it would be to run to HEB, to take a walk, to get kids in and out of the car, to go anywhere, if you have a 3, 1 and baby or similar.  I don't want to be homebound!  I like to be busy!  TIA

erincutts

Well, since I think were a rare breed then I had better comment!

We have 3 under 4...actually we just came out of that as my oldest just tuned 4. So we have 3/07, 2/09 and 11/10. It's crazy but I really love it. The transition to 3 has made us much more relaxed. DH and I get irritated with each other but it's truly not that often. I think with the birth of our third, we just came to the conclusion that not everybody can be held all the time, not everybody can be happy all the time and not everybody can have your attention all the time. When we realized those 3 things, life became much easier. 

I had a horrible pregnancy and my youngest was a horrible baby so that was the hardest part. Because my son doesn't nap in a carseat or anything of the sort, it is a bit difficult to get out of the house with his nap schedule but I think that happens no matter how many kiddos you have.  We have just adapted our lifestyle. We have a ton of friends over to our house and that helps keep my older 2 entertained.

For me, it's the noise level and the sleep deprivation that are the hardest. My 5 month old just started sleeping through the night and I was running really low on steam. And, the noise. Honestly, nobody can prepare you for the change in noise level. Somebody is ALWAYS talking, screaming, crying. Sometimes, I drive to the grocery store and sit out in my car for 20 minutes before going inside just so that I can have peace and quiet. With that said, I don't typically take them all three to the grocery store, I have done it but 'quick' trips aren't really that 'quick' when you have 3. For walks, I have a double BOB and then I wear my son in an ergo. My oldest is at the bike riding age now so he will start bike riding while the younger two are in the stroller.

My husband and I are 10 years apart, too. That's why we had ours close together. I never thought I would be a mom of 3 but I wouldn't change it. We are even considering a fourth. Don't get me wrong, it's no walk in the park but it's manageable and I just live each day while trying to keep my head above water.  

And, with 3, you have to get a minivan...I avoided it for SO long and thought I could do without but life with 3 under 4 + a minivan is so much easier! 

molliedb

Excuse typos- posting from my phone on the treadmill Gosh where do I start? . My kids were born 7/07, 4/09, 12/10. Four under 4 for two more months. It's a joy but it is hard. I would not change this as our family but day to day I have a tough time. I do take all 3 to the store and honestly it's fine! It's times like bedtime that I tend to get most overwhelmed. Part of my stress comes from working part time- without that I might have more room To breathe but it is just a fact of our life . I could list a million reasons I am glad the girls are close in age. I think the positives are unending and seeing their relationships build is the biggest joy of my life right now. My siblings and I were close in age and we always loved it. Always On a practical level, we went to the bookstore this morning and we are at the gym now so clearly we get out plenty BUT days when we stay home do tend to be lower stress. Ditto the suggestion of a minivan Feel free to ask specifics!

maribel922

Thanks, ladies.  You give me hope!  You never know what might happen, but if I did wind up with another little person around here, I'm glad to know that you are not checked into the Betty, etc.!

lrb

I don't have time to devote to a long post... haha!  I have 4, 2 and 8mths.  There is no such thing as a 'quick trip' anywhere.  I don't do a lot of the things I would do regularly because it's just not worth it to load up and attempt the trip which may or may not end in success.  In fact, I've loaded everyone up before, pulled up to the store and decided that the situation would most likely not go well so I've just turned the car around!  But, my kids are becoming good friends.  They play together, depend on one another and look to the other for help/support... I wouldn't trade that for the world.  Like pp said, feel free to ask specific questions.  

 

jakbtx

mine were 3 under 4 for about 2 months, now they are 5, 3.5, 1.5, all boys.

it's definitely been hard and crazy. but I think we were already used to the crazy element w/2 close together. I think the hardest thing has been my #3 has been about the worst sleeper ever, Ferber-resistant in fact, and that has been a huge challenge. My world definitely got easier when #3 went down to one nap, I did feel like the day was one continuous nap of someone, and I was always trying to be quiet in the house. Now it is much easier to get out. Although, grocery shopping is now off the table with all 3, it's become very hard (annoying) in their current phases . And ditto lrb...I have totally turned around when I could feel it wasn't going to go well. On a positive note,  I think adding our third has really changed our sibling dynamic for the better. I know we'll forget about the challenges of the early years and it's going to get way more fun!!

maribel922

With two close in age, I've discovered I have to have be light-hearted to survive!  DH and I are way less serious than with DS#1 and I think that helps. 

Do you guys have your older kids in MDO or preschool?