Today is Babywise Friendly Blog Network Day! I am being featured over on Childwise Chat and am talking about my tips for getting started with Babywise (so all you new mamas…be sure to check it out!). Rachel is blogging over here today and she recently welcomed her third baby into her family. With my third pregnancy well under way I asked her to help me feel a little less freaked out by this whole three kids idea 😉
Third
time’s a… charm or a curse?
By: Rachel Norman at A Mother Far From Home
When I was pregnant with my third child
everyone told me that having three kids was the hardest. I heard numerous
reasons why this was so, the biggest being that they physically outnumber you
and your husband. Other reasons were that three is an odd number so one child
can be left out, and also that schedules can be difficult to create.
I’m here to bring encouragement to anyone
expecting their third baby (that’s you, Emily) or to a mother of two wondering
if three will be too many! The simple fact is: it all boils down to your
personality and your home rhythm. Some
women find one enough, some could keep having babies every year until
menopause. While you might not know exactly how you’ll handle three kids until
you have them, you can consider your own habits and the ages of your children
and get a pretty good idea how you’ll cope.
Some moms think going from no children to 1
was the hardest. I personally think two was more difficult than three. For me,
having a toddler and a baby, then two toddlers, and now a pre-schooler, toddler
and baby, the hard part is not the baby. Babies eat, sleep and are generally
agreeable (unless there are allergy complications etc). Having a pre-schooler
and toddler is difficult enough so adding a baby just means more cuddles. It
was hard with two, it’s hard with three, but it’s not harder. In fact, my daughter will turn 3 in March and I can already
see the signs of a super helper in the making.
Here are some encouraging points to
consider if you are moving into the three child family territory.
1) Schedules can still
happen.
Oh sure, it’ll be more difficult to figure
out a good schedule and, if you’re like me, it’ll change somewhat each month as
you determine what works and what doesn’t. However, having a schedule is a
saving grace. I’ve written a post called Routine
brings sanity. I know people think that with three you’ll need to throw the
schedule out the window, but I beg to differ very loudly! If I didn’t keep a
schedule I’d be tempted to go back to work. Aka, I don’t think I could cope day
in and day out without one. In fact, I know I couldn’t cope. My husband is a
full-time student working part-time in the evenings so, needless to say, I am
with the children almost exclusively and in order for me to maintain my
positive disposition, I need order.
2) Three means playmates.
Mine are still too young to pair off and
leave one out, but at this point having three is very helpful. My youngest just
turned 5 months so when I need to feed him or put him to sleep, the older two
are content to play together. When I had one toddler and a baby the toddler was
not able to entertain herself as well alone. Independent play she could do, but
you can’t put a toddler in independent play each time you need to feed the
baby! Especially not if you have a long feeder. I utilize the fact that they
play together to my advantage and schedule it in for times when I’ll need to be
with the baby.
3) A
sedan will still be big enough.
While three will be a shock to the system,
you’ll still be able to use your family sedan. In fact, our car is a tad
smaller than a family sedan and we still fit three car seats in the back. It’s
snug, but they all go in safely and legally and we don’t intend to upgrade our
car until baby number four (if we are so lucky). When you move up from a family
of 5 to a family of 6 you will have to make quite a few changes, but going from
two to three children you are still within that realm of keeping the car. Also,
if you live in a two-bedroom house (not common, but it does happen,
particularly in cities) and have your two children sharing, you’ll have to
determine if you want to squeeze three in a room or find somewhere new to live.
Here is a great
read on small houses.
4) 3 is a first glimpse into
a large family.
Two children per family is probably average
in the US. If you move into three, you’re going into a “big family” territory.
I think it’s a great way to see how you cope, how the kids cope, if you have
the emotional capacity to meet that many children’s needs as well as your own
and your husbands. If you love it – and I do so love it – then you may even
feel ready to have another child or two. Or
even adopt! I think some mothers with 2 kids think “I want at least 4” but then when they have three, someone goes
trotting off to the doctor to get tied or snipped. I think with three, you’ll
know where you stand.
So, if you are expecting a third and a tad
worried then just relax. Start thinking about a good schedule you can
implement, and that will help ease your mind. If you don’t do schedules then
you should get worried. Okay, I’m kidding. But I do think if you prefer not to
schedule your day, then having three will really be challenging! So whether the
transition to 1, 2 or 3, or even more, was the hardest, I think we’ll all
agree: our heart expands with each new addition to our family!
What number was the hardest for you?
Rachel blogs at A Mother Far from Home
My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.
You can read more about our family on my About Me page. Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!
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For me, number 3 wasn't difficult, surprisingly. Number 4 was the hardest! And that is largely in part to the child herself. The first three were easy pregnancies, easy babies – for the most part. Number four pregnancy made up for the first three being so easy, haha. Same after she was born – only one that had colic, didn't sleep through the night from day one, only one that has teething issues…the list goes on and on 😉
I totally agree that adding #3 isn't as hard is it seems like it would be (I was pretty nervous when I was pg with #3!). Point #2 about playmates is sooo true and helpful!