havingthreekids.com « Back to Group Discussions

[mamacatsbaby]

Found this site while poking around on some thread or another the other day. Funny! I'm looking forward to the chaos while simultaneously preparing to when necessary .

[bearandotter]

Love that site. It played into our decision to TTC #3. We read her stories, realized we were up for the utter chaos, and had the IUD pulled..... Guess I'll find out in 8 months if we really are crazy!

Her 3 are quite spread out. Mine will be 3 U 4 (for a few months). Wonder how that will change things.....

I just had a trying day with my 2. Had to go to the dreaded Walmart to pick up random things not locally available in other stores. Between the kids insisting on walking (finally convinced the 20 month old onto my back for the 2nd half) and the constant pull in various directions, I was seriously exhausted by the end of our trip. I had to seriously zen-out with mommy-selected music in the car (and a video on in the back) for the 30 min drive home to avoid losing composure. I cannot imagine doing the same with 3.

That being said, I have always thought having 1 and being pregnant was far harder than having 2. So HOPEFULLY 2 + preg is harder than 3.

Love to make this thread a support and chat one for those of us waiting on #3 (or more) . :) Thanks for starting it mamacatsbaby.

[SweetMama34]

I'm on #3 and so, so excited to have a houseful of kids! My oldest is 9, youngest is 7....so I'm anticipating the best. My boys are amazingly good kids - so helpful, kind, calm and respectful. If I survived two under two, I can certainly do this!

How old are your current children going to be when your little ones arrive? My son will actually be ten shortly after.

[mLeroux]

Ladies, I remember the days with three kids fondly. It is fun compared to 4 +

When the next one is born you always wonder in amazement how much time you did have before this baby was born.

[allisonrose]

mLeroux's comment reminded me of something my aunt said to me shortly after I had ds2. It was something like "going from two to three wasn't a big deal since I already had zero free time at that point." My aunt has three (grown) kids. At the time I was thinking geez I just had #2, I don't know if I want another!

[dayiscoming2006]

I have found that having 3 is no big deal. :) Just my opinion. Just another little one to take care of. I don't think having 4 will be that big of a deal either. Sure, more responsibility, but once you've had 2 it's kinda like, OK then.

[jr'smom]

We are expecting our 5th.  The smallest gap is 18 months (first 2) and the largest gap is 30 months (2nd and 3rd.) So when this baby is born my other kids will be 8, 6 , 4, and 2. My husband thinks the even years are the easier years, and the odd years are more challenging.  So at least all of our kids are in an easy stage or a challenging stage all at the same time.  I definately agree that 1, 3, and 5 are challenging. 0, 2, and 4 seem easier.  I wonder if/how long this pattern continues.  Anyone else notice this?

[mamacatsbaby]

Hmm, with DS1 three and six were/are . With DS2 two has been more challenging than it was with DS1. The two of them together is lol. It's sweet, fun, and crazy. When I first told DH, as happy as he was he just kept saying "We're going to be a family of five!" I've always wanted 5 or 6 kids personally but things change. It will be so funny to be thought of as a "big family". I always thought 5+ was big lol.

[BabySmurf]

Lol, I am having anxiety attacks about adding a second child to the mix.....I'm glad that I can ask you guys for advice on this .  My DS just got jealous of me holding the baby doll he got for his birthday yesterday.  So that's what I am worried about now...never mind the logistics of caring for two...which i am sure is much easier than worrying about 3+ - at least i have two hands

[crazyeight]

Ahhahahahaha. I had such a weird #3. I had 2 kids, was pg, going to school and doing SO MUCH STUFF. then after he was born 10 days later he was in the hospital with strep A! then 4 weeks after that we moved (bigger place needed badly) and then my 2 stepsons arrived pretty much the same time! I had a 6 wk old and then gained 2 olders. I felt like i got triplets in some weird way. After that time in my life, well kids are a piece of cake compared to life...seriously. (not that i'm great, just that they will keep chugging and playing no matter what). So now even though i feel like death and am on #4 (with just 1 stepson now) I'm still at 5ish kids! :D

[bearandotter]

When 3 is born I will have a 2 year old and a 3 year old (will turn 4 in Sept). My first two are 16months apart - which made for a crazy first year with two. I am a full time student (PhD), but have a lot of flexibility in my scheduling and will take 9 months completely off when #3 is born. 

DD1 is calm, quiet, and kind, but is a poor sleeper. We call her Sweetie Sweet (not to her face).

DD2 is a spunky, cheerful, firecracker, but slept amazing from day 2. We call her Spicy Spice (again, not in front of her). 

Hoping #3 will not be sour or bitter... ;)

.... going to be a fun couple of years. Thank goodness for babywearing!!!!

[mamacatsbaby]

BabySmurf: I found the transition from 1 to 2 a lot easier than 0 to 1. There's a 4 year age difference b/w my boys though so that might have something to do with it? DS1 loved helping with things and playing with DS2 and such (once he got over the sleepy stage ). Now, when DS2 started getting into DS1's stuff and proving himself more animated than DS1 was prepared to deal with, that's when the honeymoon was over for DS1 .

bearandotter: Those are such cute, fun nicknames! I'm curious, why don't you call your girls these names in front of them?

[SweetMama34]

Originally Posted by bearandotter 

When 3 is born I will have a 2 year old and a 3 year old (will turn 4 in Sept). My first two are 16months apart - which made for a crazy first year with two. I am a full time student (PhD), but have a lot of flexibility in my scheduling and will take 9 months completely off when #3 is born. 

DD1 is calm, quiet, and kind, but is a poor sleeper. We call her Sweetie Sweet (not to her face).

DD2 is a spunky, cheerful, firecracker, but slept amazing from day 2. We call her Spicy Spice (again, not in front of her). 

Hoping #3 will not be sour or bitter... ;)

.... going to be a fun couple of years. Thank goodness for babywearing!!!!

My first was a TERRIBLE sleeper (still is, at 9 years old!), but was THE easiest child ever. Never gave us any problems at all.

My second slept through the night from day one, but is FULL of it. ;) He's so much fun, but keeps us on our toes!

[bearandotter]

Originally Posted by mamacatsbaby 
.
bearandotter: Those are such cute, fun nicknames! I'm curious, why don't you call your girls these names in front of them?

Good question. I don't want to ever pigeon hole my kids. I want them to freely develop their personalities. I worry that giving them 'labeling' nicknames will in some way influence how they self-identify or encourage them to act in ways congruent with how their parent's see them. I try my hardest to call my girls by their names, or call them as they ask to be called (DD1 wanted to be called bear for a long time, which in part led to my screenname here).

Sounds like you will have lots of help from your boys!

SweetMama34: so we have similar stories in terms of personalities/sleep patterns. I'm guessing we are both hoping for #3 to be easy & a great sleeper (one can dream :) ).

allisonrose: I love your aunt's comment. Sigh... wish I had taken more advantage of all the time I *used* to have before kids.

All you on #4+: thanks for posting. We can look up to you.

BabySmurf: Per what I said earlier. I found preg + 1 to be WAY harder than having 2. I'm sure it will be awesome. My 2 play together and it melts my heart to see them interact, love each other, and even work out their issues together.

[mamacatsbaby]

Originally Posted by bearandotter 

Good question. I don't want to ever pigeon hole my kids. I want them to freely develop their personalities. I worry that giving them 'labeling' nicknames will in some way influence how they self-identify or encourage them to act in ways congruent with how their parent's see them. I try my hardest to call my girls by their names, or call them as they ask to be called (DD1 wanted to be called bear for a long time, which in part led to my screenname here).

Sounds like you will have lots of help from your boys!

Ahhhh, I see! I've never thought of nicknames from that POV but I get where you're coming from. Yes! The boys will love it, taking on this grand adventure of another little being in the house . OMG, it's going to be so funny when baby really wakes up to watch the fun of this insanity that is our house . DS2 I'm hoping won't have any huge issues sharing the milks (he's very possessive over his milk! ). He doesn't seem to be showing any signs whatsoever of weaning. DS1 weaned (with a little push from mama as it was time for us) a couple of weeks after he turned 3. DS2 turns 3 in February and I'm not getting the icky feelings yet so we'll see what happens! If I can handle it I think tandem nursing would be such a sweet way for him to bond with the baby .

I read something the other day you guys (maybe in someone's signature?) that said something along the lines of the days with small children being long but the years so short. I swear, I almost lost it in a fit of tears right there .