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dcarwin t1_jdwvy9k wrote

It's hard to mentally track location of kids when you add that third one. One of the three will now be wandering away unobserved. So do another round of baby proofing in the house.

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tonydanzascaulk t1_jdxuodm wrote

I assume, based on your wording, that the two you already have are twins? I am in a similar situation. Twins first, and the third is younger. Mine are closer in age than yours; my twins are now 6 and the younger is 4. My experience was that the third was way more work than I was prepared for. Everyone always said oh, twins, that must be so much work, you must be exhausted, etc. The reality was the twins were ok to manage because that’s all we knew at the time. When our life got insane was when we added the third at a different developmental stage.

I don’t know that I have any great LPTs for you, except be forgiving of yourself, your partner, and your older two. Things will be hard and you will all do, say, and think things that you don’t mean. It’s ok. The laundry/cleaning/etc will get done, eventually. You will all be tired. You will cry. You will question your sanity and your ability to handle this. It’s ok. Lean on whatever support system you have in place and absolutely do not feel bad about asking for help! Show all your kids that you genuinely love them and care about them and everything else will take care of itself. Best of luck!

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keepthetips t1_jdwnwno wrote

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Bryan_Mills2020 t1_jdzyq4m wrote

Yes, very dangerous time as now you and the mother are outnumbered.

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agreatpuzzle t1_je43yei wrote

My husband started to count the family whenever we get in the car. It is an excellent habit! With three, somebody is likely to be the quiet one, so it is easy for two to make so much noise you don't realize one ran back in the house to get something.

Read a childhood development textbook. It will be kind of disheartening because you will look ahead at all the stressful things that are coming. But, when those things happen, it helps a lot to know that all kids go through these stages. Some of the hardest stages are "textbook," and knowing ahead of time that it is normal and won't last forever really helps.

Sibling dynamics change A LOT with three. The youngest is likely to be resented at times and seen as a favorite. And that is totally normal. Don't try to stop it. Be prepared to talk with your kids about how it can be hard to have a younger sibling, but there are also good things. Help them face the reality of jealousy in a healthy way.

Try to schedule a date with your spouse at least once a month. At least while kids are small, you have to hire the babysitter and PLAN the time away. If she does most childcare, he should plan the dates. Whoever does the most childcare is more likely to emotionally struggle with leaving kids behind, but they need that time away the most as well.

Remind your kids, when they are getting older, that if they take care of each other they could be the most important friendships of their life. It is up to them if they want to be good friends forever, and it takes work to take care of each other even from a young age. I started talking about this stuff at about 5 years old. It seems crazy at the time, but little kids are thinking about "when I grow up" all the time, and knowing they can have friendships with their siblings later helps them regulate emotion in difficulty sometimes.

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DrugOfGods t1_jdx9155 wrote

Enlist the help of the two older kids (within their capacity). For me, I had a 5 and 3 year old when my 3rd was born. The 5 year old was especially helpful with simple things that become much harder when you're outnumbered.

Not supervising the baby obviously, but basic tasks like fetching something from another room or keeping the middle kid entertained while you're occupied with the baby.

I may have gotten lucky, but hopefully your older 2 will be similarly helpful.

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