Three kids under 4?

Dh and I still want a third, but I would love to hear about the reality of 3 little ones under 4.

Theoretically, DD would be 4 and ds 2 with the 3rd..

Re: Three kids under 4?

My sister did it. She had 3 of her kids born 14 months apart from one another. So it was pretty chaotic but she had a nanny who helped (shes a FTWM). They are now 7, almost 6 and almost 5 so its a bit easier now than when they were babies.

ETA oh and their schedules are crazy because the kids are involved in different activities so it seems like she is always taking some kids one place and her DH takes one to another so my parents often are there to watch whatever kids are not in the activity.

Message edited 6/23/2017 11:19:32 AM.

Re: Three kids under 4?

I did it. It's actually easier when they are younger. Now it's hard when they have overlapping activities. They are now 5, 6 (almost 7) and 9. Overall it's fine though!

Three kids under 4?

My sister had 3 close in age....4,2,newborn so a bit older than your question as they were not all under 4.

She survived, but I know she always felt like her kids were not getting enough individual attention. Her husband works quite a bit (he's an attorney) so she was often fending for herself though.

They're now 7,5, and 3!

Message edited 6/23/2017 12:04:34 PM.

Re: Three kids under 4?

My sister currently has a 3 year old, 2 year old, and 4.5 month old. She said 2 to 3 has been the biggest transition. Mostly because her 2 year old is a little crazy and her newborn always wants to be held. She still wants a 4th so I guess it isn't so bad.

Three kids under 4?

Honestly if you want it you will find a way to do it. I have friends that have 3 under 2.5 and I have another friend from college that had 4 under 2 (2 sets of twins).

You just make it work.

Three kids under 4?

I had 3 under 4. My DS was almost 3 1/2 and my DD was 2 and 2 months when my 3rd was born. It was crazy but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I love having them close in age.My first 2 are only 14months apart and I felt that was harder than when I had #3. My older 2 play together all the time (and fight too). Now they are almost 5, almost 4 and 18 months. It's a lot of work getting out of the house and going anywhere can be challenging but I've managed!

Re: Three kids under 4?

I have 3 kids under 4 right now. My oldest is 3y10m, middle child is 2y1m, and baby is almost 3m.

It's great, I love it. So far it's been really manageable. My older boys love the baby so much, it's adorable, and they're actually really helpful (or try to be lol), give him hugs & kisses, ask to hold him, and understanding when I have to feed him or whatever & they have to wait for something... I'm pleasantly surprised with how well they've done with getting a new sibling at their ages.

I enjoy the chaos & I'm not a perfectionist, so that probably helps a lot. Other things that help: during the week my oldest is in daycare for several hours every day, my 2 year old takes a 3-4 hour nap every afternoon, and the baby sleeps long stretches at night (usually only wakes up once to BF) so the sleep deprivation isn't as brutal as it could be. But coffee helps for sure lol, Also I'm still on maternity leave... I'm dreading going to back to working FT, which will make things significantly more difficult I'm sure... And another thing that helps is my DH is VERY hands on & takes care of lots of things that need to get done with the kids & house.
I generally never take all 3 anywhere by myself. If I had to do that I'd probably lose my mind or lose a kid by accident. DH always comes with me if we're going somewhere with all 3.

I love how close they are in age & how much they all love each other. I'm actually hoping to have another next year which would bring us to 4 kids age 5 & under... and another one or two after that if we can within the following few years. I think having lots of kids close in age would be super fun for them growing up, and for us as a family! Loving it! My oldest said to me out of the blue a few weeks ago "Mama, maybe next time we can have a sister?" I just had to laugh!

Re: Three kids under 4?

My oldest just turned 5 when I had my 3rd.
Three littles have good and bad points.
Yes, the kids are close and play together... but it takes a lot of effort to give individual attention especially with babies.
It is very hard to coordinate activities now that they are older... they have to "share" interests

Re: Three kids under 4?

My kids had just turned 5 and 3 when my 3rd was born. It's a lot of work. Someone always needs your help and or attention and it can be draining at times coordinating activities for 3 kids, but I love how much they all love each other and play together. It's not easy but My dh helps a lot and is very involved with everything from activities to helping with breakfast, dinner, baths, laundry, you name it.

Message edited 6/24/2017 8:10:05 PM.

Re: Three kids under 4?

I had 3 kids 5 and under, and I am about to have my 4th. My last 3 children will be 4 years and under. The part that was hectic was my youngest two were 2 under 2. That was tough. My kids are always together, always playing with each other. I take them all over the place by myself. I would honestly have another after this one if my Dh was up for it, which I don't think he will be

Re: Three kids under 4?

My kids are all 26 months apart so we had a 4 year old, 2 year old and newborn. It was a good space for our crew. The bigger two were great with the baby. Now that they are bigger (6,8,10) its still a great spacing.

Re: Three kids under 4?

DD was 3yrs 8mos and DS1 was 20 mos when I had DS2, who is now 10 weeks. Not going to sugarcoat, it's really hard. I'm still on maternity leave and the days feel endless with the three of them, although camp is starting soon! The baby is obv still young but DS1 is also at a hard, needy age so balancing the two of them is esp difficult.

It hasn't been much of a shock to go from two to three. At this point, we're used to lack of sleep and difficult nights. Giving attention to all three is hard and I get overwhelmed when the baby is crying and my two yo wants attention or is throwing a tantrum. I very rarely go anywhere by myself with the three of them, just occasional quick errands and to my parents who live close by. We do a lot of divide and conquering and split them up.

I think two big things to consider, that are also on my mind, is activities as the kids get older as previous posters have mentioned and childcare. DH and I don't get out much (not by choice) and now it's that much harder with three. Bc really it's a lot to ask family or friends to watch three kids even for just a quick date night and it gets super pricey to get sitters, daycare, nanny, school, camp, etc.