If you have 3+ kids

[lostlenore]

Jan 15, 2015 10:31:25 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?)

What kind of cars do you drive?

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours?

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3?

We have 3 boys: 7, 5 & 20 mos. 

Our house has 5 bedrooms, so everyone has their own room. But DS1 & DS2 had to share for a few months at our old house. They loved it and did very well. I was actually a little sad to separate them again when we moved. Their beds actually face each other now through the doors of their Jack & Jill bathroom though, so they're not totally apart. 

DH has a pickup truck because of work. I have a minivan. We also still have a jeep wrangler that is completely useless for 3 small kids. We mostly drive it when we don't have kids with us. 

I SAH, DH works 50-60 hours a week. 

Biggest change from 2-3 was switching from man-to-man defense to zone!  Really, though, the hardest thing for me was getting back into the baby mindset when my other boys were already way out of the baby stage. Otherwise, things have been great...the older boys adjusted very easily and our family feels complete now. 

[anna7602]

Jan 15, 2015 10:38:49 GMT -5 h said:

Biggest change? Going back to square one once our older kids were getting to be somewhat manageable and self-sufficient. Giving up free time--I feel like I always have at least one kid with me. People (grandparents, aunts, etc.) are less willing and able to watch three kids for an extended period of time.

Um, this is how I feel about going from one to two.

[rosebud]

You guys aren't helping :/

[luckyno7]

Jan 15, 2015 10:31:25 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?)

6 bedrooms, 4 up and 2 down. Right now they have their own rooms but my 3 & 5 year old like to sleep together. Currently pregnant with #3 due in March.

What kind of cars do you drive?

My husband has a Toyota Tundra and I am getting a Toyota Highlander with a 3rd row.

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours?

We both work, he owns his own company and works lots of hours. I try to stay around 40. My manager offered to let me go part time if I'd like when baby 3 is here.

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3?
Don't know yet, but my kids are getting so independent and both potty trained that I am sure that will be the biggest change. Plus having to remember everything that comes with having a baby, bottles, baby food.

[luckyno7]

Jan 15, 2015 10:38:49 GMT -5 h said:

Cars? I drive a minivan (Odyssey). DH has a Highlander but we rarely take it if we are going out as a family because the minivan is so much easier.

.

My GF keeps trying to convince me that I should get a van for 3 and I am dead set on the highlander. If you didn't have the van would the highlander suffice??

[h]

Jan 15, 2015 13:48:22 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Jan 15, 2015 10:38:49 GMT -5 h said:

Biggest change? Going back to square one once our older kids were getting to be somewhat manageable and self-sufficient. Giving up free time--I feel like I always have at least one kid with me. People (grandparents, aunts, etc.) are less willing and able to watch three kids for an extended period of time.

Um, this is how I feel about going from one to two.

Oh, I felt that way going from one to two, too. It just gets worse .

[mrslisa]

Jan 15, 2015 10:31:25 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?) We have four kids and we have four bedrooms right now.  We just moved to a smaller house but it is on 7 acres and eventually we will build a large house.  The older girls share a room (7 and 5 years old).  My oldest is very quiet and enjoys being on her own so we have promised that when the baby is 3, the baby will move in with the 5 year old.

What kind of cars do you drive? When we had three kids I drove a Cadillac CTS which I loved.  When I got pregnant with #4 we bought a Honda Pilot.  I am not a minivan person so I had to go with an SUV.  DH drives an extended cab truck.

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours? DH owns his own business and works 40-50 hours a week.  I WAH and work around 60 hours per week right now.  I work nights so I am able to spend the days with the kids volunteering at their schools and doing SAHM stuff.  At night I can still see them while I work.

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3? #3 is our most spirited kid.  The volume definitely increased and she can be exhausting. 

[h]

Jan 15, 2015 13:59:28 GMT -5 luckyno7 said:

Jan 15, 2015 10:38:49 GMT -5 h said:

Cars? I drive a minivan (Odyssey). DH has a Highlander but we rarely take it if we are going out as a family because the minivan is so much easier.

.

My GF keeps trying to convince me that I should get a van for 3 and I am dead set on the highlander. If you didn't have the van would the highlander suffice??

Sure, it would suffice. But the van is infinitely more pleasant because the kids can get themselves in and out of their car seats without my help so much easier, the automatic sliding doors are a godsend, and there is more room for extra kids (my oldest carpools with friends quite a bit for sports and activities, so it is not uncommon for us to have another couple kids).

[Marmee]

Jan 15, 2015 14:10:05 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Has anyone put say a 3 month old in with a two-ish year old?

My first 3 are 27 & then 29 mo apart.  All THREE shared a room for a year.  The kids almost always slept through baby wake-ups.  That was 5 years ago...They still often all sleep together in the same room (even bed when they are in DD1s room because she has a double).  I feel kind of bad for DD4 because I feel like she's lonely in a room by herself...lol.

[meltoine]

4 BR + bonus room, 2600 sq ft. The boys share a room, we have a guest room and an office. The bonus room is a play room. Bedroom configurations when #3 arrive will depend on sex of baby.

H drives a GMC Envoy and I am looking to buy a VW Jetta SportWagen.

H works 50-60 hours/week.

I work ~10 hours/week, mostly from home.

[holly116]

Jan 15, 2015 14:10:05 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Has anyone put say a 3 month old in with a two-ish year old?

I did this with my first two. There're 18 months apart and the younger one slept in the RnP/pnp in our room till about 3 months. It was fine, my older DD was never bothered by her brother's nighttime wake ups. It sucked when it came time to try and get the younger one to STTN though. This time around, with my second and third, I waited till the baby was STTN reliably to move them in together.

[AmyRI]

Jan 15, 2015 14:10:05 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Has anyone put say a 3 month old in with a two-ish year old?

Not hiding your TTC plans very well, there, dear.

[AmyRI]

Jan 15, 2015 14:43:47 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Jan 15, 2015 14:29:16 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Not hiding your TTC plans very well, there, dear.

lol.. I still don't know. I kind of want another kid, but I don't really want to be pregnant again or deal with a baby who doesn't sttn. I need more time to forget the bad parts. I think if we do go for it, we'll try for a similar spacing as the first two.

Right there with you. We're having trouble forgetting the bad parts this time around. This is a much harder decision than if/when to TTC #2. Giving up another 2 years of my life to TTC, being pregnant, and breastfeeding is not appealing at all. I wish I loved that stage, but alas I do not... and, TBH, the 3.5yo is kicking our asses right now and it's not helping the situation at all.

But, then we worry that we're being shortsighted and will regret not having the 3rd five years from now. I wish someone could decide for us.

[shamrockshake]

we have 4 kids

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?) 4 bedrooms. DD1 and 3 share a room right now - 8 and 2. eventually 3 and 4 will share, they are 18 months apart.

What kind of cars do you drive? Accord (w/three car seats) and Odyssey

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours? yes. 8-5, me. DH has a somewhat flexible schedule. It's just him, his dad and his brother, so they work around things. supposed to be 8-4.30, but he drops the kids off right before 8 and some days leaves about 4.15 to get them by 4.30, when the older ones have clubs at school

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3? 2 to 3 was the easiest change for us, #3 just slid right in like she was always there.

[Saudade]

Jan 15, 2015 14:43:47 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Jan 15, 2015 14:29:16 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Not hiding your TTC plans very well, there, dear.

lol.. I still don't know. I kind of want another kid, but I don't really want to be pregnant again or deal with a baby who doesn't sttn. I need more time to forget the bad parts. I think if we do go for it, we'll try for a similar spacing as the first two.

This is what we're thinking as well. We've really enjoyed the spacing between DS1 and DS2 (27 months) and if we go for #3, I'd like the same pregnancy as DS2 (Sept to May). This would put DS2 and DC3 at 24 months apart. I imagine it would be fine, but DS2 is only 8 months and idk what his personality will be like. 

[fortmyersbride]

Jan 15, 2015 10:31:25 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?)

What kind of cars do you drive?

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours?

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3?

1. We have 5 bdr and an office. Right now each kid has a bdr and the last bdr is my office.  DH and I are pretty attached to each having an office, so we may put the girls in a room together if we want a guest room back. 

2. I drive an Acura MDX.  All 3 kids are in the middle row (infant seat, radian, high back booster).  The back row generally stays folded down unless we're bringing a friend home from school for a playdate. 
DH has a 4 dr sports car.  We can fit all three across the backseat but 99% of the time we take my car. We also have a 2dr jeep, largely for getting to work in bad weather, it only seats 4 but the older kids like riding in it with DH when they run errands.

3. I work ~35 hrs/wk. But since my work day starts early I'm usually home by 2-3pm and can run errands, do appts with the kids, etc. DH's hours are all over the place but I would say are 60-80/wk plus call. Our jobs aren't very flexible, but we have a very reliable nanny and family in-town.

4. I'm only 9 days in, so I really can't say. This far the main difference is it takes a little longer to load them in the car.

[elocrates]

3 bedrooms. DS1 (almost 7yo) and DS2 (4.5yo) share right now. Sometimes it's awesome. Sometimes having a 4 bedroom house sounds very appealing.

I drive an Odyssey. Love it. Love.it.
We also have a TrailBlazer. It works fine but doesn't have enough space to comfortably take it on road trips.

We both work full time. DH typically works 40 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less. I work 50-55 hours per week usually, some of that time is flexible location and time of day. Seven weeks per year it is 70-80 hours.

Biggest change from 2 to 3 kids was not being able to give each kid the undivided attention of a parent at the same time. It's a little chaotic. But it's a lot of fun.

[usuallylurking]

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?)
3 bedrooms (we rent, but even when we buy I'm not sure we'd find 4+ bedrooms). DS1 (5 in March) and DS2 (2.5) share with bunk beds. DS3 (14 months) may eventually move in with them because the bedrooms are so large.

What kind of cars do you drive? We are a one car family, which is a 2008 Toyota 4Runner. They sit 3 across, with DS1 FF in the middle and both of the little boys RF'ing. DS1 climbs in through the front seats and over the center console. If it's rainy or snowy he will sit in our chairs and remove his boots before climbing back. It isn't the most ideal set up but it works! In our future will be a larger SUV with 3 rows, probably a suburban. We intend to have a 4th

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours?
I SAH, my H works at least 77 hours a week, if not more. 84 is moreso the usual from April through October.

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3?
Eh. Nothing? I just rolled with it and everything has been good. I have come to expect, and accept, a certain level of chaos and noise that comes with 3 boys 4 and under. I guess the toughest part was when DS3 was a newborn so DS2 was only 15 months old. That and H was home for 10 days when he was born, and then left for 4 weeks. But we all survived and I love it! When everyone is content I honestly find myself thinking "what about the baby?" lol like I'm forgetting to take care of someone/something.

[mrslisa]

Jan 15, 2015 14:10:05 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Has anyone put say a 3 month old in with a two-ish year old?

DD1 and DD2 shared from the time DD2 was born.  DD1 almost always slept through the baby crying.  It is strange because I could go in their room and whisper and DD1 would wake up but DD2 could scream and she wouldn't wake up.  It worked out well for us.

[mie]

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?)
3br/2ba - 8, 5, 3yo girls. The older two share a room and the youngest has her own room.

What kind of cars do you drive?
Toyota Camry.

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours?
We both work 40 hours/week, sometimes a little more.

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3?
Less time with each child and it's definitely louder, lol!

[KKD]

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?) Four bedrooms, three kids. My girls are 7 and 4 and share a room. DS is in the nursery. The spare bedroom is a guest bedroom but we call it the cats' room – they like hiding under the bed, and it keeps them from coming into our rooms.

What kind of cars do you drive? I have an Acadia with second row captain's chairs. H has a Tahoe, but we rarely use his car for driving kids and don't keep car seats in it (though we can easily move boosters for the girls if we need to be two places at once).

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours? I'm a SAHM; H works 8-6.

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3? I'll just echo what h said:

Jan 15, 2015 10:38:49 GMT -5 h said:

Biggest change? Going back to square one once our older kids were getting to be somewhat manageable and self-sufficient. Giving up free time--I feel like I always have at least one kid with me. People (grandparents, aunts, etc.) are less willing and able to watch three kids for an extended period of time.

Also, I think we had the hardest adjustment with our first; by the time we had our second and third, we had the whole parenting thing down pretty good. The younger ones just kind of blended in, though I do still struggle with getting everyone ready and out the door in a timely manner. Though, let's face it, I'm always late with or without them.

[shell24]

Jan 15, 2015 10:31:25 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?)

What kind of cars do you drive?

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours?

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3?

We have a 4 bedroom house. No one shares a room. I drive a minivan and my H drives an Accord. If he takes all 3 kids somewhere he drives the van.

I stay at home but am about to start working about 15 hours a week. My H works a ton. He's a fireman, and aside from his full time department, he works part time at another city's department and has his side job.

The biggest change (and challenge) was just being pulled in so many different directions. It's actually worse now than it was when the baby was first born. She's 17 months and demands a lot more of our (my) attention. My older 2 adore her, but I have to make a concerted effort to make sure my oldest gets quality time with me. She's very mature and self sufficient and I fear she's getting lost in the shuffle. I've started carving out 30 minutes at night after the other 2 have gone to sleep where we read together and just chat about school, her friends, etc. I underestimated how much busier we would be.
Wouldn't change it for the world though.

[mswax]

I have 3 boys, ages 6.5, 4.5, and 1.5.

How many bedrooms does your house have? (What ages/genders are your kids if they share a room?) 4 bedroom house.  We use 1 bedroom as an office.  The 2 oldest share a room.

What kind of cars do you drive? I drive a Honda CR-V and DH has a Ford Fusion.

Do you and your spouse both work, and if so, how many hours? I work 4 days/week (8-9 hours/day), DH puts in about 50-55 hours/week, but some of that is at home in the evenings after the kids go to bed.

What was the biggest change going from 2 to 3? I was surprise how hard I found the transition, since for me going from 1-2 was pretty easy.  It also coincided with DS1 starting K, so that totally changed our routines and stuff as well.  Mostly, there were just more kids to feed/bath/give attention to/play with, and they all needed different stuff.  Also, what I never thought about before was how many more sick days I'd need to take with 3 vs. 2.  We are now exposed to more bugs with more kids, and then they all get it and it that much longer for it to go through everyone.

[jena]

5 bedroom house, and yet all 3 kids share 1 room. My MIL has a room (stays here several months a year), my SS has a room but he's at college most of the time, and one bedroom sits empty because none of the younger ones wanted to sleep alone.  7yo DD, 5yo DS, 2yo DD. DD2 moved into the room when she was 19mo. The other two almost never wake up if she wakes up and cries. 


We have a Sienna and a Camry. The Camry can fit 3 across, I didn't want to be without a backup car that would hold us all. But the minivan is great and I often end up with 7 people in the car.  I tried to avoid the minivan - I never wanted one - but it is very practical. Also, when we were car shopping, I knew I'd have 2 kids in RFing carseats at the same time. And that severely limited our choices because I could not see climbing into the third row to buckle the younger kids, but you can't access the third row in many SUVs if you have two carseats in the middle row, especially if they are RFing car seats. (This was 4 years ago, maybe access to the 3rd row has improved?? IDK)


DH works 40 hours, no overtime and no travel. I work 20 hours, 3 days a week. I want to spend more time with the kids, but I don't think our lives would be that much harder if I worked 40 hours as long as DH and I had flexibility as we do now.

I was really worried about going from 2 to 3 but it wasn't that bad with a newborn. Things are harder now with things like taking 2 kids to soccer practice - feeling guilty that I can't be participating at either practice (they ask parents to participate often) because I am busy keeping DD2 from drowning herself in the drainage ditch behind the field or from running into other soccer team's practices. 

[sixtwelve]

We have 7 bedrooms - two used as offices (both dh and I work from home), a room for each kid and a guest room.

We have a large SUV and a wagon. We can fit three across in the wagon (infant seat and two dianos) the SUV is large enough to fit 3 across no problem and has a third row that is usually folded down.

We both work fill time from home. Wfh is wonderful for us. It makes everything so much easier. We have a nanny to care fir the kids while we work.

We are only 8 weeks in with #3 but so far going from 2 -3 had been easier than 1 -2. I think it is because I enjoy the baby phase and the age difference between 2and 3 is 4 years. The age difference between 1 & 2 is 20 months and that was really hard