Dividing My Attention Between 3

I totally understand this. I have a 4, 3 and 9 month old. My hubby and I do bedtime together. He is saying goodnight and talking with one while I do the other then we switch. This way they are both getting 10-15 minutes of mommy/ daddy time but we aren't doing 10-15 with each. They we do sometime with the youngest. I notice if hubby isn't home I do less with them as I am more worn out. I also to quite time during the day. I go into my room and rest (read a book, play on here, or watch tv) while they play in there rooms quitely. They use to nap during that time but now they don't so they have to rest and not be crazy. LOL This has helped me a lot..
Good luck,
K.

Can your husband watch the kids for you for a few hours on the weekend so you can have some "me" time? Maybe if you knew that you would always have Saturday morning (or whatever time) set aside to recharge, you would not feel like you are stretched so thin. Either that, or just make sure you plan some "me" time for yourself after they are in bed. My daughter goes to bed at 8 every night as well, and that is when I clean up the house, check my e-mail, play with the dog, watch a movie or favorite show, do bills, or just get caught up so I don't feel so overwhelmed the next day. Also, if they take a nap during the day and you feel tired, take a nap! Or paint your toenails, or read a book. Just give yourself a few minutes to relax. Also, if you feel like you are rushing through baths at night, you could try doing them earlier in the day- maybe after breakfast. That would free up the bedtime routine a bit. Hope this helps!

God bless you, I have 3 myself so I know your pain. Mine are a bit older now so they can do most of their own bedtime stuff brushing teeth ect. We do special time with each of them at different times of the day. Sometime it is taking one to the grocery store, or making a craft with the other. But when they were younger my Husband who is a great story teller and childrens book reader. He would read a bedtime story to all of then together. It was a great tradition and they read a wonderful series that he had read as a child, "The boxcar children". That way we stayed on schedule and they all felt like they had a special treat. As an only child I like to do things that bring all my kids together as well as their special one on one time with me and my husband.
Enjoy them, they grow up so fast. Mine now spend time emailing friends about what they are all going to wear to school the next day! Time flys when your raising kids!
J.

T.
I am a 22 year old mother of 3(soon to be four) also (4, 2 , 8 months) I always alter my childrens nap times a bit so I can have some time with each of them alone. For example when my 4 year old taked his nap I put the4 baby down for a nap. and spend some time with my 2 year old. I even get my house cleaning done at this time. I let her help me. We always do nap time in two shifts. I also let my 4 year old stay up an hour later than the little ones so I can give him some extra attention that he doesnt always get during the day because of the other two.

Hi T. i read your request and i feel like if you know you are giving your boys the indivdual time what about T. if you dont get your time then how are you going to be there for your boys .So we as mothers need a time-out also i speak from exprience i have 9 children and its hard you only have so its somebody always out here thats got it a little bader

I just want to say how much I empathize with your situation. I have three girls, ages 6, 3, and 9 months. My 6 year old is very helpful, but I often feel like I don't give her a chance to just be a little girl. I give her so much responsibility because she's the oldest. Then, my 3 year old gets an angry response when she acts like a baby. She's really saying she needs to be babied right then, but I'm already taking care of a baby. I want my 3 year old to act like a big girl. The night time routine has now become, I read the girls books (they each pick one) while nursing the baby to sleep. Hopefully the baby is asleep by the time I'm done. I then kiss them and turn out the light. They sleep together. I get really angry when they get out of bed because I'm really posessive of the only 'me' time I get the entire day. It helps when my husband takes over and tells them to get back to bed. They know they can play on my emotions, while he can be tough. It's much easier now to get them to bed. Before and during the first part of my pregnancy, I had to lay down with them until they were asleep.

Hi! My name is T. and I have 3 little ones also. My daughters are almost 4 and 2, my son is 3. They also have a 8pm bed time.

I use to feel like you. But then one day I realized that I was barely getting 5 hours sleep at night. I would run around like a chicken with my head cut off during the day. I would let the kids hang on me and answer to their every need.
Then after they went to bed, I would have "my time." I found myself staying up until after midnight trying to get my stuff done.

My kids get up at 5:30am so I would barely get 5 hours sleep. I would be cranky and short all day because I was so darn tired. My husband finally said, "They can entertain themselves. Let them play alone sometimes. If they throw a fit, let them. They will get over it. Get your stuff done during the day. Take a nap when they take a nap. And go to bed before 11pm."

So I followed his advice. It took about a month for my kids to get use to the new routine. But now they are ok. Every now and then they get crazy but thats just kids being kids.

Your kids will not feel neglected. It's tough raising 3 kids. But you need your rest or you'll go crazy!

Take care!
T. from Cincinnati