Thinking of #3 - Laramie,WY

I did have three children under the age of five. I also had four children under the age of five-and-a-half. (Now I have four children in their thirties!) I thought the jump from one to two was harder than from two to three. The only thing I really had to do when #3 arrived was to get myself more organized and give myself more time to do things. Obviously it takes more time by the clock to get three children dressed, to get them in and out of cars, etc., etc. So recognize that your life will be changed in that way, and plan for it.

I wish I had known more about home organization then; it would have helped all of us. I learned later, but it would have helped when my children were tiny.

Think now about how you will get the rest you need. That's crucial to your health and your family's happiness. Is it time to think about getting some help around the house? Even a couple of hours a week put in by a high school kid who's a good cleaner would be helpful. You need to use that time to rest yourself and enjoy your children.

And there are plenty of cars that fit more than four people. We went from sedans to a station wagon - remember those? - to a minivan. We have stuck with a minivan since then so we can carry both dogs and grandchildren (sometimes at the same time). Some people laugh at minivans but they're practical! Our cars may not be "cool," but our kids are the greatest!

Oh, and it's not exactly true about three kids possibly being too much for two parents. After all, God gave each parent TWO hands! So when you're both around, it'll be easy. When it's just you, you hold your three-year-old's hand and your five-year-old holds your three-year-old's other hand, and the baby's in the stroller. It can all be worked out!

I'm glad you and your husband are on the same page with your decision. You will have eachothers support throughout the journey. I now have 5 children, but I remember very well when we had #3. The third child did change a lot of things. It was harder to go places alone, 1 parents with three kids is a lot more challenging so we ended up either leaving the kids home with one parent or taking both parents and all 3 kids. It took longer to pack up the car, silly stuff like that. But I'm so glad we did have #3, then we decided to go for #4 &#5 which wasn't as big a change as #3. You will have fun! Congratulations on your decision.

We still fit comfortably into our Ford Taurus sedan. We only went with the minivan as my primary vehicle because we do alot of traveling. We still use the car for day to day activities. I really don't know what to tell you about having #3 since our #2 & 3 came at the same time, and it was pretty much like we had a needy single child for awhile. Our older one was 4 when the twins came along. She was a tremendous help for us and still is. The only real issue we've had is that when we travel, most places only accept parties of 4. If you want to go above 4, you pay a bigger price, but you get used to it.

3 kids under 5 should be easy. I had 3 kids 2 and under. Doesnt help that my first two are twins lol. I come from a family of 5 my parents and then us 3 girls. Its hard and it really does change a lot. I think the older your first one is the easier it is tho. I hates running out of hands but found a way around it like most mothers do. Once the baby is old enough you carry that one on your hip and hold the hands of the older two. With me often though I would end up carrying the older two and pushing the stroller. My older two are autistic and at two years old it was hit or miss on them walking and I could trust them to go where I wanted them to. Anyhow not having a thrid hand was the hardest thing for me. Other than that I have never came across anything else that has made having three kids hard.

We are due with our third in March, but I have fit three carseats in my Ford Focus when I've had someone else with me. As it is, if we have another adult, I can squeeze in between the two carseats back there. My boys are almost 4 years old and just 2 years old, but we have a few other friends with 3 under 5 years old, and they seem to be doing great. :) My oldest is interested in everything pregnancy related and I am hoping to see if they will let us bring him for the ultrasound in October so he can see that. My husband does want to get a bigger vehicle for himself because we do most of our travelling in his car now and he is home days with the kids and works evenings, so for the few times I have them in my car I won't mind squeezing them. So, no concrete advice yet, but he might have more car options than he expects.

my boys were a month away from turning 5 and 3 when their sister was born. the 3 carseats in the back seat is difficult at times, but doable. it was tiresome to lift the infant carrier over the booster seat to get the baby in and out of the car, so we were glad when that stage was over. also our younger son could not keep himself out of the baby's face, which got frustrating in the car at times. but these stages were relatively short and we survived them. in the house, we had to do a lot of furniture changing to make space for #3. in some ways i couldn't be as considerate of my daughter's preferences like i was able to with her brothers. for instance when the boys were babies, we didn't usually need the car during the day so my husband had it the whole time. but when my daughter was born my oldest was in school. we have one car and sometimes i have to do a lot of chauffeuring to get my husband to work or school so that i can have the car to get my son to and from school (or now there are more doctor appointments with a 5th family member). so there were many times that i had to wake my daughter up or cut the breastfeeding session short to get in the car because it was time to get someone else going somewhere. so if you are in a one car situation, i suggest you make a plan now about how you will handle those situations. oh also my oldest had to get used to never being in the double stroller anymore. that was tough for him at first. he was really too heavy for the stroller but if we went on a long walk or shopping in the mall or something and he started to get tired, before baby #3 i would let him sit in the stroller to rest a little. after his sister was born it was not even possible because his distracted little brother had to be buckled in anywhere public and of course so did the baby. so that was a bummer to my oldest, but he got used to it.

my sis has 4 kids under the age of 6! she manages somehow, the older ones really help her out a lot, but it's true, they did end up getting a mini-van :)

also, the older one will be starting school, so that helps a little.

My oldest turned 4 about 5 weeks after #3 was born. It was busy, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. But that could have been because the timing of my 3rd was unplanned and the whole 9 months I literally thought my world was coming to an end!!! I thought it was going to send me over the edge. With that kind of expectation, I was pleasantly surprised when I retained my sanity (most of the time). I think that however many kids you have is a challenge. When you have one, one is hard, when you have two, two is hard, etc. My joke with my husband is that we need to borrow someone else's kid for 6 months & then give them back. After 4 kids for awhile, going back to 3 will be a piece of cake.

There are some slight disadvantages to the 5 member family vs. the 4 member family. Most of that revolves around rides at amusement parks. Other than that, I haven't really noticed a problem. And for now with car/booster seats, sedans don't work - but as the kids get older, we'll still all fit in a large sedan. The family dyanamics definitely change - to what degree totally depends on the sex & personality of your child. My kids are now 6,4 & almost 3 and when they spend too much time together at home, it can be pretty chaotic - lots of fights & disagreements (not all the time - but enought to make me crazy sometimes) and because the 3 & 4 are boys - lots of physical wrestling & getting crazy. I agree with the other posters - it forces you to be more organized. If you can do that and give yourself extra time to get places & to get things done, it will reduce the stress of it all a lot.

I was scared to have 3 kids as close together as we did & it really was hard for a few years. But now that my youngest is turning 3 and my oldest is in 1st grade, it is much more doable. I am happy they are so close in age. Despite the fights, they really are becoming very good friends and they enjoy going to do things together. Family trips are becoming fun & they all enjoy doing the same things. I think we're heading into a great time of life - until we hit those dreaded teen years :o) (Kidding....sort of....)

Good luck with it all. It's challenging, but doable and I haven't felt very limited or inconvenienced by being a family of 5 in a world built for 4 :o)

I had my third child 5 days before my oldest turned 4. :) We now have 6. I giggled at your email because one of my husband's hangups about having more than 2 was which car was he going to have to drive! Someone said to him incredulously, "You mean, you will decide on the size of your family based on a CAR?" LOL He dreaded the inevitable mini-van. Funny thing: we now have a 15 passenger van!! LOL Who's laughing now? We love it though and wouldn't have it any other way. By the way, my husband has totally changed his perspective on this. We wouldn't have had more if he hadn't. He fully embraces his large family. We are actually praying for more! But, so far it hasn't happened. Blessings to you.

My 3rd baby turned out to the twins so when they were born I had a 5 1/2 yr old, a 3 1/2 yr old and newborn twins. Hard? Yes. Busy? Yes. Always something going on. Looking back would I have done anything different as far as spacing out my kids. No way!

My oldest daughter has 3 little ones who are ages 7, almost 6, and 4. She knew it would be hectic because she knew how it was growing up however she decided to space them close.