After our second son was born, my very happy husband told me he was great with stopping at 2 kiddos. Two boys to run around and play together and be best buds! I agreed with him for awhile, but then when the first birthdays had passed and all the baby clothes were packed away, I felt the “feeling”. You moms know what I’m talking about… That little voice in the back of your head that says “you know you want one more”! 😉

In no time at all (seriously… it happened super fast), I was expecting baby number 3. Unfortunately, this also coincided with some pretty drastic life changes. My husband was medically retired from the military, we found out we would be moving across the country, and we had no idea what the next year would look like for our family. As if that wasn’t enough, Covid hit in the US weeks before my due date. The cherry on top of an already emotionally-stressful pregnancy!

Transitioning to 3 kiddos was hard for a lot of situational reasons. I think it would have been easier if we had been in a more stable season of life. But with all the life changes, lockdowns, and subsequent lack of family assistance, adjusting to life with 3 little boys was challenging. We were outnumbered and had 2 toddlers running around who didn’t understand why a crying baby suddenly took over their house. Oh, and they couldn’t leave to play with their friends or spend a day with the grandparents. Definitely a tough time!

Tricks We Learned

After the first 3 months, we reached stable ground. The worst of the sleepless nights were over, and the older boys started showing interest in playing with the baby.

A few things really helped us smooth out the transition to 3 kids: keeping the older boys involved, splitting up tasks, and using hands-free baby items!

 

Keeping the older kids involved

We bought a doll for the boys several weeks before my due date. We talked about being gentle and showed them the right way to hold the baby. It got them excited, even though they didn’t really understand. Watching their excitement when we brought Victor home from the hospital was the cutest thing! They were thrilled to rock his bassinet, brought me diapers and wipes, and absolutely loved having any job that helped “their baby”.

Splitting up tasks

I’ll go ahead and admit that I’m a control freak when it comes to running my house! Letting go of some things became very necessary with 3 kids. My husband started cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, loading the dishwasher, and putting dishes away. Trust me, it took effort to let him do it his way! :p  He also insisted on hiring a maid twice a month. I put up a fight, ya’ll. I did not want a stranger in my house, getting paid to do something I could do on my own! But it turns out I really couldn’t do it. There was no way I could keep up with the house cleaning, cook all our meals, chase 2 high-energy boys, and take care of a colicky newborn. My husband hired our neighbor’s cleaning lady, and we fell in love with her. I am completely spoiled now! I highly recommend squeezing out room in your budget for a cleaning service at least once or twice a month. No regrets here!

Hands-free baby items

When our second son was born, I bought a Solly wrap. I only used it once or twice and assumed I just wasn’t the type of mom who enjoyed baby wearing. Turns out, I just hadn’t been busy enough to need it! 😀  3 kids changed that dynamic, for sure. I used the heck out my Solly wrap until the baby exceeded the weight limit. I transitioned to the Ergo once he was too heavy for the wrap.

Another baby item I had on-hand (but mostly unused) was our pack n play. We only used it for traveling until baby 3 came along. When he started rolling, scooting, and crawling, the Pack n play became my saving grace! I set it up in our family room, and it’s still there. It’s nice to have a safe, secure place to put him while I’m making dinner or running laundry up and down the stairs.

The final item that we use more than anything else is our 3-child stroller. We got our Baby Jogger as a baby gift when our oldest was born, anticipating having at least 1 more child. It is without question our most-used baby item. We bought the glider board for our oldest to stand on, snapped the infant seat onto the frame, and buckled our 2-year-old into the front seat. Voila! A travel system that easily adapted to carrying all 3 kids. Since the baby was born in March, we spent a lot of his first months going on walks and enjoying the spring and summer weather. We have hauled the stroller through airports and packed it into rental cars. I’m pretty sure it deserves mileage points with United Airlines and Enterprise! I’m planning on using it as long as I can before our oldest decides he’s too cool for a stroller.

 

If you are thinking about adding a 3rd child to your family, know that you will absolutely love it. The chaos is real, but so is the extra love. Plan ahead, be prepared for the challenges, and you’ll be just fine.

 

xo

Barbi