routine tips for 3under4

[steph1512]

hi i have 2 gorgoeus dds aged 3.5yr and 2yr and have just had my third dc a ds now 3wk.

My partner is soon returning to work so wonder if anyone cna give me tips on coping alone hehe

Part of the day im most worried about is pretty much from dinner time throught to bath and bed etc

Any advost tips would be greatly appreciated

thanks

Bumping for you.

You will survive. I had 3 under 3 for 3 months!! Not too sure if I am still sane, but they are now 18, 17, (nearly) 16, then have 14 & 12!! Far harder work as teenagers!!!

When mine were little I had a very strict bedtime of 6.30. I so desperately needed my evenings for my sanity!

I've got ages 4, 2 & 4 months & bf helps me out as I carry dd around & bf on demand. Would say have everything to hand at bathtime & bedtime. Try to keep ahead of them being tired & if they start whining just take a deep breath - calm!

Think I have a similar age gap with mine, though they are now a couple of years older (where did the time go?! ).
My golden rule, which I still do during the hols, is to have 'bean bag time' in the afternoon. We have one of those massive ones that me and the dcs can all fit onto. We get the duvet and cushions down too, lock the door and put on a dvd and just settle down! If anyone falls asleep, more than likely me I have to say , everyone is safe and if they dont, they will at least have had a wee rest. When ds2 was born, both myself and ds1 were very ill, so it was a good excuse to do not very much.

Failing that, I lock myself in the downsatirs toilet for 5 minutes, take a mag with me and chill!

I have exactly the same gaps, 3 DDs - youngest now 12 months. DH works long hours and I'm mostly basically acting as a single mum. The things that have saved me this year have been:
Slow cooker - I cannot recommend this highly enough, you can prep dinner at lunchtime, have kids' dinner ready for them at 5ish then keep warm for you and DH later. This has been a real boon for me.
Baby sling - for evenings. A friend used a sling that she was able to BF in but I never tried this.
Getting out and about to playgroups, parks, etc regularly.
Some rationed TV for older ones
Try for the older 2 to have a lunchtime sleep at same time.
Not expecting much routine with baby at all - she still does not have one at 12 months although I was rigid about DD1's routine.
The (odd) glass of wine.
Enjoy you will survive.
In1981 - I love the beanbag idea - think I'll try it myself

Thanks everyone iv always had a fairly strict routine for my dds in terms of meal and bedtimes. They are both in bed between 630-7 as i am the same NEED my me time in evening.

Am also bf which is so much easier and i love it..also gives me some me time with ds.

And so far has been bf while reading bedtime story with a dd either side.

Just seems dinner time and bathtime etc is the time when ds doesnt seem to want to be put down so me and dh have been taking turns to hold him inbetween sorting girls out.

have a moby wrap which im hoping will help when dh back to wk...even preped dinner with ds in it couple of days ago

I have also ended up giving ds a dummy yesterday he isnt sure but aloud me enough time to put him down to dry n dress gilrs after bath. All a bit of a juggle hehe

Feeling bit guilty as my eldest has been off pre school for 3wk, back monday..so our telly has had cbeebies on nearly the whole time they are in hping to knock that on the head next wk.

Im thinking that ds will prob not have the routine i had with girls n will prob just have to fit in with everone else??

dispite allof this i am loving being a mummy of three..n not sure whats wrong with me must be hormonal as im struggling to accpet that this time will prob have to be the last time n gonig so quick already!! althou like you said positive attitude..i havent reached teenage yrs yet!!

excuse typing ds wriggling on my knee

Mine are older now, but only a year between each one.
DH would leave a sandwich in fridge for my lunch. Slow cooker is great idea too.
All baby changing stuff downstairs so that DC weren't left alone.
Stair gate across the kitchen, so I could cook with an audience peering safely through the bars!
I could do most things with the baby in a carrier/sling, but also had different places to put her down safely.
Bathtime, the eldest would help bath the baby, then jump in whilst baby was being dried. Get all the towels, nappies, pyjamas lined up ready to use.
Bedtime story for all snuggled up in my bed then everyone into their own, with a story CD if necessary.
Large glass of wine.
Oh, and dummies and CBeebies are just a phase - no lasting damage from either here

itmustbewineoclock-i cant begin to tell you how much of a sanity saver it has been/still is! i very much look forward to it in fact!!

Steph - so glad you are loving it - cherish every moment. I'm stopping at 3 too and very happy about it .
Please don't feel guilty about the TV thing - thinking about it mine watched rather a lot in the first 6 months. What the heck - they survived and don't seem to have suffered any ill effects. Agree with Chippy - it's just a phase.
Also - pull up nappies for bedtime - so that older 2 can put on their own (yes, DD1 -4.11 - is still using one at night).

mine are now almost 4yrs, 2yrs and 10 months and all the ideas sound great, I second the slow cooker, some nights I'll try and cook the night before like cottage pie that can be just reheated in oven. We also had a lot of fish and chips although I made myself feel better by serving it up with fresh veg.
I sometimes manage to get ds's to sit at table and colour whilst I cook or put cbeebies on.
Sandwiches and finger food for lunch - becomes a bit more tricky once lo is weaning.
Sling is also a brilliant idea.
I have a routine for morning too I get older 2 to put their pj's in a basket in bathroom and add their night nappies to it on way down stairs then I know once they are all in bathroom we have everything and I don't have to leave anyone unattended.
Beds made and morning beakers taken downstairs.
We also have the giant beanbag!

When ds3 was very small I used to bath him first every night, dry, dress and dummy and put him in his bouncy chair on hall and he'd be so exhausted from bath he'd sleep whilst I settled the other two, then I'd take him downstairs and feed him when he woke.
Also had strict bedtime, sometimes leaving ds's with torch and books to look at whilst I settled ds3

If I think of anything else I'll post again!

Is your dp away much? when my dh was back in evenings I'd sometimes give ds's a 'supper' ie fruit, (shop bought) pancake, tuna pitta or similar at about 4pm and then a late dinner once dh was back to help - would depend what kind of day we'd had!

Well ive def made us of the slow cooker this week..and pesto jars with pasta

Cant manage to cook meals in evening at this early stage..but have to say you r well motivated to do so. I am lazy when it comes to evening and girls in bed sofa n choc calls on me!

My dh isnt away much but works shifts of either 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm or nights which are 10pm-6am. so he is around at dinner/bedtime quite alot enless on lates so do get a helping hand.

He also works one sunday a month 12pm-10pm which fell today. So ive got through my first day alone yay!

luckily seemd to go fairly well..dh took girls out before he wemt to wk so i tool the chance to make lunch and dinner so all i had to do was put it on the tableso no prepong with dds around.

And managed to get them to bed for645pm with help from my sling and minus a bath but i was still pleased.

3more bedtimes alone to go until my dh has another wk and a half off..not that im counting or anything

I wouldn't worry about the lack of baths at this stage - I had an epiphany when I realised that they didn't need one every night - in fact in the first 6 months they only had one twice or three times a week. They survived!
Also - just to go one step further - I do a menu plan once a month ( with 3 slow cooker meals a week, and 2 'easy' meals - ready made pie, pasta, etc) and do all the groc and meat shopping for the month ( freezing the meat ) and then have fruit and veg delivered weekly and milk/bread delivered twice weekly. So, only one groc shop a month. That's mainly cos my DH is not around to help very much and works 1 weekend in 3 where he is away for most of the weekend. If your DH is around a bit then that may not be necessary for you.