three, 3 and under.. Please tell me I'll cope.

[mootime]

Had just decided with dh to wait a few months before trying for another as dc are still little and its busy at the moment (DS is nearly 3, dd is 14 months. As such a late period and a positive test is a bit of a surprise!
I'm actually pretty thrilled, but also scared about the time/ money situation!
Stories of how much fun it will be would really help ease the shock!

You are going to be fine.

September will see number one in nursery mornings or afternoons and by the time newbie arrives he will be at prime age for fetching nappies/finding important toys/making peculiar, yet entertaining noises.

November will see number two feeding herself from her high chair tray and near to being potty trained.

In my house at the moment, the 11 year old boy is cooking the pasta, the 9 year old girl is 'entertaining' us on the recorder and the 8 year old boy is training the rabbit to leap over jumps made of jenga blocks.

They are a fantastic team - incredibly loyal to each other.

Book help (maternity nurse or doula or nanny or SOMETHING) for the first 3 or 4 weeks. Buy tumble drier if you live in UK. Wean eldest out of buggy and on to scooter asap - ideally you want scooter/buggy board/buggy OR scooter/double buggy.

Seriously - this is good news and you are going to love it. Stand firm on 4, though...

Thanks thats a really lovely reply that made me cry ( bloody hormones). It sounds like you have a lovely family.

Thankfully no.1 is a buggy refuser and walks or buggy boards everywhere although refuses a scooter which would be very helpful. and no.2 a spoon refuser so feeds herself. Biggest worry is that no.2 is also a bottom shuffler showing no interest in walking, AT ALL!!

I will be having an elcs so will def book lots of help, in the form of mother, nanny etc.

Just back from holiday where we were sharing accommodation with 2 other families - one family with 4 year gaps between their 3, and one family with 18ish months between theirs. Your post had really got me thinking about 'squashed siblings', and I had several discussions with the other mums about the different benefits.

Big gaps: Good for... baby sitting / having one child who can appreciate The West Wing / oldest can put youngest to bed while parents drink wine / less chance of comparison - you've forgotten what the older one could do at any age / doing MBA between!

Small gaps: Good for... No chance of throwing any equipment or clothes away, so massive savings on hand-me-downs / all interested in same games eg Monopoly or Uno / you haven't forgotton how to work the steriliser inbetween children / entertaining each other / keeping all three in sight on long walks or ski runs!

I would say that your best bet is to push for as much independence from your eldest as poss over the next 9 months - dressing and undressing, laying table, putting cups in dishwasher, tidying toys into stacker boxes. I bet you'll find that your second will join in as soon as she's walking!