those of you who say that going from 2 to 3 was easier than 1 to 2 - how come? am I missing some great secret or trick?

[kitkat9]

....because I'm finding it SO much harder than the leap from 1 to 2 dcs. I am on my knees with exhaustion.

It feels like there's always a child needing attended to RIGHT NOW! and there's no chance of any respite....as dh commented the other day - you just don't get a chance to sit down any more...

I'm bfing and cosleeping with dc3 (he's 5 weeks) but it's really dd that's giving me the most trouble - she's 2 next week. I'm thinking this a dreadful age gap. Ds1 is 5 next week and he's easier to deal with, obviously, but he does a great job winding his sister up, making her yell, which wakes ds2...it's non-stop...

so what's the secret? how can anyone possibly find this easier??

(btw have ben up since 3.30am...am v tired and slighty manic...)

Hi Kitkat9,
I have three children 6,4 and nearly two. And it is exhausting at first and a bit crazy. It used to and kinda still does take me ages to do evrythin and then id have to start again as my youngest would want another feed. But it gets easier as your youngest gets older honest and u r soo more confident than u were with two.
But my sympathies to u at the moment as it is exhausting and all u hear all day is mum mum and at least one of them r making demands so hang in there.

think its easy now that ds is 4.5mths but we only turned the corner at 3mths.

I'm with you always someone who needs you, need to maintain the older ones routines. I think dds had many a very late night in october.

I've also found that I'm not out meeting up with friends who had babies the same time as ds because my day is governed by school and nursery runs and a bad bus service.

riven - totally relate to the bfing/shouting scenario!

ds2 is still too young (i think) to be on any kind of routine so i just have to go with the flow with him...am hoping to be able to start putting him to ed at the same time every night soon though. Seem to recall that I out dd down at about 7pm every night from about 6 weeks...

I said to dh, this is the hardest it will ever be, surely..and he kind of nodded hopefully, but looking at dd and her terrible two's I ralise that I've got all that to come - again!

I found 2-3 pretty exhausting, more than 0-1 or 1-2. I don't really understand the people who "didn't notice" the arrival of their 3rd child. Bizarre. And my 3rd was an easy baby, but still, the effort of it all with 3 under 5....

But it only got easier, from dd3's birth onwards. As they all gradually got bigger. And now she's 4 it really isn't that hard, the others are 8 and 7 now. Now it's nice.

I think it depends on the children and the age gap. I found 2-3 a BIG shock whereas 1-2 not as much.

My eldest was 3 yrs 4 mths when the third was born and the first 6 months is just a big blur of exhaustion!

It did improve though and I found 3-4 easier

kitkat - I was in your boat, and it does get better. I couldn't believe that people said going from 2 to 3 was easier. 'the 3rd just slots in', 'you hardly know they're there'. HUH. They didn't have my lot then.

Mine are now 6, 4 and nearly 2 (same as Maccamum it appears) and now it's a doddle. The big ones are at school and one toddler at home who still sleeps most days is a breeze.

I totally relate to the feeding times. Can you put a special 'feeding time dvd' on when your bfing? Or have a special box of toys that only come out when feeding. It might distract them for a bit.

And yes, it will help when you can get ds2 down in the evenings. I always reckon that I can be a reasonably good mum for a maximum of 12 hours a day, after that it goes to pot. So mine have to disappear by 7pm so I can be an adult for a couple of hours.