I'm sure you will understand when I say I am finding parenting a 3yo and a 1yo a tad, erm, challenging, just at the moment.

[phdlife]

In fact I think I just want to hide under the duvet. But if someone could explain 3yo's to me I'll be enormously grateful when I come back out.

[knackered]

Can I join the club!

My two are the same age and I think its possibly harder now than ever. My friends who are all popping out their DC2 at the moment seem to think its all very hard work, little do they know it gets worse!

I find the whole 2 able to move thing hardest and two terrible toddlers having tantrums makes me feel like joining in!

I have a 3 years old who doesn't want to walk anywhere and prefers the phil and teds and a 1 year old who wants to walk everywhere and hates the phil and teds, what can a girl do?!!!!

3 year olds - a common species, interested in bogies and poo. There are two ways to deal with them: (1) engage them in ridiculous repetitive conversations (2) Stickerbooks.

I have a nearly two year old and a nearly four year old. Both have stomped all over my last vestiges of patience and run off cackling at least once a day for a year. Sympathies!

But they are at least getting to an age when they play together without hitting each other.

And I am the youngest of four so I remember what a little sod I was and appreciate my mother more.

hey whomoved, good to see ya again :/ I am the oldest of four, but I was a complete angel. My dad used to say it was creepy

dc's are stomping all over my last vestiges of sleep, which has completely done for both my patience and sense of humour

and don't get me started on the pram thing, mrsm - trying to choose which pram to take to the park today caused them both to implode within the space of 30 seconds

Me too. DS 3.6, DD 1.8

Grrrrrrr

Try the 'the baby copies everything you do, so please show him how to do X nicely' trick. Although DD did show DS how to climb out of windows and smear bogies on the wall

Good to see you again too

Please don't shout at me, but......don't give them a choice when it matters ie prams but over the drinks to take, have all the same or enough for same choice ifyswim.

I am big on encouraging independence but more on the lines of running round getting dirty, digging etc rather thasn when it causes a problem.

But hey ho, I have to be rescued by DP when DGC staying as I can't face another arguement about a bloody 12 year old Bob the Builder scooter that a 6 year old & 4 year old come to blows over, so ignore me!

oh, he's already taught her that the correct approach whenever one's sibling hoves into view is to shout and whack it

it came back to him though - the other day he was sitting in my lap when jealous dd approached, shrieked, whacked, collapsed, in tears, until she was prone and could bang her head on my thigh in a rage

we lost ds in a shop about 10 days ago and ever since he's been giving dd a run for her money on the separation anxiety front.

oh earthymama - I wasn't giving a choice (I am dappy but not certifiable - I had the single out, thinking ds could walk, he wanted to go in the double. (once he finished shrieking, that is.) but of course folding the single up so I had room to get the double out caused dd to melt down because she suddenly thought we weren't going after all, that's all.

I have a 3yr old and a 1 yr old (well he will be this time next week), also a 5 year old, its a bit of a nightmare isnt it! The thing I find hardest is leaving the room.....the second I leave I usually hear a wailing, the baby has climbed up onto the windowsill and fallen off, or there will be a 3 child bare knuckle fight over one particular toy, usually one there are 2 of anyway!! Arrggh!

I left them quietly in the sandpit yesterday, came back to find 2m x 1m area covered in sand (yep that's another thing he taught her)...

and a 5yo - thanks lanismum, think you just made me feel better

Glad I have been of service

I'm having a premonition of my life in a year's time and it's making me feel quite faint.

I was about to post on the second child thread saying that it's not so hard having a newborn and a 2 year old.

But clearly I just need to wait and trouble will find me .

A glimmer of hope - my 3 and 1 yr old are now 4 and 2, and it does get easier!

I actually find it easier now when they're both at home, as they fight play together whilst I get on with stuff.

I'm now pregnant with number 3

Ok, I'm now depressed...I have a 14mo and a 3 week old and I've put up with everyone telling me how hard the early days are but I was hoping that by the time they're 3 & 2 everything will be just dandy. How misguided could I be?

Ditch the double buggy -- use a single and buggy board. Then no arguments about which to use!

I have two DD's - a 3.2 year old, and 4.5 months. DH and I were just saying the other day that DD1 is so much easier/patient/independent than a few months ago, and everything seems to be getting easier. I'm now wondering if we're about to eat our words.....

Well thank goodness it's not just me! I have a 3yo DD and a 9mo DS and I just keep telling myself that it has to get easier!!

The hardest thing for me is that whenever I leave the room or even go out of the baby's line of sight he screams the house down. It's getting so that I don't want to leave the room as I can't stand the crying!! He is a happy little thing as long as I am within 3 feet of him!!! I am lucky that DD is a pleasure, though! He does have her tantrums and hides the baby's toys, but for the most part she is a good 'un!!

I use the buggy and buggy-board now too, When DS was tiny I used the buggy and a sling, then no arguments!! DS was happy to be close to me and DD was strapped in to stop her from running off!!

Please someone tell me that by the time they are 8 and 6 they will just happily play together and I'll be getting some sleep at night!!

agree with hmmsleep, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Mine are 2 and 4 and now fight play together regularly, giving me a bit of peace.

Unfortunately rarely a night goes by when one of them isn't up and in bed with us....and then up at 5am as well.....

oh god, and i'm just pregnant with dc2 and finding it hard. everyone tells me it's easier when the 2nd one is out..they're lying aren't they..like when they tell you labour isn't that bad with the first pregnancy... ;)

driedapricots - it happens slowly. Personally, I didn't find the first bit, with a 2 yr old and a newborn, too awful. But it got really, really hard when dd2 started to move (and she was early - crawling by 6 months, walking at 10 months).But by then you will be stronger, not just recovering from the birth etc. This bit then gradually got easier, when dd2 started to be able to play a bit. Now, I'm just dreading the teenage years as everyone says they are worse than the toddler years....

ha can I top trump with a 10m, a 2.10 and an almost 18! the newborn bit wasn't so bad as baby slept a lot but it's almost impossible to satisfy anyones needs at any time.
i feel sad and guilty i don't have time to play and sing to baby or play games/ build dens/ draw and paint with middle one. and teenagers need lot of time too, i find i'm feigning interest in eldest's news as i'm too tired to listen properly and we never have time to ourselves away from home

hard to get an early night too as teen wants to chat/comes home late, baby is a poor sleeper, still feeding alnight and middle one an early riser 5/6am, then i have to try to prise teen out of bed and off to college aghhhhhh

My youngest is nearly 3 altho as she is a DD she seems to hit her phases early and she is SO stroppy its untrue. Add in her brothers DS1 (6) and DS2 (nearly 5) and I have days where I could honestly just walk out and not come back....... DS1 is currently an aggresive, overactive ball of hormones who severly tests my sanity and DS2 just winds them both up!! ON the plus side they do play together nicely some of the time so I can collect myself...I agree the baby phase is the easy bit it just gets harder and harder ....

ohh I am glad it is not just me!

just about everyone's story has an element that rings true here (except melondrama - you totally win with the 18yo ).

they are tag-teaming to wake me hourly - been like that for 10 days now - before that I thought being up 3x constituted a 'bad night' . Am sure I am finding it so difficult atm because I'm so fecking tired, I can't even think about resolving the flash fires (how do you deal with a xylophone thrown at dd's head in a rage because I said no running out in unfenced yard?), let alone longer-term issues (ds's interminable bedtimes, dd's interminable night-feeding).

oh and now here's ds to "help" me, so tis time to go...

Mine are now five and just three,and it does get much easier,they play together happily and they are really good fun.If only dd2 would sleep through the night....I found it got easier after dd2 got to about 2.

Just spent the afternoon with friends who have newborn DC2 and DC1 are all 3 years old and I am starting to take back my earlier comment!
DD and DS (3 and 1) played nicely and i had a free hand to eat lunch whilst they struggled with babies, breastfeeding and tantrums.
Have to admit to feeling slightly smug !
It does get easier...at least thats what I am saying until it gets to about bathtime tonight!