What is 3 under 3 like

[ChicNavyPanda]

Currently have a 16month old and almost 5 month old and am considering getting pregnant again.
if I got pregnant straight away I would have a newborn, a 13 month old, and 25month old.
has anyone else been in this situation. Financially it would not be a problem. I would need to get a new car for 3 car seats, but wanted to know the raw truth of the ins and outs of this.
I absolutely love having 2 under 2 and just thinking would 3 under 3 be that bad?
should I wait a few more months, should I wait a few years, or should I get pregnant now?

please be kind, I understand this is not for everyone

I don’t know why this conversation has turned into a debate about my personal relationship. I’m not saying it won’t happen, but I fully trust my partner. He is not that sort of person.

I don't have any experience of this, when I had my second me eldest was 3 and I still struggled a bit because my second was not a good sleeper and quite unwell as a baby, in and out of hospital. It made for a stressful experience and I felt so bad for my eldest that all my time and attention was taken up. So I wanted to say, consider the possibility that number three is a terrible sleeper, or has a medical issue that makes life much harder.

Well to be fair your relationship will be under very different strain with 3 under 3, it would be sensible to consider how you’d cope on your own. If your relationship isn’t yet committed enough for marriage but it is for lots of very young children because of your partner’s time/age pressures I’d be asking yourself why, it says a lot he’s pressuring you into more children but not about marriage.

I had 3 under 2. Twins 16 months after my first. It obviously wasn't planned with twins but I'm so glad it worked out that way.

Not my own (I was their Nanny) - looked after a 6 month old, 19 month old and their Cousin (all lived together) who was 2 and a half. It was busy but was one of my favourite Nanny roles ever. The two toddlers were great company for each other and the baby was very laid back. This was in London, no car to use so all three went in (or on top of the old fashioned (but fabulous) Silver Cross pram. I’ve never been so fit. Even managed to toilet train the two eldest within a few weeks (mostly luck I think). Looking back (this was the early 90s), I ran things like a military operation, it was the only way I coped. There was a cleaner 2 days a week which helped but from just after 6am until 7.30pm every day I literally did not stop, it was constant. The difference for me though was I hadn’t birthed them so my body wasn’t still trying to recover from that.

Three kids young kids is fine, but go back to work unless you’re married. Why won’t he marry you?

It really random to set an arbitrary limit of 30 to finish having children. If it was 40 maybe! You are both young and there is no massive rush. It's medically better for you and better for your children's development to have a bigger gap. Obviously people have accidental pregnancies or they have to rush because of age and it's fine but it seems extreme to plan 3 or 4 children so close together. And yes you should get married!

Just to add, I was one of 3 in 4 years. Not in the slightest unusual when I was a child ( born late 60s so lots of families had 3 or 4 kids). It wasn't a dynamic I enjoyed at all. Growing up there always seemed to be 2 versus 1 at some level and I became typical middle child peacemaker .

I have no experience from the mothering side of things. But my mum had three under 5 and one of us always got left out when playing, I do remember constantly fighting for my mum’s anttention, although I appreciate that might not be everyone’s experience. It also made booking holidays awkward as hotels etc are often geared up for 2 adults and 2 children. I think you need to have 2 or 4 rather than three 😄. She tells me that she nearly lost her marbles when we were little, but her hard work has paid off now though and we all love having a big family. (She did go on to have a forth but much later in life so there is a big age gap between three of us and the youngest).

i have experience of this, in November i gave birth to our 6th child who came just shy of 4weeks early! our 4th & 5th youngest child were only 35month's& 21month's old at the time. It is hard work but like the fact their all close in age if im honest 😊

He has said several times he wants to marry me, and I’m pretty certain he’ll propose by the end of the year, just waiting for the right moment. But I can understand waiting for that to happen before baby 3

If he can’t find the right moment for a ring after all this time and two babies already then you definitely can’t find the right moment to have a third child.

The personality part - absolutely 💯.

I had 3 under 3 (and 6 under 8). 3 under 3 is fine, or was for me. The boys are really close and you are pretty much always in baby/toddler/preschooler mode.

Good luck if you choose to go ahead!

Oops, just saw the marriage bit.

Think VERY carefully. Deal breaker for me.

I had three under three and it was fun. Exhausting and I really enjoyed it. I knew people with less who hated it though so I think more about you than the numbers.

I had 3 aged 4 and under for a while

I had an almost 3 year gap and then an almost 2 year gap.

honeetly the 3 year gap hands down was so so so much better. 2 year gap was hard because my baby was still a baby. I would wait a tiny bit longer if you can?

You had 6 under 8??????? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. My gosh woman you are a saint