@birdyyyy Thank you so much for sharing That’s exactly the kind of feedback I’m seeking. My aging energy levels vs. wrangling high energy toddlers is a challenge for sure.
I hope you know how amazing you are for toughing through all that with no help!
@jojoz Happy I could help! I of course love them to the moon and back, but I know for a fact there were times where I wasn’t the mom that I wanted to be, simply because of pure exhaustion and exasperation. Especially when I started potty training the boys or napping the baby…. Or sick days! There was a time where everyone caught rotavirus and because of all the vomiting, we had run out of sheets by midnight.
By the crack of dawn, we were all pretty much laying in vomit crusted towels that had been hastily sprawled about the bed between diarrhea sessions… I wouldn’t wish that night upon my worst enemy lol
Now that the youngest has turned two, I finally feel like I can breathe again!
Good luck with your babies and have a nice weekend
@jojoz The gap between 1 and 2 is 27 months. 2 and 3 is 18 months and 3 and 4 is 18 months. We are all done now. But four under 6 is fun. Crazy, insane. But honestly a whole lot of fun.
@gloryuntohim We are on track to have similar age gaps - #1 and #2 are 20 months apart and #2 and #3 will be 22 months apart once he arrives in January. We’re hoping for a #4 in a similar time frame assuming 3 kids isn’t too much for us
This is kind of specific but did you use a double umbrella stroller with those gaps? I use our single umbrella stroller a lot now for toddler with baby in the carrier and it’s making me nervous thinking about walking alone in a parking lot with all 3 safely
@lucsch I've never been a stroller person. I babywear for the most part. And I try to avoid taking the younger three out alone. We do a lot of curb side pick up. Or my husband and I divide and conquer.
I try to remember that this stage won't last forever, and every single day becomes logistically easier.
@lucsch Totally understand. My kindergartner was gotten two fevers this year and I've had to go inside to sign her out. THAT is my least favorite thing ever. I'm sure a stroller would help. I'm just stubborn. lol. I feel like we've made it this far. Haha.
@jojoz I can’t tel you too much yet, but we have a 21m age gap between our first and second, and we will have a 20m age gap between our second and third here soon. I thought that age gap with our first two worked out pretty great - it was hard the first few months but it’s been great since they got a touch older.
We also had infertility issues so we got started having kids later than we wanted. So some of our decision is due to that.
@jojoz The age gap between #2 and #3 will be 2.5 years. Same as you - I had 2 under 2 but adjustment wasn’t super hard because my older child has an independent streak and loves to help. I would’ve waited a bit longer for my third but I’m 35 and was worried about possibly fertility/pregnancy issues.
@celoxisppm Oh we do sound very similar! My oldest is also so independent and loves helping. So far it’s been going really well with 2-under-2. But I know that could be a fluke and don’t expect everything to be rosy forever
@jojoz Ikr?? One thing I’ve learned about parenting is that so much is outside of our control. Our kids come out wired to be a certain way and we have to navigate accepting their personalities while also trying to shape them into good human beings. Tough balancing act.
@celoxisppm That’s SO REAL. I’m astonished at how much #2 was already so different from #1 from the second week of life and had a unique personality from the start
@jojoz So I have found for me that out of my four children the ones that are exactly 2 years apart or a little too close and had a lot more trouble adjusting and getting along baby needed a little more time with Mom I guess. I have found that getting pregnant around the time the youngest turns to ends up in a much happier relationship between the newborn and almost 3-year-old that grows as they grow
@jojoz Almost 4 years between #2 and #3, but I was only 30 then. My last 2 (#5 and 6) were born when I was 44 and 46. Natural conception, healthy babies. You probably have more time than you think, I know a LOT of people who had babies when they were over 40.