3 kids under 6 - what is your routine??

Tea-and-Cake_3

Hello

Our third baby is due in a couple of months and I am trying to get as prepared as possible.

I was wondering if any of you with a similar family set up could let me know what your daily/weekly routines are with three young children please. I'll have to do the school run in the morning/afternoon and take into account toddler groups for the middle one and other activities, try to get the baby into a routine and get the housework/shopping/laundry/cooking done.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated xx:j

mummyroysof3

my advice would be not to get stressed about it. i had 3 under 4 when my son was born 3 years ago and somehow managed to get eldest to nursery for 8.30am everyday by time youngest was 2 weeks old.

try to get into a routine but my best tip would be to get the eldest 2 used to tidying up and helping if they can

bromleymum

I had three children under school age and have just a few pieces of advice.

I love routines but don't get too hung up on them. I remember just as I thought I'd established a winning schedule, the baby would change his nap times. I spent far too long getting stressed because the day wasn't following the routine I wanted. Wish I hadn't.

A few tips to make your life easier...

Don't worry about getting the baby dressed for doing the early morning school run. You can sort that when you get home. Same, if the baby sleeps late, let them. You can feed them when you get back from the school run. My youngest just had to fit in with whatever the school or pre-school dictated.

Learn to love a slow cooker. I'd just throw the ingredients in when I had 10 minutes. Don't worry about browning off the meat, it all tastes fine after 10 hours slowly cooking. You can relax knowing there's at least something to eat at the end of the day.

Use online shopping. Going to the supermarket with three tiny ones is hell.

I got into the habit of getting up 20 minutes before the children every day. Showering, putting on make-up (I feel terrible without it) and dressing. Trying to achieve these after the kids get up is a lot harder. I decided I'd rather give up 20 minutes sleep just to feel ready in the morning.

Above all, remind yourself that this will all get easier. And when all yours are tucked up in bed and you're relaxing with a cup of tea (or large glass of wine) spare a thought for those of us who have children that are approaching teenage years and we're still ferrying them between judo/gymnastics/football long after yours are in dreamland.

Good luck.

clearingout

the baby's routine will be fitting in with everyone else. My third one did exactly that - just fitted in! Poor mite spends way too much of his time in a car seat staring out of the window going to/from activities, play dates, parties etc. that his brothers attend. He doesn't seem to mind - he has some lovely moments at the end of a school day when he toddles up to his brothers and gives them a hug when they come out of school.

Don't stress - you will find a way. Accept now your standards for no. 3 won't be the same as the others - he'll have to fend for himself far earlier (my no. 1 didn't have a sandwich until he was 1, no. 3 was feeding himself sandwiches at 6 months, and using a spoon to feed himself by 9 months). Build a few minutes into the day to spend with the other children - mine accept a few minutes reading their school book on their own with me in the evenings is about all we can fit in but they take it for what it is and we all enjoy it.

I second Bromleymum on the slow cooker. Double your portions - but the rest in the freezer.

GobbledyGook

Much like Clearing Out my third didn't have a routine of his own - he just slotted into the routine of his sisters. To a certain extent he still does.

He was the only one of mine exclusively weaned on BLW - wish I'd done it with the other two completely as he took to it just as well as them and I had no faffing with puree. I also batch cook more now as it's just so much easier to just take something out of the freezer. No 3 co-incided with the breakup of my marriage so my Sunday batch cooking is as much about having no kids for the day as it is having an extra one. It definately makes the weekdays easier though.

mysk_girl

I'm going to have 3 under 5 come mid November, and am also panicking slightly! My only advantage is that both school (eldest starts in September) and preschool (middle one starts September) are less than 5 minutes walk from home...

We'll see but I suspect the baby will have to do a lot of fitting in! The hard bit will be going back to work next September with 3 kids at 3 different child care settings... Hey ho, we'll survive...

carebear13

not sure if this is kind of tip that you are looking for but i bought a sling when i had my fourth as i was having to do 3 school runs a day. it makes things so much easier to have hands free esp if you have little ones who like to run riot when you are distracted. i have the chicco go carrier £25 from kiddicare and worth every penny.

jackyann

I had 4 under 7, and agree with a lot of the useful information above. A new baby often slots into an established routine as they sense what is going on around them. I used slings / carriers for all of mine.
I would get someone to help with the school run for the first couple of weeks if possible.
I would also put a basic few meals in the freezer for the days when even the slow cooker tip doesn't work (I did that too!). One of my standbys was to cook a big joint on Sunday (pot roast one of the cheaper ones) and have that handy in the week to eat with jacket potatoes & salad.

Get a list of what is needed - one side for every day - one side for different days (Tues. gym kit etc) - get pictures off the computer so littles can follow it. Put it up somewhere obvious, then school age child can gather their own stuff, check it on the list (say while you're feeding the baby) and be praised for being so grown-up. Routine on coming in from school helps as well - points for hanging stuff up / packing away etc.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever had was to stick to the really important rules but don't sweat the small stuff. 30+ years on I am glad I did.

moomaa

I have 3 under 5, it's fine, every week it gets easier.

My main worry was one of them running off and having to abandon the other two to chase the runner. This has only happened once and luckily my friend was there to help. I am extremely strict about the older 2 holding onto the pushchair when I say.

The older 2 are pretty independant compared to other children their own age - eldest gets up with his alarm, puts on his clothes by himself, does teeth by himself. Second one is almost there on this too. I have had to put the time into 'training' to get them like this.

My youngest was my worst sleeper I'm afraid - I think she suffered from having no routine. As others have said the youngest just has to fit in and I think it made it harder for her to know what was expected when.

I love having 3, I'd have 4 if DH would say yes, but I know he never will. Probably for the best.