Guest writer - Kate Fever from one of our favourite blogs Family Fever, honestly relays to us her thoughts as she comes to the end of her third pregnancy and she prepares to take the leap from being a family of 4 to a family of 5.
I am currently expecting our third child, due to make his appearance in May. Our other children are 7 and 4.
I have been thinking a lot lately about how things will be with 3 children. Going from 1 child to 2 was a shock to the system I must admit! With just under 2 and a half years between the older children, it was tough from the beginning. Jacob was born prematurely and spent the first few weeks of his life in special care. This was tough as managing visiting time in hospital with a very active 2-year-old was fun and games!
Once home, it was easier, but I still struggled with day-to-day things, such as making meals for Gemma while trying to juggle a feeding or crying baby, and keeping her entertained while I changed nappies or tried to get the baby to sleep.
Looking back on it now, it was all worth it, as they are so close. They play together a lot, and always look out for each other. They are the best of friends (most of the time!)
When baby 3 arrives, the older 2 will be 7 and 5. This is a much larger age gap than we have between Gemma and Jacob, and I worry that they will not be as close to the baby as they are to each other. On the other hand, will it be better having older children who are able to entertain themselves for periods of time so I can focus on the baby, and will they be keen to get involved and help look after the baby themselves? With them at school in the day, it will be nice to have some one on one time with the new arrival, which I didn’t get with Jacob as Gemma was still at home with us too.
Then there are the practical worries – will we need to buy a bigger car? Will the baby wake the children up in the night? Will we still be able to go on holiday or will it be too much hassle?
All these things and more have been playing on my mind, but a recent complication with my pregnancy put it all into perspective for me. Thankfully, everything is fine, but it really focuses your mind. All that matters is that this baby arrives into the world happy, healthy and loved. The rest will sort itself out as we go along. We will learn ‘on the job’, we will adjust to what suits our family best, and we will enjoy it. At the end of the day all that matters is that all our children are given our attention and love, and together we will learn to be a family of 5.
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Lovely post Kate. Glad your pregnancy is going well. I would love to make my own family from a 4 to a 5 and I’ve been asking myself the same questions you have. Can’t wait to hear the announcement of your baby’s arrival in may. Good luck xxx
Aww I’m sure the children will love the new baby there are 10 years between me and my sister and we are very close as long as they feel involved they won’t resent the new baby xx
Aww this is a lovely post, I am often wondering if I should plan a certain gap if we are to be ever blessed with another - but no matter what age gap I think about there are always reasons I can think of that it might not work… it seems though that no matter what they gap, as long as the family is loving like yours everyone will do just fine! xxx
Lovely post, I have to say from someone who went from have 2 in 29 months to 4 children overnight (hubby had 2) to then having 2 more within 19 months of each other you do just adapt. We now have 7 children (youngest is 18 weeks and 5yrs younger than our previous youngest) Routine is key. I was dubious about having 1 on his own given that the other 6 children were all born in pairs as such but he is showered with much more attention because the others are all so much older. Good luck xx
Kids will adapted very fast to the new arrive there is 4 years between my 3 kids oldest is 13 and youngest is 5 in may as soon as the new baby is home it will feel like he has always been there