What is it like with 3 kids?

[Grotty]

I'm after some top tips tips for managing the anxiety of having 3 kids and for dealing with the chaos that brings. Having deliberated for years on whether we should go for number 3, I am now happily 5 months pregnant and in many ways ridiculously excited about no.3 coming along. My eldest 2 are 5 and 6 and both at school, so middle of the day is going to me and baby alone, which is great, BUT its a)mornings - getting ready for school and b) afternoon/evenings - doing school pick up/coping with tired kids/managing bedtime that slightly scares me. Also, want to make sure I am mentally prepared for the craziness of lots of mouths to feed/kids to clothe/bodies and clothes to wash/mess to tidy up. Does anyone have any insight into the world of 3 or sage advice on how best to approach it?

[Mens]

One thing that helped me was having the eldest two in afterschool club a couple of days a week. This meant I got proper full days with the little one. The school day just seems really short when you factor in drop off and pick up times.

I would say it's exhausting but massively fun having three especially when they reach an age where they all start playing together! Mine are 5, 8 & 10 now and sometimes I don't see them for hours as they're off playing (making tents or drawing on their little sister's face!)

[Passiflora]

It doesn't have to be chaos! Your older children at 5 and 6 should be able to help and be able to be considerate to a baby's needs so that will probably help in the mornings and at school pick up.

You need to think about yourself at 5 months pregnant!

[Pickle]

With the two eldest children at school it won't be chaos at all. My older two were 3.5 and 5 when I had number 3, and even the half day my middle daughter was at school nursery made life easy.

Mornings won't be as bad as you expect, but make life easier by getting as much ready the night before as you can, even just to begin with (school stuff, breakfast bowls laid out etc.). Evenings just seemed to work for us - if dealing with the 3 alone I would feed the baby while reading bedtime stories to the other two.

I found it a lot more stressful when number 2 came along, as I had a newborn and a 16 month old. A baby with two school age kids will be a doddle if you had a small gap between your first two.

I've hardly seen my kids today (we live in NZ now, I haven't quite broken my EDF habit!). They all play together brilliantly (now 10, 8.5 and 5).

Good luck, and enjoy the baby phase x