Raising 3 UNDER 3

I know! Just giving birth, having a one year old, a two year old, and a hard-working hubby who WANTS to help but also has to leave for the majority of the day. What would you do? Let's back up to the first born and some questions to consider, based on the experiences that helped me.

1. Are you familiar with a routine yet? If not, why is having one important?

2. Is your first born potty trained? If not, how and when do you start?

3. Do you and your husband have a common goal/foundation?

4. Do YOU have a solid foundation that will keep you from giving up?

5. Do you plan to send your child to school or home educate?

6. If you plan to home educate, when are you going to start and what/how will you teach?

7. Does your first born, at least, have a general idea of what a baby is?

8. Do you know they're watching you and learning?

9. How do you keep from favoring one child over the other?

There could be more that I skipped over, but these have definitely been some of the most important things I had to find out, on my own (and with my husband, of course). Save yourself some time and nerve, if you can, and try considering these questions for a moment. But don't freak yourself out! When I say take a moment, I mean wait until everyone is asleep, grab a cup of tea (I go for green tea), and meditate on your game plan. I write everything down 'cause "mommy brain" doesn't fool around with me; it's got me in a headlock and I ain't tappin' out! If you need to write these questions down and answer them, don't be ashamed to do it; we're talkin' about the success of YOUR family here. If you're like me, you need to SEE and REMEMBER your errors and successes.

Second, your middle child will most likely be stuck to your first, like gum on a shoe. So they will most likely pick up a lot of habits they learn from your firstborn. By this time around I had a little more guidance than I had with the first. The advice I took was from an older woman whose family succeeded in a way I want my family to succeed, and with her help, my husband and I have our foundation set in Christ.

In my next few blogs I will be tackling those questions one by one, just to give you a virtual helping hand. What you do with the advice is, obviously, completely up to you; my intent is to help you NOT give up and help you realize how important you are to your family. Until next time, I bid you adieu!