Going from two to THREE

[Flynn]

Another post sparked this thread....

Background: Baby Boy #2, child #3 will be born mid-July...sibs will be turning 6 and 4 in October. Baby will be formula fed 100% and I only feel slightly guilty so that's an improvement from 8 weeks ago. DD will be in morning Kindgergarten 5 days a week and DS will have afternoon pre-school three days a week for a little over two hours.

I have a lot of the "stuff" (Maclaren stroller plus all terrain Phil and Teds stroller, SIL is sending bouncy seat and Bjorn, still have our high chair, etc.) to keep me moving. I'm not a "stay in all day" kind of girl!

• So anything new on the market in the last four years I "have to have" to make my life easier?
  Any scheduling tips?
  Helpful suggestions?
  Words of encouragment?

This baby will have his own room on the same floor as everyone else but slightly removed from DD and DS -- down the hall on the other side of the foyer. I am thanking my lucky stars this house is so well made, spacious, and QUIET. I don't anticipate night noise being an issue at all with this one.

Thanks in advance...

[rainbabies]

Re: Going from two to THREE

here's my tip.

playtex bottles with disposable liners.

bottled water

everynight before bed, i would make 3 or 4 2oz bottles up with just the formula powder. i would keep a large bottle of fresh, room temp water with them. (if you choose not to get the baby used to warm formula...just room temp.) at night, it makes it much easier.

good luck! i dont think going from 2 to 3 babes was hard...altho we were never out of the baby phase either...so to us, it was just a mild adjustment.

Re: Going from two to THREE

[color=#808000]playtex bottles with disposable liners.

I swear by those bottles Sylvia! Around the time my kids were born all of those fancy Dr. Browns, Avent, and that kind of bottles started coming out. I'd originally picked those Playtex bottles b/c it's what I'd used when I babysat, but after seeing all of the pieces involved in Dr. Brown's - I was thrilled I used the playtex. And target sells the liners in a generic brand, too. I love how they collapse, so the kids don't get so much air w/o having to deal w/all of the funky (supposedly) ergonomic bottles.

FWIW, I breastfeed, but have always allowed myself the freedom to supplement. Neither of my boys had any issues going between the breast and bottle. (Not suggesting for you Flynn - just for reference for others who read the thread).

[Flynn]

Re: Going from two to THREE

Thanks guys! This is just the kind of stuff I'm looking for!!!!

The bottle liners are genius!!! Having bottled water on hand in the room and getting baby to take a room temp. bottle instead of heated is a great tip.

I'm SURE I would have only thought of this AFTER several days of trial and error.

Thanks again!!

Re: Going from two to THREE

Uh...I should have a better memory on this.

We also have a Maclaren (velo, ?) and I kept the same jogger, bouncy seat, swing (didn't use ), etc. As noted in a different post the big replacement item was the infant car seat.

I love those little Trumpette socks that look like shoes. Does that count?

re: the bottles and liners. I'm not sure how you feel about plastics but some are safer than others. It might be worth a quick search to see if those Playtex liners are good to use. I think DC Jenn posted a plastic sippy and bottle link resource a while ago.

I needed to hold TenE so often that we didn't use much of that baby stuff. I'm trying to think about what my neighbor has. We had a regular bouncy seat that just bounced but I wondered if the vibrating one would have suited her.

Are you using disposable diapers? You can "subscribe and save" with amazon.com and they will deliver diapers to you -- free delivery and 15% off for subscribing. You can adjust your subscription as needed to have a delivery come sooner or later. I love this. You can also do wipes, TP, paper towels, and lots of other stuff this way. I figure the UPS man is coming to my house anyway and he may as well bring some diapers when he is in the neighborhood!

[Flynn]

Re: Going from two to THREE

Are you using disposable diapers? You can "subscribe and save" with amazon.com and they will deliver diapers to you -- free delivery and 15% off for subscribing. You can adjust your subscription as needed to have a delivery come sooner or later. I love this. You can also do wipes, TP, paper towels, and lots of other stuff this way. I figure the UPS man is coming to my house anyway and he may as well bring some diapers when he is in the neighborhood!

WOW I'll have to check into this. GREAT TIP!!!!! It sure beats dragging 1-3 kids to Sams on a regular basis.

Thanks Nellie!!!

I'll also check into the plastic alert thing Jenn posted. I've ignored it so far.

Re: Going from two to THREE

The cost is just a little more than Sam's or Costco. I get the Seventh Generation diapers that people look at funny since they aren't bright white.

Here is the link: http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/11/z-rep ... s-and.html

They might have other suggestions for drop-in liners. Those are so convenient.

Oh ---- I think you can order formula from Amazon as well!

One other thing I thought of that isn't really as new but might still be helpful is one of those bunting things that fits into the carseat. You can zip it up so baby is all snug in the carseat instead of trying to bundle them and buckle them in. Those only fit the infant seats as far as I know.

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Going from two to THREE

Adele is only three months but her activity gym has been a lifesaver for getting things done.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2815264

Re: Going from two to THREE

ITA, Tara. That has probably been one of the biggest struggles for us. Since October we have a babysitter two days a week and it makes a difference.

[Flynn]

Re: Going from two to THREE

One of the big struggles you will probably face with baby #3 is the nap. Especially since you have one in a morning program and one in an afternoon program. If you can find someone to either A) help pick or up kiddos from school, or B) stay at your home with baby while you do the school runs you life will be so much easier. I cannot tell you what a HUGE difference that will make for you and baby.

Fantastic suggestion. I was just talking to DH about this the other night. For some reason I'm not comfortable with a childcare person driving our kids BUT having help inside the home for pick up and drop off might just be the help I am looking for.

I could stretch one of the trips to include groceries ALL BY MYSELF once a week too. I definitely will need some help!

Our pre-school teacher who we LOVE has a daughter who is a sophomore in college, has a car, and works at a school already so she's even had a background check! I am in the process of talking to her about being a regular babysitter next fall.

This fall sure will be interesting!

[houseelf]

Re: Going from two to THREE

Fabulous tip about Amazon for diapers Nellie.

Baby will be formula fed 100% and I only feel slightly guilty so that's an improvement from 8 weeks ago.

It's funny that you should say this. One of my biggest hangups about trying for number 3 is that both of my previous BF babies refused the bottle vehemently. This is soooo stressful for all parties involved and I'm not sure that I want to go through that again. I think BF is great, but it has to work for the entire family.

Good luck.

Kelly

Re: Going from two to THREE

re: the bottles and liners. I'm not sure how you feel about plastics but some are safer than others. It might be worth a quick search to see if those Playtex liners are good to use. I think DC Jenn posted a plastic sippy and bottle link resource a while ago.

Good point Nellie. I will need to check this out (when the time comes). My immediate thought is that the re-use of bottles, repeated heating, long-term usage and degradation is where most of the problems I've heard of originate. One time use liners could help avoid that. But ... I could be totally wrong.

Flynn - if you check it out could you post what you find?

[DCJenn]

Re: Going from two to THREE

For quick and easy transport and to not have to lug around filled bottles, I swore by those enfamil packs. One pack of dry formula makes 4 oz. All I needed to find was a bottle of water- easy-peasy- even in Russia. Dump in the formula, dump in the water, shake and you're good to go.

Jenn

[peggyfromwastate]

Re: Going from two to THREE

I have nothing to add...

but this thread is freaking me out.

:run:

At my Dr appt yesterday DH showed up and actually asked her about vasectomies- and if he can get one in May when he takes leave.

The nurses asked me if I was excited for my baby-- and I said, "No. I have a middle schooler." They laughed, I laughed, but I was actually mostly serious.

Keep the suggestions coming! I'm right behind you Flynn...

Re: Going from two to THREE

Here is the subscribe and save link:

http://www.amazon.com/Subscribe-Save-Gr ... PDKIKX0DER