Ohio12 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I have noticed that quite a few of you have 1, 2, or 3 kids who are older elementary or older and then a much younger one. 12, 10 and 2 or some form of that. Just curious, what made you decide to do that? (not talking about surprises I guess) I get so distracted and tired the whole first year of having a baby, not to mention pregnancy, that I would find it difficult to have a baby and still give plenty of attention to older ones. How do you handle this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Having a baby with older children in the house is so much easier than when they were all toddlers together. My toughest child-rearing years were back when I had my first two. It got progressively easier as they grew. Children (particularly girls, I'm sure) are fascinated with babies when they are in the 8-12 years and want to do a lot of the carting around and entertaining that is solely your job when you have all littles. We all tag team the youngest, most troublesome one and each one is able to have more of me than if no one was helping out. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmgconner Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 For me, I had to find a husband before I had anymore. :) I'm so grateful that I have my 12 yo DS to help me - I'm not sure how Mommies have little ones without a big one to help out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 For us, it wasn't the way we had planned it! We had hoped to have many more children. But, we lost a few babies in the middle and then had some fertility issues. It has been wonderful!! My three older boys are absolutely wonderful with the baby. Homeschooling has been fairly easy because there's always someone willing to take a break and play with Meg so I can work one on one with another child without interruption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 When I first started home schooling in 1999 my friends joked that soon I would be barefoot, pregnant and wearing denim jumpers. They were not far off! Dd #2 was a very sick baby--so we held off having #3 for a few years--and then we went through a long period of infertility. The summer of 2000 I found out that I was PG...it was a tough pregnancy and we lost our little boy mid-term. I had surgery due to complications from his birth in the spring of 2001. The Dr was confident that I would be able to carry a baby to term--if I got PG right away. We had been very comfortable with 2 dc--and the last pregnancy had been a surprise (as we had given up on the idea that we could get pg again). After the loss I HAD to try again and after another very difficult pregnancy we now have our third dd--and she is a treasure! I'm 42--almost 43 and our girls are now 17, 15 and 6. I know without a doubt that I had more energy with my oldest dds when they were little. My mother had all 3 of her children married, a grand baby and another on the way when she was my age (she also died of breast cancer at 43). Homeschooling upper elementary children with a baby/toddler was interesting at times--but it worked for us. There were some times (and still are) when the younger one's age keeps us from doing some family activities we would like to do with our older children (we do not have family nearby who can help watch younger dd). I also need to add that only our oldest dd is still home schooled. dds #2 and #3 attend our local PS (they are doing great!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichelleWI Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 We "planned" number one. Then we "planned" to not have anymore for a while. We changed our minds after just a few short months, but the hormone-altering birth control had done it's dirty work. There are five years between our first two children because of that. We were told we'd never conceive again, but I'm carrying our sixth child, so "Neener" to that doctor! LOL Our kids are 14, 9, 7, 4, 2 and Baby due very shortly. We have had at least one miscarriage in between every live birth. Numerous losses occurred between our first two children. Child-bearing has never interfered in any way with our homeschooling. Of course, we naturally take a bit of a break when a new baby arrives. I am usually quite ill during the first four months of pregnancy, so we approach things differently during that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMom Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 I have a 15yo, an 11yo and a 2yo.:001_smile: For us, we struggled with fertility. I got pregnant and had a baby in '04. She was born with a very severe heart defect and lived 42 days. We never expected it but I got pregnant again two months after my daughter died. After trying for number 3 for so many years, it was such a huge blessing to get pregnant again. Our little guy brings joy to our lives every single day. It is so much easier having a toddler wiht the big kids as they can change diapers, babysit, help with household chores, etc. It's definitely not the way we planned it but we wouldn't have it any other way!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwenA Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 DD12, DS10, DD7, DS6 and DS2 were adopted recently after the death of their parents and my friends. DD9 wasn't planned, DD6 was. Then we lost a few.:crying: DD3 was planned and so are the twins I'm pregnant with now, although not the twin part.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Well by my signature you can see I have adult children down to preschoolers LOL. We didn't plan for any of them, just allowed God to decide for us. It can be a challenge to give each of them one on one, but it c an be done. It just takes work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PariSarah Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 It's not like I have a set amount of attention and love, and the more kids I have, the less there is to go around. Yes, we're getting less homeschooling done, but we're doing things and being together in other ways. Having a baby doesn't take away from parenting or loving the older one. Anyhoo, we joke that it took ten years for us to recover from the shock of the first before we were willing to go through it again. :D The real reason is that ds10 was so good, so easy, we knew there was no possible way we were getting an easy second one. It took us ten years to work up the courage. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 ... The real reason is that ds10 was so good, so easy, we knew there was no possible way we were getting an easy second one. It took us ten years to work up the courage. :lol: Roflol! Ds was such a tough baby, I figured, "If I survived that, I can survive anything!" lol... Of course, I psyched myself up for another tough baby like him, and instead dd came along -- one of the easiest babies you ever saw! ;) (They didn't *stay* that way, lol, but as babies...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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