Child #3....the crazy one.

[ChristusG]

I was blessed with two calm, quiet, easy going babies. They are now 8 and 5 years old. #1 was high maintenance, but if she was in my arms, she was fine. #2 was very easy nearly all the time.

 

Then came #3. She is now 6 months old. And she is crazy LOL. Since she was born, she came out "running." The girl never stops moving her legs. It's like she's practicing for a marathon. She began army crawling at 5 months because she was so adamant about moving. Now she's regular crawling at 6 months. She's EXTREMELY high maintenance. She wants me to pick her up, then she still cries because I'm not walking her around. She moves, squirms, climbs my arms. She just wants to move. If I put her down, she cries again. She hates naps. I think I'm losing my mind. I've never had a baby like this.

 

Schooling my bigger girls is hit and miss. #3 takes so much care. Today the big girls gave me mothers day cards. My middle DD (5 years old) drew a picture of the two of us on a date....which I did often before #3 came along. She said her favorite thing was spending time with me but that I didn't get to do it since #3 came along. :crying: I never knew she felt that way....she's never mentioned it. But it is true. I'm nursing and I'm very pro attachment parenting, so I don't leave my babies.

 

I'm thinking that maybe in the evenings sometime, I can leave baby with DH for an hour just to take each girl out for ice cream by themselves or something very local. Or even just go take a game and play on our bed with the door shut.

 

I guess I'm not asking for advice....just wondering if anyone else's third child is a little firecracker. I'm actually very nervous about her toddler years LOL. She's going to be the child that pulls everything out of the pantry and that I can't take my eyes off of....I've never had one of those LOL.

[nukeswife]

Yep my third is like that to this day and he's going to 7 soon.

 

He always has to be moving. When he was a baby the swing was my best friend. He would spend all day in there. We even let him sleep in it moving it from the living room to our bedroom every night which meant moving it up a winding stair case.

 

He's the only one of my kids with any sort of athletic tendencies. The more he moves the happier he is.

 

I love the idea of "date night" with you other girls. I do that with all of my kids. I try to tie it to another time we have to be out. My dd gets lunch out with me every monday since we have to go out for vision therapy for her. My youngest gets dinner with me after gymnastics night and my oldest gets lunch out with me after his orthodontist appointments and sometimes will come with me to grocery shop.

[Jilly]

My third is also like that even to this day. These days his constant energy comes across as talking all day long. He has a little trampoline, and he is at his happiest bouncing on the trampoline while talking to someone. The twins and I get quite exhausted with it most days.

 

The toddler years were also exhausting. He climbed on everything, and I had to constantly watch him. Even with all the watching I did, he still managed to get hurt. He has been to the emergency room more times than I wish to admit.

 

On the flip side he is very loving and so much fun. He feels his goal in life is to entertain us, and he does. He makes us laugh all day long. :001_smile:

[Momof2littles]

My second child is like this. I only have two. He crawled at 5 months 1 day and for real walked full time at 9 months and 1 week. He is crazy! We have had many accidents and he is into everything! He is loud and stubborn and opinionated, he hates sleeping! I thought children like this were mythical!! (he is a huge lovey snuggler though--sooooo lovey!)

 

I've always wanted three kids, but I may be done with two.

[Momof2littles]

The toddler years were also exhausting. He climbed on everything, and I had to constantly watch him. Even with all the watching I did, he still managed to get hurt. He has been to the emergency room more times than I wish to admit.

 

On the flip side he is very loving and so much fun. He feels his goal in life is to entertain us, and he does. He makes us laugh all day long. :001_smile:

 

THIS!! We haven't made it to the ER yet. He's not two yet. LOL!

[Catherine]

My first was this. If it's any consolation, he's very bright! And very naughty!

[Momof2littles]

 

He always has to be moving. When he was a baby the swing was my best friend. He would spend all day in there. We even let him sleep in it moving it from the living room to our bedroom every night which meant moving it up a winding stair case.

 

He's the only one of my kids with any sort of athletic tendencies. The more he moves the happier he is.

 

 

 

Oh this, too! He slept in te swing until 10 months! Until it wouldnt swing anymore!

[garddwr]

I think it's a third-child thing--mine is now 4 and is still a firecracker. Very bright, very energetic, and very high maintenance. My parents tell me she reminds them of me...yep, I'm a third child too!

[DianeW88]

Yep, that's my third. He completely sucked away all my time and attention the first three years of his life. He never slept! He quit napping right when he turned two. He was constantly on the go, constantly talking, constantly inserting himself into everything his older brother and sister were doing, constantly demanding to be the center of attention....and if he wasn't, he MADE himself the center of attention. :glare:

 

He's 11 now, and not much has changed. Except for the fact that he's been taught manners and we went through our little family night lesson called, "I am a shining star, but not the center of the universe", so he's not selfish or bratty. He's just very high energy and will talk your ear off.

 

As an aside, he has tested as "gifted." So keep that in mind for your dd as well. When our ped gave us that news, my response was, "Oh, crap!" He started laughing his head off and said, "If I didn't know before, I would know now that he is NOT your first child. Only moms with more than two kids have that reaction." :lol:

 

Hold onto your hat. It's going to be an exhausting...but fun...ride.

[AndyJoy]

This is my first (only right now). DH and I joke that he was supposed to be our 2nd or 3rd so we wouldn't be gun-shy about having another :D. We joke that it's got to be safe to have another--he/she will be one of those normal mellow babies my friends have, right?:001_huh:

 

For months the only way I could get him to nap was to pin his arms and hold him to my chest with the lights out and my own eyes closed. Swaddling made him hysterical, but he got over his frustration at confinement if I held him immobile. If my eyes were open, there was no chance of him sleeping.

 

At two he's constantly on the go and needs lots of exercise (physically and mentally). Every day he gets nearly two hours of outside play and an evening bike ride, and he still won't sleep until 10 pm most nights!

 

He's the joy of my life, though, and keeps us very entertained with his bubbly personality, crazy ideas, and silly clowning.:001_smile:

[LittleIzumi]

This is my first (only right now). DH and I joke that he was supposed to be our 2nd or 3rd so we wouldn't be gun-shy about having another :D. We joke that it's got to be safe to have another--he/she will be one of those normal mellow babies my friends have, right?:001_huh:

 

That's what I said about #2--the next one can't possibly be this hard, at least, right?

 

Wrong. :glare: At least they're all cute, lol.

[Jilly]

That's what I said about #2--the next one can't possibly be this hard, at least, right?

 

Wrong. :glare: At least they're all cute, lol.

 

Before I had my third I thought it would be so easy. After all I started with twins. I was wrong. The twins were easier than my youngest, even as infants.

[bluechicken]

Yep. My third is almost 2. He is also my first boy. He is non stop and sometimes I literally feel crazy. I also think "is there something wrong with this child?" Everyone has assured me he is just a boy.

 

I don't know if it would have been different if he had been a girl but this third child business is making me nuts.

[Irishmommy]

I call my #3 The Tornado! I had to swaddle him to nurse for the first 9 months because he flailed his arms around so much, it was like a moving target! We made it through the toddler years by the grace of God. I think we survived with Sharpie only on a couple of things (one being the wall). Now, I think he is going to be my brightest student yet! He just turned 4 and we will be doing kinder next year because he is so bored, and he wants to do what his older bro and sis are doing. We might have to do math facts in the trampoline, though, when the time comes!

[AK_Mom4]

My perpetual-motion-tornado child is now 20 and still going 90 miles an hour as a cadet at the Air Force Academy studying rocket science stuff. We like to say that he has finally found a way to channel all that energy for the forces of Good.

 

The swing was our very best friend - it was the only way he would nap. And on the plus side - he made all of his siblings seem like really easy babies by comparison when they came along. And we were able to successfully deflect him during his toddler years with toys that made lots of noise or hit things. A million games of Toddler Baseball were played in the living room as he would hit a ball off a tee and run around the bases. He is still baseball-crazy!

[Mommy22alyns]

Ha, yes! Rebecca was my firecracker. She was pushing up on her legs very early, regular crawling at 6 months exactly, and now she's a very active gymnast. I've asked countless times if she was within the normal range of behavior.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Mommy22alyns

[LillyMama]

This thread is making me a little jealous, as BOTH of my kids are this way. I remember, when I was about 7 months pregnant with my first, I called my OB in a panic because my baby hadn't moved in a while. When she asked me how long, I said, "At least 20 minutes!" After a pause she burst out laughing and said, "Is this Elizabeth?" Yeah, my son was famous in utero for ALWAYS moving. The five month ultrasound was a hoot.

 

It's exhausting, but I guess I'm lucky that I never knew any different? ;)

 

Back to you... ;) Yes, I think special dates are so important, especially with girls and middle children. Whatever you can swing. And I wouldn't allow yourself to feel guilt- she's only experienced it for six months and you can easily adjust. Plus, it sounds like you're raising a smart, vocal, confident little girl who is not afraid to advocate for herself.

[Mommy22alyns]

This thread is making me a little jealous, as BOTH of my kids are this way. I remember, when I was about 7 months pregnant with my first, I called my OB in a panic because my baby hadn't moved in a while. When she asked me how long, I said, "At least 20 minutes!" After a pause she burst out laughing and said, "Is this Elizabeth?" Yeah, my son was famous in utero for ALWAYS moving. The five month ultrasound was a hoot.

 

It's exhausting, but I guess I'm lucky that I never knew any different? ;)

 

Back to you... ;) Yes, I think special dates are so important, especially with girls and middle children. Whatever you can swing. And I wouldn't allow yourself to feel guilt- she's only experienced it for six months and you can easily adjust. Plus, it sounds like you're raising a smart, vocal, confident little girl who is not afraid to advocate for herself.

 

Oh my gosh, this too! Rebecca topped out the kick count charts every night. She moved so much at the 20 week ultrasound that they had a hard time seeing the she was a girl (I mistakenly thought she'd need help moving, so I'd had a candy bar and a Coke beforehand!). :001_huh:

[Ann@thebeach]

Yep, #3 is the wild card. Ours has proven that day in and day out for 7 yrs ;)

[pbb119]

My #2 was/is very much like that. He is 7 now, and still going 90 to nuthin'! In utero, he never.stopped.moving. I knew I was in trouble. His pediatrician wanted to have him tested for AD/HD. We didn't, but school is a struggle, not b/c he can't do it, but b/c he cannot sit still long enough. When he talks, he has to be moving. He cannot sit through dinner. Or a t.v. show. But he is hysterical. The funny guy, and oh, so loving!

 

Dates are such a good idea w/multiple children. I try to rotate a date w/each one of my boys on a regular basis. Lunch, bowling, whatever. At least every other month. With a baby to look after at home, I feel like it is important to give them each some one on one time. It is good for all of us. I get to see each one on their own, and give them my 100%. I look forward to it as much as they do! :001_wub:

[SunnyDays]

My son is very much like this. Constant motion from the time he was in the womb. Still can't stand still. Would only nap in the swing until he outgrew it. Didn't sleep through the night regularly until he was almost two years old. Gifted, curious, and nonstop chatter.

 

Some of you may understand why I only have one child... :D

[DarlaS]

I guess I'm not asking for advice....just wondering if anyone else's third child is a little firecracker.

 

Yep! She's my only girl too. She has a tremendous amount of energy, and a real sense of adventure. Wears me right out. :tongue_smilie:

[LMD]

Yep - my 3rd came as a huge shock! After 2 fairly easy babies, #3 has been by far the biggest challenge! I never had a child throw a tantrum until this one! Like yours, I feel like he hasn't stopped since the day he was born - he was walking at 10 months and climbing/running very soon afterwards, physically very capable (and big for his age) so he can usually keep up with his older siblings on the playground.

 

Thank goodness he still naps - he manages to exhaust himself! He is quite sensitive to sensory stimulation and has a really hard time with things like teething, can't stand to be uncomfortable.

 

He loves to be outside and yes, is into everything and constantly hurting himself. My SIL just remarked the other day that she never sees him without a bruise, he's sporting a nice cut below his eye atm from trying to climb into a box I was packing.

 

He is incredibly strong willed, and it is exhausting trying to train, keep an eye on and stimulate him everyday! But he is also very sweet, smart, funny, loving and adorable. We love him but it has been a difficult nearly 2 years, I won't lie. We seem to be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel now, but boy the months between about 10-20months old were the worst!

[Nakia]

When I had my 3rd girl, I figured I had it down, and it would be a breeze. She was an easy peasy baby (all mine were), but when she turned a year old, WHOA! She became a spitfire. She starting running, climbing, jumping, etc and still hasn't stopped. I never had a terrible two year old until Cora turned two. She got kicked out of group swim lessons at age 4 because she couldn't sit on the side of the pool to wait her turn and had to be literally rescued by the lifeguard twice. I've had to call poison control more than once and had to take her to the ER more than my other two combined. I could go on and on, but I don't want to scare you, lol. She has no fear and no qualms about trying anything new.

 

OTOH, she is the joy of my life. She is spunky, witty, and downright precious. She loves Jesus with all her heart and makes friends everywhere she goes. I can't believe we almost didn't have a third baby. She makes the world such a better place!!