Laughs

Two Kids VS Three – How Your Parenting Style Changes…

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Going from two kids to three kids has really changed my parenting style. I'm not saying one is better than the other... but what I am saying is that was then, this is now.

I have three kids, even though I know Anna thinks we should all have four.

The first two are girls, 21-months apart. The third one is a boy, born when his sisters were four and six-years-old.

Needless to say, going from two kids to three kids has really changed my parenting style. I’m not saying one is better than the other… but what I am saying is that was then, this is now. A few examples…

Going from two kids to three kids has really changed my parenting style. I'm not saying one is better than the other... but what I am saying is that was then, this is now.

Two Kids vs Three: Craft Projects

That Was Then: Elaborate, enriching, well-supervised by mom and super-fun! Just look at this gingerbread house we made from graham crackers and marshmallows!

This is Now: Solo time with a marker, possibly permanent.

Two Kids vs Three: Holiday Photo Ops in New York City

That Was Then: Go to Rockefeller Center to pose with Elmo, see the Christmas Tree and visit the holiday store windows on Fifth Avenue. What a beautiful and memorable day!

This is Now: Photo ops with two drunken Santas and a smoking elf while on the way to SantaCon.

Two Kids vs Three: Clothing

That Was Then: Always new and cute, sometimes even in coordinated sister outfits. Hair brushed and perfectly styled, of course!

This is Now: Always hand-me-downs, sometimes with rhinestone embellishments from your sisters. Also, apparently, there’s flour all over your face.

But the one thing that is the same for all three of my kids is that I love each of them more than anything, even if some of them may (or may not) have a better Baby Book.

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9 Comments

  1. Margarita

    November 6, 2013 at 8:30 am

    LOL on the babybook, my sister (6 years younger tan me and 8 years younger than my brother) says her babybook is a series of scattered pictures, while we have a day to day recount of the first years

    I tried consciously to keep up the babybook filing with my 3 kids…

  2. Frugalistablog

    November 6, 2013 at 10:31 am

    I am a two kid parent but I hear this all the time from other three kid parents!! It seems that the 3rd child has a lot of ‘character building’ to endure.

  3. Kyle Anne

    November 6, 2013 at 2:08 pm

    My younger brother’s baby life was better documented than me because he was adopted. Everyone bent over backwards to make sure he knew that he was ‘wanted’ (by everyone but me)–or so it seemed to me. To make this right with my oldest child, I did a half-a**ed job on her babybook. Her younger sister came only 14 months later, and was born with Down syndrome, so I had no time to really do either baby book. Sorry girls, your mom sucks at things like that. Get used to it (although we always take great Christmas card photos).

  4. Jodie Moss

    November 6, 2013 at 9:05 pm

    Oh my god it is sooo true, we have our third at home who is 12 mths with two older sisters- craft yep, clothes yep its like your living in my hiouse wahahahah

  5. Kris W

    November 6, 2013 at 10:08 pm

    Wait ’til you get to child #8! ;0) We have definitely “tweaked” our routines, habits and ways of thinking!

  6. Judy. Grieve

    November 7, 2013 at 12:12 am

    I had 6 kids….the first one wasn’t allowed any contact with germs….I even took his own sanitized toys sealed in plastic to our church nursery. He was not allowed a pacifier under any circumstance and had stik-it notes all over him with all my rules and regulations. Child # 6 …we took her pacifier straight outa the dog’s mouth and inserted in hers! Actually left her at home alone on the toilet one day when all the rest of the family drove off to a restaurant. Eventually missed her, drove back home just in time to hear the toilet flush….the little 4 year old never even knew we had abandoned her! Yes child rearing does change over years! Eventually they all need psychological help!

  7. TK

    November 7, 2013 at 3:12 pm

    I think this post is hilarious – especially because you’ve made your point with visuals! Love the drunken Santa pic 😀

  8. Jen

    November 10, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    Thanks for a much needed smile and laugh. I have 3 kids too. Twins, 15 months, and an almost 5 year old.

  9. Maggie

    December 2, 2013 at 9:34 am

    What’s not to love? Hahaha! Thanks for sharing this. I only have 2 but my second is like kind of like your third… Don’t want to picture what MY third could be :S

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