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Wednesday 11 June 2014

The Car Seat Conundrum

I thought this might be useful to someone in the same position as me :)

One of the first things I was concerned about when we found out I was pregnant with number 3, was how I got all my children safely in the car. And maybe squeezed my husband in too. I didn't want to be driving a huge car like a VW Sharan but I couldn't fit three car seats across the back of my Vauxhall Vectra. I did do a vast amount of research into which cars could fit three car seats across the back but there didn't seem to be many. The ones that weren't massive were too expensive for us as well so I accepted that Elizabeth would have to sit in the front. Luckily we could all be in Frans' car when we were going out as a family.

Now that Zachary is here, I've had Elizabeth in the front with me in the Vectra but I really haven't liked it, for lots of reasons. So I've been persuaded to get a new car. I spoke with some of the mums at school as a lot of them have a Vauxhall Zafira so I thought that might be the car to get. They all said that they couldn't get three car seats across the back and had one child in the boot (where there are 2 extra seats). Well that was no good for me! I need to be able to get the double buggy in and the dog sometimes. There were various other cars that came up in my research but they were either huge vehicles or lost space elsewhere - like the boot.

I happened to try out a friend's Volkswagen Touran and three car seats fit! Nothing on the internet mentioned the Touran and none of the mums at school had one, which really surprised me. Not only can i fit my three car seats next to each other but the car is very versatile with so many seat configurations. And hiding spaces. LOADS of hiding spaces!

So now I'm driving a VW Touran. It's not my ideal car - I really didn't want an automatic - but it suits my needs perfectly right now and I guess that's what's important. Throw everything in and hope I've not forgotten something.

Monday 9 June 2014

Am I Really Superwoman?

Child number 3 has been born!  5 weeks has whizzed by and I'm loving having little Zachary around.  It's tough having three children so close together but I'm finding the transition from 2 to 3 children much easier than from 1 to 2... so far.  Miss E started pre-school in January and most of the Mums ask me how I'm doing and usually end up saying something like "Wow, you're Superwoman.  I couldn't do it."  But am I?  And could they?

When I found out I was pregnant with number 3, I wasn't sure how I was going to cope.  Master T had just turned 1 (literally a week before I took the test) and I was already around 9 weeks pregnant.  That's a small age gap in my opinion!  And Miss E wasn't 3 at that point either.  Gosh, what the heck was I going to do when another came along?!  The thought of having another baby as 'difficult' as Master T was terrifying but I kept telling myself that I have a fantastic group of friends and family around me and that they would help me if I needed them.  And also that I'd survived once, I could survive again. 

So number 3 has arrived - Zachary came a week early and weighed a hefty 9lb 1oz!  He mostly seems to fit in with whatever is happening in our lives and I certainly don't feel like Superwoman.  I'm just rolling along, taking little steps and moving three children around from place to place.  I certainly don't have any special powers and I'm pretty sure that I'm slipping somewhere.  I rarely cook a good meal these days and the eldest two are lucky if I remember to brush their teeth in the morning.  I have friends that are definitely Superwoman, that keep the house perfect, cook good meals every night, do arts and crafts with the chidlren frequently, go out on play dates and are generally just amazing, plus a whole lot more.  I don't know how they do it!

But can anyone do what I'm doing right now?  Yes!  Those Mums that think they couldn't are wrong.  They absolutely can and they absolutely would if they were in my position.  I'd probably be calling them Superwoman too.