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.

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.

What Would I Do Differently

Someone on Facebook posed the question 'if you could go back to before you were pregnant, before you had any children, what would you do differently knowing what life is like once the kids have arrived?' I thought it was a really interesting question and it got me thinking about a lot of things.

I know a lot of people miss the partying and long lay ins (OK, I do miss having a lay in sometimes too) but that has never been the type of person that I am. Now that I have children, I realise that there were lots of little things that I just took for granted and never really thought about. For example, I can no longer simply walk out my front door and jump in the car. Leaving the house takes a good 20 minutes usually. The children need persuading to leave their toys, put on their shoes, nappies need to be checked, maybe a jumper needs to be put on, the dog needs to be let out then back in again, the toilet needs to be used and the changing bag needs to be checked and filled. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff too!

The other thing I miss is being able to walk down to the pub in the evening. If the weather is nice, there's nothing better than sitting in the pub garden with a cold drink and just enjoying the evening and each other's company. Bliss!

But truly, there isn't much I'd do differently. Yes my life is utter chaos but secretly I like it that way. I was never going to be someone who had a pristine house - my mother will tell you how hideously untidy my bedroom ALWAYS was - or someone who was always 5 minutes early for a play date. I moan and stress out that I'm constantly on the go but I hate it when there's nothing going on and nowhere for us to be. For me, life is pretty perfect.

Crazy Conversations 2

This wasn't a 'conversation' between me and Miss E, but between her and Master T. Allow me to set the scene. I'm in bed, it's around 7am. I slowly wake up to the sounds of my children 'chatting' when I hear this:

"Oh, sorry Toby, I can't change your poo..."

I was faster than Flash getting out of my bed! What greeted me in the children's room was Miss E standing at one end of Master T's cot, him laying down with his nappy undone (but thankfully still on) and a new nappy and wipes ready next to him. The poo was sort of contained  :-\  I shouted for help and Frans came in; he grabbed T's arms and I took his bum. A fairly normal nappy change continued!

Jingle Bells

Elizabeth's version is slightly different:

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Oh MacFunny used to ride on a one horse open sleigh, hey!

And another one...

I only seem to write on this blog these days when I have a big announcement to make.  So here it is:  baby number three is coming our way sometime in May 2014!  I'm currently 14 weeks pregnant and wondering how the heck I'm going to survive having three children who are so close together in age. 

Like I keep saying, we just have to roll with the punches...

Crazy Conversations

Every so often, Miss E comes up with some cracker lines.  The conversation I've just had with her was bizarre to say the least.

Me: Um, what are you doing sweetie? (she's unbuttoning her trousers...)
E: Just checking myself.
Me: (slightly caught off-guard) Er.... checking yourself?
E: Yeah, my bottom (she's patting herself with her hand).  It's a bit ouchie (she's screwed her face up and pursed her lips, pulling her 'feel sorry for me' face)
Me: Oh... it is...?
E: Yeah.  Just a bit ouchie.  But it's OK now (and her trousers come back up).