Monday, April 16, 2012

How I survived at the end of my pregnancy


I just wanted to share some things I have done that helped  me entertain my 4 year old and 20 month old and get things done at home while I was pregnant. I was exhausted all of the time. As far as house work; it's never going to be perfect. Even though they are so young, I had them "help" me with housework. They LOVED it. We still do many of these things but now I have more energy and it's actually way easier to care for three little ones than to be pregnant and have to care for two little ones.

 Here are some things we did ( and still do sometimes)



Laundry- they loved putting stuff in the washer and dryer I even had both help me take it from the floor to my bed, which was great so I didn't have to bend down. They jumped on my bed while I  folded and knew they were not allowed to touch what I've already folded.

  Look at those guilty faces!

Dishes- I would bring a chair to the sink and they both had a washcloth and would  "wash" the dishes with me. ( we don't have a dishwasher) My 4 year old handed me the dish and I really washed it. We sang songs while doing it. If they spilled water out of the sink on purpose or drank the water, they got down immediately .Even J knew and didn't want to get down. They made a mess and it took me much longer but at least it got done. They had fun and we've spent time together.


Floors- When I vacuumed, I chased them with it while they giggled and jumped on the couch cushions. When I swept,  they took a turn with the swiffer ( without the pad)

 
 

We have a regular bed time routine, after bath time, we pick up the living room. L  puts all DVDs and books under the TV ( where they belong) and J and I bring the toys back in their room. We have a race and they love it. L asks to do it. We brush teeth, pick up all toys in their room, read stories, sing a song and pray. This really helped while I was pregnant and still helps because I knew that no matter how hard the day was, at 7:30, we started the bed time process and at 8:30 they were in bed.

Games/Playtime- I honestly couldn't handle going for walks and to the playground at the end of my pregnancy. Even though it was in December, here in the south, it was WAY too hot. (Joey  took them plenty) but when it was just us, they played together and I told them that the baby in my belly took my energy, soon I will be able to play but for now they have to play without me. BUT..some things I have done and they loved that did not strain me was "snowball fights" we took a newspaper and made snowballs and had a good ol' fashion fight. It made a huge mess but at the end I gave us all a bag and we raced to see who can fill up their bag first.


 I would also just lay on the floor and play dinosaurs or pretend anything so I can just lay on the floor. Sometimes I would put on toddler music from Pandora and have a dance contest. I was always the judge and would sit on the couch while they danced and jumped around.





Please share any other ideas you have. There are plenty of days I felt like a bad mommy because I was soooo tired and didn't feel like I have the strength to do anything but small things helped and involving them helped even though I could get things done much quicker on my own.

3 comments:

  1. My children are a bit older but we went from 1 child to 4 in just 5 months. We were adopting 2 boys (ages 4 and 6) and having a baby (plus our 7 yr old already at home).

    I think the biggest helper was a set routine and the fact that my older children LOVED to help!

    It was AFTER the birth that I ended up needing help! Rough recovery from a c/section.

    We're currently adding two more via adoption (and expecting, again) and we're not sure how exactly we're going to survive this time...going from 4 to 7! I'll let you know!

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow! I think that's incredible for you to adopt while being pregnant. At least you have some older ones now who like to help! We may be interested in adoption in a few year as well. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're definitely not a bad mom! It's good for children to learn how to entertain themselves so consider that in your more tired moments. I only have one kid but we also include him in the chores. He's pretty good at scrubbing the toilet and he likes spraying the shower and tub with our homemade vinegar solution cleaner.

    ReplyDelete