Third babies have certain requirements they must meet and they are as follows:
1. An Easy-Going Personality
Third babies are born into chaos (at least if you’re born into my household) and they need to be able to roll with the punches (that are being thrown by the older children). They must learn early on to go with the flow and realize that they are not the centre of the universe.
2. A Willingness To Be Bathed Less Than Twice a Week
Yeah, my baby stinks. So what?!
I kid, I kid. With our first baby we bathed her religiously every evening, tenderly massaging scented lotion into her doughy limbs after the ritual, making a real event of it. Brinley’s lucky if she gets the curdled milk wiped out from between her neck folds.
3. A Fondness For The Carseat
We are always on the go, running kids to and from activities, school, events, parties, etc. and third babies must be willing to get strapped into their seats and be carted around all day long. Some of Brinley’s best and longest naps have been in her carseat. (And yes, I check on her all the time to make sure she’s still breathing when she’s asleep in there.)
4. The Ability To Drink a Bottle via a Propped-Up Blanket Under the Chin
Brinley mastered this fine art very early in her life, out of necessity. This way she can be fed while I’m getting the older girls ready in the morning or I’m breaking up their brawls or putting the two year-old in her 49th time-out of the day. Good times.
5. An Affinity For Loud Background Noise
Our house is never quiet. I’d like to say it’s the soft pitter-patter of little feet, but more often than not it’s the deafening shrieks of two sisters who can’t be in the same room without trying to claw each others’ eyeballs out of their sockets with dull knives. Brinley can sleep through virtually anything, and I am so thankful.
Do you know of people whose third babies were super high-maintenance, or do most of them fit this description since they really have no choice in the matter?
Um, when #2 (a boy this time, the naming is EVEN WORSE than with the girl) comes along I think that will be IT for me so I can’t speak for a 3rd. However, I imagine this boy will be a lot more laid back than his big sister was, if for no other reason than she will make sure to tell him how and when and where to do everything, so the child will never actually have to do anything for himself. Any tidbits you want to throw my way regarding a 2nd baby is welcome.
i totally agree! (and i also have the 3 boy version!)
I WISH my third had fit this bill! The only thing I can say is that she learned very early on to go to sleep by herself when I set her in her crib…and for that I was thankful. However, other than that, she’s been pretty high maintenance! I have always been a tad jealous of my friend who had her third at the same time as me…she would come home and unpack all the groceries, and baby would just sit in the carseat and watch or sleep for like, half an hour. My Myka would NEVER do that! LOL
I’m two months away from having the fourth…here’s hoping for a laid back babe!
I think by the third baby, not only are we totally busy that we can’t dote on them, but we’re much more relaxed in our parenting by that point. My third spent a lot of time in the buggy…I got a reclining umbrella stroller that I would take out on walks and then roll from room to room in the house while he napped in it! I wouldn’t say that he was an easy baby, but in comparison to dealing with attitude and tantrums, he felt like a breeze!
Five years ago Jen asked me to write about my experience of adding a third child. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to dive into the UrbanMoms archives to read abut how I was feeling then (http://www.urbanmoms.ca/the_lounge/2005/10/this-too-shall-pass.html). My daughter’s 5.5 now, and though she’s outgrown a lot of the easy going, laid back personality that she exhibited for the first months of her life (!!) she has found and continues to find the perfect role for her in our family of five.
Yep, Kayla is the same. Everyone keeps asking how I’m doing with a concerned sympathetic look on their faces, and I’m like “good”. They always say “really?” with a slightly disappointed look on their faces, and then I tell them that I get around 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night and the hardest part of my day is dealing with my older children and figuring out what to make for supper. At which point they start to look a little sour and say things like “well, how did you get so lucky?” Tee Hee. What is the saying, third time’s the charm? So far so good. I totally get the stinky baby thing! Milk curds + wet wipe = clean enough!
So you know I’m reading this because we love you guys and mostly to see if you survive. If you can survive then maybe I”ll have another one…sssshhh don’t tell Corey that yet 🙂
Your kids, as always are cute!
Twins and higher order multiples are the same! I especially relate to the bathing…yup, milk under the chin mostly received a brief cloth wipe.
I’ll let you know in about 5 months!
My 3rd is the best baby! I joke that God forgot to put her cry box in. It is so funny that you say that about the propped up bottle…we do that too for the same reason. I have a 6 and 4 year old who keep us busy beyond belief. I think God cuts you a break with number 3 so you don’t go completely insane!
My third is very high maintenance & a bit of a nightmare. On the other hand he is the easiest to take out. He loves to go shopping and be dragged to & from appointments. It might be b/c I’m uber boring at home and he is just itching to see the light of day who knows. Congrats on an easy third! I was told the third was easy & now I want to remember who told me that so I can drop my little man off at their house for a day 🙂 Don’t get me wrong I love him to pieces & he completes our family perfectly!
this. is. my. life. (I just have the 3 boy version.)
Yep.. 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th baby all fit into this category.. #7 is 5 months old and she is the mellowest little girl I have ever met, although she isn’t overly fond of her carseat.. but hey,.. she slept through the night from under 2 months old so how can I complain??
Congrats on your beautiful little girl by the way 🙂