# four on the way

[Camping Griswalds]

I'll probably be flamed but I have to ask- How does everyone have all these "Surprise" babies? Don't you practice birth control or if you're religious the rythm method? Let's face it were not kids here & to me I have no idea how anyone has an "accident".

Well sometimes birth control just ain't what it's all cracked up to be!!! I have been pregnant four times. I have two "Pill babies" I personally swear that the pill regulates me!!! First and third pregnancy were pills. I NEVER missed one. Fate I suppose. Second pregnancy, we were very careful not to get pregnant so I would be due in August...got preggers then too. I have three surviving children, all due in August, boys born on July 20th and July 18th, daughter born August 2nd. All were early. So we now Avoid sex like the plague in October and November. We have been safe the last couple of years. However each fall since third baby was born, I get a little nervous. Something about the FAll and pregnancies connect with DH and I.

No flames from me. Honest question really. I will tell you one day at work, all of us nurses were sitting around talking about our kids, and "planned pregnancies" and out of the combined 22 children of us speaking, four were actually planned. Seems like once you're married, there is no longer a stigma attached, and there are A LOT of Surprise Babies! People just don't admit it as much. We all work on a mother/baby area of the hospital too. Anymore, the married couple of 25-30 having babies is rare around here. Seems its' unwed under 19, or second marriage over 35. Also I have seen tons of babies after tubals, after vasectomy, condom babies, pill babies, took ten years to get pregnant first time, and then oops pregnant again, can't get pregnant while breast feeding babies, Irish Twins (two babies in same calendar year) you name it, I've seen it. Surprises happen all of the time, only thing that is foolproof is not having sex. And sometimes I even wonder about that...

 

[momof296&02]

QUOTE=Camping Griswalds;18984895] No flames from me. Honest question really. I will tell you one day at work, all of us nurses were sitting around talking about our kids, and "planned " and out of the combined 22 children of us speaking, four were actually planned. Seems like once you're married, there is no longer a stigma attached, and there are A LOT of Surprise Babies! People just don't admit it as much.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for understanding that I was asking a question honestly. Based on the responses I am scared! I think i'll stay up all night reading the dis boards! LOL...

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Thank you for understanding that I was asking a question honestly. Based on the responses I am scared! I think i'll stay up all night reading the dis boards! LOL

No worries

Some people just interpret things in a different way.

 

[grlpwrd]

While I appreciate someone being "wild & spontaneous" that doesn't always mean responsible. We are pretty much always spontaneous, however, we are 98-99% sure we are responsible as we have taken precautions to be permanently safe. I'm sorry & i don't mean to be rude but i just don't get it???

It looks like you are relatively new here so I will go easy on you. lol... You are the same person who asked a question about why a member decided on homeschooling her kids, right? You are a very curious person.

I had my surprise baby number 4 even if I was taking Yasmin. Life happens sometimes. I have 3 siblings, one of which is my identical twin sister. I always wanted 4 or 5 kids.

To the OP: What's one more I say... the more the merrier. We have 5 and I am thinking about having another in a few more years.

 

[eeyoregon]

The only reliable birth control is NO SEX!

When I worked at a medical malpractice insurance company we had more than one claim come thru regarding couples that got pregnant despite the fact that the woman had her tubes tied and her husband had a vasectomy! Some folks are just fertile myrtles!!!

I also know many, many "pill" babies. Also know a few babies as a result of the "I am nursing so I can't get pregnant" myth. Things happen...doesn't mean we aren't responsible.

My ex-aunt-in-law had two babies because she thought you put the birth control sponge in after the fact to "sponge it up"!!!!

 

[momof296&02]

It looks like you are relatively new here so I will go easy on you. lol... You are the same person who asked a question about why a member decided on homeschooling her kids, right? You are a very curious person.


Yes, that's me & you hit the nail on the head I am a curious one! Thanks for taking it easy on me. I've read the boards for awhile before I started to post & haven gained much knowledge from being here.

 

[mamaloya]

As you can see in my sig, I have six. They are a little more spread out though. Only ds7 and dd4 were "planned". With dd6 we said, "How about we have another baby next year". The next month I was pregnant. We have been trying for baby #7 for over a year now with no luck. The way we see it, it is up to God.

Now, my response to the OP, the hardest transition is going from 2 to 3. It is easy to juggle 2, you have 2 hands after all. Throw that 3rd one in, it is hard. After that, it gets easier and easier. My youngest is just now potty trained (98%). We are now thinking "Mmm, no more diapers, maybe we won't have #7 LOL." Of course now I will probably get preggie. LOL

With each baby it takes a shorter time to adjust because you are more experienced.

One thing that makes my big family easier is homeschooling. I had 2 in public school last year and it was so hard keeping up with 2 different schools and sets of teachers. I seriously don't know how you moms do it with kids in traditional school. HSing makes it easier because I know exactly how they are doing (no phone tag or waiting for report cards), I know when their assignments are due (no lost papers), and can train them to be more independent w/o worrying that they are getting lost in the system. No school uniforms to buy. Also, I can go to WDW anytime I want. LOL Of course, that is just MHO.

As for traveling, especially to WDW, my big tip is buy a camper or a tent. We have tented, had a popup, had a hybrid camper and are now in the process of buying a larger camper with 2 sets of bunk beds, sofa bed, dinette, and queen bed for dh and I. This, to us, is a necessity. There is no way we could afford vacation homes, condos, or 2 hotel rooms. A tent or popup campsite at WDW is only 40-50 per nite depending on season. The ones for the bigger ones are 50-60. That is way cheaper. You also have a kitchen for cooking. We travel a lot and also spend weekends just up the street at a CG to spend family time together. Popups are a great way to start and with so many littles, you can fit them all in one big king bed. We did that when they were smaller. Popups can also be pulled by most minivans. Go to fleetwoodrv.com and dig around looking at the popups (folding campers) and hybrids (orbit and pegasus). You can also get really good deals on used ones. We would be stuck at home w/o it. Once again, this is just MHO.

Trust me, it will be fine. You all will be so close. You will have rough times and it will take a couple of months to adjust but it can't be too bad or I wouldn't be wanting baby #7.

 

[DVCJones]

I only have two children, but I am one of 4! My parents took us to WDW every year( sometimes more) I agree with advice on getting a camper/RV. That is what my parents did and it worked out great. We went all over the USA. Some of my best childhood memories are of my family of 6 in our RV. As a result, my family is very close even today. I talk to each family member every week some daily. (even living over 80 miles away from the closest DB) I agree, that RVing really makes for a very close family.

I hope to do the same with my kids too!

Congratulations on your 4th blessing!!!

 

[kerry34]

Congrats to you!!! We have five kids now ages 14, 12, 11 and 7 yr old twins. You will be fine. There is really not much of a difference between 3 and 4 kids, personally I think having 1 child is the most time consuming, but that is just me. Traveling can prove expensive with a large family. We have only stayed once onsite at Disney but I would rather stay offsite and be able to go more often than stay onsite and only go once and a while. People look at me like I am crazy when they find out we are taking our 5 kids to disney "again". On another note, my twins were a suprise so I know what you mean when you say it hasnt really hit you yet. DH and I were very careful always and lo and behold I got pregnant, very suprised. Had my ultrasound at 5 months...found out they were twins...SHOCKED. Took about three days of mumbling things like "OMG five kids....twins....five kids all under age 7 " before it finally sunk in. I had a tubal when I had my csection and I am glad, because with my little ones being seven I have been kind of missing having little ones around. Financially it would put a strain on us, but sometimes I would love to have another little one. Anyway good luck to you all!!

 

[Val]

We also have four: DD19, DD15, DS11 and DD9....only DD15 was "planned". The last 2 are 18 mos apart- and we call DD9 our "Extra prize in the box"! Kids are a little spread out, but it's worked. We did driver's ed and kindergarten at the same time!

Four is really not much different than three in most ways. You are already outnumbered, the kids already know how to plot against you, and you already have lots of hand-me-downs. We have noticed that (probably because of ages) we have the "older girls" and the "little kids"...tend to break up activities into 2 groups, especially at WDW. That is changing now that the youngest are getting older- although our son is much more adventureous than our youngest DD.

Organize, try to keep a (reasonable) schedule, and take a deep breath. As I always said (and there is a thread around someplace saying this much better): with the first, when she dropped her pacifier, we sterlized it. With the second we ran it under running water; the third we wiped it off on our shirt, and with the youngest- hey- the dog licked it- clean enough! You are more relaxed, better able to deal with crises, and just a more experienced parent as the family grows.

Enjoy them while they are young-while it is hectic and overwhelming now, all too soon they will be off on their own. I didn't believe it, and it happened to me overnight. My oldest will be a sophomore in college, lives away at school most of the year, and even though she is home for the summer we never see her because she is working. She can only stay a week at WDW (we will be there for 2) because of her schedule The 15 year old is into speech/debate and is always gone doing something....so our house is starting to get 'empty'. Even the youngest 2 are developing lives of their own. Thank God the dogs are still around and need a mommy!

 

[maedelken]

Only our first baby was planned the second and third were semi planned. This baby was a heat of the moment baby which seem to become few and far between when you have three kids. My friend said isn't it funny that you always seem to become pregnant around the same time. I usually breastfeed for awhile so I haven't been on the pill because it lowers my milk supply. I was actually waiting for my period because I had just decided to start the pill since my youngest was pretty much done breastfeeding. Well next time when we get to this point I will get on the pill sooner. I have tough pregnancies so four will be enough for me. Are the DVC villlas big enough for 6? I guess life isnt always planned I think those heat of the moment events the kind tha take your breath away make life worth living. All my kids are awesome and cute and sweet so another one will make life even better.

 

[Kat77]

My two girls were as planned as it gets- they were adopted. My first son was planned but my second son was a suprise pregnancy that came in the middle of adoption paperwork and I am pretty sure there was a miscarried (early) pregnancy years AFTER the TL with my last child.... I honestly never thought that would ever happen to me.

To the OP: This is my first trip to Disney with my four kiddos but I have done a lot of travelling with them. You have to be organised but remain very flexible which you seem to be as you can laugh at yourself already.
IMHO being close in age makes things much easier than trying to entertain several different age groups of siblings at once, atleast while they are younger. My kids could all take swim lessons at the same time, wanted to see the same movie at the theatre, etc,. The big problem is when they reach the age of indivual interests -then you are running to and fro juggling several different activities.

All these homeschool moms amaze me. I wish I could handle teaching my children but at this point the special services offered by our school is still a necessity. Although you may think it easier to homeschool, it takes amazing effort and love to do what you're doing for your children.

 

[graygables]

Of my 4, the 4th was the only planned one! DD1 was a BCP baby, DD2 was a BCP+"barrier" baby, DD3 was the "you-can't-have-anymore-children" baby (long story) and so we planned DD4 so that DD3 wouldn't be an "only" (mine are 21, 18, 11, and 8 now).

We also homeschooled which did help a lot in keeping life more settled. I can't imagine 4 under 5, though, I really was glad my older 2 were around to help out with some of the more basic chores. Honestly, you will most likely adapt to it all very quickly and look back wondering what all the worry was about!

If you don't own DVC, now might be a good time, though...you may appreciate the 2BR/kitchen/laundry when they are older...

 

[brymolmom]

While I appreciate someone being "wild & spontaneous" that doesn't always mean responsible. We are pretty much always spontaneous, however, we are 98-99% sure we are responsible as we have taken precautions to be permanently safe. I'm sorry & i don't mean to be rude but i just don't get it???

Since we're onto personal questions here...Can I honestly ask you what you are doing to be permanently safe??? My guess is that you only THINK you are being permanently safe. Since abstinence is the ONLY 100% foolproof method of birth control. I know people who had tubes tied, vasectomy, on the pill (and religious about taking it on time), rythm method, just about every other type - they still are only 99% to 99.8%or so effective (and only then if it is done/taken exactly correctly - which a lot do not do every single time)....you do the math - even if we're talking .01% of pregnancies - that's a LOT of 'surprise' babies when you consider the sheer numbers of people using birth control.

So, saying that - are you still sure you're permanently safe?

 

[SplashMountainMama]

I'm currently pregnant with #6 and when people comment on how hard it must be my answer is always that whatever you have is hard. If you only have 1 child it seems hard until you have your 2nd and then wonder why you thought it was difficult before and so on and so on. I will say that our first 4 were very close in age. My kids were 4 1/2, 3 and 20 months when #4 was born. The first year and a half with 4 kids is still a bit of a blur! There are 3 years between #4 and #5 and the difference was unbelievable to me. I know this isn't very comforting to the OP whose kids will be close in age, but it made a big difference to us. #6 will be almost 3 years younger than #5 so I'm sure we'll manage OK. I'm not the most organized person at times and I work full-time so our house is usually a mess, but I figure something's gotta give. Kudos to those moms that can manage it all, but I find I enjoy my kids more if I don't stress over the little things like how often the windows get washed. As for the people who, without fail, ask if we planned this pregnancy my response is always...We didn't, but God did. Enjoy your new and improved family and count your blessings that you were able to have all those babies. I'm sure there are many women out there that would give anything to have a surprise like that!

 

[r4blessings]

Congrats to the OP! I also have four, fairly close in age and my 4th and 3rd for that matter were "unplanned" as well!

We had difficulty getting pregnant with my first, who will turn 9 this week. So we had to use artificial insemination. Also with my 2nd ds who is 5. We tried several times with the artificial insemination before it worked. We were thrilled with our two blessings and gave away all the baby stuff. That was a joke!
When 2nd ds was 18 months I noticed it had been a while since I'd had my "you know what" but didn't think I could be pregnant. Wrong! We were thrilled! And it turned out it was a girl! She is three. Then DH decided to have a vasesctomy, since I'd had difficult pregnancies, with bed rest and c-sections, and we were a little worried about my health. But he was a little too late. One week after his vasectomy (actually on Christmas night) we found out I was pregnant with baby #4 a ds, who is now 22 months.
The transition was a little rough, but I did have a problem with my section recovery so I think that just made things a little rougher than they would have been otherwise.
Now, it is finally getting a little easier. We actually all went to the beach last week and enjoyed ourselves! We did Disney last aug for ds's 1st birthday and stayed at Riverside and it was Awesome!
I love having four kiddos and if you can roll with as many things as possible you will do just fine!
Jennifer

 

[maedelken]

Does riverside sleep five? Did you use a pack n play for the baby? We also were just talking about giving the baby stuff away lucky we didn't.

 

[kileybeth]

Oh! congratualtions. What better place to vacation than Disney that is set up for kids! Go lots while you still fit in all the resort rooms! But really unitl youngest turns 3 you'll be fine staying anyplace just about.

Enjoy them, time flys and they are grown and gone, really.

My best tip is to laugh, a lot. and then laugh some more. Nothing helps more than that except maybe prayer! I would also recommend keeping time for you and your DH. It's easy to ignore that need and then you just don't have what you need to keep giving out everyday.

Have fun! You'll be fine.

from a Mom with 1 planned and 5 surprise babies (ages 25,20,15,12,4,and 2!) nothing would suprise me after these last two I promise! How many times can one person say "I'm done having kids?"

 

[LisaNJ25]

I have 4 also... I wont lie.. things were so much easier and hubby and I got along much better when there were only 2. I find it a lot of work. We have a big age gap with the kids.. than when #3 was 4 months old I found out I was pregnant with #4. I worked with #1 and #2. I am now a SAHM with #3 and #4. I love them to death... but its very stressfull for me.

 

[girlsx4]

Congrats! I have 4 DD's. I have to say it is overwhelming. Dh and I say(joking around) we should have stopped at 3.(we LOVE DD #4 to death and couldn't imagine our lives w/o her) but it's a lot of work. My girls were 8,5, and 3 when #4 was born. So, they are spread out more than yours. Needless to say, it's very chaotic in a house w/4 kids!
We stayed at All Star Sports in '05.....2 connecting rooms. We are doing ASMusic this year w/2 connecting rooms. The suites weren't included in the free dining plan