My 4th kid was born about 2 months after my oldest turned 5 and 5 weeks before my youngest turned 2. It’s actually been surprisingly easy to add her into my crazy life. She’s pretty happy to just hang out, she is well loved by her older siblings. I’m quite excited to see my 3rd’s friendship with her develop and see her personality come alive as she stays awake longer. 

Related: What It’s Like Having 3 Kids

Pray for help everyday

Turn to God. Start your day with a short devotional, read a few verses, or even begin your day singing a praise song. You can’t do it on your own and trying to do so will just cause you stress and suck the joy from motherhood. I like to use the Bible app and start one of their plans, they usually take less than 5 minutes to go through and focus my day on God. 

Prioritize sleep

If you don’t at least get some sleep then you’re not going to be able to handle the days. If you can, go to bed as early as possible and sleep in as long as possible in those early days. My little one tends to nurse a lot until 10 pm so that’s when I finally get to go to bed, even though 8 or 9 sounds like a great time to be in bed. 

Make sure you eat

Come up with some handheld items you can eat and get some snacks you can grab and go. Some good options are Aussie bites, muffins, egg bites, granola bars, bananas, apples, and baby carrots. 

Snuggle your kiddos 

My 3rd kid has become even more snuggly than she was before if that’s even possible. She loves to climb up onto my lap with me while I’m holding my infant to snuggle. 

Accept help

If someone offers to bring you a meal or hold your baby accept the help. If your husband takes the baby and tells you to eat food and take a shower, don’t try to fight him on it. (Yes this has happened several times and I always try to fight him on it.) 

Plan

Make sure that you plan your days. Make time for activities for your older kids, outings, parks, play dates are all great to help your older kids feel a sense of normalcy. Plan time to breastfeed, pump, or prepare formula before you leave. If you need tips for how to get out of the house check out my post about how to get out of the house quickly with 2 toddlers. (The principles still apply and it only takes about 10 more minutes with 2 more. I hope to get that down to 12 minutes total by the time my youngest is 6 months old.) Make sure you plan meals. Quick easy meals are great for this transitional time. Sometimes eating out may be healthy for your emotional well being, just be careful to not strain your budget. 

Baby wearing

Get yourself a great baby carrier if you don’t already have one.  When your baby is small a wrap carrier is great to keep them close.  I love my beco Gemini when your baby is bigger.  My latest baby was ready for the structured carrier at 5 weeks, my others had been ready between 2-3 months old. Having your hands free opens you up to being able to cook, clean, help your toddlers go potty, get them dressed, pick them up or just generally help your other young kids. 

Related: 12 necessities for a baby 

Prepare for regressions

My 3rd kid started asking to nurse even though she hasn’t nursed in over 9 months. She just wants to be a baby again, but she’s also excited to be a big sister. My 2nd started screaming more so we have had to work on getting her to stop screaming and use her words to express her feelings. Of course she is 3 so I know that will take time as well. 

For my family adding a 4th kid was easy. I do think the personality of the child is a big factor in how easy they are to add to your family. I love how close in age my kiddos are. I think the closer age gap is great for creating friendships between siblings, but it is a lot of work.