Hi,
I have three kids and we are thinking of no'4.
One thing I'm a bit worried about is the transition from 3 to 4 kids.
Mainly the cost of a new car as we only have a 5 seater at the moment and we really don't want to get finance for a bigger one.We had thought of getting seats put in the back of ours (volvo estate) but again as we don't know what the easyest thing to do is we are not sure.
The other is the time, I know that you find time for each child but knowing my luck it will be twins............. i was wondering how people got on with going for no'4 +.
Thanks

Hi there!

Well, I'm 7 wks away from no5 My other 4 are 2 girls 8 & 7 and 2 boys 4 & 19 months and we know this is another boy!

No beating about the bush, it is hard with regards to splitting time between them all but it is doable. Obviously, with the girls at school it makes it easier to give the boys their time so when the girls are home I don't feel that guilty about then giving the girls their bit of time with homework n stuff. The boys have an earlier bedtime (usually - routine gone a bit out of the window currently due to struggling with these last few wks of pregnancy) than the girls which means they all get to say proper goodnight's to both me and daddy.

Weekends are usually a madhouse but at the same time, we do have good moments too......our youngest has just started walking and is mad on cars and balls (exactly the same as his big brother lol) and it is lovely to watch all of them play together. The older 3 all take turns being 'server' at mealtime, and the girls do help out with the boys most times. The main thing is to get some routines in place, like b4 school run and bedtimes.....as long as there is some structure at the 'stressful' times, nearly everything else slots into place!!

With regards to a car - I personally would look at trading up.....but that's just me. We went from a 5 seater to a 7 seater when we had our 4th and it was definitely the right thing to do. You have to take into account all the car seats, buggy and anything else that normally get's popped in the car.....our 1st was a 7 seat galaxy and we never used the middle seat of the 3 (unless we had a passenger lol) which gave us lots of room.

Good luck with ur decisions - as hard as it is sometimes, I love having my large family Those magically moments, like the older 3 calling the bump by his name we've chosen, or the 4 yr old giving my bump a kiss & cuddle goodnight as well as me are ones I'll always cherish!! xx

Hi, I have 4 children and was really worried about the transition from 3 to 4, we were quite happy with 3 children and no 4 wasnt planned, but now I have to say it was the best surprise ever, yes it is tough at times when they are arguing or if I'm feeling tired and they are up at 6.30 on a Sunday morning, but the good things far outweigh the bad, and Isaac (baby no4) is such a chilled out and happy baby that there are times that I really dont know I've got him. We were lucky as we have a land rover discover which has 7 seats so we didnt need to get a bigger car but everything else just sort of fits in. 4 is a great number to have.

Hi Hayley,
Thanks for your reply.
After alot of thought we will be trying for no'4 but first we will sort out the car situation. The less stress while we are trying the better I think!!!
I know that all the rewards to come are going to be so exciting but hard at the same time......what was I worried about LOL!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck with your brood!!
Thanks hon
xxxxx

Re car situation depending on what Volvo you have got adding 7 seats can be a relativily cheap way of getting a 7 seater. not sure what your budget is but if its smaller the peugeot 806/fiat ulysees are coming on to the market at a really reasonable price and they have slidey doors which is a bonus. If you stay away from the HDi engines then mechanically they are quite basic, thus much cheaper to fix when they do go wrong

If your local to Bournemouth let me know xxDBxx