THREE UNDER THREE AT 23

Ever since having Floyd my life has been nonstop, I feel like I don't have a second to think about anything else other than the kids. Winston turns 3 in two weeks, Evelyn turns 2 at the end of December and Floyd is almost 2 months. If I had to describe what it is like having three under three, I would have to say it is constant.

Constantly one, sometimes all three kids are on me.

Constantly changing diapers.

Constantly sorting out the kids meals and snacks and when I am not, I am breastfeeding Floyd.

Constantly feels like one, sometimes all three kids are either crying, tantrum or screaming.

Then there is housework which seems to be nonstop, I know I don't have to do them but I can't stand seeing a sink with dirty dishes, dishes not packed away and the washing not being done.

ROUTINE

Our routine hasn't changed massively ever since having Floyd. Our routine depends on what time my partner starts work, I set an alarm for two hours before he leaves for work and during that time I shower and get myself ready for the day. When Winston was born I would always get his outfit ready the night before, and I still do but now for three little humans - It's just a habit now and I just find it makes the morning a lot easier for me.

My partner organises the older kids, dresses them and sorts out their breakfast and I organise Floyd. Once my partner leaves for work, I put a load of washing on and the kids watch a movie and while they're watching a movie I feed Floyd and put him down for a nap. While the kids are watching a movie and Floyd is napping, I catch up on housework and then we wait for Floyd to wake up and we go for a walk (40-60 minutes) and Evelyn usually falls asleep on our walk and that would be her first nap for the day. When we get home I then prepare lunch for the kids, we have a play and by that time Floyd would be due for a feed and then he goes down for a nap again. The afternoon is a little bit crazy, I don't know if it's crazy because I know my partner will be home in a few hours and I cant wait for him to come home and help me take care of the kids. At night I organise the kids dinners and pyjamas, and my partner takes care of Floyd while I do that.

We never intend to have a routine, it just happened. We worked around our kids, we figured what makes them happy and comfortable and eventually we found what works for us and we just fell into a routine.

NAP TIME

When pregnant with Floyd one of my biggest worries was nap time, especially for Evelyn because only way she would fall asleep was by breastfeeding and when I stopped breastfeeding her at 18 months and she would refuse to fall asleep on her own, no matter how tired she was. If she doesn't have her nap she make it hard for everyone - tantrums, tears and be indecisive. Winston stopped having day time naps for a few months now and would have one now and then, depending on how early he woke up that morning.

So far, how I get her to have her day time nap is by going for walks and she falls asleep in the pram, some might not agree to that method but it gets me out of the house, gets the kids out of the house so win win situation for all of us. As for the night my partner would carry her and walk around for until she falls asleep, and sometimes that can take an hour for her but just recently she has starting to fall asleep on her own by just cuddling into one of us - super proud mummy moment!

BABY ITEMS

Floyd is a winter baby and so I started collecting little pieces such as beanies, keepsake items and warm clothes for Floyd throughout my pregnancies but I would wait for the sales and took advantage of when there was a sale on.

I suck at saving but ever since having Floyd I am trying my hardest to save, and trying to only buy things that are necessities. One thing I felt like I MUST need was a double pram, I wanted the Bugaboo Donkey but at the same time I didn't want to spend $2000 on a pram. After months of scrolling on one of those 'sell and swap' Facebook groups, I stumbled across a double pram only used a couple of times, pretty much brand new for $250 - I am glad I waited. Don't be afraid to buy second hand baby items, it doesn't mean your cheap - it just means your smart ;)

DIAPERS ARE EXPENSIVE

When someone tells you, diapers are expensive, they're not lying. Every fortnight we would buy a total of 6 bags of diapers, that is 280 nappies in total and we use 1600 baby wipes in a fortnight. The diaper and wipes brand we use are LITTLE ONES from Woolworths and we have been using it for two years now. We use to use Huggies but the kids would leak out of the nappy and would get nappy rash, then I changed it to Aldi nappies after so many recommendations and that was worser than the Huggies. I decided to give LITTLE ONES a go, it is $11 a bag and so If it didn't work out I wouldn't feel like I wasted a lot of money on nappies. We have been using it for two years, no issues and super affordable - I highly recommend it in infant size and up, newborn size didn't work for us at all.

BUYING CLOTHES FOR THE FIRST 3 MONTH

After having two experiences on how many clothes to buy in newborn size I had a rough idea knowing how fast babies can grow out of their newborn size clothing. I only brought 3 newborn size onesies and I had a couple of the bonds wondersuits from when I had Evelyn and my sister gave me a couple newborn size onesies also, so that helped a lot. I brought 1 jumper, three long sleeve t shirts and three tights and two pairs of newborn size socks.

He is now in 000 and I have already picked up a few pieces along my pregnancies and I was lucky enough my sister had a baby boy this year, so she gave me some of my nephews clothes that he has outgrown so that helped me a lot. Floyd is a winter baby and I knew how fast he would outgrown newborn size clothing I brought -

5 long sleeve t-shirts

3 short sleeve t-shirts

3 tracksuit pants

3 onesies

3 pairs of socks

3 beanies

3 jumpers

LOVE TO DREAM SWADDLE

I was hesitant to buy the Love To Dream Swaddle at first because of the price but after reading so many great reviews on it and constantly seeing other mum's saying they can't live without it, I decided to go ahead and buy one - I brought the Love To Dream 'original' in grey. I will start with the material, the material is super soft and thick and Floyd has poo'd through it multiple times and the poo stain came out of the LTDS instantly (this is without using stain removers). I find that Floyd sleeps in it for longer, settles a lot quicker and it is the only baby item that we rely on (apart from the obvious - nappies and wipes). One thing I could say negative about it is that once your little one grows out of one, you need to upgrade to the sizer bigger but it is totally worth it, if it helps settles Floyd and having him sleep longer during the night I can't complain.

BUDGETING

I am going to be honest with you I am terrible at saving, I have always wanted to save but I never found a way that was best for me to save (and yes, I have tried those metal money tins) but ever since having Floyd I have been more determined to figure out how I can teach myself physically and mentally to save.

I am just going to throw it out there I have a spending problem and I have finally accepted that I have a problem after years of denial. I decided to try to budget on one thing at a time and I don't buy things for myself so that isn't a problem, so where all my money goes to is groceries, eating out and unnecessary baby items. I didn't realise how often we ate out and how much money we would spend just at breakfast alone.

So far I have put a limit on our grocery shopping and only buy what we need, and when I did that I didn't realise how much money we spent on the things we didn't need. We get our fruit and veg from the farmer markets, you will be surprise how much cheaper it is then at Coles and Woolworths. Same goes with meat, we buy our meat from a wholesale butcher and spend about $100 and it would last us 2-3 weeks, if there's a wholesale butcher near you I recommend you trying it out because it has been one of our biggest saving, along with buying our fruit and veg from the farmer markets.

WHAT I PACK WHEN WE GO OUT

What I pack all depends on where we are going and I usually know roughly how long we will be out for. Winston and Evelyn both have backpacks from Country Road, I highly recommend you investing in one - it's a canvas material, super good quality and is safe to be washed in the washing machine.

If we are out for 1-4 hours I pack one of the kids backpack and that includes -

4 nappies for Winston and Evelyn

6 nappies for Floyd

Spare outfit for Floyd

Packet of wipes

A face wash cloth

2 Breast pads

If we are out for any longer than 4 hours I would pack both of the kids backpack, one bag would just have nappies and wipes and the other bag would have the kids spare cloths, toys and snacks of their choice.

ZEN ZONE

When Evelyn was born I got an essential oil diffuser to use it as a night lamp and help my little ones breathe during the colder nights and help them when they were sick. I then discovered all these different oils and they do all different things, I then started to rely on my essential oil diffuser - It was a life saviour with two under two (at the time). I stopped using it for a while ever since we moved houses, and I started to use it again when I had Floyd. The one I have is the Aroma Bloom Aromatherapy Diffuser, in grey. One of the things I love about it is I can also use it as a night light in the kids room. Another thing is the water in the diffuser doesn't get hot, so I don't have to worry about my little ones burning themselves if they were to ever accidentally tip it on themselves.

I am not educated on essential oils and there isn't a particular brand that I use, I use any brand and get ones that are for calming, relaxing and smells nice.

ADVICE TO ONE MUMMA TO ANOTHER

My partner works full time and I am a stay at home mum. Two things that shocked me the most about having three under three is that I am not as stressed as I thought I would be, when I do feel overwhelmed or know I am about to get stress I tell myself to relax, stay calm and breathe. I know it sounds cliche, but it really helps me. When I am having a bad day or lacking sleep, I used to tell myself this is just a phase but I didn't find it helping me and what helped me the most is accepting this is my life now, and for me I think acceptance has been the key. If you need to cry, cry it doesn't mean you have failed as a parent and it doesn't mean you're weak.

I get asked "how do I do it" quite often and my secret is acceptance, I have accepted that this is my life now. I have given up a lot of things for my kids and it is my choice, and it's what works for me. I know this won't last forever because in a few years the kids won't be in diapers, I won't be waking up every 1-2 hours to breastfeed or rocking a child back to sleep and I won't be trying to function on little sleep and on 2-4 coffees in the day.

I have accepted I am no longer going to have the full night rest.

I have accepted and now become immune to the tears and tantrum.

I have accepted that I am unable to do the things that I want to do during the days and night.

I have accepted that I am never always going to be on time to every event.

I have accepted that I am a mum.