Maybe I Made a Mistake

[laundrymom]

deep breath, you havent found your groove,... =-) you will!!

My daughter is 2 and the other boy is 2 and then I have a 1 yr old and next week a 2 month old. I know you gals all have WAY more kids. I have no idea how you do it!!! I didnt want to teach her anything specific but just to be able to play with her and talk with her about numbers and colors but I cant because I am following the 1 yo around making sure he doesnt get hurt. I guess I am paranoid about it because the 2 yo boy keeps falling and getting bruises even though I am right there...he is pretty clumsy. I dont want to parents to think I am not watching them because I am like a hawk.
I just feel like i have no idea what I am doing...my mantra to get through the day has been..make sure nobody gets hurt and if I can make it till nap time everything will be okay.

Thanks for everyones encouragement.

[countrymom]

I would also recommend that you not take in so many children at once, start slow, till you get use to have an extra child and then start adding. I find this is a big reason why people want to quit right away, its hard when you have 1 child and threw in a bunch more and you don't have organizational skills figured out, it will become overwhelming, but over time it will work out. I have 4 kids of my own, so throwing in a bunch of kids doesn't bother me.

[mrs.meg]

This is my 2nd go around with this, I quit after 6 months the first time. I have been doing this for 2 1/2 years now. I still do not enjoy it like I should, but I try to focus on the positive things, especially being with my own children. It is temporary for me. I know I could not do this long-term.

One thing I cannot stress enough is teaching dck's boundaries. Lots of kids that I have kept just do not have any sense of boundaries. They seem to think they can come into our house and take over. Once they begin to learn, it starts getting better. It just takes time!

Also, you said you have a 2 year old daughter and then a 2 year old boy, if he is not your own, I know I have had a hard time getting used to watching boys since I am a mom of girls only. Boys are way different and much more aggressive. It has taken a long time for me to learn to appreciate boys! Almost traumatic in the beginning!!!