By Karen Grimaldos
Want to know how all-star moms with multiple kiddos make it through the baby and toddler years? Here, three experienced mothers (with a combined total of 14 children between them) share their best parenting tips for moms and dads of babies and toddlers. These
tips, tricks and strategies can help make your early parenting years easier.
Mom 1:
Jen Wallwork Dominguez; Goodlettsville, Tennessee
Number of children:
Five
Ages:
13, 10, 5 and two 4-year-old twins
Tips & Advice:
Simplify laundry day
Skip the sorting phase. I gave up on sorting clothes by color and size a long time ago. When I do my laundry, all the clothes go into the washing machine together. I wash darks and whites
in the same load and it all manages to come out fine.
Giving everyone a separate place for their dirty clothes also helps make laundry duty easier. I make sure that each of my kids has their own laundry basket. When a basket gets full, everything inside of it gets emptied straight into the washing machine.
Make your clothing budget fit
I do all of my shopping in one discount store. I buy whatever is cute and affordable because I don’t have enough time or money to pay attention to brands. Nothing is going to
hold up well when you have toddlers!
When I shop, I also look for multipurpose clothing. If I’m looking for a party dress, I won’t buy something fancy and frilly. What I will buy is a pretty dress that can also be worn in the backyard with flip-flops.
Pack (and unpack) with ease.
When I travel, I pack individual outfits for my kids, complete with underwear and socks, in resealable plastic bags. I can fit all of my kids’ clothes in one suitcase by packing
this way. It also helps make getting dressed in the morning much easier and saves me from rummaging around in multiple suitcases looking for lost items.
Mom 2:
Danielle Donahue; Germantown, Maryland
Number of children:
Three
Ages:
Two-year-old twins and a four-year-old toddler
Tips & Advice:
Handle nighttime wake-ups wisely
Be consistent with how you respond to your baby when she wakes up at night. When my twins had trouble sleeping, we tried a variety of different methods to get them to fall back asleep. Because of this
approach, there was a lot of inconsistency in our response to nighttime wakeups. That inconsistency was our downfall because it only made things worse.
Always ask for help
Having great support groups of moms that I can turn to when times are tough has really helped me. Reach out to friends, family, and fellow moms before you hit a wall and just can’t take it anymore.
Know when to consult a pro
My husband and I were spending hours every night trying to put our twins to sleep with no success. After 10 months of sleep deprivation, we finally decided to talk to a sleep
consultant. The results were amazing! The twins now sleep straight through the night with no problem.
Mom 3:
Andrea Young; Alpharetta, Georgia
Number of children:
Six
Ages:
Two months, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12
Tips & Advice:
Prevent picky eating before it starts
I have always made my children a part of meal preparation time, whether it was by wearing a baby and having her observe how dinner is prepared or by stirring casserole
ingredients together with toddlers. When kids are a part of making a meal, eating is less of a struggle because they are proud of what they helped create. We make our meals together as a family and our kids have always eaten whatever is served.
Get toddlers talking at the table
Just as soon as our children could talk we would get them to play the happy-sad game at the dinner table. Each child would share one thing that made them feel happy that day and something that made
them feel sad. It’s a great way to stay connected as a family and learn how to communicate with one another.
Befriend an experienced mom
The best thing I ever did when I was a new mom was to find a mom friend who was about 10 years ahead of me in the parenting process. She gave me such a healthy perspective on the
things that really mattered when it came to raising a family. When new moms ask me for advice, I tell them not to fret about the little things and just to make sure they really enjoy their babies being little because time goes by so fast.
Image : Getty
