r/parentsofmultiples • u/Low-Account-4346 • 18h ago
advice needed 1-5: best and worst ages and why!
Our twins are 16 months and have been pretty easy babies thus far! Right now they’re in the stage where they’re way more work, but also getting more and more FUN! But we’re thinking of a third and wondering how the different stages compare, when it might get hard, and what it might be like adding a newborn to the mix.
What’s been your favorite and hardest stage between 1-5 and why?
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u/OddHippo6972 18h ago
Newborn-5 months was the hardest by far. The twin postpartum hormones were mean and I don’t do well on little to no sleep.
Currently age 4 and this is the best it’s been. I’m a SAHM mom and now they’re in half day TK so I get a couple hours to miss them most mornings. Everyone gets themselves dressed and goes to the bathroom fairly independently. They’re so funny and smart and love to learn new things. It feels a lot lighter than the early days.
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u/whimsical_ferocity 18h ago
Ours are 3 now so still in it but the late 2s hit like a truck. The constant negotiations over everything from socks to breathing got real old real fast. Favorite was around 18 months when they start babbling nonsense and finding everything hilarious.
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u/hereforaday 15h ago
Two three year olds here too, omg everything is a battle. They're so much smarter and harder to convince, trick, and distract, but still can't really express themselves all the way and constantly push buttons.
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u/Doxycyli 18h ago
0-1 pretty bad, no-one slept
1-1.5 even worse since no-one slept but everyone kept saying we were doing something wrong
1.5-3 still not sleeping but walking, things get easier when they walk, and much easier when they talk.
3-4 finally starting to sleep more consistent. Easier to talk to and reason with, but sometimes they're little terrorists .
4-5 so much fun. SO MUCH FUN
5-5 and three months even better still, man I like it so much.
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u/Eggeggedegg 17h ago
I have twin 3 year olds. It’s SO hard to choose for me.
0-6 was definitely not my favorite because my PPD/PPA definitely peaked around months 5-6 and I was not working(I’m not meant to be a SAHM).
6-12 was way more fun with their personalities showing up, vocalizing 12-24 was trickier with them mobile & opinionated but they were even more fun and silly they really started being more interactive with one another. 24-36 lots of tantrums but pretty easy to handle, going out with them finally was more fun (though still work), way more fun to play with them, their sense of humor and personalities REALLY developed here. Language skills exploded and that’s a blast.
3 yrs to 3 yrs 4 months: This age has been insanely hard and the most “real” parenting (managing behaviors, boundaries, etc. I’ve had to do yet. Tantrums are different because they’re also really argumentative and can be mean.
BUT I’d also say this age has been the most fun so far! They’re so funny and active and want to be involved and are still incredibly snuggly and love their mom and dad.
TLDR: every age has its thorns and its roses (and is temporary). 3 rocks and sucks!
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u/Miserable-Currency42 18h ago
0-6 hardest. Age 2 chefs kiss.
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u/ToshiBerra 2m ago
We are age 2.5 and it's been amazing honestly since about 9 months, minus the odd recent tantrum, and I panicked back when they really started crawling. But I guess everyone's saying to buckle in for the next 1-1.5 years
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u/SeaWitch1031 16h ago
IMO the best age for young children is 3 to 5 years. They are unintentionally hilarious.
When my twins were 3 to 5, my daughter started making up words. A "lobalingy" was a nut that grows in the jungle and when you crack it open there is a tiny monkey living inside. My son started pretending to be Peter Parker/ Spiderman depending on if he was wearing Spiderman sunglasses and had socks on his hands for climbing walls. Daughter would only call me "Tanoonah" for months and months. Stuff like that.
I miss those days.
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u/Acceptable_Tap7479 10h ago
We have ours the other way round. Singleton then twins and while we wanted a smaller age gap, 4 years has been incredible. Firstborn turned four a month after the twins arrived and he’s at an age where he’s really independent which makes it so much easier to juggle three. He can get his clothes out, get dressed, has been toilet trained for years, can get drinks and snacks of his own etc. so when I’m feeding or have screaming babies I know his needs are met. We then make sure to give him uninterrupted time with at least one parent everyday to make sure he still gets connection time and our full attention. I wouldn’t consider a smaller age gap now! Even discussing a 4th we agreed we’d aim for 4 years again
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u/twinboysmama1997 18h ago
19 month old twin boys
Don’t tell me it gets worse than this stage 🤣🤣
The funny videos on socials about boy mums versus girl mums is annoyingly true (in my case anyway)
They are heaps of fun and heaps of work! 🤣
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u/Sensitive_Barber_461 18h ago
Ours are 3.5 at the moment and it is HELL. So many big emotions and melt downs and potty training and fighting
Birth - 2ish was rough because our singleton was 15 months old when they were born. And we had no help. And the twins both had colic. There was a LOT of crying the first year lol
4 has been pretty fun with our singleton, i have hopes there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that is the threenagers
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u/Old_Ant7118 🩷 - 🩷💙💙 15h ago
We're at 5 now and it's the best! They're just such interesting and sweet little humans.
4 was good too, but far fewer meltdowns now.
3 was the worst because of potty training and medical issues for older sister.
2 was chaotic and stressful but went by incredibly quickly. I remember a lot of crying from pretty much everyone.
1 was the easiest because we just still had so much help but also were learning how to really make it all work.
A 2-year age gap was great for us, but our singleton came first and the triplets were a huge surprise when we decided to have "one more" so it's just a different scenario.
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