Story hour at the library

I've bit the bullet. I had dh sign the boys up for library hour on Thursdays at 10:30am. I do not know how in the world I am going to manage two toddlers and an infant. Someone tell me it can be done! I want the boys to go out and socialize and be around other kids more. We are stuck home all day, all week long with the baby. She's only 3 months old. Now that I've done it, I'm not sure how we are going to manage. I have a friend who signed her daughter up, but she is on stand-by-not sure if there is enough room for her daughter.

With my boys speech issues(not really speaking yet but they have a good 30 words) and now Nicholas and his apparent lack of sight(he needs glasses-BADLY and will have to wear them all the time forever-and it's a thik lense), I just hope they don't go ballistic on me! I signed them up for the 2-3.5 year old age group. There was also a 6mth-2 age group, but I thought that maybe once they were two, they should be in the other group. I don't know!

Just tell me I am not crazy! And if I am-I guess you can tell me that too!

 

Can you line someone up to go with you the first time? Just so the boys get a sense of what is expected of them and you can see the logistics of the whole class. Is there a craft involved too? If its just story time, it should be fine (especially if you can wear the baby in a Bjorn or something), but for crafts, it might be good to have another person to help out at first. The librarian might offer to help you though.

From personal experience, I did story hour with my two girls with my friend who also has a 2 year old and a 5 month old, and my friend was really happy I was there with her. I managed the 3 2-year olds, while she dealt to the baby (who mostly just BF'ed during the whole class). I made sure the three girlies were mostly quiet and sitting during the story, and I helped them with the crafts. GL!!!

 

You can do it The worst case scenario, either you go and it's awful and you leave early, or you go and it's awful and you never go back. You'll never know if you don't try.

 

You can do it.
I took my girls to story time at the library when they were that age. Plenty of moms would have infant's in strollers.
When does the storytime start? If it is before they turn 2, I would have them go to the younger age group since sometimes the librarians expect the older kids to sit better then the younger kids.


You son will do great with the glasses. Have you seen this book? It is about a dinosaur that needs glass to see. Really cute book.

 

I have no adivce for ya since I'm not there yet. Though I understand you wanting them to get out and socialize.

For going for it, and Good Luck! I'm sending positive mental thoughts your way!

 

Thanks! And thanks for the book idea! I'll have to look for it at the store. Hopefully I can find it. Storytime starts either the first week of October, or the 2nd week. I can't remember. In any case-there would either be one story hour, or two at the most, before they turn two. They turn two on the 18th and I think their first story time would be the 15th, but it could be the week before. I have a friend who signed up her daughter as well, but she doesn't live in the town, so she is on the waitlist. The librarian said she may be able to get her in though. We'll see.

Not sure if it involves a craft... Hmmm...This could get tricky! The baby is really easy. But to hold her and take care of them. Hmmm... Well-I won't know unless we try right? Maybe I'll make sure to have some liqour handy when we come home in case it's a disaster...

 

I totally agree! You might have the best time with them all!

 

My prediction is that you'll kick yourself for not going sooner! Our library encourages everyone to help watch the group so nobody goes wandering out the door while their mommy is tending an infant.

The crafts for the kids in the middle class (approximate age group of the one you're selecting) were age-appropriate and didn't require all that much parent assistance. They'd color most of the time, occasionally there would be a glue stick, stickers, or pipe cleaners... but never scissors or pens or paint so there was no real danger of catastrophe if one child was untended for a moment. The other mommies minding the singleton next to you are very likely to step up -- especially if you're bold enough to ask for a hand. Truly, it wasn't a big deal at all. Now, we're in the 4&up and they do more stuff that requires a bit of an assist for the 4s but by now they can wait a moment for me to bounce back and forth.

My kids had horribly short attention spans when we started and their progress is wonderful to watch! And yes, if you have to leave early once or twice, it's not the end of the world. They will get it with practice.