As a parent, I love to find new and efficient ways to do my daily parenting duties or think of new ideas to problems and challenges I have come across. Thinking ahead and being prepared is so important and with 4 kids under 3 years of age I can never be too prepared. After many times of taking everyone out either with others or by myself, to just being at home with 4 kids, I have learned a few things that I found have made a significant difference in my everyday life.
Here are 6 of the hacks that I use and I think they could benefit every parent out there!
Hack #1
Extra Bag of Diapers and Wipes
I don’t know how many times I have left the house and forgot the wipes or only brought a couple of diapers to last the whole day and I would think with 4 kids all still in diapers I would have packing diapers and wipes mastered. Luckily, I have always had an extra bag filled with diapers and wipes that I leave in the van. It is just a small backpack that I leave in the trunk and when I am in a diaper dilemma I remember that bag and I am saved. I do have to make sure I remember to restock the bag after I use it!
Hack #2
Gender Neutral Clothing
When I go out, even if it’s just a quick trip to the grocery store, I always bring my diaper bag. I have learned the hard way, extra clothing is a must! I always bring an extra outfit for everyone and an extra outfit that is gender neutral. The gender neutral outfit can be used for anyone, in case they have a second accident, but saves me the space of having a second extra outfit for everyone.
Hack #3
Bring Extra of Everything
On top of extra clothing in my diaper bag, I pack extra of everything else too! Extra pacifiers are very important when the triplets favorite thing to do is throw them out of the stroller. Extra snacks, toys and blankets also come in handy. We went through a period of losing a pacifier on almost every walk or trip to the store, so to have an extra one in the bag was a life saver, especially when someone gets fussy.
Hack #4
Buy The Same Socks
It is hard enough keeping track of my own socks and now adding socks for 4 more people to the laundry, makes it that much more challenging. Buying the same socks for all 4 of our babies is genius! Now I don’t spend hours matching up each pair of socks, I can just wash them all together and every sock matches every other sock.
Hack #5
Freeze Food
Let’s be honest, the idea of making your own baby food sounds like so much fun and a great idea, until the time comes and you have to make it all. It is very time-consuming and now with 4 eating whole foods, I find I am always cooking, pureeing, mashing, smashing and feeding. I don’t have the time to do this every day or even every other day, so a smart and time-saving way is to make big batches of food and then freeze it. After the food is cooked and pureed, I spoon it in ice-cube trays and then freeze the trays. Once they are frozen, I pop out the cubes of food and transfer them to large freezer zip lock bags. Now I can take out as many servings of the food as I need. I found that each individual ice cube holds about 2 tablespoons of pureed food.
Hack #6
Bring a Thermos of Hot Water Everywhere
When I had Emily, I remember going out to the mall, the grocery store, to the park or just driving in the car and I was always searching for hot water. I would have her bottle, but no way to heat it up, so I started bringing a thermos of hot water with me everywhere I went. It was so handy and saved so much time and energy trying to find a place to get hot water. I also brought my own container to heat the bottle in. I was so surprised how many times I was given a small mug filled to the brim with hot water and had to try warming the bottle in that. I found the cup from my magic bullet would be the perfect thing to put the bottle in and add the water.
What are some of your favorite hacks?
The Baby Gang 
The sock idea is genius. I only have one baby so far, so I can’t really share any “hacks” per se yet, but thanks for this post–some really great ideas.
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Your videos and blog are making my day! We had 4 children 4 and under , twice.
I have 2 hacks for you. Never fold underware again. Get a bin for each child ( though your boys probably would share,) and simply toss each piece into the right bin as you pull it from the drier. I even did this with pajamas till they were old enough to complain about the wrinkles.
Another place we waste time sorting is the silverware drawer. Order another silverware basket for your dishwasher and simply use them as the clean and dirty places on a rotation. It’s just as was to keep the clean basket on the counter as it is a rock of cooking utensils.
I may have had other hacks back in the day but my baby just turned 18 and these ate the last of the tricks I still use in some form or other.
Blessings on all of your lovely gang.
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