Upcoming Deployment - Killeen,TX

Start trying to "wean" them from his attention now by increasing other activities if possible. Involve friends and other family members to help. introduce new activities/games, routines, etc. When he's gone and they cry about where he is, this will also come in handy to divert their attention.

I don't have any advise but I just wanted to say thank you to your husband for defending our country. Also thank you to you for being a strong and supportive wife. I wish you the best of luck through this deployment. In my thoughts for a safe and quick return.

Tina

First don't freak cause the kids will pick up on that and that will stress them.
You don't want the kids stressing or upset about this because it will make it harder to deal with.
First you can have your husband make a few videos of him reading stories to the kids. Use a video camera or your digital camera to make the videos. Then store them either one video tapes or on your computer depending on what type of camera you use. Then if you live close the a base go and hit up the BX/PX and most now carry a stuffed doll that he can record his voice to and then send it in to the company and they will put a photo of him on the doll so the kids can have a doll that looks like dad and sounds like dad. There is a website as well if you don't live near a base.
https://www.hugahero.com/categories
Or you can go to a local Build a bear and have dad help the kids make special ones and he can record his voice for those as well.
Family Support office can help you with other ideas on dealing with his deployment.
The first two weeks tend to be the roughest but after that you find your groove and even though the time doesn't fly you adjust you get through the time apart.

First thing that came to my mind is Pictures, take as many as you can.
As others have said, THANK YOU to your husband, children, and You! You all will be in my prayers.

First of all, I appreciate the sacrifice your husband and your family make for our country - thank you! Here's an excerpt from an article by Dr. Pruett, MD that provides some insight to a father's role. Perhaps some male relatives can help interact with the children during his absence. More info can be found at this link:

http://blogs.goddardsystems.com/Cedar-Park-TX/2010/01/17/...

Time with dad is typically less structured and more play-oriented than with mom. Most of mother’s time with her children is dedicated to care-giving tasks or educational play, while dad’s time is less structured and full of impromptu play. Where mom uses toys, dad tends to use his body. Dads are typically more physical with the kids and they love it. Physical play helps to stimulate both physical and brain development. Dads also have a tendency to make any situation educational, even if they don’t realize it themselves, so that a father’s tasks around the house might be an adventure for the child.

Have your husband make some recording of him reading a favorite book, telling bedtime stories etc. on disk if possible for them to watch when they get the blues. So for you also for private time.
He will be able to call on the comp. not every day but he should be able to.
The kids just do not understand the time frame. You can keep a calendar and every month let the kids she how much time if left before he comes home. Make up folders of things that the kids have made and done that week to keep him up to date. Don't tell him about the things that he can't help will like the sink getting stopped up etc. Keep busy with the kids that will help with the mind with all of you.

You just have to hang in there and pray. That is what I did years ago when married to an army guy. They went to Kuwait and God blessed them to return. The army wives in my group did things together and encouraged each other. I had two small children.

A while ago, someone responded to a similar question with the recommendation of giving the child a "military daddy doll"... Its a pillow like doll with your husband's picture as a face: https://www.hugahero.com/store/hugahero-dolls/p-hugahero-...

It might help them feel like daddy is still there with them...? They can still give him hugs and kisses while he's gone.

Take lots of pictures of each child with there father and make a photo album of just them and dad...or everyone if thats better for them? you can take his shirt and put it over a pillow. if your crafty you can make a dad doll out of his clothes for each of them. record good night messages and let them hear it before bed. record bed time storys. the 5 and 3 can make him cards and pictures to send. the two might be able to do this also but perhaps it would be easier to put stickers on a peice of paper. I really want to say Thank you to you , your family, and your husband. May God watch over him and bring him home safely and sound.

My husband is leaving in in June and I have children 6, 4, and 3. There really isn't anyway to make it easier. I try to keep Dad is everyday conversation; like talk about things that he likes to do, eat, what he would say. Always include him in decision making and let the kids know too. It is ok for them to miss him and it is always good to keep talking about Daddy so they understand why they are feeling sad or missing him. We are planning on keeping a journey for Daddy so when he gets back he will know everything that we did. Just putting in pictures from the kids, thoughts, special things that we did.
Make sure YOU find a support group or some friends with kids to hang out with, and get with other military moms in your area. Keep yourself and your kids busy so to deal with the loneliness.
Do you know how long he will be gone, or if he can Skype? They have a lot of website and even at Fort Hood they have services that you and the kids can use to skype each other!

Welcome to the military family. There is no need to freak. Yes it is going to be hard as a single mom for the next year but you can do it. I have done it 4 times now and the 5th coming up in Aug. The nice thing is now they have ways to keep in touch IMs emails letters. My husband was able to get online and use skype so we could see him. When my girls was little I would let them type on the IM and talk to him. At the time there really was no words but she liked talking to daddy. This last time my friend son had a really hard time missing his dad and I made him a daddy doll. He took that doll every where even school. I made it with his dads face in the bdus. Every kid is different on how they deal with it. There is programs on fort hood that can help you and your kids get in touch with your FRG or send me an email if you like. It isn't easy but you will all make it. Just part of the military family.

First, don't freak out. Trust me, it really doesn't help anything in the long run, and kids pick up on your stress.

What's your branch? Is this your first deployment? If so, there are some classes out there that'll help. Make sure your kiddos are registered with CYS (Child-Youth Services), which will give you a few free hours of babysitting a month, which can really come in handy if you just need an hour to yourself to do nothing other than breathe.

Also make sure you meet a few people in his unit. Get in touch with the FRG (Family Readiness Group), know who the Rear Detachment people are and who to call for what. It can all seem pretty daunting at first, but it's completely doable.

My kiddos are really attached to their daddy too, and the first few weeks can feel like absolute hell. But what we've done, is each kid has a special stuffed animal from daddy, and we spray it with his cologne. Pictures everywhere, and I had my husband write a couple letters before he left that I could read to the kids whenever they were feeling down.

Another great thing, is depending on where he's going, there's a very good chance he'll have some pretty decent internet access. That was a life saver. Webcam, voice chats, emails. It was an amazing help. The kids could see daddy and know he was okay.

Above all, take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and know you can do this. Everything will be fine. You'll just be a single parent with a mysterious benefactor (family joke), for awhile. But you CAN do this.

It gets easier to shift into the deployment routine each time, we're on our...sixth. Anyway, if you have any questions, or just want to talk, feel free to PM me!