thoughts on three

So lets talk about having three children.  In my last post I mentioned it was much less traumatizing than I expected it to be.  There are a few key reasons why.  First off, parental help.  Without my parents, or Christopher's mom, this would be SO MUCH HARDER.  We live roughly five minutes from each of them, they can be here quickly if we need them.  And we are certainly using that to our advantage.  One night during our first week home I frantically texted my mom, letting her know I was foreseeing bedtime being a huge issue and please help!  Ten minutes later my parents were at my house holding the baby and cleaning up dinner dishes so Chris and I could wrangle the older two.  Since that night they have come over several more times to help with bath and bedtime, just to help keep the routine as stress free as possible.

Also?  My mom is doing most of our cooking.  She has come to our house and cooked.  We've gone there for dinner.  Chris's mom has brought over dinner.  Not having to meal plan or go to the grocery store or actually cook anything is a major weight lifted off my shoulders.  And when my mom cooks at our place my dad usually comes and entertains the big kids, and my parents take over dish duty while we give the girls a bath.  They are seriously the best and I have no idea what I would do without them.  Chris and I would be so much more stressed out if it weren't for their help.

Something else that is huge is that Ryann and Elsie play relatively well together, and can keep each other entertained.  When Elsie was born, sitting down to nurse her meant Ryann immediately needed everything right then and there and if she didn't get it she would destroy whatever she could get her hands on.  This time around when I'm nursing Thea, for the most part Ryann and Elsie are happy to be on their own, and if Elsie needs something Ryann can usually help her out.  I can see how having younger kids would make this much more complicated.

One more big help...  Um, Ryann started kindergarten.  Really during the weekday I'll only have two kiddos at home.  Which means?  THE RETURN OF NAP TIME.  Oh my gosh I've only had three days and I just can't tell you how absolutely glorious it is to have nap time back in my life.  Elsie and Thea are both snoozing, so I've got HGTV on while I blog and eat popcorn.  #winning  Of course for a while I'm sure their naps won't always overlap.  And I'm sure soon enough Elsie will quit sleeping.  But if I'm lucky I can keep this gig up for at least a little while.  I pink puffy heart nap time.

This isn't to say being out numbered isn't difficult.  Adding another child always adds a bit more crazy.  Lets look at last night for example.  Thea woke up around 12:30am wanting to nurse, so I was occupied doing that.  Around 12:45am Elsie started crying.  She had a traumatizing run in with a spider during quiet time and apparently it was still bothering her.  Chris went and comforted her and then came back to bed.  Not more than five minutes later Ryann was in our room upset.  I nudged Chris and told him she was there and the look on his face was priceless.  I mean on the bright side they were all awake at the same time instead of somebody each hour (ignoring the fact that I of course was up with Thea half the night anyway), but really?  Everybody needs something?

Leaving the house with all three kids is still quite the circus as well.  I have not taken them in public by myself yet.  Actually I don't think we've had all three kids in public at all yet.  But I'm certainly terrified to do it by myself.  I've had all three girls at home by myself, and thanks to Thea sleeping a majority of the time and the older two playing together, it hasn't been too stressful.  But sometimes shit hits the fan and I feel like a crazy person.

When all is said and done though, I've got three adorable little girls in my life and I am so incredibly thankful for that.

sister shirts | Thea's headband | Elsie's glitter snap clip