It's been a heck of an adjustment to say the least since welcoming our third baby. I remember telling friends and family we were expecting our third baby and everyone kept reassuring me that this time it would be so easy with two older kiddos to help out how hard could it be. And I totally believed this notion. Thinking its my third time around I think I got a hang of this, um boy was I so wrong LOL.
As our due date came closer, the kiddos were so excited. Everyday they'd ask is baby sister coming today. Finally the day came, baby girl made her debut on Aug 21st and it was the best day ever. The hospital was quite uneventful, she ate and slept never made a peep and this temperament of hers made a drastic change week 2 at home all of sudden she cried lots rarely napped and night time sleep was just a train wreck.
Clearly I had forgotten the newborn stage since my oldest was 8 and my second was 5 its been a while since we had a newborn in the house. All baby girl wanted was to be held 24/7 she wanted and needed her mama all the time.
The silver lining to all of this the two older kiddos helped tremendously, they were so eager to help get baby sisters diaper on, help get her dressed, they especially loved helping give her baths, but beyond that there wasn't a whole lot they could do being 8 and 5. And add in the fact that my husband did graveyard shifts I was solely the kids everything all the time and quickly had to figure out how to navigate parenting three kids without loosing my ****ish
1. Organization is key
which means for me, making the kiddos lunches the night before for school, having their school clothes ready for school, basically get anything done the night before so the next morning won't be so crazy
2. Have everyone pitch in
yup... which means letting the kiddos help making dinner even if it takes a tad bit longer, it takes some stress off of me definitely. The kiddos have definitely stepped up helping put groceries away and doing little chores around the house, they especially love vacuuming.
3. Buy EVERYTHING in BULK and MEAL Prep
which makes life so much easier instead of having to run out to the grocery store every few days. We stoked up on everything from diapers, to dish soap, to snacks. And of course we cooked meals in bulk every Sunday to help ease he stress of the weekday.
4. KEEP clutter to a minimum
on our stairs I designated two bins for the kiddos and every evening the kiddos help pick things up around the house that doesn't belong and throw it into the catchall bins to put away.
These things I've learned to help our little family of 5 has definitely helped our transition since welcoming baby girl but its still definitely an ongoing process for me.
Having a bigger age gap has definitely helped. Since my 8 and 5 year old could dress themselves, wipe themselves, feed themselves, their physical care was easier, but the emotional was a whole other story. They're old enough to realize that my attention wasn't all theirs anymore. I wasn't physically in the room with them a whole lot anymore, missed a lot of their school trips and activities. The guilt of missing out on a lot of the older kiddos has definitely been the hardest part for me that's for sure... but slowly learning of letting that guilt go. Although my time is spent a whole lot more on baby girl, I've made it a priority to read to the kiddos every night and tuck them into bed, this is the one thing the kiddos look forward to every night. What gets me through is knowing that this phase will not last long and soon they will all be grown up and I'll miss these days immensely. My oldest girl especially gets it, I could be in another room grabbing their lunches for school or trying to use the bathroom quickly and I'd hear her talk to her baby sister, don't cry okay, mama will be right back. She can't hold you all the time and you have to learn how to relax. You know mama does a lot for us. In those moments it makes me realize, okay your doing something right although my attention is spread all over, the kiddos understand that their mama is really doing her best, which keeps me going all for them.
Motherhood will always have the struggles, but its the greatest thing I will ever do and forever grateful these three little babies I get to hug every
night.
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