I always knew, deep in my heart, that I wanted three children, but we were in no rush to make that decision. However, destiny has a funny way of making decisions for you – whether you’re ready or not. In our case, our fate was decided about a year earlier than we anticipated. After overcoming the initial shock that we were having our third child, I spent the next nine months ignoring my deep, dark fears of what three children would entail. I mean, we were no longer on an equal playing field – my husband and I were officially outnumbered. I talked to other moms with three children, and many told me that the jump from one to two was more difficult than the jump from two to three. I could totally do this…right? But as we installed the car seat into the squished backseat of my Chevy Malibu, I started to panic.
As I mentioned in Remy’s birth story, the love for our new baby has been indescribable. But I quickly learned that life as a stay-at-home mom with three littles was is hard. The first weeks were spent in survival mode. I drank copious amounts of coffee and would celebrate small victories, like being able to take a shower for the first time in three days. A few times, I would get into the swing of things and think to myself, “Okay, I can do this.” And then, just as I would sit down to nurse Remy, Lola would lock herself in the closet and Cohen would decide that it was the perfect time to do his business and be screaming “WIPE!” from the downstairs bathroom. The house was a mess, my hormones were off the charts, and I started counting the seconds until my husband would walk through that door by ten o’clock in the morning.
After about six weeks, I finally got a routine down. Remy was sleeping better, and my body was adjusting to five interrupted hours (if I was lucky) of sleep every night. I found myself loosening up a bit and starting to go with the flow more. My morning routine was still a bit hectic, but I was getting Cohen to school at a reasonable time, even if 3 out of 4 of us were still in our pajamas. There were less “help me Jesus” moments and more “I can do this” mental mantras. Even when Lola decided to finger paint with her dirty diaper on the walls instead of nap, I took it as the perfect opportunity to clean sheets for the week. I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel through my weary, sleep deprived eyes.
I am now three solid months into my journey as a mom of three. While I’m still tired and plan on being tired for the next 18 (or more) years, my husband and I have a set routine, and life is slowly getting easier. Now please note that I say SLOWLY because dear God, this job is far from being easy. But I’m going with it, and I’m learning to take it all in because as cliché as it may sound, it really doesn’t stay like this for long.
So my advice to the soon to be moms of three? Yes, it is hard, especially those first few months. But keep looking for that light at the end of the tunnel, and from one mom to another, I promise you can get there.
