Life with 3
Ahh, well my goal to keep blogging consistently over maternity leave didn't end up so well, seeing as I am back to work now and no new posts minus Felix's birth story have been written. Sorry bout that. Wasn't I just writing this life with 2 post? And now there's THREE of them? Yikes.
I did want to use some of my limited free time to write up what it's been like in Felix's early days. I look back on the transition as each little joy has entered our lives, and I have such little actual memory from those days that it's nice to have a written account. :) Plus I need an excuse to share baby pictures! Instagram can only get so many before people are bored, you know?
Anyway.
Life with 3.
I still maintain that the transition from zero to one is the hardest, in my biased opinion. Perhaps it was just because I was more selfish than most people (trying to own my flaws), but that jarring experience of living completely inside your self to living completely on the whims of a tiny baby was ROUGH. Rough on me, rough on my relationship with David, you name it. One to two kids was hard, but in retrospect it didn't seem so bad. Knock on wood but two to three hasn't been terrible either. Sure, I feel a little like a zookeeper, constantly telling/whisper-screaming at the older two to USE YOUR INSIDE VOICE or DON'T SQUISH YOUR BROTHER or STOP POKING HIM IN THE EYES (that last one just for Cora, she always goes for the eyes). But life already seemed crazy and it's just marginally more crazy now.
Give me a couple weeks of trying to work full time from home with all 3 kids home and I'll probably be singing a different tune. Doesn't help that this first week back from maternity leave is David's busiest week for work of the entire year, so he's gone from 7 a.m. to midnight every day for a week, but what are you gonna do? (I'm ordering pad thai, that's how I'm coping. Oh, and drinking a mandatory 1 (one) alcoholic drink per day.) Once kindergarten starts in the fall I imagine we'll settle into a regular routine, and 2 at home will feel easy, so this summer is rather a trial-by-fire type of ordeal and we're just gonna power through and do what we can and turn the TV on when necessary.
Little babies are great and snuggly...but I'm already looking forward to the sweet spot, which is age approx 12 months to 2 years, in my limited experience so far. I can picture Felix running after the two oldest, getting into mischief, and while I do love babies I'm very ready for that. Is it okay to admit that in the year of 2019? We can all have our preferences? Newborns especially with their disregard for a schedule are hard on my controlling personality. I really like babies who keep to schedules so I start them early, and luckily Felix takes after his big sisters and is pretty compliant.
Things Felix has mastered: blowing out diapers in the span of about 3 seconds, flailing his arms about and whacking me in the nose, knowing when I'm looking at him and doing his "I'm really sad mom!" pouty-faced cry (it's my favorite), sleeping in his crib, sleeping in the car, ignoring the loudness of his sisters most of the time at least.
He's growing like crazy -- I'm putting pictures in this post from even a week and a half ago, and he seems bigger already! I forgot how quickly they change at this age. 0-3 month clothes that were potato sacks on him are now too tight in the torso and arm.
The girls absolutely dote on him. They ask to hold him all they time, they wonder at the amount and loud volume of his poops, they constantly ask what color his eyes are (wondering the tie breaker since Cora has my brown eyes and Kitty's are bright blue), you name it and they want to do it with and around him. Pretty frequently Kitty will ask how long it is til he can crawl or play with them, and when I reply it's going to be awhile she goes "awwwww" in a sad voice. Suffice it to say they're excited for him to get bigger just as I am. But for now "he so cute Mama!" is a constant refrain and we love loving him together.
I didn't realize it fully until recently, but man it is one of life's greatest joys to watch siblings grow up together and play and love each other. Nothing warms my heart more. <3 I have to remind myself of that when they're pulling each other's hair or screaming at each other, that the sweet moments do really happen and they are worth it.
Ta ta for now, folks.
HJ
I did want to use some of my limited free time to write up what it's been like in Felix's early days. I look back on the transition as each little joy has entered our lives, and I have such little actual memory from those days that it's nice to have a written account. :) Plus I need an excuse to share baby pictures! Instagram can only get so many before people are bored, you know?
Anyway.
Life with 3.
I still maintain that the transition from zero to one is the hardest, in my biased opinion. Perhaps it was just because I was more selfish than most people (trying to own my flaws), but that jarring experience of living completely inside your self to living completely on the whims of a tiny baby was ROUGH. Rough on me, rough on my relationship with David, you name it. One to two kids was hard, but in retrospect it didn't seem so bad. Knock on wood but two to three hasn't been terrible either. Sure, I feel a little like a zookeeper, constantly telling/whisper-screaming at the older two to USE YOUR INSIDE VOICE or DON'T SQUISH YOUR BROTHER or STOP POKING HIM IN THE EYES (that last one just for Cora, she always goes for the eyes). But life already seemed crazy and it's just marginally more crazy now.
Give me a couple weeks of trying to work full time from home with all 3 kids home and I'll probably be singing a different tune. Doesn't help that this first week back from maternity leave is David's busiest week for work of the entire year, so he's gone from 7 a.m. to midnight every day for a week, but what are you gonna do? (I'm ordering pad thai, that's how I'm coping. Oh, and drinking a mandatory 1 (one) alcoholic drink per day.) Once kindergarten starts in the fall I imagine we'll settle into a regular routine, and 2 at home will feel easy, so this summer is rather a trial-by-fire type of ordeal and we're just gonna power through and do what we can and turn the TV on when necessary.
Little babies are great and snuggly...but I'm already looking forward to the sweet spot, which is age approx 12 months to 2 years, in my limited experience so far. I can picture Felix running after the two oldest, getting into mischief, and while I do love babies I'm very ready for that. Is it okay to admit that in the year of 2019? We can all have our preferences? Newborns especially with their disregard for a schedule are hard on my controlling personality. I really like babies who keep to schedules so I start them early, and luckily Felix takes after his big sisters and is pretty compliant.
Things Felix has mastered: blowing out diapers in the span of about 3 seconds, flailing his arms about and whacking me in the nose, knowing when I'm looking at him and doing his "I'm really sad mom!" pouty-faced cry (it's my favorite), sleeping in his crib, sleeping in the car, ignoring the loudness of his sisters most of the time at least.
He's growing like crazy -- I'm putting pictures in this post from even a week and a half ago, and he seems bigger already! I forgot how quickly they change at this age. 0-3 month clothes that were potato sacks on him are now too tight in the torso and arm.
The girls absolutely dote on him. They ask to hold him all they time, they wonder at the amount and loud volume of his poops, they constantly ask what color his eyes are (wondering the tie breaker since Cora has my brown eyes and Kitty's are bright blue), you name it and they want to do it with and around him. Pretty frequently Kitty will ask how long it is til he can crawl or play with them, and when I reply it's going to be awhile she goes "awwwww" in a sad voice. Suffice it to say they're excited for him to get bigger just as I am. But for now "he so cute Mama!" is a constant refrain and we love loving him together.
I didn't realize it fully until recently, but man it is one of life's greatest joys to watch siblings grow up together and play and love each other. Nothing warms my heart more. <3 I have to remind myself of that when they're pulling each other's hair or screaming at each other, that the sweet moments do really happen and they are worth it.
Ta ta for now, folks.
HJ
AGREED on the sweet spot starting at a year. (Well, Aaron was an exception for me, blah...hopefully Felix isn't for you.) I just really don't do well that first year at all so solidarity, sister! (My vote is, yes, you can admit that in 2019, ha.) Felix is just adorable and I'm so, so happy for you, Hannah. ❤
ReplyDeleteGlad we can all be honest these days. I know some people *do* love the newborn stage, but I'm just not one of them! :)
DeleteI srsly could have written this myself. From the "stop poking her in the eye!" to the "mandatory 1 (one) alcoholic drink" to the "don't quite love the newborn phase" to the "my oldest has blue eyes, my middle has brown, what will the baby be?" You just get me. Solidarity on all the things, mama!
ReplyDeletehahah SO MUCH POKING. like, just...stop, Cora. So funny that so much overlaps! The universality of parenthood, eh? :)
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