Momming to three
I have three kids now... What?! It seems like it was only a few years ago that I was a first time mother to my baby girl, Scarlett. Oh, that's right... It was only a few years ago. ;) Bam, bam, bam, and here we are! Three kids later in the thick of pure chaos. Life. Is. Good. Crazy, exhausting, never-a-dull-moment, but good. Wonderful in fact. Let's be honest about the first few days home from the hospital. I was FREAKED out. My mom was in town helping, Scott took off work and I still felt incredibly overwhelmed. My hormones were going crazy (as they always do in the beginning of breast feeding) and I was beyond nervous for this new lifestyle of kids outnumbering parents. We were so excited to get home from the hospital and be a complete family, all together under one roof. Then, minutes after arriving home, I sat on the couch as Scarlett begged for us to listen to her perform a "Frozen" song, Welles was fussing for lunch, there were toys everywhere, the floors desperately needed a mop and Ames was ready for a feeding. So, Scott fed Welles, my mom and I watched Scarlett's performance as I fed Ames and then my sister and I tackled the mess while mom played with Scar. All I could think was "how on earth am I going to do this when I'm alone?" and then I sobbed. And the sobbing continued on and off over the next few days. One moment, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude and pure joy, the next I was pleading with Scott to quit his job and stay home with me forever. Even if that meant living in a box with all five of us (wink, wink). But after that first week, the hormones mellowed out, the reality of constant messes set in and I started to find my groove. Don't get me wrong, having three kids who are all pretty helpless and dependent is killer some days, but I feel like we're getting the hang of it.
I thrive in chaos. Always have. My upbringing was filled with a lot of fun but also a lot of chaos, so it feels pretty normal to me. Although, over the last few years I've become much more organized and better at planning, when chaos hits, I kick into high gear, and I run with it. Sometimes I yell and act a little crazy, but hey, it's chaos's fault, not mine. ;) So here we are, living in craziness and running with it.
When Scott gets home, we make a great little team. When he's at work, I drink a lot of diet coke with a goal to quit at some point...
I'm learning how to divide my time and energy into three little humans throughout the day. Welles is okay when it's not his turn and he's left to play with the tupperware cabinet. He also seems to (occasionally) be fine with being confined to a pack-n-play with toys (so as not to destroy the house or get into the toilet). Scarlett however needs a little more attention and emotional support through this new adjustment. She's acted out at school and home but NEVER takes it out on her brothers, thank heavens. She loves on them constantly but tends to channel her frustrations towards me... And unfortunately the kids at school sometimes (yikes). But we are figuring it out and already making progress on those issues. Right now we're really working on making sure she feels loved and secure through these changes. Needless to say, there is not a lot of "me time" these days and that's okay. Sometimes when Scott gets home from work, I say "peace out" and take Ames upstairs to nap while I take a hot bath.
Having these three all so close in age might be crazy right now, but I can't wait to watch them grow together and experience things together. Hopefully as a crew of best buddies. This season of life is indeed chaotic but I'm pretty in love with it.
