It's hard to believe, just four short years ago we had this little man.
Then two years later, we were blessed with our C-bear.
Then 21 months after that, we were blessed with our third boy.
I get asked a lot what it's like to have three and how difficult it is going from 1 to 2 and then 2 to 3. I remember someone telling me that going from no kids to one was difficult and going from 1 to 2 was also difficult. Then he continued to say that 2 to 3 and then 3 to 4 wasn't that bad. After going from 2 to 3 myself and then my sister in law having her fourth, I asked her what she thought about that statement. We came to the conclusion that the statement wasn't completely accurate. We concluded that it really depends on the order of your kids and their personalities that determines how smooth the transition is.
Going from having no kids to having a child is probably a challenge for everyone. The thing that I most struggled with was getting to be with just Jeff all the time. At the very beginning of being a new mom, I remember missing those nights of just Jeff and I on the couch watching our favorite shows. Now, my life was wrapped up in our new little bundle of joy.
As for going from 1 to 2, that was actually a pretty smooth transition for us. Joseph was a super sweet 2 year old. Didn't get in to much, watched cartoons, and would play in his room for long periods of time. He was also a very patient toddler. He understood from a very young age what it meant when I would say, "hold on, let me finish this and then I will help you." He basically made my job look easy. Christian as an infant was awesome! The kid slept all day, so that allowed me to help Joseph a lot during the day and play with him. And if I had a rough night of sleep, Joseph was so calm that he would just sit on the couch and watch cartoons as long as they were on so I could catch a cat nap with Christian in the early mornings.
Going from 2 to 3 was one of the most challenging things I have ever encountered. Nathan was one of those babies you hear about who has his days and nights mixed up. THAT was my kid. He slept all day and would start his alert time at 9p and would be awake off and on until about 5a and then around 5a till late evening he would sleep. I remember some days feeling like a zombie. I would get really dizzy, nauseated, and super exhausted from the lack of sleep
I was getting. Christian and Nathan are only 21months apart, and Christian wasn't anything like Joseph. He just now (at 2 1/2) will sit and watch cartoons, so that was challenging when I would turn on the toons to try to catch a power nap and he wouldn't sit down. He would want something and wouldn't quit asking until I got it for him or would want to be held. This was also a peek travel time for Jeff at his work, so that was extremely difficult. Trying to manage three small children on a total of 5 hours of interrupted sleep was insane.
Now that I get sleep, things are pretty smooth, tiring, but smooth. The older two play great together and are generally in the same location, so that's nice to be able to keep up with them. Nathan is a pretty content baby and is with me at all times, unless he's sleeping, so it's easy to keep up with him.
At times I feel like I have it together, but then I go to Wal-Mart on Fridays to go grocery shopping. I get this comment at least 3 or more times while shopping, "Wow, you have your hands full." I am hoping they are saying that because I really do have my hands full (having 3 boys, 4yrs of age and under) and not because I have this "look" on my face or because my kids are out of control.
As tiring as it can be to be a mother of 3 growing boys, I love them to death. Most days I am ready to put them to bed and have an evening of peace, by when I settle into my room for the evening, I can't stop talking about them and look forward to the next day.
Love my little men!
