Three Children Can't Be That Hard.....Right?

For me, having one baby was easy.  Then, the transition from one child to two children was also extremely do-able.  So, I figured, adding one more to the mix would be a breeze!

Boy was I in for a wake up call when I had my third!!!!

I, the one who has gone to school for EARLY childhood education.  I, the one who has worked in multiple daycares where I have had 10 children, toddlers or babies at once.  I, the one who used to dream with her husband how we would have eight kids! I am now run ragged by my  three children, more ragged than any daycare or elementary class has made me.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids more than anything, and I would not change a single thing.  My husband and I love having children, and creating this big family.  We would love to have more, but we feel complete with our family now.

The last time I went to the salon (which only happens maybe twice a year), I was joking with my stylist saying "Do you see any grays up there?"  Do you know what she said????  She said, "A few".

A few???

I'm only 32!  I shouldn't have gray hairs already!  I blame my children.  LOL

So as I was saying, going from one to two was easy for us.  But once we had our third, things got crazy.  I often have the three of them with me when I'm by myself.  I stay home, while my husband works, so I take all three of them with me...everywhere.  Thank goodness my oldest (7) is completely capable of being a human, because my other two monsters are not!  The almost one year old obviously can't walk yet, which means I have to hold him or put him in the stroller, and the three year old forgets that she isn't the only one on this planet.  She likes to start chasing her sister, or a leaf, and run right into parking lots!

I feel like the moment you have your third, you should magically be granted an extra set of arms, or six!  It is amazing how simple tasks that once only took a few minutes, all of a sudden take an hour.  The planning and strategizing that comes along when you have your third, is something that I never realized would be such an important factor.

We wanted to plan a short trip on spring break to one of the resorts that have a water park indoors.  The baby is the one that we keep coming back to as a reason not too.  He's not sleeping through the night, so sharing a room in a hotel room would probably make that even worse in a hotel.  Also, only our oldest can really swim, so one of us would have to be holding the baby, while watching the 3 year old in the kiddy pool, so our oldest can go to the more exciting areas, since she can't go alone.

The age gap between the kids is a big factor as well.  If you have children who are a lot older, having three shouldn't be too bad.  That's why I feel lucky that our oldest is already 7, and can pretty much handle herself.  Our two youngest are only 2 years apart.  So while I had to work on potty training with one, I had to also take into consideration the nap times of the baby.  While the 3 year old needs snacks and constant entertainment, I need to also make sure to have formula and enough diapers whenever we go out.

Like I said earlier.  We are constantly planning every outing we take.  Which is okay.  I may be stressed about all the strategizing and planning, and I may be tired every second of the day, but I try not to ever complain about it.  If I do, it's usually just jokingly.  I love my babies and I love how busy they make me.  I don't know what I would do if I didn't have them around.  My life would be so boring and predictable.  Every day is an adventure with this crew and I wouldn't have it any other way!