Thoughts for Thursday | How it’s Going with Three Kids

Wow, it’s been a long time since we’ve done a Thoughts for Thursday.  Sorry we all just kind of stopped.  But it was actually nice to take a little break.  I just miss these posts because they were always my brain dump posts where I could just talk about anything on my mind and it felt like I was just casually talking to you guys over wine or coffee.  So let’s do that again today.  I thought I would talk about life with 3 kids now that we are almost 7 weeks into having baby Molly into our lives.

When I started thinking about this post, I wanted to reflect on a few older posts that I have written since becoming a Mama.  One of them is a post called The 5 Hardest Things to Handle Going from One Child to Two (or more).  Everything I wrote in this post still rings true now that I have 3 kids.  I often get asked how the transition is from child to child, so hopefully that helps to read.

When people have asked me so far, “does three seem easier?”,  my quick answer is yes. The easier part is that Brody (5) and Madelyn (3) have each other to play with and entertain. Trust me, it also comes with its share of arguments and quite a few more “I need this” demands; but it also frees me up when I need to be feeding the baby, washing bottles, pumping, etc.   When it was just two kids, the older sibling had to figure out how to entertain himself.  In my case, Brody had just turned two and even though he could play independent, he needed me a lot too.

I shared a typical day for us with two kids when Madelyn was just about one month old.  You can read it here.  Things were going fairly smoothly, but getting out the door with two kids was definitely a game changer.   Then, you can read a post from me when Madelyn was about 6 months old that I called Coffee Talk Confessions and you can see I was in the trenches.  I remember being at my lowest Mama moment during this time.  I was worn pretty thin (we had a lot of travel and Brody had his febrile seizure) and I needed help.  I share this because I think it’s important to see that each phase in Motherhood is a little different and it all has it’s own challenges…some easier than others.

The good news is that after that, I got smarter.

When we decided to go for three kids, I knew I wasn’t going to be afraid to ask for help.  I knew I would need it! I would be a better wife, mother, friend, sister and daughter with it.  I  knew that this help would only be temporary.  It would cost more money for a few months or years, but it was short-term in the big scheme of life.  I wrote this post, 5 Tips for Being a Happier Mama, back when I had two kids and it is all so true.  I hired a babysitter when I was in the trenches that I mentioned above and she was only with us for 5 months to help me two mornings a week with the baby, but it made all the difference for me.  I got to became “me” again and it was so important.

So with three kids, here’s what I decided I really needed for help.  I needed someone that could come to my house 3 mornings a week at 730am.  Matt usually is out the door for work around 730 or 745, so I needed another set of hands.  I found someone amazing and she has made my transition into having 3 kids so much more lovely and enjoyable! She comes in, helps pack lunches, get breakfast started, put shoes on the kids or whatever is needed to get out the door for school.  Once we are ready for school around 8:45am, I drive the two big kids to school (they go from 9am-1pm) and she stays with the baby at home.  I then have a few hours to myself (I’m usually in and out of the house a few times) to go work out, grocery shop, run errands, blog or anything else that is needed before I go pick the kids back up from school. She is usually at the house for about the next hour or so that we are home while the kids grab a snack and I get Madelyn down for a nap and Brody settled into quiet time.  It makes the crazy hustle and bustle so much smoother.  And then it makes my other days at home with the baby all about her :).

 I tell you girls this because I have had several of you say that I have made 3 kids look so easy.  What a lovely compliment, but please know I have so much wonderful help and I’m never afraid to admit it.  Beyond our new babysitter, I also have the most amazing Grandmothers ever that live 5 minutes and 25 minutes away from us.  They are the most incredible helpers and are constantly doing things for our kids. So having three kids is no walk in the park, but it sure has been made easier by having a few extra set of hands around when I really need it.

Social media is a tricky thing.  I love to try and keep it real with you guys (especially on instastories), but my photos are more “filtered.” I love to share my kids in the sweetest clothes or our favorite holiday decor or my new dress that I think you should buy.   But behind all that is your normal 3 year old tantrums, messy house or crying baby.  Please know that!  And I will try to share more of that if ya’ll would like!

Molly is 7 weeks old and has truly been our easiest baby yet.  She sleeps a ton and really only cries when she’s hungry.  She has been an amazing sleeper and started sleeping through the night at one month old. I swear.  She’s been a dream.  But guess what?? She’s starting to be awake more now.  Just this week, she started with the infamous witching hour that comes around 5:30 or 6pm and hangs around until it’s bedtime.  That’s when they just want to be held and can’t quite be comfortable hanging out in the swing or a baby lounger.  It’s when you are trying to cook dinner, feed the big kids, eat your dinner and your baby just wants to be held.  I remember it all too well with my other kids.  So things are probably going to get a little crazy around here as Molly gets older and is no longer just the sleepy newborn that just hangs out and chills.  And you know what?? That’s cool.  We will roll with the punches and embrace this season of life.

As I said, each season comes with it’s own set of challenges and please know I have plenty of my own.  But I couldn’t be happier with my decision to ask for help this time around.  It’s not forever. It’s only temporary.  But I feel like a better person because of it :).

So there you have it.  I hope I made sense and didn’t ramble too much. This post got awfully long, but I wanted you guys to know that I don’t do this all on my own!   Thank ya’ll for all your sweet messages and I love hearing from so many of you through instagram messages.  It makes it so fun to be able to talk back and forth!  So please don’t ever be afraid to comment or ask questions!

And for anyone that is new around here, these older Ask Annie Q&A posts are fun to read back on and learn a little more about our family.

Lastly, if there is anyone left that would still like to link up for Thoughts for Thursday, please do so below!

*** All photos by Annabelle Rose Photo