I Am Tired

Life with 3 kids 5 and under sure is interesting. Our "newborn" is now 3 weeks old and I am back in the groove of "life as usual." I am taking and picking up our daughter from school, cleaning, cooking meals, doing laundry, giving baths, paying bills, making and keeping appointments, and the host of other tasks that consume my daily life. Sometimes it's a bit hard and it definitely requires that I start preparing much earlier for when I want to leave my house, but all in all it's been a relatively smooth transition from 2 kids to 3. Definitely easier in many regards than the transition from 1 kids to 2.

I'm still primarily trying to stay home during the day as I don't like to take new babies out in public too much (germ phobia). That and the fact that my boobs are constantly leaking and more times than not I forget to put the "pads" in my bra. Before I know it I'm driving down the road and the front of my shirt is soaked. My daughter loves when I pick her up from school like that, trust me. I've had to start carrying the baby close to my chest instead of pushing her in a stroller to hide the leakage.

Both older kids have adjusted so well to their new sister. They adore her! There is no jealousy or impatience or regression of behavior. Really, I expected some type of acting out from one or both of them (especially since our daughter such a rough time when our son was born), but it just isn't there. And trust me, I'm thankful for that.

All that being said, I. AM. TIRED! The baby sleeps a good portion of the day and then is up all night, which means I am up all day and then all night. I think I've been getting somewhere in the ball park of 2-4 hours a night for the past 3 weeks. I'm not sure how much longer I can last like this, but I'm not thinking too much longer. My eyes burn, my head hurts, I nod off if I sit too long in one place (not really a problem since I don't ever get to really sit). All three of my kids were "backwards" for the first couple months of life and both of my older kids didn't sleep through the night until they were each 3 years old, so it could be a while. I saw one picture of myself where I seriously looked dead and I asked my husband how he could even stand to talk to me looking like that. He assured me I looked fine. I knew he was lying, but again. Thankful!

Anyway, life is busy but good. Any ideas on the whole sleeping issue?

Family of Five

Last week I gave birth to child number 3. All went smoothly and I made sure to get up and walking after the c-section so that we could get discharged after 2 days (My hospital experience was not a pleasant one, but that's another post for another time). We've been home for a week now and so far the transition has been pretty seamless. The kids adore their new sister and have been a huge help to me. My husband took two weeks off to help as I recover. I'm sure things will be a bit hectic for a while once he goes back to work but for now I am just trying to rest, relax, and enjoy the extra help.

To say that I am smitten with our new daughter is a gross understatement. There are no words to adequately express the feelings when a new child is born. I love her beyond measure and feel so blessed to be her mother. She's nursing well and is pretty mellow as a whole. She has her days and nights mixed up so I'm pretty sleep-deprived but at least when she does sleep she sleeps well....something neither of our other kids did especially well until they were each close to 3 years of age.

Needless to say I am being kept busy, but it's a wonderful kind of busy!