The transition to three kids has been wild! So wild in fact, that I started writing this post in early November and now it is late January. The early newborn period is always a little tricky for me but we are through the most difficult and have figured a few things out. It is nice have parenting experience so we don't need to panic about normal baby things, but funny to me how many things we are re-learning. It is like each kids is their own little person (which I say sarcastically, of course they are! With their own sets of great things and hard things).
Our baby Kate is just about the cutest baby ever, not that I am biased! I could just sit around and coo and nibble on her cute chubby body all day long. The tricky thing is, she has these two older siblings who need to go to school, have clean clothes and food. For all of Kate's extreme cuteness, she is a terrible at taking naps! I had hoped that by our third child we would know how to help them sleep but alas, no. Each of our kids have brought very different sleep challenges. She is a great sleeper if I can lay down with her or hold her all day but that can't always happen. She just loves us too much and always wants us close. Hopefully this will instill in her a great sense of security and love. However in the meantime, I just don't get much done.
Our sweet little 3 year old Jane has had more of an adjustment than we anticipated. Can't you just see the spark of naughtiness in her eyes? Overall she has done great, but we have some difficult moments every now and again with our willful Jane. We hope her willfulness will turn into great perseverance. There have been many times since she became a big sister where we have to collect her off the floor or leave somewhere with her screaming. My husband was shopping with her recently when she had a tantrum so spectacular that a stranger asked him if he needed help restraining her. Are not those the best parenting moments?
Our nearly 6 year old Colin has been an extremely sweet big brother to the new baby. (If only he could be so sweet to his 3 year old sister!) He is very attentive and soft. He loves to make the baby giggle and cuddle and help out. He has always loved little babies and adores his baby sister.
And when your Daddy is a musician, the wriggle wrapper is going to used for piano playing. Kind of funny, for Christmas of 2010, I gave Brian the wriggle wrapper as a joke because I wanted it. On Christmas Eve, we found out we were expecting (which was a few months sooner than we had hoped) so the wriggle wrapper became less of a joke. The positive pregnancy test did make the package of condoms I had bought for Brian redundant.
And so the real adventure begins parenting all these kids! I have great admiration for Moms of many children! (And I know lots have many, many more than I do!)
