Easing into three

It is far from a secret that the transition from having one to two kids was not an easy one for me. For whatever reason though, I was not at all nervous about going from two to three. I guess in my mind I figured that somehow I made it through last time so this would all be fine.

And thankfully, it HAS all been fine (not counting the crazy things that happened recently).

Aleesia has been pretty great with Vivian and hasn’t given me much of a hard time at all while I’m nursing “baby bibi”. Thankfully, she is pretty easily entertained the vast majority of the time. I think she is starting to feel the lack of snuggle time though, because sometimes she says “I hold you mommy, no baby” and gets sad if Vivi starts crying/needs me. Gianna’s only fault, if you can call it that, is the lack of personal space that she gives Vivi because she wants to hold her all the time and check on “my Vivs” – she really is the sweetest little mini-mommy! One upside to the crazy amount of snow days we have had is that I have had Gianna home at least one day a week, which helps with Aleesia entertainment!

We are super lucky to have our nanny still with us a few hours a week while I am on maternity leave – she plays with Aleesia, helps around the house, holds the baby, etc. It has for sure spoiled me and definitely helped with the transition!

Things that I have noticed as drastically different after baby 3:

• The amount of laundry feels like it has somehow grown exponentially which is annoying. I strongly dislike laundry (but I strongly adore our nanny who helps with it!).
• We have a Traverse with a 2nd row bench seat and I HATE HATE HATE it. We have 3 car seats that do NOT fit 3 across so Gianna climbs through the hatch. Just seriously inconvenient.
• Having 2 in diapers is really not fun, and is different for me, but it hasn’t been as bad as I imagined so far.
• There is always room to snuggle all 3 girls at the same time. It sometimes takes some adjusting, but we can make it work!
• Aleesia and her newly-minted 2 year old self, sometimes has trouble “sharing” mommy but so far we have been able to find a solution to any jealousy issues that have come up.
• I am even more laid back than I was before. What gets done gets done each day and what doesn’t will be there tomorrow!
• Sometimes Vivi has to cry for a few extra minutes, I can’t snuggle her all day even if I wanted to, she spends a decent amount of time in her swing right now because a) she likes it and b) it’s a safe place to put her when I need to do things like go to the bathroom or cook dinner!
• To the laid back tune, I started out being all hyper-aware while breastfeeding because it was so hard with Aleesia  but then I had to check myself. Despite having a mild TT and ULT, Vivian is a pretty good nurser. I learned how to correct her shallow latch and that has made a big difference. She doesn’t particularly enjoy dairy so I am laying off of raw dairy and that seems to make enough of a difference that she’s not uncomfortable all day.
• Vivian is super chill compared to baby G and baby A – I’m almost waiting for the screaming to start – but so far, she is fan-freaking-tabulous!
• There is even less time to do all the things that I wish I could do, but then again, not necessarily. Vivi and Aleesia usually nap at the same time in the afternoons which leaves a bit of a window while G is at school to do things that I need to do (clean, eat, workout, shower, blog, etc.). Plus, again, fabulous nanny is here so she lends a hand with A and V whenever I need it.
• I still do not love the afterschool to bedtime period of the day – it’s always a rush of get G off the bus, after school snacks, make dinner, fussy/whining kids, baths, homework, bedtime etc. all before Mike gets home. And now, at least, I can end those few hours with a glass of wine either in celebration of a successful evening or as a reward for making it to bedtime without anything bad happening!

Overall – life as a family of 5 is working out prettttty well. It will all require a new adjustment when I start working again, of course, but for now – we are easing into this new little place in life with only a few small bumps so far.