I met my husband at BYU-Idaho. We got married on July 8th, 2006. We knew right away that we wanted to have a baby. Nicolina Love was born on August 6th,2007. When she was about 4 months I started to feel like I wanted to get pregnant again. We had talked about having our first two kids kind of close in age. It didn’t take long for me to get pregnant and on November 3rd, 2008 we welcomed our son Lionel into our family. Lionel was nothing like Nicci had been as a baby. He had acid reflux and cried almost 24/7 for the first 6 months. I was always tired and frustrated with all the crying. I was definitely not thinking about getting pregnant or wanting to get pregnant at this time. We felt like we wanted to have 2 years or so between Lionel our next child.
When Lionel was 5 months I started to notice that my milk was drying up. I also started to act a little bit more emotional than normal and my husband joked and told me to take a pregnancy test. Days went by and I didn’t think much about it…but then I found an old pregnancy test from the past year when I was pregnant with Lionel. I decided to take it. I really wasn’t expecting it to be positive at all. I put it on my desk and waited. When I looked at it, but heart jumped….it was positive….what????????? I didn’t know what to believe so I got another test and….positive. I told Eric and he didn’t sound too surprised. I was in shock that whole day…and week. I had no idea how far along I was because I had not started my period yet. I called the doctor and they scheduled an ultrasound. The day of the ultrasound I prayed in my heart that I was going to be between 5-10 weeks along. I needed as much time as possible to prepare for this baby. During the ultrasound I found out I was about 5 weeks along….phew. I calculated and Lionel and this baby would be 13 ½ months apart. Crazy! Jordan was born on December 19th, 2009. He is as cute as can be. Nicci and Lionel adore him. He is our easiest baby so far and I’m so grateful for that.
Having three kids under the age of 3 is kind of crazy. Nicci started to wake up in the middle of the night after Jordan was born and Lionel sometimes wakes up because he loses his pacifier, so we not only deal with a baby during the night, but the other kids too. I hope Nicci can go back to her normal sleep habits soon. It’s getting kind of old to have to get up 3-4 times every night to put her back to bed. I usually take care of Jordan during the night and Eric takes care of the other kids. Jordan is a really good sleeper so sometimes I feel bad that my husband gets up more than me. Sometimes I don’t even hear the other kids get up. I should try to get up more and help when Jordan has a good night. One thing that’s kind of hard right now is nursing. As soon as I sit down the two older kids decide to do everything they are not supposed to do. Nicci’s favorite thing to do is to open the bathroom door and let Lionel play in the toilet. She has been potty trained for over 5 months so we can’t just lock the door in case she needs to go. Another annoying thing is how much Nicci likes to fight with Lionel. They always want the exact same toy and it drives me crazy. But they also have times when they love to play together especially when they are outside. Nicci is an amazing sister and tries to help Lionel and Jordan as much as she can.
Some days are rough and what helps me feel better is getting together with other moms. I have two friends that I see about twice a week. Without them I would go absolutely crazy. They both have two kids and their youngest are 4 and 5 months. Their older kids are Nicci’s age. We get together and vent and talk about things. Oh, how grateful I am to them. We give each other advice and laugh about things that are hard.
Another thing I am grateful for is our house and big backyard. The kids do so much better outside than inside. So as soon as they go crazy I feed the baby and go outside. Outside they can run around as much as possible and get all their energy out.
I get out of the house one night every week and go to a water aerobics class with one of my friends. (I’m so happy Jordan takes a bottle so I can go). That hour is heaven and I get to be by myself and have fun.
I try not to put myself in situations that can get crazy. I just recently took all three kids to the grocery store with me for the first time. I brought a lot of snack with me to bribe them with if things went crazy. I have lowered my expectations of what I can do with my three little ones. I can’t just go wherever I want, whenever I want. Some places are just suicide to go to by myself with the kids. I’m kind of outnumbered. My kids love to run away from me too. I know that things will get a lot easier when Jordan is a little older. He is only 2 months now. It will get easier when he has routines and stuff.
One thing I had to do is to learn how to prioritize my time. I don’t like to have a messy house, but sometimes I just need to drop it and spend the time with the kids instead of cleaning up. I try to give the kids individual attention every day. Last weekend I went grocery shopping with just Nicci, she was so excited to be there just with me. Sometimes I sit down on the couch and just hug them. I’m so grateful for my little kids. Jordan takes good naps every day and that gives me some time to spend with Nicci and Lionel. Sometimes I have a whole list of things I want to do when Jordan falls asleep and that’s when I need to remember to spend some time with my kids. I don’t get as much stuff done during the day like I used to but I try to be patient and take the time and make my kids happy instead. I have learned to accept that it is okay to shower at 1 pm if that’s what I have to do.
One thing that is nice is that the two older kids go to bed around 7.30. That gives me some time to do things at night. I also treasure the time I get when they take their naps. Eric gets home from work around 4-4.30 and that helps a lot too.
I think the kids will have a lot of fun when they get a little older. They will always have each other.
We want more kids probably three more-but not for a while. Right now I want to focus on the three we have. We are so grateful for them. I love to see them grow and learn new things. I love to see them play and give each other hugs. I love how they do and say things that make me laugh. I feel so blessed to be their mom.
3 comments:
Beatrice, thank you SO much for your post! I loved it! You are so brave and I admire you so much. You sure are an example to me.
I didn't know Jordan was an "accident"! I thought you guys just wanted to have your kids really close in age. That's awesome though, they will be the best of friends! They'll always have each other too. Thanks again!
Beatrice, loved reading your post, it made me think of my mom. I am the oldest of three kids, she had us three within 3 years too. She said it was extremely hard but today we are best friends (especially my brother and my sister that are only 1 year and 1 month apart) and she doesn't regret it, she says. I am expecting my first baby and I always think that I would like to have my kids all at once, we will see... =) Thanks for your example! I was wondering how you and your husband find time for each other?
How crazy and sweet your days are! It's funny that Nicci and Jordan were born in the same months as my AJ and Mimi. I hear your pain when you talk about waking up 3+ times in the middle of the nigth. I want a 3rd baby next year, but right now it's hard to think about it, i'm so exhausted! thanks for sharing! I think you're a great mom!!!
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