Honest thoughts from a mom of three under age three

I don’t know what we were thinking. When my husband and I were newly married we didn’t really decide how far to space out our children. We knew most people had children two years apart but we were open to having them close in age. We did not realize how close our children would end up being.

Now we have three girls. Our eldest isn’t even three yet.

 

I got pregnant only three months after our first child was born. Their birthdays are two days apart from each other. Sometimes it’s embarrassing to admit their ages because of the comments people make. We were crazy to do this, right?

That’s what I think every morning before I have to change three sets of pajamas, find new outfits for them, do the diapers, and feed them breakfast all the while nursing my very hungry and very loud 2-month-old. Sometimes I don’t even want to get out of bed. I try to convince myself that they can wear pajamas all day, maybe a wet diaper isn’t so bad, or maybe they can find food for themselves this one time.

But after my short time of denial in the morning I hear the little voices over the baby monitor and the newborn starts to stir.

After I nurse the baby I bring her into the girls’ room and put her in a bouncy chair while I help the girls get their clothes on. My eldest likes to pick out her outfits and sometimes picks out the other children’s outfits too. The girls always want to hold and kiss their baby sister at some point during this process. Then after breakfast and the dishes and other chores are done we head outside to play. Usually the baby is napping by now so I am free to play with the girls.

Having them so close in age, they usually play with the same toys and enjoy doing the same games over and over (Ring Around the Rosie anyone?). I also try to do a session of “school” with them each day–puzzles, play-doh, etc. And right before nap time all of us sit down and read a lot of books.

Even a year from now all three of them will be doing these things together. I don’t have to do separate activities for each of them in order to accommodate their different ages. It’s still pretty crazy but it works great for our family. The girls will always have a companion to share life with as they grow up.

In the evening my husband comes home and the girls usually “help” him with projects around the house. This gives me a chance to spend time nursing and cooing with my youngest and to finish evening tasks.

When I found out I was pregnant with our third child even though our second was not even a year old, I cried because I felt overwhelmed. I hadn’t got my pre-pregnancy body back yet. I was looking forward to not nursing for awhile. I decided to wait to tell my husband the news so that I could tell him without getting all emotional and teary-eyed. I was able to wait a whopping 10 hours. And I still cried. But he was so happy and he looked at me so tenderly that I knew we would be alright. We could do this. As I watched my two girls happily running around I was filled with joy about having a new baby in my arms.

A couple of my doctors recommended waiting at least 6 months or more before trying to get pregnant (just general advice). But all three girls were born vaginally and were healthy. And though I am tired a lot I am still in great health.

Every woman is different and, ultimately, the decision is between her and her husband. It’s not right or wrong to have your kids close in age or farther apart, I just believe my husband and I made the right choice for our family.

Even though it will be a relief to have them all out of the baby stage soon, I will look back and miss these early crazy years. Especially at night when the two-year-old asks me to sing her a song and the one-year-old wants me to hold her close and the newborn nurses sleepily. I will miss having so many babies at once to love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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