I get this question a lot. Especially when people hear or see that I had three kids in two years. There is no easy answer to that question. The first six weeks after the twins were born were definitely the hardest. I thought giving birth to two babies would be hard - nope, it was rather easy. I'm still amazed that my ob sent the second doctor (who was on hand in case of an emergency c-section) out of the room before baby B was even born. I thought leaving one baby in the NICU while I came home with the other baby would be hard - and while that was heartbreaking to say the least, I got through that. And then Colin came home. The next day, Keith left for work at 6:30 a.m. And there I was, all alone for 8 hours, with a just turned two year old and these two tiny babies, all clamouring for my undivided attention. I averaged about three hours of sleep a DAY for the first four to six weeks. I had my mantra (Breathe, Smile, Love) and my burp rags, and then I was thrown into this situation where some days I ended up asking myself "how DID I do it???" How in the world did I make it through another day of the feeding, pumping, changing, crying, more feeding, more pumping, more changing, MORE crying...???
The days slooooowly got better. Soon the babies were sleeping for three hours at a time, rather than two. And then they were sleeping at the SAME time - which was nice too. And every 10 days or so, God would bless me with an afternoon where all three kids slept at the same time for more than 10 minutes. And that was heavenly. I could take a five minute shower rather than a three minute one. Or I eat something while it was (luke)warm. Or the best was that I could just sit outside on the deck in the warm sun and enjoy the quiet.
Now that I work full-time, as soon as I step in the door, I am immediately barraged by things to do, babies to hold, toddlers to chase. Dinner needs to be eaten, kids need to be bathed, Connor needs to be danced with, and the twins need to eat. I still don't really get that quiet time I so desperately need sometimes. By the time the laundry is washed (notice I say washed - not folded!) and the kids are finally asleep, sometimes I wonder how in the world did I get through the day? And now that it's finally over, what will tomorrow bring?
So then to answer the question at hand: How do I do it? To be honest, I really don't know. I just did it. I just do it.
The days slooooowly got better. Soon the babies were sleeping for three hours at a time, rather than two. And then they were sleeping at the SAME time - which was nice too. And every 10 days or so, God would bless me with an afternoon where all three kids slept at the same time for more than 10 minutes. And that was heavenly. I could take a five minute shower rather than a three minute one. Or I eat something while it was (luke)warm. Or the best was that I could just sit outside on the deck in the warm sun and enjoy the quiet.
Now that I work full-time, as soon as I step in the door, I am immediately barraged by things to do, babies to hold, toddlers to chase. Dinner needs to be eaten, kids need to be bathed, Connor needs to be danced with, and the twins need to eat. I still don't really get that quiet time I so desperately need sometimes. By the time the laundry is washed (notice I say washed - not folded!) and the kids are finally asleep, sometimes I wonder how in the world did I get through the day? And now that it's finally over, what will tomorrow bring?
So then to answer the question at hand: How do I do it? To be honest, I really don't know. I just did it. I just do it.
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