It was early afternoon when my phone rang. I noticed it was our worker calling me and immediately picked it up.
“How do you feel about adding a one-month-old to your mix?”
Of course, we said yes and we were told to expect her the next morning. My mind immediately went into panic mode as I attempted to recall what all a tiny baby needed. It had been a LONG time since we had an infant in our home and my husband and I were excited and nervous to start this adventure of being outnumbered. We both went to bed that night savoring our last night of uninterrupted sleep.
Everyone says the transition from two kids to three kids is the hardest and most stressful transition of all. This is absolutely, 100% true.
The comfortable routine we had fallen into with our two littles was completely upended. My toddlers were smitten with the baby but were confused as to why I couldn’t sit down and read books with them whenever they wanted. The one-year-old loves to be held, but he soon discovered my arms were no longer his. Our two year old didn’t understand why she couldn’t pick up the baby without help like she does her baby dolls.
I didn’t think that adding a third car seat to our behemoth of an SUV would be so complicated. Or that getting all three kids into their car seats would take FOREVER and by the time they were all situated you’d be too tired to go where you needed to go. My apple watch must be broken because I’m pretty sure wrangling three children into car seats multiple times a day burns enough calories to meet my daily goal.
I didn’t think that cooking dinner would be such a monumental task. Meal prep consists of one toddler wrapped around my leg crying, one infant strapped to my chest screaming for a bottle, and the other toddler getting away with almost anything because I’m preoccupied with not burning the food and making sure I don’t trip over a child (also, she’s just too dang cute). I count down the minutes until my husband comes home to lend a hand.
I didn’t think just how much I would miss sleep. My toddlers were solid 12-hour sleepers at night and 4-hour nappers on weekends (yes, you should envy me). I went from being able to have a leisurely morning, waking up on my own time, to having to wake up well before the sun comes up to feed a hungry baby.
I didn’t think about any of that because none of it mattered. Our answer will always be yes.
I knew that even though we only had 12 hours to prepare for this baby that we could handle it. My husband and I didn’t think twice about the ‘inconvenience’ this baby would be to us. Our small inconveniences were nothing in comparison to what this baby had been through in her short life.
I will gladly take nights of no sleep if it means that they have a warm bed to sleep in.
We can eat take out every night of the week because it means they’ll be fed.
Rearranging car seats in our giant SUV is a pain, but it means that the kiddos will be safely restrained while they’re in the car.
If I had the money to buy a mansion, I would. That way, I could take in even more of these sweet babies who need love and affection.
This turn in our foster care journey was unexpected. It’s made easier because these kids need us and I know that, eventually, it will be less chaotic. I’ll continue on in this madness. We might gain a little weight, lose a little hair, gain some wrinkles, and lose a LOT of sleep, but, this is the life I’ve chosen and I’d choose it again and again.
