5 Hard Truths After Having Baby #3

We have 3 kids in our house – ages 6, 5, and 2. I am an obsessive-compulsive cleaner and somewhat of a control freak. I know what you’re thinking… these things do not go well together.

Throughout my day I am constantly in situations where I stop and think, ‘What the FUDGE did I get myself into?!’ Let’s just say that my parenting style has drastically changed over the last 2 years when we brought our sweet little man home and I have had to relinquish A LOT of my mommy-of-2 expectations because to be honest… some things are simply just IMPOSSIBLE with 3 kiddos.

So, I have compiled a list of the HARD TRUTHS I have had to face with 3 adorable, loud, demanding, emotional, illlogical, erratic, crazy toddlers under my belt.

1. You Are Forever Outnumbered

This is something I was well aware of before bringing our 3rd home and my husband and I joked about it constantly while I was pregnant. I wish I could go back in time and slap myself in the face. This is no joke and it certainly is not funny. Now two years into being completely outgunned by these tiny humans we created my husband and I lovingly just refer to our home life as the poop show, (only we use a different word for poop that is not appropriate for this blog.) We are in constant chaos and we can no longer separate & talk like we had done so gloriously with just two kids. Those days are done. 

2. Sleep…. Bahahahaha!

It’s sad how humorous that really is to me. I do not get to sleep anymore. Pretty sure 8 full hours of sleep would probably mess with my mind right now. My side of the bed is like a rotating door of children during the wee hours of the night. The 2 year old is just constantly wanting to sleep in our bed and as soon as I get him back to sleep another one comes in and had a bad dream, so then I’m headed to lay with that one. If I sleep its usually on the floor next to the crib or on the end of my girls bed for maybe 2 hours? You know the worst part…I can hear my husband snoring from our super-comfy king size bed right next door. I will never understand how he does not wake up. EVER. Some hard-core dad voodoo magic is the only thing that makes any logical sense.

3. You Can Not Clean The House In 1 Day

…as I explained before I am what some would consider a bit obsessive compulsive about cleaning. Well… maybe a little under exaggerated. If you asked my sister she would tell you what a freak I am about it and always have been.  I am that annoying chick who has a place for everything and everything needs to be back in its place before bedtime. It just makes me feel better and I hate starting the day already behind. Well… baby #3 does not care about any of that. With 2 kids, I could still get my whole house clean just the way I like it in 1 day and was super excited about that. After baby #3 it took about 10 failed attempts and maybe some crazy lady staying up until 3 am to mop the floors before I finally relented the notion that it could be done. It cannot. As soon as I get in a cleaning groove somebody needs something around here usually along the lines of, ‘Can I have some juice?’ ‘I’m hungry!’ ‘She just punched me!’ ‘Bo’s trying to throw the kitty off the bunk beds again!’ Groove disrupted constantly = house NOT clean.

4. You Will Never Be, ‘ON TIME,’ Again…. EVER!

This was a hard pill for me to swallow. I don’t know why or where it comes from, but I seriously get anxiety from running late. I truly despise being late and before baby #3 came along I was still arriving 10-15 minutes ahead of schedule. I could still plan ahead enough with 2 kids to know when I needed to leave the house, have everything and everybody packed and ready to go, and deal with whatever meltdowns, blowouts, sippy-cup dilemmas, etc. reared its ugly head before go time. Now…not so much. It does not matter how early we wake up – I am always running late! It is apparently impossible to get myself and 3 tiny humans dressed, fed, hair-brushed, teeth-brushed, and out the door on time. IT. IS. IMPOSSIBLE.

5. Somebody Is Always Going To Be A Grump

They didn’t get enough sleep, or the kids at school were mean, or their shoes just don’t feel right,  but honestly it never fails  – 1 of the 3 of them is going to be having a BAD DAY. This is one that has been difficult for me because I naturally just want everyone to be happy, but after trying with 3 completely different little beings for 2 years I have finally just realized that it’s okay. No adult has a good day every day so why should I expect them to? I have learned to tread lightly in the morning until I realize who is actually the grump and try and focus a little more attention and affection on that baby on that day. It gets REAL fun when all 3 of them are having a grumpy day. Those days usually end with take-out, booze for mommy & daddy, and an early bedtime for everyone.

In all honesty, I think the actual transition from 1 kid to 2 was harder than 2 kids to 3, but I never foresaw these hard truths until they were smack in my face. I’m mainly talking about the cleaning part because I am obsessed and will dwell on it for the rest of my days. Obviously I would not trade this poop show for anything in the world and feel pretty lucky to be a part of it in the bad times and the good.

What truths have you discovered while adding bundles of joy to your family unit?

Is there anything, like my cleaning obsession that you have had to let go of after baby?

 

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katyjohnson
I was born and raised in Edmond, OK and after high school I attended NSU in Tahlequah where I majored in broadcast journalism. I met my husband Will while in school and we moved to his home town of Tulsa to begin our family where we resided for 8 years. We were relocated back to OKC about 3 years ago and while I really miss my Tulsa friends, I absolutely LOVE being home. We have 3 crazy, super loud, extremely fun kiddos ages 8, 6, and 4. My kids are my everything and I could have never anticipated the roller coaster of chaos that is my life now. We live on 5 acres in Guthrie and I am terrified and also very excited for this next chapter in our lives. My favorite things are spending time with family & friends, music, going to the lake, reading, gardening, cherry blow pops, Dr. pepper, crafting, cleaning, and fireworks. We are trying to raise our kids to be kind, loving, respectful human beings and to truly understand that no two humans are the same and to love people for who they are. I am very excited to share my sweet yet crazy family with you and connect with other moms!

8 COMMENTS

  1. All so true and I’m only a week in! Love you Katy! I haven’t given up on the cleaning yet, I don’t know if I ever will!

  2. Mine are almost grown now, but I’ve always had two rules that I tell new parents: never let them outnumber you, and with three or more, they can never ALL be happy! You’ll have to let the OCD go and settle for keeping visible areas 80% clean!

  3. Love it! i gave up getting my nails done every month just so I could have the cleaning lady come one more time a month ?

    • Smart girl! I wish I could let someone else clean but due to my OCD – I am never satisfied! Maybe a few more years and I will be over it. Thanks for your input!

  4. Totally agree! Five boys and I still can’t give up on cleaning! I tried having some one else do it for awhile, but the first time something went missing I was done w/that! Now I’m trying to sell the house and keeping it clean for a showing is almost impossible! I thought it would get easier the older they got, but no luck so far!

    • HAHA! Well.. crap. I keep thinking once mine get a little older I will just make them do it! I know thats laughable! Good luck on your house and thanks for reading!

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