life with three

Just taking a minute here to write out my thoughts on how life has changed with the addition of our third, sweet baby. I've been thinking about it quite a bit, actually,

My first thought is that this has been a pretty smooth transition compared to the last baby. I had a hunch that it would be. The change from one to two kids was rough on me, partly because it was a big adjustment, but also because we had just moved, our marriage was in need of some tlc, I was still trying to find local friends, I had a dear friendship that was greatly strained, I didn't have a routine to my days and the hormones I was dealt were bad news. It made for a rocky ride.

In contrast to Elsie's arrival, the addition of Harriet has been much smoother partly because I didn't move nine days after she was born, our marriage grew even stronger with her birth, I have local friends to call and local places to frequent, that strained friendship has been restored, and this time around I have been given the happy hormone cocktail. You don't get to choose that last factor. It's why some are slammed with postpartum depression and others are not, and can vary with each baby.

But a few things have had to change this time around. When I had the flu last weekend I got to thinking. I was so sick and had just spent the week dealing with Ivar's pink eye. And then Elsie and Harriet got colds too. Part of this is totally normal for a family with little kids in the wintertime. But I also knew that much of the reason for our sickness was our pace of life. It was clear that I couldn't maintain the same commitments I had been trying to keep since Harriet was born. It was taking a toll on all of our well-being and also affecting my milk supply. So I spent an afternoon declining, saying no, and backing out of wonderful invitations and it felt right. We all know that saying no to something is actually saying yes to something else. I was saying yes to our health and happiness.

So the pace of life has had to change with three. And that's fine for this season.

The other thing that I have noticed with three is how hairy and how awesome siblings can be. There are days when I feel stretched thin. But there are many more days when I feel the fullness of moments like the one pictured above and marvel at the fact that the baby was fussing and that Ivar figured out how to calm her. I'm starting to really believe the more the merrier.

So all in all, it's been a nice three months. Perhaps the greatest improvement is the gratitude and contentment I feel as a stay at home mom. I fought this for too long, wondering if I should be doing more, contributing to the world in a larger way. But I don't wrestle with that anymore. I have been given peace that has led to a deep joy and a true sense of purpose. My contribution to the world is huge and worthwhile and currently playing/napping upstairs. Thanks be to God!

That's my update. Three months in with three kids and life feels wonderful and full. The pace has had to slow down and I have had to say no to great things in order to say yes to the best things. I couldn't be more grateful.