31 for 21 Day 11: Being a Mom of 3

Now that we have been home for about a month, one of the most common questions I am asked is "so how is it at home now that you have three kids?".  I can honestly say that for the most part, it hasn't really felt like things have changed too much because Cody still sleeps a good amount of the day.  However, there have been some moments where I can only help but laugh (ok, maybe tear up a little bit too?) because all three kids are crying, Chris is working late, and I am trying to help each one of their unique needs in that moment at the same time.  While there are some similarities between the three of them, they each have their own unique personality and developmental needs.  

 

While Cody is generally an easy going baby, his "fussy" time of the day typically falls in the evening.  It can start anywhere around dinner time and not end until he is done with his "last" feeding of the night which is typically anywhere between 8:30 and 11.  He goes for decent stretches at night (minimum is 3 hours and the most has been 7 hours) and fortunately, when he is done eating he goes right back to sleep (at night).  When he is awake, he is growing more and more alert and will give us some occasional smiles. 

Kailey is loving being a big sister and is really good with how she is helping with Cody.  She loves holding him and watching but she doesn't try to do much independently yet.  She is more than willing to help get things for me.  She's also really enjoying school and is like a little sponge.  She will come home and talk about all of the things she is doing while she is there.  She is a very emotional little girl though and typically cries when she doesn't like how something goes.  She actually brought ME to tears the other day when we were watching the Fox and the Hound.  The fox gets taken far away from his home and dropped off somewhere else.  Kailey's bottom lip curled and started to quiver and she just started crying.  I felt so bad for her in that moment because she was so genuinely sad! She is also very bossy and tells Colin what to do and how to do it. 

 

Colin is becoming more and more verbal and is able to string together a lot more words into longer sentences.  He's having a bit of a hard time at school but we are hoping there will be a solution to that in the near future.  He also loves his little brother and constantly tells me what a cute baby he is.  He doesn't pay too much consistent attention to him but there are moments throughout the day where he will ask to hold him and give him hugs and kisses (especially at bed time).  He's been really cooperative at home with practicing his lower case letters, counting/numbers (he's made some great improvements with this), reading sight words, and practicing writing.  He has been a little bit more snuggly lately; my favorite is when he comes and sits next to me on the couch and puts his arm around me. 

...sometimes it's still hard to believe I have 3 kids!