8 weeks later

Wow, 8 weeks have passed already! I have to write about it... there have certainly been ups and downs!

 I feel like I've adjusted to being a mom of three, though I've said several times (half-jokingly and half-seriously) that this is definitely the edge of my sanity. Ronan himself is a piece of cake. By the third baby, there is no debating over which parenting choices to make. It is all instinctive now. Nurse, sling, change diaper, repeat. He's growing and changing at what I assume is a normal pace, though the milestone charts seem foggy in my mind. He weighed 12 lbs. 14 oz. this morning. He smiles and coos in a conversational manner. He gnaws and sucks on his hands. He's just beginning to grab things. He wants to stand when you're holding him and can support his weight for a while. He seems to think it's really funny when I yell at Aden and Lily. He likes to look at pictures, faces, and ceiling fans. He sleeps pretty well at night as long as he can nurse when he wants to. He's what I would call an "easy baby."

But no matter how easy and happy the baby, finding the time for everything and everyone is harder than it was. For the big kids, there is a lot of TV watching happening these days. Sometimes it is great stuff like our Schoolhouse Rock DVD and other times it is truly lousy like Tom & Jerry. For me, there is never enough caffeine or chocolate. Especially chocolate!

I'm not sure my house is ever going to feel as clean and organized as I wish it did. I'm running out of pre-made frozen meals and that is cause for alarm. Aden is amazing and is reading on a second-grade level while learning multiplication, but that comes with extra homework which requires parental energy and patience. It is never too early to pass on the procrastination habit right? Lily is independent, argumentative, demanding, dramatic, needy, and so very sensitive that sometimes the simplest interaction with her leaves me exhausted, other times laughing and proud. 

Derek helps when he can. When he is smiling and cooing at Ronan or teaching the big kids how to hammer a nail, I feel lucky to have a husband who is so involved and loving. When Ronan is nursing again and the big kids are arguing and he is obliviously surfing the net... well, you know how that goes.

I'll admit, sometimes the idea of all three kids being old enough to be in school full-time sounds so incredibly appealing. I've done the math. In 2013, when Ronan goes to kindergarten, Aden will be in sixth grade and Lily in fourth...

But I know at that point, I will look back and think how easy it was to parent them when they were younger and life was simpler! So I will snuggle my sleeping baby into the sling, go find some more chocolate, sing "Three is a Magic Number" with Aden and Lily, and appreciate the tiny equilibrium that we have found in the past 8 weeks. :)