Actually, adjusting to having three kids really has not been that bad. A friend of mine, who is having her third, asked me a few weeks ago if I had any advice to prepare her for the transition. So I have been reflecting about this. We had a lot of help for the first 4-5 weeks of Isaac's life, and that took a lot of pressure off of me and made sure John and Lucy were still getting attention and getting their needs met. Over the summer, I kept my expectations low and stayed home a lot. If the kids wanted a playmate, we invited friends over to our house to make it easiest on Boo (plus it's not quite so awkward nursing in front of people in your own home). Kevin or I grocery shopped after everyone was asleep, and anything else we needed, we tried to buy online. Kevin kept his work schedule flexible, and would work at night or early in the morning if I needed a little extra help around dinnertime or had a Dr. appointment, etc.
Since the kids started school in late August, we have really gotten into the groove of each day. We have a good daily schedule that works almost all the time. Isaac and his little things have just fit into our family and I think all five of us are happy about how things are going.
If there is anything that irks me about being a family of five, it is THE LAUNDRY. What a mom thing to say, no? It's true though. The one thing I didn't expect to change so much is the amount of laundry I feel buried under! Before Isaac was born, the laundry was something I did once or maybe twice per week. I could leave a basket of unfolded clothes sitting around the house for quite some time before I needed the basket, or someone was out of underwear, etc. Now the laundry has become a part of our daily chores, along with washing the dishes, making John's lunch and getting the mail. I have to do a little bit every day. Our one tiny little Boo seems to have doubled the amount of dirty stuff that needs cleaning. (Well, that's not entirely fair to pin it all on Boo - since John easily gets skin infections I have been extra careful about having him use towels only once, wear a pair of pajamas only once, change his undies two or three times per day, etc. to try and protect his skin more.) I usually put a load in the washer before bed, and when I get up, and sometimes once or twice during the day too. Hanging clothes up in everyone's closets and putting away folded clothes is now a part of my daily morning routine.
I am not particularly happy about this, but I feel better trying to stay on top of it. If the kids can scale the pile of dirty laundry, then I waste an entire day on it rather than a little bit every morning. Plus, John and Lucy are at the ages where they have favorite things they like to wear to school. For Lucy it's pink things, for John it's his blue jeans. So those things go through the wash sometimes 3x per week.
I think if this is my biggest problem, we are doing just fine. And for the most part, it is. Lately Boo is waking up between 4:45 am and 5:30 am. I am a little frustrated by this because I think it could be his wakeup time for a while now, like through toddlerhood. But at the same time, I just sit in the rocking chair and nurse him, watch the news, and then go in the shower before anyone else is up. So even that's not all bad. When John was a baby, I about wanted to leap off our apartment building when he woke up that early. Our kids mellow us over time I guess!
I do feel like I spend so much time and energy on our daily maintenance needs (i.e. laundry, dishes, making food, giving baths, picking up toys, etc.) that when it is time to do some cleaning, I never get to the less frequent tasks that are still important. For example, all of the kids' 4T and 5T sized clothes are in piles on a table in our basement waiting to be sorted and put away into bins. I would love to be taking better care of these items but just never have the time to do that job. This is not a big deal, but you get what I am saying.
OK, I better go and fold a basket of...you guessed it!
2 days ago
4 comments:
I can't even IMAGINE doing laundry for a family of 5 because I feel totally swamped with my family of 4! I have a different system from you - I do about five loads of laundry on Mondays and Tuesdays and forget about it the rest of the week. I'm getting more caught up now that I have the playroom set up in the basement near where the laundry machine is, it makes it more convenient to do the switching and the folding!
I'm with Liz--I have about two days of major laundry--usually my work at home days. And since our basement is now finished with a play area, I will do the same--fold while the kids play.
And Becky you're so right--when Mia was a baby and wouldn't go to bed before 11pm I thought I was going to lose my mind. But with Henry, it's not so bad. I want him to sleep well for his own sake, but him being awake doesn't wreck my night. I hope Isaac starts sleeping later! There's always coffee, right?
Incidentally, Mia woke up around 6:30 until she got to be closer to 1, then it got a bit later, 7:30, and since she's been about 18 months, she wakes up usually after 8. So there is still hope for Isaac.
Good read! I felt like our laundry needs got worse and now they are better. I think Sylvie not spilling on herself at each meal helped. And I don't have kids with skin issues, that's a huge surprise to hear that it's a big deal. Could he try boxers? I agree that so much of the day is reliving the same things over and over. Sometimes I want to skip a shower just for the sake of not doing something we do every day that isn't unique! If your kids do have some favs, maybe keep a little special plastic bucket on the washing machine that never gets put away. I also find different clothes are easier to hang and some are easier to fold and I'm not afraid to switch around. What bugs me is the dishes. Feels like food-making and cleaning up is an all-day event that by dinner, I"m done for.
This blog always makes me feel better about laundry. She has 14 kids.
http://mamahen15.blogspot.com/2008/11/and-lest-you-believe.html
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