The One, Two, & Three Jump!

When Siella was born, Ryder, our first child, was 2 1/2 years old, so I can honestly say that going from one to two children wasn’t much of a challenge for me. Ryder was at a good age, sleeping through the nights, potty trained early, and able to understand he was a big brother, to his new sibling sister. With this, one thing I did need to learn was how to give my all to each of them, equally. During the first few weeks after Siella’s birth, I remember stressing that I couldn’t take Ryder to music class, as I was still recovering from a c-section. Ryder was completely content with having my mom take him, but nonetheless, I was still a mess. Another learning curve around the same time was the double stroller. At first, I didn’t think I would need a double, because I figured Ryder could easily ride on the stroller kick board. That point of view changed after our second or third time out of the house, when I realized that my little man was still napping, and may have wanted to take a siesta next to his little sis!

But all that was minor compared to the jump from two to three children. It took a really long time, almost a year and a half for Siella to be conceived due to secondary infertility (yep, that’s a thing!), so we figured it would take us just as long to have a third. Surprisingly, that was not the case for Gemma, and I was pregnant after the first month of trying. For Ryder, now almost five years old, taking a newborn baby home was almost old hat, considering his first sister was born just 21 months earlier. Siella on the other hand was not at all prepared to become the middle child. The day we brought Gemma home, Siella instantly decided that she no longer wanted to wear diapers because that was for babies. and pretty much potty trained herself. This was something I definitely was not prepared for! Nursing a newborn while carrying around a potty and asking a toddler if they needed to go to the bathroom fifty times a day was a challenge, to say the least. I remember the feeling when I had to get all three kids out the door, at the same time, alone. At that time, it seemed like climbing a mountain, but looking back now, I have to laugh. Those were some of the best years, when they were all just innocent little babies, that needed their mama for everything.

While I understand that it could be difficult to see beyond “the trenches” once you are in the thick of it, but as mamas you will realize, maneuver and eventually overcome the challenges you face, and when you are at that point when you can reflect, you too will realize they really weren’t challenges at all. It’s just the ebbs and flows of motherhood. But, I am curious, what it’s like from going from three to four?

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