4 Years With 3

Four years ago today, I became a mother of three.  My little Titus made his world debut during the hottest weather in recorded Seattle history.  I should have known he was going to give me a continual run for my money.  

Watching Titus grow and trying to keep him alive has been a bit of a cursed blessing.  On the one hand, he's completely and insanely adorable.  On the other hand, he is hell bent on destroying the world.  Most days I find myself caught in this vortex of craziness that occurs when his adorable meets his awful, and in that vortex, I twitch and giggle.  

Becoming a mom for the first time was interesting.  All things were so new, and there were so many rules and regulations to learn and follow.  I left pages of instructions for my in-laws when they would take Wendy, never minding that they raised 6 kids. I lived in a constant state of panic and second-guessing.  As a result, I missed out on actually enjoying the baby phase, wishing it away one poop blow-out at a time.  For the record, and in retrospect, she was an amazing baby.  Very portable and lovable and squishy.  

After a few years with Wendy, I felt confident enough that I could not only have a second baby but that I could also enjoy it.  Of course, it took a few times to get a pregnancy to stick.  I got to house two babies for several weeks, but they decided to take the short route to heaven.  But Nina?  Nina stuck.  That kid probably bullied her way to the front of the egg pool, and she's been a kick in the pants ever since.  She came out completely opposite from her big sister, and I enjoyed my little curly-topped baby girl very much.  

Then we decided to go for one more.  I grew up in a family of 2 kids, and I always wondered what it would be like to have 3.  That seems like a good reason to bring another human into the world, yes?  Transitioning from 1 to 2 was a bit of a leap.  I felt like I was betraying Wendy by introducing another person into her perfect little world.  But thinking about going from 2 to 3 was a different story.  Wendy took to Nina immediately.  They'd love their little brother.  

They did.  They do.  Of course, Nina handled the transition about as well as an elephant handles ballet.  Before Titus, she was perfectly satisfied with how Peter parented her.  He could give her baths and put her to bed and hold her and other such pleasantries.  After Titus?  Well, after Titus Peter failed to meet her standards.  Only I could administer proper care.  So, you know, that was a bit of a challenge, especially when recovering from a c-section and breast feeding and trying not to melt in the relentless heat.  

Here we are, 4 years later.  New house.  Central air conditioning.  Sleeping through the night.  It's been a bit of a bumpy road, and I'm sure it will continue to be for years to come.  I wouldn't trade life with 3 kids for a second, though.  That's not true.  I'd trade it for a luxury cruise around the world, but I'd want it back the minute I got home.  An hour after I got home.  Maybe a week.