Mom life, when you least expect it…it changes on you.
To the exhausted mom who feels like this phase will never end…I see you, I feel you, I am you! And today I’m here to tell you that it will not last forever! Mom life is forever changing.
After our first child was born we knew our life had changed forever. But it was still fun and exciting! We took her everywhere. Any day we had off work together was spent on some family adventure!
Then, less than 2 years after her, our son was born. Now with 2 kids under 2, things changed again. Then, another 2 years later our twins were born. Well, that escalated quickly. …4 kids in 4 years!
What does all that mean?
It meant we now had 4 children under the age of 4. We had 2 preemie newborns, a 2 year old and a 3 year old. I was elbow deep in dirty diapers and spent entire days filling bottles and sippy cups and keeping bellies full.
It literally seemed like all I had time for was making sure everyone had a full belly and that their basic needs were met. Fitting in a shower in for myself all of a sudden became big accomplishment, mom life amiright? It was madness, it was chaotic and draining and if you’d like to read more about that, check out my post My Reality With 4 Kids Under 4.
The sacrifices get bigger having multiple young children
Today, I want to talk about not just the way your life changes having multiple young children but how much you really have to sacrifice during those early years.
There are always sacrifices when you enter mom life
Of course there are the obvious sacrifices. No more grabbing lunch with your friends whenever you want. No more late crazy nights because (a) you need to be up at the butt crack of dawn with those babies and (b) you’re far too broke to go out since you are now a single income household because someone has to stay home with all those babies. And definitely no more privacy when using the bathroom. Just to name a few.
All the simple things I’d miss out on in this new mom life
I hadn’t given it much thought before the twins were born, really. But it became obvious real quick that there were a lot of things, simple things, we were just going to miss out on now. Family adventures became far more difficult, pretty much impossible. Even just a simple trip to the park was difficult for that first year (maybe two).
Getting date night for my husband and I became harder. We needed all 4 grandparents to babysit just to get a few hours out by ourselves.
And the beach! One of my favorite places to be is the beach. Growing up on the shore I spent countless days on the beach. But with 4 little babies there was no way I was getting there now. It was far more trouble than it was worth. Plus, all those diapers and sand, not a great combine. So I passed on the beach for a few summers.
I missed out on fireworks for a few years too. The fourth of July without fireworks is just unamerican! But between our sleep schedule that worked way to good to screw with and the misery of having toddlers and babies up well past their bedtimes it seemed like a smart idea to skip them.
I got so used to saying “No, we can’t do that” or “I’ll have to skip that” and I simply accepted my fate of missing out on all the fun things I used to do. I had to do what was best for all of us as a family. This was the phase we were in. Accepting that just made it easier.
But this year there was a shift…and BOOM, I entered a new phase of mom life!
This year there was a major shift. The twins are 3 now. They are potty trained and there are no diapers in our house (another thing I never thought I would live to see!) They walk, they hold hands, they talk well enough to tell me what they need when they need it. Our family is entering new territory!
We hardly need the double the stroller anymore. And we actually had a successful beach trip already this summer! Successful, like, we all survived AND everyone had fun! I almost didn’t realize how much I missed the ocean until I was back there. And being able to share that place that I love so much with my children was an added bonus!
We got to see the fireworks this year too! Our older two are 5 and 7 now. They are a bit more independent and are even capable of helping out a little. It’s like all of a sudden things are more doable this year!!
So, my point is, I felt like I was stuck in that phase FOREVER. In that phase of missing out. That phase of motherhood when all our kids needed so much. So much from me, so much attention and so much stuff if we wanted to go anywhere! But it changed. I wasn’t stuck and I learned, yet again, that motherhood is ever changing. Every phase is temporary, the good and the bad.
And while I totally miss snuggling all our little babies, this Mama is looking forward to doing all the fun things we’ve been missing out on these last few, crazy years!
