Preparing for Baby Number Four


It's interesting, being pregnant multiple times. For me, it seems that each time, I dread labor a little more and a little more. I've not had any complications or oddities during my labor and delivery thus far to make the dread feel "qualified..." I know there are many others that have endured so much worse than my labors and deliveries and they continue to add on to their families...
Props to you, mamas, because at this point right now, with only a couple of weeks left, I'm still feeling like: "nah, I'm good, I'm uncomfortable, but at least I'm not in pain. You're good cookin in there, lil guy!"

With the past guys, I would have been all packed for the hospital by now, bag ready, list made, nursery ready for MONTHS...But this time, I'm not. I'm just waiting.

I don't dread the transition - baby number three was the easiest one so far and I can only assume that as long as Lincoln is as easy going as the others have been, the transition to him will be just as simple. The kids are excited, they can't wait for Lincoln to arrive!

Andrew and I are excited for him to come too. We've been realizing how big Elliot has gotten and the arrival of a newborn could not be more perfect right now, I know the nights will probably be long and I will be extra tired, but I'm ready for that part.

The part that I am dreading the most after delivery is the weight. It doesn't get talked about a lot because people always excuse it with, "you just had a baby," but for me - that's just not good enough. I struggle with my weight and having added so much in the past 6 years anyways that I can't handle the thought of going out of the house after baby comes, not covered in sweats...

In lieu of that, I have decided that I will be doing Whole30 through the month of July because I know that I get very hungry when I am nursing, and Whole30 will help guide what I eat. My husband has offered to create a light, beginner's workout routine to help my muscles recover from years of not working out, and my hope is to do lots of walks with my sister in law and my Brittney friend!

Beyond that type of preparation, number four seems uneventful. I hate to say that, because we are definitely celebrating another baby coming, but as it seems - the more you add, the easier it gets.

I was a little stumped in trying to figure out what else to write for this post, so I asked on Facebook, "what questions do you other mamas have about adding more than 2 to the family, or what have you other mamas of 4+ done to prepare for another baby?"

The theme that I got from the other mamas was that with each baby, things are so much more relaxed. There's a stereotypical "first mom" box (which I think always labeling people is just dumb, and I'm SO over it - perhaps more on that in the future...) meaning that when we have our first babies, everything needs to be just so, and sterilized to a degree, etc. Not true for every first mom, but I definitely saw that in myself. By the time our number three came though, it's not that I didn't care what happened to him, or what he ate, or touched - you just realize that some things are worth fighting for and some things just aren't.

  

It becomes easier to let things go, and roll off. You have to pick and choose your battles, especially when you have two other toddlers fighting over everything in sight. I also feel like, the more relaxed you are, the easier your babies can be. There's a HUGE degree of trust that you have to have when you produce more than two children for your two hands to hold onto, and it becomes a comfortable spot to be in, knowing that Jesus has your children, even when you can't. He is trustworthy and relying on him is such a huge relief.

The other theme that came through was space, both in the car and in the house! Finding a car for us was difficult because we knew we needed something larger for seating, but I just wasn't willing to be a minivan mom. Nothing against you moms that drive minivans, I've heard GREAT arguments for them!!! Actually, Andrew drives one (thank you Grandma for that gift!!!) but, they've just never been my style. I would be totally happy if I could have an extended cab pickup truck with a bench seat in the front to squeeze everyone into.

With Andrew having worked in the car industry for YEARS, he knew what was out there, what was good, what the best safety ratings were, etc. and he came to the conclusion that the vehicle that would both fit my style and our size needs was a Volvo! He claims my next vehicle will be a Mazda CX 9, it also has three rows of seats, but is a bit more spacious than the Volvo.

As for fitting boys in bedrooms, the house that we just moved into has three bedrooms, which is perfect. Our older two share a bunk bed, 6 year old on top, 4 year old on bottom. It's beautiful. The tough part is avoiding playing together at night, but we've settled on, if they're quiet and in their beds, no harm - no foul.

The younger two will be sharing a room and since the baby will sleep in our room for the first 8+ months due to midnight nursings, it'll just work out really smoothly. They'll just always be sharing rooms. We've flip flopped them all, The middle one is the only boy not to have had a room to himself at one point. He may never know what that's like, but he seems to be fine with that.

  
 

There were several other questions which I think I will turn into separate blog posts (thanks for the prompts ladies!) about things like meal planning/grocery shopping for 6+, making sure each child feels distinct attention and love, and scheduling/routine changes and adjusting. Keep an eye out for those in the future!!!

I hope this post didn't scare anyone away from having more than 2, in fact, I hope that if you were considering it, it only encouraged you. Going from two to three was the easiest of transitions for us and I anticipate another simple change in our family dynamics when Lincoln comes.

Stay tuned for more on our expanding family and other ways our family of 6 functions.

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