Eleven Sleeps To Go...

When I had just ten sleeps to go almost 2 years ago when I was pregnant with Rosie, I published this blog post about some anxieties and excitements I had about our family growing to 4.  Well, today officially marks just eleven sleeps to go until #3 joins our fam bam and I thought I'd do a similar post for ya as we are fast-approaching being a family of 5 (well 6, counting Scoots :)

And, as I've said multiple times before, this pregnancy has completely FLOWN by.  Way faster than Rosie's and like twenty million times faster than Patrick's!  I'm sure a year from now when we're closing in on #3's first birthday I'll be saying the same thing too.  It just seems that things go so much faster these days than before!

Anyways, it was kinda fun to look back at some of my anxieties and excitements when we were expecting Rosie.  Cause now, almost 2 years later, those things don't bother me in the least bit!  And things that probably should bother me (or make me anxious) about #3's arrival really aren't...my oh my how things change, huh?!!  So!  Here's my handy dandy little list I've come up with for my anxieties and excitements just before #3's arrival...cause, you know, lists are my fave.

Anxieties

• Baby basics.  I swear it doesn't matter how many kids we have, this will probably always be on my anxiety list -- and probably at the top.  Both Patrick and Rosie were great eaters, sleepers, and just all-around easy babies.  I always fear that this new kid will be the opposite (and actually tell myself they will be so I'm not shocked if he/she isn't the same as P and R were!) -- have an allergy, breastfeeding/pumping just won't be happening (even though I've had no shortage of supply issues with the past 2, I always fear that my body will forget and I won't produce anything!), he/she will be allergic to the massive stockpile of cloth diapers we have, he/she won't sleep, etc... These are hands-down my biggest anxieties about having a new baby...and I just have to keep reminding myself that everything will work out and you're only given what you can handle.
• Adult/personal time = non-existent.  I mean, this is kinda the case now; Mike and I rarely get adult time to ourselves without the kiddos around, so we're already use to it.  However, the little times we do go out or to a party sans kids, we have to find a babysitter for TWO.  Pretty soon it'll be finding a babysitter for THREE which is a lot harder to do!  And I do a lot of photoshoots on the weekends/after school, and now coordinating those with a feeding/pumping schedule as well as finding someone to watch 3 kids if Mike's snoozing/working gets a bit more challenging.  But!  We're up for the task and hopefully our amazing network of family and babysitters we can pawn off one or two kids on one and one or two on another if need be.
• C-section recovery.  I am less worried about this this time, since I know how to handle it with a kid at home after Rosie's delivery.  HOWEVER, it's MAJOR surgery I'm recovering from in a very tender spot.  I keep telling myself if I can get through the first 2 weeks with help, I'll be good to go.  Obviously the recovery takes longer than that, but after 2 weeks with both kids I felt good enough to stop the hardcore pain meds and get out and about...so hoping and praying for a smooth and easy recovery those first couple weeks so then I can be on my mom A-game with 3 kids full time then.
• Rosie and Patrick's reaction to being "big" siblings.  I'm less worried about Patrick's -- he's almost 4 and seems genuinely excited to be a big brother again.  He's usually very helpful and loves having Rosie around, so adding another one I don't think is going to phase him much.  Diva Ro, on the other hand, is who I worry most about.  She's a mama's girl and LOVES to be held, carried, and snuggled by her mama.  This is going to be hard to break, especially those first couple weeks when I'm not suppose to lift anything but the baby.  In addition to that, Rosie is the baby now and that's what she's always known, so even though she's only 21 (almost 22!) months old, she still will see her youngest child throne is being usurped.  I just hope and pray she takes to this new baby well (like Patrick did to her!) and understands that she's got to share her mommy with another person now.  Prayers for this are welcome :)
• Out and about with all 3...by myself.  I was worried about taking 2 kids out by myself before I had Rosie, and now that seems like a walk in the park compared to taking all 3 out!  However, this doesn't give me too much anxiety because 1. Patrick is older (and usually more cooperative) and 2. babywearing is my BFF.  I started really getting into the babywearing field with Rosie, and now I will be even more so (even if I have to toss Ro on my back and #3 on my front!) with this third one.  Going out by myself with 3 kids will indeed be tough, but I know I can manage it, thanks hugely to being able to carry one or both of them on me and limit their escaping possibilities.
• Managing 3 kids solo.  Mike works SO incredibly hard for our family, and in turn, is gone a lot.  Fortunately it's a lot of nights where he physically is GONE, but he then needs to sleep during the day so right now even it's a lot of me solo with both kids.  Soon we'll be throwing a third kid in that mix for me to managing on my own.  This gives me a wittle anxiety because I was already outnumbered with 2, and now throwing a third one in there!  However, as tough as times may get, I have to keep reminding myself that "this too shall pass" and that it's okay if my house isn't spotless and the dishes and laundry aren't done if the kids are all alive and fed and happy.  I have OCD about tidiness and cleanliness so I keep reminding myself that a bit of messy chaos IS okay and won't kill me -- focus on making memories (even crazy chaotic ones!) rather than sacrificing family time for a clean house.
  

Excitements

• We.are.going.to.have.3.kids.  As much as this probably frightens some people, it really excites me.  We are going to be outnumbered!  But in a good way -- I am literally SO EXCITED to have 2 daughters and 1 son, or 2 sons and 1 daughter in less than 2 weeks.  It's kinda hard for me to even wrap my head around the concept, because right now everything is so even with one boy and one girl.  It's just surreal to me that there is going to be another boy or girl as part of our family oh-so-soon.  I think about all of the things we are going to do with three kiddos now and I literally get giddy with excitement. 
• Matching outfits!  Regardless of if #3 is a boy or girl, he/she will have a sibling of that same gender and you bet your britches I'll be doing matching outfits with the boys/girls and coordinating it with the other one as well!  This really excites me -- I've done a few matching outfits for Rosie and Patrick, but now, having two of the same gender makes it all the more fun to have one kid in a bigger outfit and #3 in a teeny tiny outfit that matches.  I.cannot.wait.
• Big brother (again) and big sister status!  I am SO EXCITED for Patrick to be a big brother again and for Rosie to be a big sister!  It is going to be so fun to see them with another sibling and to see how that sibling -- boy or girl! -- fits into the mix of our family.  I am optimistic (I hope not wrongly!) about how great of big siblings they'll be with this new one, and I can't wait to see how they act around him/her and how they treat him/her.  It's been so fun to watch Patrick and Rosie grow up and become best friends and I can't wait to see them (hopefully!) add #3 to their pack as they grow up.
• Finding out #3's gender!  I mean, I was so excited to find out with both Patrick and Rosie if it was a boy or girl, but this one -- maybe since it's a "tie-breaker" excites me SO MUCH.  Like I literally lay awake wondering if it's a little boy or girl kicking away in there and who he/she is going to look like and what his/her name is going to be.  Waiting to find out seriously is the best surprise EVER.

Whew!  So that's about all I've got for my anxieties and excitements.  Honestly, I feel much more relaxed and at ease with adding another kid than I did almost 2 years ago when I was speculating how it would be adding #2 to the mix.  I know it's going to be tough and hard and challenging, but I know having another kiddo in our family is going to bring so much love and happiness and rewards that I'm focusing on that and hoping it outshines any terribleness that may come with having 3 kids under 4.

So!  I'm officially even more excited after writing these out than I was before...and I'm anxious and anticipating and oh-so-overjoyed about welcoming a new mini Mooney to our family in just ELEVEN sleeps!  I literally cannot wait!