Monday, September 7, 2015

i feel a change comin' on

Despite our recent sleeping through the night conquest, our bedroom is still haunted by the inconsistent sleeping patterns of three infants. A gas bubble, runaway binky, or an attempted swaddle breakout are usually to blame. In our house, broken sleep has become the new black.

In a matter of months, I've gone from being a full-time working mom of one to a full-time stay-at-home mom of four. Leaving a near seven-year career at a job that I loved wasn't easy, but I knew it was the inevitable. To be brutally honest, the thought of being a SAHM never seemed all that appealing to me. I vividly remember being more than ready to go back to work after my maternity leave had lapsed when I had Jake. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy spending time with him, but rather, I enjoyed the routine of going work, bringing home a paycheck and the reward of a three-day weekend each week. I worked a four-day workweek so it was easy to find a perfect balance between home life and work. These last four-and-a-half months have been a pretty big adjustment for all of us, but at least I know I will never look back and regret the time I've been able to spend at home.

In addition to my early workforce retirement, I began to mourn my daily freedom as a mom of one. Prior to our triplet bombshell, I knew two would be a challenge, but at least I'd still be able to integrate myself into everyday society. Now, trips to Target, weekend adventures to Belle Isle and my solo lunch dates with Jake have become a thing of the past. With four, my child-induced tether leaves me feeling more and more like a prisoner awaiting a chance at parole. 

As the babies approach their fifth month, old challenges have been replaced with new ones and their most recent demands, at times, leave me wanting to crush a Xanax up into my vodka. Everyday, I find myself struggling to keep up with the whole three-to-one ratio thing. One mom and three needy babies translates to copious amounts of coffee, a broken back, and an uncanny ability to tune out an inconsolably crying infant. 

When people ask me, "how do you do it?" the answer is really quite simple: I just do it. You'd be surprised by how capable you are of doing something when not doing it isn't an option. I try to treat each day as an opportunity to learn and grow as well as focus on all the positivity and happiness these babies have already brought into our lives. Little do they know that they have already imparted some valuable life lessons upon us.

They've taught us more patience than the average person will ever have in an entire lifetime. They've taught us that just about anything can be forgiven with the flash of a toothless smile. They've taught us that life is too short to sweat the small stuff and that life should be lived and enjoyed in the preset. They've taught us that time never slows down and that it only speeds up as you grow older. Last but not least, they've reminded me that I need to schedule JR's vasectomy this month. 


1 comment:

  1. Yes, when it comes to Homs, you do what you have to do. It's not easy but you figure out how to make things work.

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