3, 2, 1 (Part 3)

Three babies under three for our family looks like continual hand-me-downs, except when the third is a girl and the used neutrals you thought would work to hand down just don’t! It looks like all the children using spoons that are too big or too small for their mouths.  It looks like the youngest wearing diapers a bit too big and the next oldest wearing diapers a bit too small, as to only buy one brand and size of diapers. It looks like double dentist appointments. It looks like (discreet) color-coordinating for church and intentional photos. It looks like teaching one to swim, while letting one play in the shallow water with a life jacket, while holding the other in a floaty. It looks like the oldest spoon feeding his brother while mommy breastfeeds the baby. It looks like bathing two at a time; we regularly swap for best combo. It looks like daddy doing the boys bedtime routine and mommy and sissy having girl’s bedtime together. It looks like potty-training while breastfeeding. It looks like having a “Daily Marks” laminated sheet for whole health focuses for each of the children.

Three babies under three for our family looks like late nights and early mornings. It looks like daddy transporting convertible car seats from one vehicle to another depending on children’s appointments, work schedule, and parent availability. It looks like one double stroller, one single stroller. It looks like the double stroller used for kids and cargo and single stroller used for the tired walker, or vice versa. It looks like two children on mommy and daddy’s laps on an airplane and the other child in their own seat; but everyone is split up because no one row on an airplane has that many oxygen masks. It looks like jumping from the breast to straws. It looks like Pacis for sleep until age 3. It looks like 3 diffusers, diffusing nightly in each of their bedrooms. It looks like Amazon subscribe and save, monthly. It looks like weaning night-time breastfeeding at 6 months old, so mommy can sleep during her pregnancy. It looks like laying the children down for sleep in their cribs, awake, so they learn how to fall asleep on their own. It looks like color-coded sippy cups. It looks like color-coded toothbrushes. It looks like color-coded hangers. It looks like two color-coded binders for each child: 1) whole health, 2) development. It looks like organic fruit sucker reward for “going poo-poo on the potty”. It looks like one audio monitor that catches two of the children’s sounds, and one video monitor on the toddler bed. It looks like training each newborn into the family’s daily nap schedule from 2-5pm. It looks like 27 child “well-checks” in 4 years. It looks like back-to-back living room hair-cuts. It looks like all three get their nails trimmed same day/same time, every two weeks.

Three babies under three for our family looks like the older two sharing a room to bond, until both kids are losing (on average) 2 hours of sleep per night because of socializing, which sounds more like loud babbling. It looks like diaper backpacks, three of them, and as often as possible fitting everything into two. It looks like tirelessly testing food on each child to discover what they will consume and if their allergic, sensitive, or intolerant. It looks like using different types of nontoxic body wash and lotion on their bodies to nourish each of their unique skin types. It looks like transitioning from breastmilk, to whole fat cow’s milk, to almond milk, to soy milk, to coconut milk, to pea milk (yikes!). It looks like mommy-only grocery shopping at 6am or 10pm (yikes, again). It looks like three different types of vitamins according to their age and allergies. It looks like regular refereeing the expression of different strength, energy, and affection. It looks like finding the most effective, non-toxic hair product for each of their unique curly textures. It looks like peering up out of the current demands and routine to consider what to forge into next with our budding first born. Note: we’re still young parents, and we’ve never had a four-year-old. It looks like three crying children at one time: one physically hurt another, then two hurt emotionally for their hurting sibling. It looks like mommy and daddy considering at-all-times 13 food allergies that affect two of our children. It looks like EPI-pens on hand wherever we go. It looks like breastfeeding while pregnant. It looks like mommy sleeping with one ear plug. It looks like needing to supplement with organic baby formula a (decreasing) breast milk supply while pregnant. It looks like constantly juggling necessary physical and developmental health appointments for all three children. It looks like a minimum of 7 loads of children’s laundry per week. It looks like thousands of poopy diapers (more than necessary to put into a math problem), and with all three children-changing on average 5 poop diapers/situations per day!

Three babies under three for our family looks like affectionate two-syllable nicknames that end with a “y” for the entire family. It looks like worshipping God together everywhere we are. It looks like three full-term pregnancies, three consecutive years. It looks like three beautiful children with their own unique skin tone, hair color, and eye color. It looks like none of the children wanting to be on the trampoline by themselves. It looks like praying for our children before they go out and declaring that their security comes from Christ alone, and that He is with them always- so they can be secure wherever they are and whoever they’re with. It looks like one child holding a guitar, one hitting the piano keys, the other dancing, and all singing. It looks like 41 months of breastfeeding within four years. It looks like built-in close friends. It looks like hearing mommy and daddy’s voices on a recording that plays in each of the children’s bedrooms throughout the night. It looks like our youngest and oldest caring about their outfits and our second born only caring about his shoes. It looks like our oldest laying hands on his siblings and praying for them. It looks like everyone playing with each other’s curls. It looks like teaching love and respect among them, over and over and over again. It looks like saying bye-bye to mommy and daddy while we go date, anytime we can! It looks like sending daddy out as a family. It looks like sending mommy out as a family.