Totally worth it

It's things like this that make me realize having 3 kids in less than two years isn't so bad.


And the change of clothes for all three was totally worth it.

Birthday Number 2!

It's official. I no longer have 3 babies under 2. Yesterday, Sebastian and Collette turned two! We didn't have a big celebration, mostly because Thanksgiving is just 4 days away and we are hosting. Also, Billy and I were looking forward to something low-key after last year's 1st birthday extravaganza.

On Saturday, we took Collette (and Matteo) to Build-a-Bear as a special birthday gift just for her. She definitely enjoyed herself, even if she didn't 100% get what was going on. After going back and forth between lots of stuffed animals, she finally ended up with a fluffy bear which we named Happy because that's the only part of "Happy Birthday" she will say.

Helping fill up her bear

Proud Momma

Saturday night, Billy fought his jet lag and put together the train table so we could surprise the twins with it on Sunday morning (their actual birthday). No surprise, it's a big hit.



For Sebastian's special birthday gift, I took him to the toy store to pick out his own special train. He picked a Thomas with snowman car.


Overall, we had a very nice day, quietly playing at home with FavAuntie (who is still staying with us!!) and Grammy and Grandpa. This year was such a busy one, I'm glad we celebrated in a calm way.

Spoiled or Neglected?

I go back and forth thinking that my Matteo is one of these two extremes. Although lately it's leaning more toward neglected. Poor guy.

When we first brought him home, he got all my attention. Nursed every two hours. Was held all the time. Snuggled with me in bed. Rarely sat in a swing or bouncy chair. And now that he is older and I'm on my own with all three, he still gets held a lot, at least compared to the twins when they were his age. When we are out and about, he gets to ride in the Ergo instead of being in a stroller. Being just one baby, its so easy to have him with me, on me, all the time. I feel like he's mine. I don't have to share him with anyone. A momma's boy in the making!

Matteo, 2 weeks old, napping in our bed

But then there is the neglect that comes with being a third child to a harried mommy. Lately, he has been spending a lot of time on his play-mat. I did the same thing with the twins, but I usually "played" with them, took their picture, talked to them. When I put Tater on his mat, I go off and do 100 other things, 99 of them for his brother and sister. I have so few pictures of him, its embarrassing. I drag him all over the place - play dates, gymnastics class, EI play group, errands - with little respect for his nap schedule*. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up. At some point (soon), it will be too hard to just treat him like luggage.

One Month!

Believe it or not, Matteo is now over one month old! And he is doing so well - eating and sleeping are both still great (back to waking up once at night now that his bedtime is a firm 730pm) and as he is more aware during the day, he is starting to enjoy his play mat and bouncy seats more.

The day after his one month birthday, he got to attend his first wedding. My dear friend/surrogate sister tied the knot on Saturday and Tater stayed awake to watch the whole ceremony. The commotion was too much for him, though, and he had to nurse twice during the reception to help him fall asleep. Thankfully, by the time dinner was served, he was out cold for the night. Billy and I even got to dance a bit before packing it up.

Also, I am now officially "on my own" with kiddos - my MIL left after 3 weeks of tremendous help. Tonight went really well though. Not a single tear was shed during bedtime and Matteo only started to fuss right at the end as I was getting Sebastian and Collette into their sleep sacks. I may have to add feeding the baby into their bedtime routine but we'll see. I'll be tweaking things as we go but I now know that its definitely doable. Hopefully things go just as smoothly tomorrow night when I actually have to bathe them...!

Lastly, we will continue the tradition of chair pictures with Matteo. Same chair, new baby! Here he is in his wedding outfit:

Matteo, one month and one day old

Keep an eye out for more posts coming up. I have a lot to share after being away from the blog for so long.

Life with 3 under 2

Now that Matteo is three weeks old, we are all starting to get used to each other. Sebastian and Collette like their new little brother. Or at least they accept him as part of the family. They like to give him kisses and Collette will even go so far as to bring him blankets. They both like to point to his body parts - a little scary when they try to poke him in the eye. And Sebastian especially likes it when he wears onesies that feature cars. Other than that, they pretty much ignore him which is much better than acting jealous. Hopefully things will stay this way once I am on my own with them and they aren't getting all that extra attention from Mimi (my MIL).

As for Matteo, he has inserted himself nicely into our lives. He must now how spread thin Mommy will be because, for a newborn, he seems to be making things pretty easy for me. He nurses like a champ and has since day one. He gets right down to business and is finished within 15 minutes, sometimes just 10! This makes feeding him and watching after the twins manageable. And he is already developing some very promising sleep patterns. He generally takes a longer nap from about 9-11 and then again from 130-330. Otherwise, he seems to take shorter naps, especially in the evening when he is nursing more frequently. Plus, he is already showing signs of readiness for an early bedtime. he gets crabby and needy around 6pm if he isn't asleep. If this goes on, I will probably just incorporate him into the twins' bedtime and that way they will all be down by 730ish. That may mean I have to give up my one night feeding (usually around 130am) but it might be worth it to have my evenings back. Or is that idea totally age-inappropriate?

So, all in all, life with 3 under 2 is going well. It's hard to believe that in such a short time I opened and closed the book on having babies. It'll be a tough first year but I know it'll pay off in the long run!