Four Kids Five and Under

Well, so far I'm 12 days into this mothering 4 kids 5 and under thing and here are my random, fatigue-influenced thoughts on the whole matter.  When you have FOUR little ones:


...Just expect that someone is going to be throwing up every day and if no one does, you will be pleasantly surprised.  (This due in part to the rampant stomach bugs that make their way through our town every October and November).


....Do not expect to get any sleep.  Doubly so if your baby was born a week before Daylight Savings Time.  If you happen to get a couple of hours you can consider it a great day!


....If your baby happens to have a rare, but incredible bout of sleeping during the night, it is about 90% likely that one of these scenarios will play out.

A.) Your sleepwalking child will get up and wander around the house looking for the bathroom.  When she finds it she will go potty on the toilet with her pajamas still on.

B.)  Your child with the biggest scream and whine will wake the whole household after seeing a spider run under his brother's bed.

C.)  One child will wake you up by yelling, "Get me a barf bucket!  Quick!" and will proceed to throw up all night.

D.)  Even though you put your kids to bed 2 hours later than usual, they will wake up at the crack of dawn, an hour earlier than usual, thanks to DST, and demand breakfast.

E.)  You will be woken in the night by your crying 2-year-old who will have the messiest, nastiest diaper explosion ever that will need to be changed.


.....Do expect to be filled to the brim with wonder and awe that God has given you so many little blessings.  There is something amazing about having more little people in your family than you can wrap your arms around at one time.


....You may find yourself endowed with certain bragging rights.  For example:  We've one-upped both of our sets of folks.  They had 3 in 7 years and 3 in 5.5 years respectively.  So, if we ever need to, we can pull out the, "Well, when you have FOUR....." card. 


....You will want to have at least one really good baby carrier.  I highly, highly, highly (you get the idea?) recommend the Ergo carrier and am happily using it with the Heart2heart infant insert for newborns.  My friend Camilla also sewed me a simple, knit sling that Katri loves too.  Because she is the kind of baby that loves to snuggle and refuses to sleep unless she is being held, and because I have a life that includes housework, cooking, and teaching other children, a good sling/sling is ESSENTIAL for me!


....You will soak up every minute with your newborn, having learned 3 times over that the first year with them is going to soon be a blur.  You won't worry about parenting theories and methods but will use your experience and common sense to make things work and to enjoy that tiny one.  You'll live the motto, "You can't spoil a baby" to the fullest!


....You may find yourself more in love than ever before with the father of your four blessings.  When he tells you to try to get some sleep and does "throw-up duty" all night with one of the kids or cleans the house to surprise you when you are out, or when he singlehandly takes 3 kids to the grocery store as though it's no big deal, your respect for him grows and the love deepens.  Sure a well-dressed husband who's wearing cologne is hot stuff, but a man who will do diapers and vomit and loves his kids with reckless abandon is hotter than hot!  I love that line from the movie, Cheaper by the Dozen:  "12 Kids later and we've still got the heat!"


.....You will be blessed, thrilled, and amazed by each of your children.  We feel so undeserving and so humbled by the task of raising these precious little ones with immortal souls.  We wouldn't want things any other way!  Four kids in five years is an unbelievable gift!!!