BFF: How She Does It

Though I don't have multiples myself, at one point I did have two children under the age of two and then three under four. I often heard "How do you do it?" But, I imagine that today's BFF has heard that even more than I have!

Meet Natalie from Mommy of a Monster. She's one of those bloggers whom, as soon as I "met," I just instantly adored her blog and her and I know you'll love her, too.  Her BFF post today tells you how she manages with three young kids!

My twin daughters, Ms. L and Ms. M, turned a year old on Tuesday. I can't believe how fast the year has flown by! I also have a son, Tater, who will be three on Monday. Needless to say, having three small children is basically like living in a constant state of crazy. The house is always a mess, there are toys EVERYWHERE, there's a lot of crying, tantrum throwing, and laughing going on all day; sometimes all at the same time.


When I first brought the twins home after they were born, like all newborns they slept a lot. Things didn't change much. Tater thought they were "cute little dolls" and while feeding and sleep schedules were hectic, those first few months were pretty easy.


Easy continued through months four, five, and six. Everybody always said things like "I don't know how you do it" and "Isn't it a lot of working taking care of three kids so young?". My response was always the same "The twins are a piece of cake! They pretty much keep each other occupied. Tater is the monster" (hence the name of my blog: Mommy of a Monster (I Mean Toddler) and Infant Twins). And all those months, that was the truth!


Then month seven rolled around. The girls both started crawling. Things got a little crazier...you know, one goes one way and the other goes the exact opposite direction. But I could still keep them both wrangled pretty well. Months eight, nine, and ten come, and they start pulling themselves up to walk around things. Still manageable, for the most part. And when I'd get asked those questions again, my response became "Yeah, it's getting a little harder to deal with them now that they are moving around".


And then we have month eleven. Insanity, I tell you! The girls started walking and all hell broke loose. They both go in different directions. They both get into stuff at opposite ends of the room. I swear they tag team each other or come up with a how-to-drive-mom-to-the-brink-of-insanity-plan, because this last month? Has been a whole new ballgame - it's a lot of work and I am TIRED!


The "easy" things like feeding and bedtime aren't so easy. Feeding time can be likened to feeding time at the zoo. There's screaming, food everywhere (including in ears, hair, and nose), they try to steal off of each other's plates, and if I can't get that food on their trays fast enough...there is fist pounding and feet kicking. Sleep doesn't come as fast as it used to because they like to sit up and "talk" to each other, often times seeing who can scream the loudest. Laughs can be heard after each high pitch squeal.


Both girls are teething (and let me just say that's a whole other topic of pain for both me and them) and so as teething babies often are, they have been fussy and cranky. Yesterday I was trying to put away groceries while also trying not to step on babies underfoot. Both of them were crying.


I opened up the pantry, and Ms. L immediately occupies herself with grabbing whatever she can reach. Ms. M decides she is going to get into the "Tupperware cabinet", as we call it, where all the plastic storage containers are kept. Fantastic! Both kids occupied! This should be a piece of cake!


And then I hear a thud. Ms. L starts wailing. She dropped a big can of green beans on her toes. And while I'm trying to soothe her, Ms. M starts screaming. She heard the ruckus and decided to see what was up. She tried to pull herself up using the cupboard door and ended up closing it on her fingers.


Two babies screaming, and the contents of my pantry and Tupperware cabinet are all over the floor.


And all I wanted to do was put away groceries.


I can hardly wait to see what month twelve has in store for me!

Please leave Natalie some comment love here and then go follow her blog if you don't already!