Although it may seem impossible, it is incomparably easier to be a parent if you have several children. And why is that? Well, as a mother of three, I’ll tell you why.
Seven years ago, I became a mother for the first time and my life changed forever.
But despite the beautiful feeling of knowing that someone who is literally a part of you is growing inside of you, the feeling that you have no idea what you’re doing or what the next night holds, let alone the aftermath in the role of that mother…… It was all much harder than I thought it would be.
I was exhausted, my hormones were racing and I didn’t know what to do. I still remember the first time I went shopping as a mom: it took me two hours to leave the house. When I finally got outside, I saw women with two or more children and wondered if they were possessed.
What sane person would want to have multiple children?
The idea of juggling several little people seemed totally unthinkable to me at the time. How did these crazy parents do it?
Watching the movie, I now have three children under the age of seven (seven, three and two). Honestly, it’s not that scary! If someone had told me that seven years ago, I probably would have laughed in their face and said that would only happen if I lost my mind.
But I haven’t lost my mind, and I can even list a few reasons why it’s so much easier to raise three kids than one.
you know what it means to be a parent.
Parenting your first child comes with a whole new and unexpected set of responsibilities. First of all, you have to get used to your new identity while being constantly shaken by hormones and sleep deprivation.
When you have three children, you’re familiar with everything, you know what’s important and when to relax and trust yourself.
It’s easier to ask for help.
When you have a child, for some reason you feel uncomfortable when you have to ask someone for help…… At least that’s how it was for me. I guess it’s because of the illusion that you can do everything on your own and it makes you feel like you’re not good enough if you ask for help, even if you only have one child.
But the truth is that having one or more children is always hard, in different ways. Now that I have three children, I don’t fool myself into thinking I can do everything myself.
Sometimes I need help from family and friends, and I’m not ashamed to ask for it.
you have mastered all the methods
All babies have different needs and temperaments, but by the time you have three children, you’ve mastered all the tricks. You know how to warm a bottle or what cough to worry about.
You know when to call the doctor and how to stop your baby from crying. I remember with my first child, I spent most of my time on the internet trying to figure out how to get him to sleep for at least four hours.
When you have a third child, you certainly don’t spend that much time on the internet asking advice from supposed experts.
You’ve given up on sleep altogether.
Some parents are lucky enough to have babies who magically sleep well at night, which was not the case with me. I remember with my first baby, I thought God was punishing me for something, in the worst way possible.
I remember googling “can I die from lack of sleep” in tears. When you have three kids, you know that the day will come when you can go back to sleep peacefully and that this is just a temporary phase.
Plus, you’ve already gotten used to sleep deprivation and know that you can function well without it. It’s really a skill.
no need to entertain the kids
When you have a child, you want everything to be perfect. You read books and sing songs every day. You often design fun activities and feel guilty about letting your child play in the nursery/park/room.
When you have three children, you can’t afford to give them all the attention they need. Sometimes you let them play alone, and it’s even better in the end. It’s much more intense, but also much more fun.
you will always have someone to help you
Mothers with one child usually have to do everything alone, but mothers with three children have help. The amount of help increases, of course, as the children get older, but even if they are still very small, they can lend a hand.
They can learn to make the baby and change diapers. They can snack on their own and even cause chaos. And so much more…
they know that nothing lasts forever.
I think the biggest difference between one and three children is that you know nothing lasts forever. When I had my first child, it seemed like some things would stay the way they are forever.
But with the birth of the other two children, I realized that these were just transitional phases and that everything would get easier one day.
