The other day I was sitting in the waiting room at the pediatrician’s office so that baby #3 could get his ears checked for infection.  I sat there with Joel in his little infant car seat, reading Higlights magazine to my 3 year old.  I started watching all the parents coming in with their pre-teen kids and wondering what my life would be like when I got to that point.  WEIRD!

Then, I noticed a woman sitting next to me and she brought me back to “the beginning”.  She had a baby in a car seat and was glancing around the waiting room nervously bouncing her leg.  I started chatting with her and learned that she was there for the baby’s first round of shots.  I started laughing remembering my oldest daughter’s (now almost 5 years old) first pediatrician’s appointment.  It took three adults two hours to get her ready!  We gave her a bath and then she had a big blowout as soon as we got the towel wrapped around her, so she had to go back in the tub.  Then, of course, she has to be dressed in the fanciest 5 layer outfit that you have and you are still new at figuring out the carseat and you are also trying to remember to bring the three pages of questions for the doctor.  Then you sit in the waiting room with your stomach in knots because you know some nurse is about to poke your innocent little bundle with a bunch of needles.

Anyway, this other woman in the waiting room looked at me pleadingly and said, “Please tell me it’s going to be ok.  I’m doing the right thing, right?  I mean, she’s so little and I just worry about all that stuff they are pumping into her.”

I remember that fear, I had it too.  The media has caused such an uproar over vaccinations that you feel like you are putting your baby at risk.   So I did a bunch of research and came to my own conclusions.

“You ARE doing the right thing,” I told her.  “Just think of how lucky you are that you have this chance to save her from all these awful diseases.  You’re just doing your job as a mother.”

That’s how I feel.  There’s no proof of a link between vaccinations and autism, and side effects from the vaccines are extremely rare.  For decades, doctors and scientists have worked so hard to eradicate these horrible childhood diseases.  I feel lucky to be able to do this for my kids.

How do you feel?

So in addition to having a house set up where all 3 kids sleep near each other, I have insomnia.  In other words, I don’t get much sleep.  If I’m not awake on my own, then one of the kids is bound to be waking me up for one reason or another. 

This morning, the baby woke up at 2am and after nursing him I COULD NOT fall back asleep.  I lay there doing Sudoku for two hours (I’m in need of a good book – any suggestions?).  Finally, at 4am I just gave up and came downstairs.  That’s when I realized that insomnia is a mother of three’s secret weapon! 

Here’s what I accomplished before 7am today:

• emptied dishwasher
• folded a basket of laundry
• washed 2 more loads of laundry
• ate breakfast
• drank 2 cups of coffee and actually read the paper!
• tidied up the living room
• matched a bunch of random socks that have been strewn all over the house for some reason
• packed away the last remnants of Christmas decorations
• paid bills

This is truly amazing!  I accomplished more today by 7:00 am than I usually do in a week!  Thank you insomnia!

Does anyone else ever do this?

I know it’s normal to lose a lot of hair after you have a baby.  I certainly did after Baby #1 and Baby #2.  However, the hair loss I’m experiencing now that Baby #3 has been born is above and beyond anything I experienced before.  After every shower, I clean out the little drainy thing and it’s so much hair that I look like I have a mouse in my hand or something.  It’s crazy!

In fact, the other day, my husband kind of looked at me quizzically.  “WHAT!!?” I said.  He said, “I don’t know, you look different.  Did you get your haircut?”  I was crushed.  I had NOT gotten a haircut.  “No,” I moaned, “I’m just going bald.”  I’ve literally lost so much hair that it looks different.

Now that winter is here, when I go outside I notice my thinner hair when the wind blows. Our couch, my pillow, the headrest in my car are all covered in my hair.  When will this ever stop?  If it doesn’t stop soon, I’m going to have to get a wig or something.

Has anyone else noticed an increase in hair loss with each pregnancy?

I feel like climbing to the top of a mountain, swinging my arms and twirling around while I announce to the world that I JUST FIT INTO MY PRE-PREGNANCY REGULAR JEANS! 

Not my pre-pregnancy “fat pants”…oh no.  My real honest-to-goodness jeans.  You know, the kind with a zipper and a button?  Yes, those!!  And, I didn’t just fit into them for a few minutes while I sucked in my gut in front of the mirror – I WORE THEM ALL DAY!

Ahh, it’s a beautiful thing.  I have my body back (well, kind of).

So that made me think of all the things I love about being recently un-pregnant.  Here they are, in no particular order.

A Few of My Favorite (Post-Pregnancy) Things:

1.  Wearing jeans

2.  Sleeping on my stomach

3.  Getting in and out of my car without using the “oh shit” handle and getting out of breath

4.  Hugging people without having to turn sideways

5.  Wearing my rings

What would you add to the list?

My scariest nightmare was a recurring nightmare that I had as a kid.  In it, my mom and I were being chased all through our house by a mad man in a trenchcoat with wild crazy hair and a rifle.  He didn’t look like my dad, but yet, in my dream he WAS my dad - you know how that happens?  Anyway, this crazy mad man Dad was chasing us at gunpoint and when he finally had cornered us in my bedroom, my mom and I were huddled in a corner hugging each other.  I was closing my eyes just waiting for the sound of the gun.  Then, all of a sudden, I open my eyes because the guy was laughing a crazy, maniacal laugh and shooting us – but it turns out to be a water gun. 

It was SO scary.  Especially since I had the dream a few times throughout my childhood.  Most especially, because my dad was a great dad!

   

I just blogged about my scariest nightmare to enter The Uninvited Scariest Nightmare Contest for 1,000 credits. You can earn free credits too! Brought to you by The Uninvited – In Theaters January 30th.