Motherhood Made Me My Best Self and I Can do This! Getting Mentally Prepared for Baby Number Three

“Are you ready?” a friend recently asked me.

“Well… we don’t have the nursery set up yet and… “ I responded, assuming she meant physically, is our house ready for a third baby? But that’s not what she was getting at, at all.

“No, are you ready?” she quickly replied, pointing at her head.

This was something I’d been thinking about for the past few months now, knowing that by number three, you really don’t need that much “stuff.” But by saying this she really made me think; am I ready and can I do this?

As you get closer to the birth of your baby those feelings start to really pick up, sometimes while pregnant with our second I would have these moments where I’d feel worried or overwhelmed by the thought of not being able to handle two-under-two, or two in general. And this time I figured these feelings just wouldn’t happen. I’ve done this … it’s just one more… I would think to myself, but the feelings have come and they’ve come on strong. The “self-doubt” and the worry about logistics: how do I get three kids in the car have all become a part of my regular thought process.

I remember crying on the couch as I got closer to the birth of our second thinking it just wouldn’t be possible, how could I possibly take care of two babies, there’s only one of me. But I did and I do every day now and it’s tough sometimes, I’ve been tired since 2015, but I am also stronger, more understanding and compassionate than I’ve ever been in my whole life. This time around the comments like; “you’re a brave mama for having three” and “Wow! Number three already” or “Oh my goodness another one!”c an bring back those feelings of insecurity or self-doubt, taking me back to that place on the couch.

Well today, I felt very different. Being just about done work and ready to be home with my little ones again, I started thinking about what it would be like and how our daily lives would look with three little one, more controlled chaos, I assume. After a short chat with a sweet lady in the book store who said; “after three I was ready for four” and buying a book written by a mama of four who is strong, positive and killing it, I’ve decided that it’s time to own this, to take the reins, let go of the doubt and psyche myself up for baby number three. Because as hard as motherhood can be, it’s also been the most liberating and enlightening experiences of my entire life. So I say, bring on baby, let’s put on a pink dress some strappy sandals and own it, cuz this mama’s got this!

So to all the mamas awaiting the birth of their babes and worried about the future, the mamas who just want a goodnight’s sleep sometime in the next ten years and to all the mamas who are just having one of those tough, I can’t take it anymore kinda days; we can do this and we will become our best selves because of it!