Our oldest son, Ethan (14), with his brothers Luke (21 months), and Fisher (newborn)
The misperception is common, and I probably would have thought wrongly about it, too. Back when I was single, or a mom of 1-2 kids, if I’d had to describe what postpartum weeks would look like for a mom with her 8th baby, my eyes might have bugged-out, and I would have had the image of a frazzled woman ripping out her hair, in some state of losing her mind.
And I’m not saying it’s easy-peasy.
Look, it’s still postpartum. I still gave birth to a baby (never easy, at least not for me!). Hormone shifts are real, and for me, the emotions have been stronger this time.
There are other challenges beyond postpartum life. Like: we have NINE PEOPLE who need to eat through every day. And siblings still karate-chop each other, even if they do have a few-day-old precious new brother.
BUT. In some ways, with a little lowering of mom’s expectations, and pitching-in from all these people who like eating and karate-chopping, it’s easier than the earlier me would have thought possible. Here’s what postpartum looked like for me, 11-12 days in, with our 8th baby:
Video Overview:
And here’s a detailed look at the place I did most of my resting (and how I kept our 21-month-old close by) in the days and weeks following baby #8. This is a peek at what my postpartum “nest” looks like, with other little ones:
I really love the gated play yards. Seriously, that was probably my wisest purchase of 2016.
PLEASE SHARE IN THE COMMENTS: What are some ways you work (or are planning to work) to make postpartum seasons more manageable?
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