What Nobody Told Me About Having 3 Under 3

Before I had three kids under three, I knew it was going to be busy.

I knew there would be diapers.

I knew somebody would probably always be crying.

I knew leaving the house would take longer.

What I did not know was that having three little kids at the same time would basically turn every normal task into a full-blown event.

Getting everybody dressed?

An event.

Making lunch?

An event.

Trying to sit down for five minutes?

Apparently also an event, because the second I sit down, somebody suddenly needs something.

There is almost always a snack being requested, a cup missing, somebody climbing on something they absolutely should not be climbing on, or one child becoming deeply offended because another child touched the toy they weren't even playing with two seconds ago.

And somehow, they all need me at the exact same time.

That might be the biggest thing nobody warned me about.

Not just that three kids need you.

That they will all need you simultaneously.

One wants to be picked up.

One is crying.

One needs help.

And you’re standing there trying to figure out which tiny emergency gets handled first.

There are days when I feel like I'm just rotating between them.

Okay, you’re good.

Now you.

Wait, what happened over there?

Why are you crying?

Who gave you that?

Put that down.

Please stop climbing.

Where is your cup?

Why is everybody yelling?

And then somehow, five minutes later, everybody is laughing and playing like nothing happened.

Meanwhile, I’m still mentally recovering.

Another thing nobody really explains is how much planning goes into leaving the house.

Before kids, leaving meant grabbing my phone and keys.

Now I have to mentally prepare like we're leaving the country.

Diapers.

Wipes.

Cups.

Snacks.

Extra clothes.

Shoes.

Whatever toy somebody has decided they absolutely cannot live without today.

And then once everyone is finally ready, somebody needs a diaper change.

Or somebody takes their shoes off.

Or somebody suddenly needs another snack.

There have definitely been moments when I’ve looked at the door and thought, you know what?

We actually do not need to go anywhere that badly.

But for all the chaos, there are also these little moments that make me stop.

Watching them laugh together.

Seeing one of them copy something the other one is doing.

Watching their little personalities get bigger every day.

Seeing them become siblings, not just kids who happen to live in the same house.

Those are the moments that make the craziness feel worth it.

Because yes, having three under three is exhausting.

It's loud.

It's messy.

It's overstimulating.

Sometimes I don't even realize how tired I am until the house finally gets quiet.

And there are definitely days when I feel like I've done a thousand things but somehow the house still looks exactly the same.

But it's also funny.

Like genuinely funny.

Because little kids are weird.

They will refuse the food they begged you for, cry because you opened the snack they asked you to open, and then turn around and give you the sweetest hug you've ever gotten.

You never really know what you're going to get.

I think that's what I'm learning most in this season.

Some days are survival mode.

Some days feel surprisingly easy.

Some days everybody is happy.

And some days I am counting down until bedtime before lunch.

But I don't think I need every day to look put together for it to be a good day.

Right now, life is loud.

There are toys everywhere.

There are always crumbs somewhere.

Someone is probably missing a sock.

And I get interrupted approximately every 30 seconds.

But this is our life right now.

Three little people growing at the same time.

Three completely different personalities.

Three kids who need me in three completely different ways.

And even though some days I feel like I need an extra set of arms, I know this stage isn't going to last forever.

One day, nobody will need me to carry them everywhere.

Nobody will be throwing cups from the high chair.

Nobody will be following me into every single room of the house.

And as exhausting as that sounds right now...

I already know I'm going to miss parts of it.

Not every part.

Let's not get carried away.

But parts of it.