A Day In the Life Of a Brand New Mom Of Three

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This mom of three gig is just … so much. There are words to describe it, but, well, my vocabulary isn’t really up to par these days. Pregnancy and postpartum have taken all the grown up words from me. I know, cry me a river. Every bit of adult knowledge I once had seems to be gone. Now everything is  all snacks, cartoons, imagination games, brother sister squabbles, breastfeeding, diapers, and me crossing my fingers and toes for simultaneous sleep. Ooo, simultaneous is a pretty grown up word, go me!

For the most part, we’ve had really good days. There have been moments. Big, bad moments. But overall, and I don’t want to jinx myself, but, for the most part, I’m rocking mom of three life. The kids don’t give me many kudos, so I’ve got to give myself the positive talk every now and again. In case you’re curious what “rocking it” adds up to, here is a glimpse into a day in the life of a brand new mom of three … 

If I could glue my sunglasses to my face to mask the tiredness, I would. But, apparently, we’re all close enough for you to see the bare bags I sport under my eyes most days. Bags created by love for my children. Or at least that is what I tell myself :)

On this particular “day in my life”, Jemma had preschool. But it wasn’t just any preschool day. It was her special helper day. So, in addition to getting everyone ready and out the door we also had snack and show + tell to prep and remember. Lord, help us! I set my alarm for 7:30 am.

Reid barely stirred, it was too early, obviously, and thus he snoozed in the bouncer while I showered. Jemma, being the gem she is, got herself ready with the outfit she laid out the night before. Max ran amuck, but appeased me by putting on a long sleeve shirt, sweats, and his running shoes. “No coat?” he asked and I promises that today, like many days, we will forgo a coat. To him, coats are mega stressful and never necessary; even in the dead of winter. 

We made it downstairs with time to spare for breakfast and Jemma and Max *gasp* chose to share a chair so they could eat and watch an episode of Peppa Pig on my phone. I began loading the car, because with three kids, there is no chance we can make it out in one trip.

School drop off was a success and the boys (BOYS! because I now have two!) and I managed a few drive-thru errands before heading home. Namely, coffee and the bank. I have not yet attempted a large errand solo with all three bambinos. I’m three weeks postpartum and such a feat does not seem wise, realistic, or fun in the slightest. 

Once home, Reid settled in for some milk and a nap; I hopped on my to do list. Max discovered a mountain of energy and showed me all his ninja moves, built a tall tower, and generally mussed up everything I did the previous day. Love. That. Boy. Really, I do. 

We buzzed to pick up Jem a bit later, chatted with the neighbor as we arrived at home, and I kicked off lunch preparation. Lunch has to be quick around here. One, because I’m famished by lunch time. And two, because the forever-blessed-everyone-nap-time is right around the corner and I cannot miss that window.

Thankfully, on my last run to Target I discovered LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE meals; many of which have gluten-free and organic ingredient options. I filled my cart with one for each day of the week and considered myself brilliant for planning ahead when it came to healthy, quick lunches. Can you say #mamaselfcare? Plus, these LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE meals are protein-packed and I totally need consistent protein in my meals to keep up with the demands of motherhood — nursing, sibling referring, lack of sleep, all that jazz. To say that the LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE Vermont White Cheddar Mac & Cheese was practically perfect on a cold January day is an understatement.

After a week of decadent lunchtime meals, I’m pleased as punch that I can fill my freezer once again thanks to Target’s $1 off 5 LEAN CUISINE® MARKETPLACE coupon. On top of that, they’re only $2 right now. So, $9 for 5 meals … WOW! YUM! HAPPY MUM! Like that rhyme? And yes, my amazing mama does grocery shop with me while babywearing and yes, she is excited to have Lean Cuisine meals for her lunches at work too!

Post lunch is the amazing pause in our day — nap time! Since I stay up late working most nights I almost always nap with the littles. It’s glorious. The perfect solution for a night owl like myself. Jemma usually wakes up first from nap and quietly plays in her room until the boys and I join her. We head downstairs and prep for dinner and the evening activities. This night, the activity was pajama and movie night at AWANAS! I’ve cut most other evening activities in honor of my 4th trimester but piano for Jem, soccer for Max, and possibly swimming for both are on the horizon. Dude, it’s exhausting to expose your kids to hobbies! Right?

My mama graciously took the kids to church while I stayed home snuggling Reid, Dom left to teach his weekly finance class, and we both thanked our lucky stars for a live-in grandma. When all was quiet, I started the dishwasher because I love the sound of productivity and settled in with a sleepy Reid to sort emails and update my to do list. I live by that thing. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t remember anything I need to do!

The kids got home just in time for bed. Since they were already in jammies our night routine went mega speedy! Dom crashed early even though he promised we could finish Making A Murderer, poor guy was beat! I stayed up much later with intentions to get ahead on a few projects. Reid had other plans though. Poor guy was gassy, burp-y, and overall restless for way too many hours. We finally crashed after midnight which means a day in the life of a brand new mom of three is approximately 18 hours long. 18 precious, wild hours.

On that note, send prayers. Send cookies. Bath salts and encouraging words too. More LEAN CUISINE MARKETPLACE meals wouldn’t make me sad either — gotta keep my energy up! 

Have you tried this new line of meals from LEAN CUISINE? Which one is your favorite? If you haven’t, don’t forget this coupon for your next Target run!