This post has been sponsored by Britax
I was nervous to add the third kiddo to our family, no doubt. What I feared the most was how challenging it would be to get out of the house. I am not a homebody. A whole day spent inside my house is enough to make me feel slightly incarcerated. That’s why a McDonald’s drink run is a daily (sometimes twice daily) necessity for Mama Ericksen. I’m one of those weirdos that enjoys going to the grocery store because it’s something to get me out of the house. A reason to put on makeup and do my hair.
Turns out, I didn’t have much to worry about. Getting out with two toddlers and a pregnant belly was a lot harder for me than getting out with two toddlers and a milk drunk infant. … Unless we have to be somewhere at a certain time. That’s a whole new story that I don’t want to get into. Most of my postpartum tears have been shed in the hours leading up to the doctors and dentist appointments we’ve had these last few weeks.
I’m a go go go person after baby. And thanks to our new Britax travel system, being on the go with this little one in tow has been easy peasy.
Most travel systems are bulky and heavy. This one is not either of those things. It’s compact and light. Now that we have graduated to filling our car’s third row with offspring, we need a stroller that can fit in the very minimal remaining trunk space. This is the perfect stroller for the job. It’s like having the luxury of a full size stroller and the convenience of an umbrella stroller all in one. The hands-free carry strap makes it easy to transport when you’re also carrying an infant, two toddlers, a diaper bag, a couple stuffed animals, 3 sippy cups and a 32 oz Dr. Pepper. #momlife
I knew I wanted this car seat (Britax B-Safe 35) before we even knew Tess was a girl. The main reason I was crushing on this bad boy was because of it’s size. #sizematters ? This is one of the only car seats that will allow us to have all 3 car seats in our second row if we so desire. It’s also narrow enough that our sliding seat will open to the third row without getting caught up on it. Its hips don’t lie. The other enticing factors were the safety features of this awesome seat. And what I meant to say is the safety features were definitely the main reasons I love this seat. Not the selfish reasons mentioned above. The SafeCell Impact Protection, impact-absorbing base, steel frame and easy installation helped us feel confident about bringing our fragile baby home from the hospital. While talking to a car seat tech in the hospital, we learned of several mistakes we had made in installing our previous car seats. The easy installation of the Britax B-Safe 35 really put us at ease (and helped us not feel as guilty about the 5 years of incorrectly installed seats we had under our belt … pun intended). The SafeCenter latch makes it easy to to tighten and secure the infant car seat base in either of our vehicles.
I think my older girls are just as grateful (if not more) as I am for this easy travel system because it’s meant that they could venture out and obviously get snow cone wasted. This pregnancy was not good to them and they watched wayyyy too much TV. We are welcoming the warm weather and festivals in the park. We will even brave some chilly walks down the frozen food aisles and call them “adventures”.
All in all, the transition really has been a beautiful one. I don’t know if it’s because I was expecting the absolute worst, or if I’m just caffeinated enough to be delirious, but either way I’m thanking my lucky stars because it’s been nothing but smiles, lullabies and happy tears. The older girls have loved having a baby sister. I was prepared for them to not like her. To try to sell her outside at their lemonade stand. I was prepared to sleep with one eye open in fear they’d try to harm her. But they absolutely adore her. They want to help with diapers, and burping, and fetching things for mom. They’re fascinated by all things breastfeeding and I’m convinced they’d try to feed her themselves if I wasn’t around.
I think the other thing working in our benefit is Nora and Gwen’s ages. They’re 5 and almost 4. They do a lot by themselves. They play together really well (now) and entertain themselves fairly well. Nora can help Gwen with most of the things she can’t do on her own. When Gwen was born, Nora wasn’t even 2 yet. She was still a baby and needed me for so many things. She also wasn’t entertained by the TV (?) Game changer right there. Unlike a 2 year old, the older girls understand that I can’t pick up in the middle of nursing to fill a sippy cup, or fill the tub. They are much more patient and I am so grateful for their growing maturity as we transition to a family of 5.
Tess has been such an awesome baby too. She sleeps really well and aside from the typical baby gas, she really doesn’t spend too much time crying. She takes about four 2-2.5 hour naps and sleeps almost all of them in her dock-a-tot. And then she sleeps 12 hours at night with 1 nighttime feeding. We’ve been consistent in helping her sleep without needing the movement of the mamaroo or this mama’s arms. It allows me to attend to the chores and needs of my other kiddos. She has her moments of needing comfort or wanting a little motion and I’m always happy to oblige. I love baby snuggles and cuddles. I wish I could hold her all day every day without the negative repercussions. This is my biggest complaint about life with newborns. I want to hold them allllllll day erry day and I just can’t. No wonder we get baby blues!
I’m so grateful for this little babe and her sweet spirit. I love having a baby straight from heaven in our home. We are so blessed and I can’t believe I was ever sad that this little lady didn’t have a stick and berries. She’s the perfect addition and totally compliments our (estrogen-laden) family.
I’d love to hear about your transition to 3 kids? What made it easy and what made it downright miserable?