As a mum of three, including 3 year-old twins, I often get asked “How do you do it?”. If I’m brutally honest, somedays I really don’t know!
Recently I’ve been finding this whole parenting lark hard. Really hard. All three of our children seem to waking up before 6am, particularly at weekends. Plus the twins, Heidi especially, are taking the whole ‘threenager’ phase to a whole new level. I’m absolutely exhausted!
Last weekend was particularly tough. Here’s one example of many incidents that occurred during our two days of supposed quality family time… The kids were all awake at 5.30am on Saturday morning. And when I say “awake”, I mean properly awake. They were fighting with each other before I could even manage to prise my eyes open. When I finally came to and went out of our bedroom to investigate all the commotion, I was mortified to find Heidi sat at the top of the stairs ready to slide down on a car booster seat! I’m sure they plot these things to try and give me a heart attack or mental breakdown! Now wide awake, I admitted defeat and went downstairs to make myself a coffee. Heidi decided that scaring the life out of me wasn’t quite enough for pre 6am on a Saturday morning, so she decided to scream relentlessly at me because the boys were playing on the two iPads (we really must get a third) and it wasn’t fair. I literally had no words!
The fact that they are waking so early means that they are then tired by mid-afternoon and turn into crazy monsters who cry, scream and shout over the most rational of things. It also means that we are exhausted too, which generally means less patience when it comes to dealing with aforementioned crazy monsters!
I know that this is a phase that will no doubt (thank god) pass, but it is so bloody hard. I know that I really shouldn’t be wishing days away, but there are times when I just feel like saying “I’m done, today I’m opting out!”. However, as much as they make me dispair, there are those tiny moments that make my heart melt, like when they hop on my knee for an impromptu cuddle. Or I’ll look at them sleeping and feel like the worst parent ever for losing my rag as they look so sweet and innocent.
I know we are incredibly lucky and blessed to have three amazing healthy children, and I feel so guilty at times for moaning, but parenting is such a rollercoaster and sometimes I just want to get off! Or maybe I just need a wine!
J xx
