It has officially been 1 week today since Caris, our new little girl, was added to the family, and it only took 5 days for me to do more than I should and have my first meltdown as a mom of 3. I’m telling you this, because there is someone who needs to know that you are not the only one to loose it over something seemingly simple.
Ever since I got home last week from the hospital I’ve physically felt a little tired, but overall pretty good and capable of carrying on with life as usual. My in-laws came in town this weekend to meet Caris and help out around the house and play with the older kids. They were not due to arrive till late Saturday afternoon and we were just about down to the condiments in the fridge, so I decided to venture out to Sam’s club and stock up for the week on groceries. The Sam’s club is just down the street from one of our local malls, and I needed to visit the Motherhood store for some essential undergarments, so I thought, how hard can it be to take all the kids to two places? Well, it didn’t take long for me to figure that out. Keep in mind it’s also about 95 degrees around here and that kind of heat doesn’t help anyone’s attitude unless your at a pool or body of water to cool off.
Anyway, the kids and I loaded up and I went through the usual drill of saying, “no arguing, no fussing, no whining, no hitting, no being mean to one another. You may be kind and loving to one another and that is it! Understand.” To which they both say yes mam, then about 5 minutes into our car ride start arguing with one another. So I stop the car and repeat the drill and then pray for a better time from there on out.
We made it to the mall first and as soon as I got the baby in the stroller, the older ones started fussing over who got to push the stroller. This lead to another episode of discipline 101 in the heat of the day in front of all the nice people with obedient children walking by. Good times as a mom I assure you:) We made it through that episode and to the Motherhood store where I had to pick out some nursing bras. Now that is just a delightful experience on your own, especially right after your milk comes in and your breast are the size of cantaloupes, but when you take your 5 and 4yr old to shop with you for nursing bras, that is a whole other experience. One that I don’t recommend, unless your crazy or desperate enough for some good support like me at the moment.
We did finally make it through our mall excursion and on to the Sam’s club. Of course the baby woke up and wanted to be nursed as soon as we walked inside, so I found a hard bench to sit on by the restrooms and let the kids check their blood pressure in the little machine while I fed the baby. I’m sure if I would have checked mine at this point they would have sent me back to the hospital, so I didn’t even dare. At this point I was about to leave Sam’s club and just go home, but then I remembered all we had were condiments, so I finished feeding the baby and prayed we could make it through Sam’s without any drama. God heard my prayer and thankfully we got out of there in about an hour. Pretty good timing I thought with having three kids in tow.
On the way home I had one more stop to get a propane tank for the grill, but by this time I just couldn’t handle any more and all I wanted to do was get home. When we got home my husband took the kids and unloaded everything and put it away. Then he made the unfortunate mistake of asking this tired overwhelmed mom (aka me) if I picked up the propane tank and when I said no, he asked why and that’s all it took for me to loose it. Yes, over a propane tank I started to cry and had a good old fashioned hormonal meltdown. My husband didn’t quite know what to do with me and thankfully just left me alone for a bit to close my eyes and get a little rest.
Since then I’ve gotten a nap and may I just say a little sleep will do wonders for anyone, especially a mom. So if you were under the impression that all is always well around my parts, and wonder if you are the only one who looses it over silly things, then rest assured you are not alone. All I can think is that God allows meltdowns in our own life so we can empathize with the meltdowns in others.
Thanks for listening and please do know that if you are prone to meltdown as a mom, you’ve got a friend who understands now and I’d love to pray for you if you should need it.
Sincerely,
Paige
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
All I can say Paige is I COMPLETELY understand. I did a very similar thing with a c-section, 4 1/2 yr old, 3 yr old, and newborn in tow. What were we thinking. It will get better. Praying for you.
Oh, Paige, that is so hard. I remember feeling that way after Luke was born and I had 2…not easy. I felt like I was the only one who didn’t have it together and was thankful that my friends were honest about their meltdowns and hormonal rages so I didn’t feel so alone and nutso! I am committing to reading your blog regularly–I always learn so much from you!
Shay and Kim,
Thanks so much for your compassion and understanding. I figure I am collecting lots of good blogging material from here on out, so with each meltdown comes a good story after I get through it. Thanks for letting me know I’m not alone:)
The material will be non-stop, I assure you!! I still struggle with taking my kids places by myself. I have to limit it to 2 ins & outs of the car (i.e. just 2 stops). With 2 in a stroller and one of them still nursing, I know exactly how you feel but you are doing the right thing. Just do what needs to be done, try not to hurry yourself and feed them when they’re hungry. And above all else – PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!! It does work – if only to give you patience with the kids who can’t hear the Holy Spirit as well as we can most of the time.
Wow….I completely understand!!!! It has gotten better for me…. just pray, pray and pray some more!!! I felt so overwhelmed with just one little one to take care, I can’t imagine with two more… God bless you girl!!!
Praying for you!! x0×0x0
Oh sweet girl! You poor thing. To make you feel better I think the twins had me melting down daily but 4 months in I am now only melting down weekly : ) You are a brave, brave soul! xoxo
I have SO been there! Meltdowns have gotten better now that they are older. They are fewer but Oh I’ve had some good ones.
Love you!
Congratulations Paige!!! I am thrilled to hear you’ve given birth to Caris without any complications except one meltdown. That’s great!! It’s been many many years since my children were newborns but I still remember the meltdowns as a young Mom. Looks like you are very normal. Thank you for your transparency. I love reading and learning from you and your blog. Keep writing. If you need an extra pair of hands or arms let me know. Andrea tells me I make a great Grandma. Love & Blessings to you and your family. You all are in my parents. Enjoy your in-laws.