Congratulations, L.!
I've said it before and I'll say it again -- you will LOVE having kids close in age! My younger three are all very close -- in age and in spirit. They're such a cool little team. Now, that's not to say they don't have their bad days -- but at least one of them always pulls it together and the others don't like looking bad by comparison. Plus, when times are hard, when one has had a bad day or taken a fall, the whole pint-size team springs into action. You won't just have more babies, you'll have more helpers, more ticklers, more huggers, more apprentices, and surround-sound giggling!
I've written about this before, so I'll make a new list -- here are some of my favorite things about having little guys roughly a year apart:
*Built-in playgroup: all I ever needed were the ingredients for homemade play-dough and a paddle pool full of bubble bath -- having three close together meant everyone always had fun.
*Stormy nights -- because all three curl themselves round each other to fit between Mom and Dad in bed. I couldn't sleep a wink; they were the best nights ever.
* Opening a suitcase when we were getting ready to send Daddy on a business trip and finding all three kids wedged inside giggling their fool heads off.
*The first "share": Watching each one make that first, aching, heroic step -- giving up his own popsicle when the "baby's" fell apart. You'll never ever forget it. It's magic.
* Walking into their room in the morning and finding all three cuddled up in the one-year-old's crib -- "so she won't be lonely."
*The morning I found they'd all 'camped' in the closet.
*Discovering one baby is trying to change the other baby's diaper -- hilarious, adorable, heart-warming; requires Pine-Sol chaser.
*One toddler telling me 'shh!" and leading me by the pinky to see the younger toddler -- asleep on the training potty, bum up, head down, snoring.
*Baby comforting baby. When fingers no longer than your thumb wipe tears from your newborn's cheek, something chemical happens in your brain. You suddenly know exactly why you exist. No words ever made it as clear as that single gesture.
*Baby feeding baby. Got me misty every time. Requires good mop.
*Two mini-people whispering encouragement to the third mini-person as he tries to scale the fridge shelves without Mom hearing. (They thought they got away with it -- I waited a few weeks to show them the video!)
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But don't listen to me, my brain's been warped by motherhood. Here's what the mini-folk themselves have to say about it (I gave each kid one turn and I swear I didn't bribe them):
* Oldest munchkin: "I always have someone who will play with me; someone to hug and cuddle with and someone who cheers when I do tricks." (See fridge-climbing memory.)
* Middle munchkin: "This is my favorite part: when I don't have anyone to play with at school I find my brother or sister and I play with them. Sometimes when I've lost something I try to find them with their friends and tell them my problems and they'll be kind. And sometimes we used to all fit in the pantry shelves to surprise Mom and that was fun."
* Youngest munchkin: "That my sister and brother always make the game be easy for me. And they always go easy on me playing tag and freeze-tag. They take care of me and they hug me and they kiss me when I'm crying. And that's all."
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So. There ya have it. We're a little less sane for it, a lot more loud for it and 100% better for our close-knit little tribe. It will get harrowing at times -- and you WILL get by. Just keep looking at those priceless moments and EVERY DAY write them down. At least one moment worth keeping every day. On the day you can't find one, remind yourself you're just not looking with the right eyes. Go back to your written-down moments. You'll find your eyes in no time. (They'll be the ones leaking little drops of gratitude.) That's a promise.
Congratulations, L.! You're gonna have a BLAST!
:-)