How will you "handle" FIVE kids?

Yawn.
After a certain amount of experience with living with many children, this question goes from right-on, to vaguely insulting, to totally irrelevant. I have lived with 4 children since 2002, when The kids in my daily care were Greta (5), Mickey (2), A (4) and G (1). Four little kids, two mine and two I babysat fulltime 5 days a week from prebreakfast until dinnertime.

Two months into this gig, I got pregnant with Casey! I would throw up everytime I changed the almost non-stop diapers, I was sicker than a dog, and yet the show went on. Lets realize that, VERY unlike my life now, this was a time of Four kids who used sippy cups, took naps, used diapers or needed bathroom assitance. Four kids who couldnt always "use their words"or hold a crayon right, in a small cluttered house with a Daddy who didnt get home until 7pm (9pm on Thursdays). If there was anytime to ask me "how do you do it" it would have been then.

But now, my kids are alot older. I have a much bigger house and daytime friends. I have one in diapers and all the rest deal with their business. I dunno. I just dont feel the freak-out whatsoever this time as far as fear of the new baby or whatever.

Going from one child to two REALLY was a mind blowing change, and going from 2 to 3 children was when we felt like we had "alot of little ones". It was hard when Charlie was born because I had a very very extended postpartum recovery time, but four kids was something I was used to by then.

The funny thing is, for me, it is the pregnancy that is so hard. Not the babies. It is the mothering while very incapacitated that is so frustrating and exhausting and discouraging and disheartening, not the other stuff, not the messes, the crying, the stages, the teething--because when I am a strong and healthy Mom, I can handle that stuff, plus usually keep appointments, commitments, a nice house and have 3 hot meals on the table, too.

I remember once when Steve and I met up with his parents for a day at the zoo, and I was about 6 or 7 months pregnant with Casey. We only had 5 year old Greta and 2 year old Mickey, and everything was going fine, when one of them whined a tiny bit about something and my father in law said "What're you gonna do with THREE of em?" I looked right at him and said "I wont be pregnant! It will be fantastic! Plus I have four of them all day as it is". He had forgotten that I was doing the fulltime daycare, I guess. He had never experienced walking around a zoo with a lead boulder crushing out your entire innards, I guess. He was just trying to say those 'clever' things people say on TV when they dont really feel comfortable talking to you, I guess. Thats the way alot of people speak to each other all the time. He just chuckled and looked nervous that I might say the word pregnant again. He's pretty old-school and I try to respect that.

So, when my dear baby joins the Maplelawn Home Academy, there will be much rejoicing. For all the obvious reasons, and for Mommy isnt pregnant anymore, too. I know there is sleep deprivation with a new baby, and I would be insane to downplay the seriousness of that, but pregnancy is not exactly a good-sleepin time for me, never has been. Between violent calf cramps/spasms, back and hip pain, lack of air, nausea, outlandish dreams, restless leg syndrome, extreme heartburn, and the incessant peeing, I just dont get when the sleeping can really occur. I will leave out the pregnancies when I still have a night nursing tot or a little one who likes to get up at 5 am.

Except during the daytime, then oh God do I wanna sleep. I want to sleep in the library, I want to sleep in the grocery store, I want to sleep at work (and did once! LOL) I want to sleep at red lights (so bad) Then I bet, if given the golden opportunity for daytime sleep, ooooh I could sleep 14 hours straight. Oh yeah, except for the every two hours peeing part. Ok, never mind.