{"id":4137,"date":"2018-03-18T18:35:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T22:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daniellebinns.com\/stagingsite\/?p=4137"},"modified":"2018-05-09T14:18:25","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T18:18:25","slug":"my-new-life-with-a-3rd-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daniellebinns.com\/stagingsite\/2018\/03\/my-new-life-with-a-3rd-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4th trimester: 10 things that saved me as a mom of three"},"content":{"rendered":"
While I was pregnant last year, I spent all of my time preparing for the labour.\u00a0 Admittedly, even after experiencing two births – one at home and one at the hospital –\u00a0I was still super nervous about her arrival.<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
The length of the labour.<\/div>\n
The contractions.<\/div>\n
The ring of fire (they call it that for a good reason)!<\/div>\n
The risk that something<\/em> could happen.<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
Especially when people continued to tell me that 3rd babies were “wild cards”.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
Grrreat.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
Needless to say, in the final months of my pregnancy I did lots of work to get ready for the birth.\u00a0 Then on November 8th, Mackenzie, our sweet little girl arrived.\u00a0 We were now a family of five (whoa!).<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
The birth was an amazing experience – it was speedy, she was healthy, and\u00a0her freaked-out mama survived!\u00a0(here are my 3 birth stories<\/a>)<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
\"healthy<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
Sure, labour is physically and emotionally challenging. However, it is only a blimp in time.<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
It’s the s#$% that comes AFTER the birth that is reeeeeeally hard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
That “ring of fire” I was dreading for months only lasts minutes<\/span> in most cases.<\/div>\n
The transition of an unpredictable newborn in the 4th trimester lasts for\u00a0months<\/span>.<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
Even though I had been through the ‘new mom’ phase before (twice), I forgot how draining the 4th trimester can be!<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
I felt like a sleep-walking zombie.<\/em><\/div>\n
I had to redefine productivity (showering 3x a week = success).<\/em><\/div>\n
I felt terrible not being able to give as much attention to my older girls.<\/em><\/div>\n
I cried (a lot).\u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n
I had no motivation to cook.<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
But we made it through unscathed.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n

Here are the 10 things that saved me in the 4th trimester:<\/h3>\n