How My Mommy Habits Changed From First Child to Third

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As my youngest child moves further and further from the baby stage, I can’t help but reminisce about how different I was as a mama to my first child versus my third (and last) child. My first child and third child are about seven years apart, with my first and second being 16 months apart. Now, everyone raises their children differently and this is just my personal experience (so no judgments!).

Preparation

With my first child, I remember the joys of registering for everything under the sun and having two baby showers. Our friends and family blessed us with more than we could possibly imagine and we thought we needed every single thing. We had a theme for our nursery and the room was ready for the baby well in advance.

How My Mommy Habits Changed From First Child to Third | Columbia SC Moms Blog
My daughter’s nursery in 2008.

Fast forward seven years later to the third child. We got rid of all our baby items because we thought we were done having kids. So for baby #3, we borrowed whatever we could from friends who were done having their kids. I realized with the third child that there’s really only about a handful of baby necessities. Poor thing. His nursery walls are bare (actually I think there’s a flower sticker from his sister’s old wall clings).

How My Mommy Habits Changed From First Child to Third | Columbia SC Moms Blog
The baby’s room. So bare…

Baby Books

With my first child, I read every single book I could find so I would know what to do when the baby got here. I finished my pregnancy scrapbook with ultrasound pictures and monthly belly photos (the last scrapbook I ever finished!).

pregnancy scrapbook | Columbia SC Moms Blog
My pregnancy scrapbook when I was pregnant with my 1st. Now, who was time to scrapbook?

Reading when I was expecting my third child? Who has time for that? Unless I am on my lunch break getting an oil change and I could skim through some gossip magazines while I had a few minutes of quiet time to myself.

Delivery

With my first (and second), I stayed in the hospital the entire two days and had staff help out. I could barely walk after delivering the first child. I remember going home and thinking that I would never leave the house again for the next 18 years now that we had this new baby to take care of. 

With my third, I sat on the couch in my recovery room, cleaned the room, and was packed and ready to go the next morning. I also took advantage of having my in-laws in town one more day and had a birthday lunch date with my husband the day after I got home.

Clothing

My first child is a girl so this mommy went crazy before and after she was born buying the cutest girl clothing. I think my husband banned me from Gymboree. And while boy clothes are cute as well, girl clothes are just so much more fun for me to buy.

Baby Clothing | Columbia SC Moms Blog
Always dressed to impress.

Poor third child (who is a boy). I think I buy most of his clothes on clearance at Kohl’s, Target, or go to Once Upon a Child. I also love getting hand-me-downs from my friends. And most times around the house he just ends up wearing a diaper.

Baby | Columbia SC Moms Blog
What the baby usually wears around the house.

Hygiene

With the first child, I sanitized everything. If I went to the grocery store, I made sure we had our floppy seat cover. Same for restaurants and high chairs. I had antibacterial soap at all times. I even sanitized the pacifiers in the microwave every week.

With the third child, the five second (heck, the 30 second) rule applies to a pacifier on the floor. Just remove the dog hair first and you’re good to go. Half the time, I forget the seat cover when we go out to eat and I don’t think I’ve used it once at the grocery store.

Pictures

With the first and second child, I took them to get their portraits taken every three months until they turned a year old.

Family Photo | Columbia SC Moms Blog
Family pictures with my first two kids.

With advances in cell phones and technology, I do believe the third child has the most pictures (though none were taken in a photography studio). And, I’m quite sure they’ll never make it to a physical photo album.

selfie | Columbia SC Moms Blog
How I take pictures with the baby.

TV and Firsts

We swore with our first that she would not watch TV until she was at least a year old. With our third, he watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and became mesmerized the first week. It kept him quiet and occupied. The same with chocolate or anything sweet. We didn’t give anything like chocolate or sweets to my daughter for the longest time. I think I even scolded my mom when she sneaked some chocolate to my daughter before she turned one. With my third, he definitely had his fill of chocolate before his first birthday.

1st birthday | Columbia SC Moms Blog
This wasn’t his first time having chocolate … or cake.

Cuddling

We held our first two children to comfort them but were quick to put them in their swing or crib as not to have them get used to being held. They also had jaundice so we would have to lay them down for their light therapy.

With the third, I knew this would be our last baby so I held this one as much as I could. People would tell me that I was spoiling the baby and guess what? I didn’t care. Those moments are few and far between and I know he’ll grow up too fast so I savor every minute he still lays on me.

Baby Cuddles | Columbia SC Moms Blog
BEST. THING. EVER.

Regardless … Some Things Never Change

With all of my children, I took 10 weeks off to rest, recover and spend time with each child before I went back to work. It was definitely easier leaving the third in daycare than the first since we had grown to know and love our daycare (and to think we thought we no longer had daycare payments! That lasted a whole six months.).

Most importantly, there is love. Love for each child and love that grew as our family grew. While we did things differently between the first and the third, we never lacked in our amount of love. And regardless of how crazy things are with three children, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

How My Mommy Habits Changed From First Child to Third | Columbia SC Moms Blog
My three loves.

What did you do differently between your first and third child?

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Mee Jean Sasine
Mee Jean is a divorced mom of three amazing kids: Alyssa, (14), Jacob (12) and Isaac (7). She moved to Columbia in 2002 after graduating from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Once wondering how she could live in a small town, she now embraces it and loves her home in Northeast Columbia. She is a Proposal Writer at HCSC and loves being involved in the community and making Columbia the best place for her kids to grow up in. Mee Jean loves going to local events and supporting businesses around the city. In her free time, she loves hanging out with her friends, reading, watching Georgia football, running races (whether it be 5ks or Spartans), taking pictures and making memories (lots of selfies and hashtags), shopping, relaxing with some wine by the pool and sleeping. 

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