Life with 3 Babies

Hey Girl,

So I thought I'd update you on what it's been like, so far, as a family of 5. Not a lot has changed in terms of our day to day activities... though, now that I'm out of the weeds (so to speak) I can speak freely... yes the first few months were really tough, I was so weak and just beat feeling, I def have postpartum depression, not as bad as I did with Ethan, but it's still there.  I was more prepared for the first few months of shear exhaustion and feeling horrific, so It honestly didn't phase me much this time around. I asked for a lot of help, ahead of time, knowing It was going to be all hands on deck especially the first 3 months and my mother in law has been to my house just about everyday helping me in some capacity.

I think breastfeeding has been the hardest thing to adjust to, still not a fan, even though some people seem to think I am fine with it and it's easy for me... it is not easy for me, at all. But I do it for the health of the babe and the shrinkage of my belly! It's all good... just counting down the days until I hit the 6 month mark. That's always my goal.

Ok, back to life with 3 kids... I mean, we are still doing the same things we were always doing. It's gotten easier since Sienna is now 5 and Ethan is 3, they play beautifully together for the most part, a lot of the times it's just me and Elle while those 2 are off playing. Ethan was fully potty trained a month after Elle was born so I'm still changing someones diapers. She's super chill, she can lay on the floor for a good half hour to hour before she starts crying, which is HUGE. She recently went from waking twice at night down to once a night, which was a great transition. We knew to get her on reflux medication early on, so she's always gone right back down after eating at night.

Honestly, the first 4 months has flown by because I'm so involved with the other 2, the days sort of fly by now. I definitely think going from 1 to 2 is the hardest transition in building a family. That's just balls to the wall... going from 2 to 3 is much more calm, I'm more relaxed about every single thing and just know it will all go by so fast so I really soak up those extra cuddles when I can get them. I think this is true about all first children, but she's still my toughest one... always at my feet wanting my full and un-divided attention... all.... day... long!!!

So, pretty boring update! haha. But boring is good. Everyone has been healthy and happy and growing! What more could you ask for?

I'm really chomping at the bit to start shooting again though... so if you're interested for this spring or summer, give me a shout - april@aprilkphotography.com

photos by Kathy James Photography

Deciding to take the plunge... having 3 babies!

Hi Mama's... I've been wanting to share my journey from 2 to 3 babies with you because I feel like it's a question that some struggle with when building a family. I always find it helpful to read about other women's stories and thoughts to help me try and figure out my own. So, if you're teetering on whether you want to take the plunge into a family of 3 babies from 2 or you're just curious on why in the hell we would go for a third, here it is!

Deciding if we wanted 2 or 3 children was a question that haunted me specifically for the last year. Justin always pushed for a third, but I was pretty set and happy with 2. When I use the term "haunted", I pretty much thought about it every day. I couldn't get my mind off of it... not that I didn't already have my hands full, because I did, between all the traveling we do and 2 under 3, there was never a dull moment... wait a sec, now that I think about it, it's actually a question that haunted me as soon as Ethan was born. As I lay there on the hospital bed having just pushed out a 10lb toddler, the nurse (so rudely, in my opinion) asked If I was going to have another one. Who says that at that time?

I digress...

I was a pretty firm no for a very long time... 2 was enough for me and I was happily busy, borderline crazy... but the question still never left my head. Justin and I got to the point that, when the kids were acting good we'd say aaawww one more (he always wanted one more) and when they were bad we'd walk around saying "2's good, 2 is plenty good". We talked about how easy it is to travel with 2, one each, and how manageable it is, how family ski trips would be just around the corner etc etc...

But then Ethan turned 2...Sienna turned 4 and my feelings changed. All of the sudden this baby was turning into a toddler boy, and it seemed to have happened so quickly. I found myself getting more sleep and worrying less during the day because they both became muchmore self sufficient. Leaving the house and sticking with plans was becoming easier.  He could feed himself, play independently... Sienna was still needy but I'm used to that by now... My life was getting easier.

And then my mind started thinking about, omg, am I done with this? has this baby ship sailed? We started tasting freedom by the baby spoonful. My body was back and I felt like I was 100% out of post-partum depression (which I suffered from greatly, without realizing, after Ethan was born).

I'm 33 yrs old... It's not like I'm in my 20's (which I 100% believe our bodies are still made for, even though our culture has shifted to having them later in life... but that's a rant for another day) the decision has to come now. Growing up in a large family, I'm the middle of 5 kids... and I couldn't get comfortable with the fact that they would only have each other, no other siblings. Of course then I get fixated on that thought, and couldn't come to grips with it. Why though? My one sister has 2 daughters, my mom was 1 of 2, majority of my friends only have 1 other sibling... why wasn't I comfortable with this?

So the question lingered on, I just couldn't let it go... I guess I always just imagined myself with a large family... completely ignorant of how hard mothering is and especially pregnancies in my 30's on the old bod.

It was getting pretty late in the game, for us, ha. We knew that if we wanted 3 we wanted them all to be close in ages, like we both are with our siblings. Also, I knew that I did NOT want to be getting pregnant 3-5-10 yrs down the road, on accident! So if this was it, Justin needed to get snipped and that was going to be it. Well, he refused haha. There were days when I would threaten to make him an appt at the doctor and he never took me seriously...

Being blessed with easy fertility, we decided that we would try one time, that's it... and if it happened then it was meant to be and if it didn't then Justin would get a vasectomy and we'd be done with it.

...It worked!

holy cats! 100% mixed feelings!

holy cats! 100% mixed feelings!

Adventures of April + Rae Rae

Last month we got to spend some special time with a gal who's been my best friend since we were Sienna's age (4). She now lives in Wisconsin, but visits once a year so we can get the kiddies together and mother side by side (laughing at one another). It's always a fleeting time, as the kids take up most of our attention throughout the day, but it's a time to catch up and just straight chill together. This time we decided to amp up the juice and take a road trip with all 3 kids to Vermont. Needless to say it was one to remember!

Photographing my life or my kids lives rather, is somewhat of a bear... I have to admit. On one hand I love to have the memories but while it's all going on, while the kids are running wild and I'm mid conversation with (anyone really) I just want to live in that moment... not pick up my camera and see it through my lens... and the older I get the more I'm sick of living through my lens. And then thinking about the post processing after I've taken said photos, it's time consuming and eats me alive most days. But having these images are what keeps me going, year after year. If you're a photographer with kids, how do you manage this?

May 2017 - shot with Nikon D3s with 50mm 1.4

Hello Summer 2017

I will go to any lengths to find a reason for celebration! I love to celebrate, who doesn't?! This past weekend we celebrated Thahn & Will's engagement and Leila's birthday...and also, to kick off to a great summer. In good fashion, Leila brought the best party favor, the slip n slide! (Her bridal shower also featured this always amazing sheet of plastic). The music was playin, drinks were flowin and of course, Ethan was running around naked.

Happy Summer All!

Chillin at the beach

When Justin and I met, we were truly head over heels for one another… so much so that when he was trying to impress me, he took me on a "photography date" around Boston… it was so much fun, he rented a fancy lens (that he had no clue how to use), hahahaha oh man, it’s so funny to think back upon the antics he used.

Last month we spent some time with “mimi & papi” at their place down the cape and sitting on the beach hearing the words “hey, can I use your camera for a minute?” brought me back to that date. Watching Justin with a camera + playing with the kids was priceless. They had never interacted with daddy as a photographer, so he got some great shots that I wouldn’t have been able to… mommy with a camera is just… annoying (I suppose?)… Anyway, here’s our time at the beach in May.