One Is The Hardest Number

Now that I am trailed by four little children wherever I go, it seems to be de rigeur for other mothers I encounter to say, "I don't know how you do it!" Don't get me wrong -- I understand what's behind the comment. Part compliment, part envious jab, the overwhelming subtext is, "No way I could be in your shoes -- I can barely handle my life with one baby!"

But here's the dirty little secret I didn't learn until I was about halfway into my ten straight years of gestating and lactating -- the first baby is the hardest one! Think about it -- what if you went to your job and every week, the tasks were different, so you were constantly learning and just when you got good at something, you got moved to a new department? First-time mommyhoood is just like that. Well, except for your supervisor is a bald, drooling bundle of fat that eats and poops constantly, and when he/she is mad at you, screams like a proverbial stuck pig. If you only have one child (which you may have very good reasons for doing) you will never get to use this wealth of knowledge on another kid.

So for me, putting my infant twins (third and fourth children) on a plane by myself to travel from Los Angeles to Wyoming (changing planes in Denver) took one tenth the energy of trying to wrestle my firstborn into my car to visit his cousins for his first Halloween -- across town!

My point? When you're all sweaty and harried and unsure of yourself and you see a hot mama trailed by several offspring, don't think, "man, I couldn't handle that!" Instead, know that I say, "I don't know how you do it!"

Hang in there, baby! :)