Your hands must be full

I’ve heard this phrase nearly daily since the day B was born. Leading up to that, it was “your hands are going to be full”. Got it, Karen. Kids are work. And they really are. My hands were full with 2 under 2. And my lack of enough hands became really obvious when CJ was born. That phrase needed to be “you don’t have enough hands”. And truthfully I don’t. S is 4.5 and needs to hold my hand crossing streets, and wild and three Mr. B certainly needs a hand (and probably a kid leash!) too. And then CJ. No matter how hard I try, 1+1+1 never equals 2 hands.

CJ is what we affectionately refer to as our “stage five clinger” and needs to be touching me pretty much all day. When CJ was about 4-5 months old, I was introduced to the single most useful baby product I’ve had in my 5 years of parenting. I had carriers with the big kids and used one with B quite a bit. And then I found the Ecleve by Innobaby (http://jolimoli.mom/alifinn). And life got a whole lot easier. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, it is in nearly every picture I have of me and the kids. The Ecleve is my daily accessory and CJs ride of choice. I counted, and last week he was in it 17 times. I can easily put him on my back, and the seat design supports my little #foodiebaby. He (me!) loves it! I don’t go anywhere without it- literally.

There is for sure a lot of products that you need throughout all the different phases of babyhood. The magic bottle that the baby will take then you are gone, the snot sucker, the jogging stroller- you get what i mean. But the Ecleve has been my third hand for a long time. And I will keep using it for the foreseeable future. It has a detachable hip seat that even B goes on from time to time- it has a 46lb capacity! I was in crate and barrel the other day with CJ in just the hip carrier while I was picking up 26 lbs of birch wood that I swear we needed for my mantle. We were like celebrities and were asked by 6 people about my hip carrier as I carted 26 lbs of baby on one hip and 26 lbs of wood on the other. But most importantly for me, it means I can use my 2 hands for my big kiddos and still have my little guy in tow and happy, which makes for a better school drop off.

The best part is that I Houdini him in and out of it and it’s easy. Not to brag, but I’m like really good at it and get lots of shocked comments when people see me do it. The company who makes it is truly a genius baby company. Their products are mindful and well made. I wish I found them in 2015 when I joined the motherhood.

And here’s the thing, anything that I can do to make my kids feel like they have the connection they need with mom is what I need. All my kids need a hand to hold, a back to snuggle, and a mom who can unzip the coats, wash the hands, wipe the nose, and give a big hug and kiss while still snuggling the stage 5 clinger. My third hand.