So the Duchess of Cambridge has joined the mum-of-three club.
In case you’ve been on other planet (and quite frankly you’d have had to be) the arrival of a baby boy makes her a mum of three, like me.
To be fair that’s where the similarities end. Sadly I’m not married to a prince, I don’t live in a palace and the only throne I’m ever likely to sit on is our loo.
There’s no getting away from the fact the Duchess of Cambridge is privileged in ways we can only imagine – I doubt she’ll ever be so sleep deprived she weeps into cold tea, and the chances are it will never occur to her she could cheerfully throttle Topsy and Tim’s mum – but even so, as a mum of three myself, I can’t help but smile inwardly at what she’s got coming.
You see there are some things that are universal, some things that mean it doesn’t matter whether you’re the Queen of England (or in this case the Queen of England in waiting, if we’re going to be picky about it) or a mum of three with no Norland nanny, no income from the state and no stylist on hand to ensure you’re snot and stain free (that’s the rest of us).
So to mark the arrival of our new prince I’ve penned a tongue-in-cheek letter to the Duchess of Cambridge from one mum of three to another.
An open letter to the Duchess of Cambridge
Dear Your Royal Highness,
Firstly, let’s start with the blindingly obvious: three is an odd number. Which is a right royal pain when it comes to fitting three car seats side by side in one car and buying ‘family’ tickets, which only ever cover two adults and two children.
Then there’s the fact you’re outnumbered. Princess or pauper, there will come a time – probably when they’re all kicking off at the same time and you have to decide which one to go to first – when you realise there’s more of them than there is of you. Which is quite a scary prospect.
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Don’t be alarmed when the baby gets sat on. And trodden on. And dropped on. (Insert injury here). With two older siblings its simply an occupational hazard. And character building.
Then there’s the toys. It doesn’t matter how many you have, they’ll all want the same one. You can have every toy for every stage of each child’s development stacked up to the rafters (or turrets) but there’ll still be The One they all decide they want to play with at the same time. Whether that toy comes gold gilded from Harrods or plastic coated from Poundland is neither here nor there. Prepare to play referee.
And finally there’s those who will ask you THAT question: if and when you’re having another. This generally happens around two years after baby number one if you haven’t already had another, and not at all after baby number two. But after baby number three it’s suddenly game on again.
Of course they say three is the magic number, and it really is. I’m sure you’re going to have a ball. Most of the time.
Hi, I smiled reading your open letter. Oh that car seat problem, park admissions and being outnumbered. All part of the fun I guess #bloggersbest
hehehe! This did make me chuckle….I think two is more than enough for me. #bloggersbest
This did make me smile. I feel sorry for her TBH. Being a mother is hard enough, being a mother with the world watching … That’s grim! And at least none of us had to give birth with the Daily Mail’s Live Labour Cam alongside us
Oh your partners face! Haha that made me chuckle. I don’t expect Prince William will have this issue in his Range Rover! #bloggersbest
From what I’ve read I think she’s quite s hands on Mum & only uses Nanny’s when she really has to so I’m sure she’s experiencing some sleep deprivation right now. I don’t envy her! I think one is enough for me. #coolmumclub
Oh I did feel for her, all that pressure! She looked amazing though #ablogginggoodtime
Lol love this so much…let’s hope that three really is the magic number…for both of your sakes lol 😉 Thanks for linking up to #coolmumclub with this I hope she heeds your wise words! xoxo
Ah yes those of us who chose to have 3 certainly are outnumbered! I think it is true that 3 just tips you over the edge, I will never be sane again, although to be honest I probably wasn’t to begin with! There is more love, more fun and way more stress and expense. Great post! Thanks for linking up with us for #ablogginggoodtime
Nice blog post… 🙂 I suspect we can never try and wonder what life is like for Kate and William… #CoolMumClub
Oh I did enjoy this #coolmumclub
What a fun post! My sister has three and she read your post and was chuckling! Three is a different ball game I think! Didn’t she look amazing coming out of hospital?? Made us mere common folk look crap! #coolmumclub
So much love for this post! And now there are 3…. interesting times ahead, though of course those who live in the normal world will be experiencing things in a slightly different way 😉 #CoolMumClub
What people should tell you, is there are a LOT of rules when booking a hotel for 5 – all will insist on 2 rooms, some will insist on 3! And most family passes are only 2A+2C. ..#KCACOLS
Aw, this made me smile. Especially the line about everyone wanting the same toy. It’s just sod’s law! #KCACOLS
I only have one and she always wants the same toy as someone else! #KCACOLS
This did make me smile. I doubt Kate’s experiences of parenthood are that similar to those of the rest of us. I bet she feels the pressure to be perfect though, and for that, I actually feel a bit sorry for her. pen x #KCACOLS
Part of me thinks Kate must have it easy with all the “help” around, but then her children and her are always being watched and it’s a very different life in the public eye…she can keep it, I’m happy with my lot in life. #kcacols
As a mum of 1, I can still laugh at this and laugh smugly because you’re right. Babies don’t come with rule books and generally speaking, parenthood is still parenthood! #kcacols
I think you’re right – for all the privilege, there is also an awful lot that is the same, no matter who you are. We’re sticking at two for the moment, because the thought of being outnumbered is terrifying! Haha.
And congratulations because someone loved this post so much, they added it to the BlogCrush linky! Feel free to collect your “I’ve been featured” blog badge 🙂 #blogcrush
I actually love the idea of 3.. I’m yet to convince my husband though! #Ablogginggoodtime
I love this! I come from a family of five and it really is the perfect number. Just enough kids to have playmates without overthrowing the hierarchy of parenting. Though my mom said when we teamed up while dad was away it got dicey in a hurry! #DreamTeam
I’m a mum of 3 too! The Duchess looked amazing but I’m sure she just wanted to get home and relax after giving birth and get back to her other children. #dreamteam
Lol, love this! I never had the car seat problem having 7 years between my 2, but I can imagine the struggle. I can’t imagine Kate will have to put the car seats in though.
#KCACOLS
I guess there are some things that are universal to all kids and all parents , no matter their background and circumstances! What a problem about the 3 car seats, though! #kcacols
I love this, I have to say I absolutely love Kate, but no matter how much money she may or not have, like you say 3 is soo much harder than 1 or 2! #KCACOLS
WHo knows, maybe she’ll start blogging to cope, like the rest of us! #KCACOLS xoxo