Jenna Bush on being a mom: The days are long, but the years are short

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For some reason, I always want to put the “Bush” part of Jenna Bush Hager’s name at the end. I think I’m just used to saying ‘Jenna Bush’ from when she was a First Daughter. Anyway, she’s not the First Daughter, nor is she Jenna Bush anymore, she’s married to Henry Hager and working alongside Hoda Kotb on the fourth hour of Today. She is also mom to three kids, Mila, six and a half, Poppy, four and Hal, who was born last August. Jenna just returned to the show from maternity leave two weeks ago and recently talked to People about how crazy her life is now that she has three under 10 running the home. But she has no complaints, she’s loving her time with her little ones. That time, however, is going way too fast for her.

Jenna Bush Hager‘s household just got a lot busier — but she’s soaking it all in.

In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, the former first daughter opens up about the changes that have come about in her routine both at home and in her Today show gig since she and husband Henry Hager welcomed their third child on Aug. 2: son Henry “Hal” Harold.
“Whenever anybody walks in, we go, ‘Welcome to the nut house.’ Who says that? I do,” jokes Bush Hager, 37.

Hal’s arrival rounded out her family unit alongside two excited big sisters — Poppy Louise, 4, and Margaret “Mila” Laura, 6½, who “share a room” at the moment.
“If I’m alone with all three kids, which I have been because my husband travels for work, it’s tricky,” Bush Hager says. “I’ll put the baby to bed first and then I’ll read with [the girls].”

“I’ll read with Mila a little bit, and then I’ll read a book to [Poppy] and everybody goes to bed. But they’re not asleep. They come out a thousand times,” she adds.

Mila actually recently learned how to read, which is something her mom couldn’t be prouder of. Explains Bush Hager, it “was one of the most magnificently beautiful times in my life.”

“It’s just such a simple thing, but it’s something I love so much,” she says. “You hear these clichés in parenting and they’re all true. ‘Time goes so fast.’ ‘The days are long, but the years are short.’ All of that is a cliché because it’s real, but nobody tells you about these little moments in parenting that will mean the most to you.”

“And I think watching my daughter learn to love something that I’ve loved since I was a little girl has been an unbelievable part of parenting,” Bush Hager continues.

[From People]

I get Jenna’s excitement over Mila reading, especially since reading was such a big thing to her mother, Laura Bush, but my excitement for it is totally different. I was so thrilled when my kids discovered reading because it occupied them for hours. My mother would visit, bring the kids a book each and they’d be quiet for the first full hour of our visit, it was heaven. Now they have iPads and although I can’t brag to my friends about how much time they spend on those, it allows me to drink a cup of tea in the afternoon in silence so it’s still a win in my book.

As far as long days and short years go, I understand where she’s coming from. I have many parent friends who feel the same way. I’ve said before that the first five years of my kids’ lives were the longest I’ve ever lived. I maintain that, but now I enjoy them as teens so much, the time is moving quicker. If Jenna’s husband is away most of the time for work, I’m sure she doesn’t know if she’s coming or going when she’s home. Plus, in addition to the show, she’s in the middle of promotion for her latest children’s book with sister Barbara, Sisters First. With that kind of schedule, I’m sure time does fly by in the blink of an eye. I do have a question for our CB moms out there: I was told that when you add a second kid to your family, it increases the work/chaos/effort tenfold but when you add a third or more, there’s no difference? I have such a hard time believing that, is it true? I have a feeling if I asked Jenna that question right now, she’d answer by throwing a sippy cup at me.

Photo credit: Avalon and Instagram

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11 Responses to “Jenna Bush on being a mom: The days are long, but the years are short”

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  1. Becks1 says:

    I have always liked that saying – days are long but the years are short. For me, its true. Mine are 7 and 5 and the days can feel really long sometimes (like today….HOW is it only 7 am!!!) but I cant believe how fast they are growing. As for Jenna Bush – “welcome to the nuthouse” – I feel like a lot of people say that lol.

    My mom had 4 kids and said that the second was the hardest, #s 3 and 4 were easy. (and she had the 4 of us in 5 years). She said that because you only have two hands, its a lot easier to just let things slide. You cant do everything and be all things to the kids etc. And she also just didn’t care about some stuff – I was the youngest and she said that I never had a regular nap time, I just napped as we were out and about with the other kids. She also said it was easier bc we WERE so close in age – we were at similar stages of life at the same time. She didn’t feel like she was changing diapers for a decade, you know?

  2. Noodle says:

    I was told that three kids was the hardest it would ever be, and you could add more kids on top of that, and it still would remain at that difficulty level. I think a lot of that depends on the ages of the kids, whether they are compatible and play together, and other demographic factors like socioeconomic status, whether parents work outside the home, relationship status between parents, etc. I have three kids, 14, 11, and 5. Having the big gap between the older girls and my youngest helped because my oldest was very helpful and nurturing and COULD help with the baby. I went back to work right away and had to put him with a nanny. That nanny was a godsend, and we were fortunate to be able to afford it because we were financially pretty well off. Having my husband home at night was wonderful because he would do bed and bath and I could go to bed early, knowing I would be up feeding and getting kids ready for school in the morning. It was incredibly hard those first two years, and I can’t imagine how much harder it would be to be in a bad place financially and not able to afford high-quality childcare, or if I were a single mom and didn’t have my partner’s or family support. It’s so terribly difficult on the best days, and I honor Mom’s who make it work despite that. We are all working hard to produce decent human beings.

    • Moco says:

      I was told the same and I have three kids and i think it’s true that it’s a very hard number. It’s few enough that you feel like you still have to give them all personal attention but too many to actually do it like you want to. Like I have a friend with 7 kids… no way she’s reading bedtime stories to each and helping them put on PJs every night… those kids have to sink or swim. But with three you can just barely spend that 10 minutes of one in one time every night.

  3. Beth says:

    Three boys here, 6.5/ 4/ 1.5. It all depends on your own family circumstances. First was the hardest. He was/is a stressed out kid and didn’t sleep for a full year. Second was a sweet baby but our first didn’t want anything to do with him and that was just so sad. Third was another relatively easy baby but we moved when he was two months and I had PPA and it was just hard. That said, the everyday stress of having three is not much different. You just have more shoes to frantically find under couches, more snacks to pack and more potential for bathroom runs.

  4. Astrid says:

    I have 4 and each new addition was more work for me. Four school lunches five days a week, more laundry, more sick kid days, more sports practices, more doctor/dentist/orthodontist/ophthalmologist appointments to schedule and attend, more teacher meetings. It all adds up. Wouldn’t change it for the world, I love them to pieces but those early years were a long slog.

    • Noodle says:

      @Astrid, I hear you. I have just three, but they all attend different schools (one high school, one middle school, one elementary school) in different districts. Between the drop off and pick up and activities and and and, I am exhausted. You are my hero for making it work with four!

  5. Ali says:

    I was pregnant with my second boy when the first was going into kindergarten. Now the oldest is in middle school and the baby is in kindergarten. The baby days are loooong but it does feel like the time has gone by in the blink of an eye.

    The mind of a pre-teen is fascinating and five year olds are still SO sweet. I feel like these are peak parenting years.

  6. Lindy says:

    After having one for 9 years (through a traumatic and difficult divorce) I eventually remarried and had a second. I love the age gap because my oldest is an amazing, nurturing big brother and needs less immediate hands-on parenting (he likes to pack his own lunch now, for instance). Even with that, and with a wonderful, hands-on husband and plenty of financial leeway for hot childcare, it’s still been hard. I can’t imagine 3.

    Partly I think that’s because I’m the oldest of 3 girls and I think my parents did a lousy job being present and loving for all of us. I don’t have good relationships with my sisters now which saddens me. But watching my parents juggle 3, no thanks.

  7. Circe says:

    Omg scrolling by I legit thought this was Melania

  8. Mignionette says:

    Her middle daughter is the spit of W.

  9. Texas says:

    Oh for those days to be back. I miss the time when my babies were young.