This is my third day with the babies and it’s all gone past in a blur. You don’t know non-stop until you’ve taken care of twins for 48 straight hours.
Okay, sometimes they stop for naps and sleep but since I usually collapse and pass out shortly after they do, it still feels non-stop.
But its non-stop fun with these two. As the Nana, I don’t have to worry about getting the bills paid, the house cleaned, the groceries shopped, the car filled, the oil changed, my workout in or any of the other real life concerns of the mom’s of tiny kids. For three days and nights, all I had to do was keep the babies happy and that’s the easy part.
Katie made it super easy by leaving me a detailed schedule so I knew when they’re used to eating and how much and when they’re used to napping and how long and when they usually go to bed. If either girl looked at me cross-eyed, all I had to do was check the schedule to have a clue as to what she needed. If diapers, food or sleep wasn’t on the scheduler, I just cuddled and played with them and all was made right.
I’d been told that Boopity didn’t like to nap and sometimes didn’t take any, all day. This was not my experience. Boop did go down easier, with her paci and her blankie pet but Boopity cried. I let her cry and the longest she ever did was 15 minutes, then lights-out for an hour long nap. I think maybe that’s just how she gets herself to sleep. Sometimes she only cried for 5 or six minutes, sometimes 15 or maybe 20 but then she slept long and hard and woke up covered in smiles.
Whatever works! If Jay thought he could get eight good hours by crying, he’d cry for twenty minutes, too.
I quickly learned to get their bottles ready before mealtime; if you wait till the babies are hungry, it takes too long. I had bottles and meals ready to go at least a half hour before they were due to wake up from their naps.
The pets seemed to remember that last time they weren’t welcome in the bedroom with me at night. This time, they hung around hopefully in the hall way but didn’t seem too disappointed when I closed the door without them. I never caught either trying to get into the bedroom during the day this time.
Each girl woke once the first night, downed a bottle and went right back to sleep. Boop ate at 4:30 and for some reason, I couldn’t get back to sleep after she did. I finally got up at about quarter to seven and got all my internet surfing done before the girls joined me, shortly after 8. We spent the day playing. I spread a blanket on the deck and we did quite a lot of tummy time outside.
The cat has learned to open the screen door. The first time she did this, I tried to catch her, as I know Katie worries that she’ll go in the street but when she dove under the deck I decided she was not my problem. I was there to take care of the babies, the cat was on her own.
Next time I saw the cat, she was in the living room, lounging in the window sill. I don’t know how or when she got back in the house; I’m just happy she seems to have it all under control. A little too much under control. She had a show down with Jay Sunday morning.
He came up in the morning to go to church and have breakfast with us. We got the girls dressed in their Sunday best and as usual, they behaved beautifully. They like the people, the songs and all the other kids in the crying room. They missed their mid morning nap but you’d never guess from their behavior that they might have been sleepy. I fed them as soon as we got home, while Jay ran to the store to pick up the fixin’s for brunch.
Jay and the Kat had a bit of a disagreement over who gets to use the kitchen counter. It was a stalemate until I came in and chased the cat off. Okay, I didn’t actually chase her: she saw she was outnumbered and left the field, hissing. Apparently, that counter is one of her favorite places to nap. Well, it’s her house but this weekend, she let us use it.
Boop was so sleepy she bobbed off while working on her bottle. I bundled her up and tucked her in. After brunch, Jay sat on the couch with Boopity, watching a concert on television; 40th anniversary of Austin City Limits with Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristoferson, Jeff Bridges and Willie Nelson, to name a few. She loved it! She didn’t take her eyes off the screen, just sat on the couch next to her grandpa, rockin’ to the music with a huge grin on her face. After about a half an hour, she could barely keep her eyes open so I bundled her up and put her to bed. They both slept for two hours.
As usual, they woke up in sparkling good spirits, ready to stuff their faces and play. They’re both good eaters: not picky and very enthusiastic. The trick is to feed them at the same time, using both arms and two spoons. When they’ve finished the cereal, veggies or fruit (all of which they seem to enjoy with the same fervor), pop their bottles into their mouths so they can chug to their hearts content. Do this quickly and smoothly and everyone remains happy. They tend to yell a lot in between bites but it’s a joyful noise.
Both can sit up now and they sort of play together. They spent nearly an hour with a busy box between them, happy as clams and quiet as mice. Whenever I caught one of their eyes, they gave me a big grin. Blowing raspberries is Boop’s favorite word.
They’re both working on rolling over; Boop does it quite a bit, mostly from her back to her tummy. Once there, she raises herself on her arms and is clearly working toward getting on her hands and knees. That kid will be crawling very soon.
Boopity is much stronger than Boop but she doesn’t seem to care at all about rolling over or crawling. Her efforts are all toward getting on her feet. She loves to rock while sitting up. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she never does crawl: she might be a scooter, like Josie was. Some babies scoot along in a sitting position instead of crawling. It’s too soon to tell but I won’t be surprised if that’s the route Boopity takes. It doesn’t matter, she already knows walking is where it’s at.
Boop has also just recently started holding her own bottle for meals. She doesn’t understand gravity, of course, so she does it best when she’s laying down but in that position, she likes to be in control of her own bottle.
Boopity prefers to be fed.
Months ago, I asked Katie which of the two would be the first to be found in her sister’s crib in the morning. She said “Boopity is braver but she’s lazy. I think she’ll talk Boop into coming into her bed.”
So far, that prediction seems right. Boopity is a little bigger and noticeably stronger but she likes to take it easy. Boop, on the other hand, seems to be quite a determined and intrepid little soul.
They’re both very sweet and thoroughly charming.
It’s going to be a blast watching them grow up.