Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Long Weekends are Indeed That

We had this Monday off for President’s Day. With my parents out of town, we had zero help and 24 hour baby duty for four full days (including my work-at-home Friday). Furthermore, we had a friend visiting from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. He loved meeting and spending time with the babies, but he was not family so we could not foist intensive baby care upon him, as much as we threatened to do so. While I love and look forward to the time I get to spend with Elliot and Leah, holy crap they are exhausting. And they don’t really even move yet. I feel so beat up by the end of a few days of constant interaction with two 7 month olds. This weekend, I sang through my (embarrassingly vast) repertoire of songs appropriate for children probably 40 times. I picked thrown sippy cups off the floor so often that I have a repetitive motion injury. We read That’s Not My Dinosaur upwards of 60 times, and then my head exploded. When I got to work on Tuesday, I threw my coat over my boss's head, whipped it off and yelled “PEEKABOO” in his face.

Another thing about the weekend is that it reminds me why our nanny is our nanny and I am paid to do something other than childcare. When Lina is home, there is order. There is a schedule, there are children with their noses cleared of boogers. When Craig and I are home, I’m not saying that chaos reigns, but things are just a little more, how-you-say?, loosey-goosey. We do not have the mental capacity to stay in the house all day, so we take the babies out. Sometimes during naptime. The horror! This past Sunday, for example, we took Elliot and Leah to the ICA and then to lunch. Sounds benign and pleasantly cultural, but it coincided with naptime. We drove around for a while once the babies fell asleep after the outing to let them get a nap in the car, but that’s just not the same as a standard 2-hour nap in their cribs. It actually didn’t turn out too badly, but the correlation between good naps and good nighttime sleep is astounding. And the more days they go without excellent naps, the worse they are at night. Monday, we decided to leave the house again (I know, WTF were we thinking?) and took them to Costco (because that’s how we do). They actually ended up with a very good afternoon nap post-Costco, which lasted until 3:30 or so. We decided to forgo the normal nap they get when Craig drives them to pick me up from the train (we emulate this nap even on weekends because it helps the babies make it to their 6:30 bedtime without total meltdowns). This was a mistake. Overnight, we had wakeups at 10:30, 3:30 and then they were up for the morning at 5:00am. Uhg. To prove my point that Lina is good at her job, after one day with her, both babies slept through the night last night. What’s that, Lina? A raise? Of course. Just give me a minute to go sell some blood. Totally worth it.

Other random thoughts:
  •  How does Elliot possibly sleep through the night when he ends up entirely soaked in urine? Am I supposed to change him overnight as a preventative measure? The kid is wearing nighttime diapers. What more can I do?
  • Leah seems to be sprouting a tooth. Nothing is visible yet, but I can feel a protrusion.
  • Elliot’s hair is growing in a mohawk pattern. I sort of hope it continues. I don’t want to be one of those moms who manipulate her kid’s hair into a mohawk, but if it happens, it happens.
  • Toys. We don’t seem to have enough of them. What am I missing that is indispensible for the 7-12 month set?
  • Are the Olympics kind of difficult to watch this year? I feel like I have watched hours of the Olympics, but all that I have come away with is that Bob Costas is very stylish and can fold the crap out of a pocket square. I know medals have been awarded, but I keep missing it happen. Though I caught some of this guy’s short program last night. Insane. Why hasn’t Christopher Guest made a movie about figure skating yet?

You're taking us out during naptime again?  You will pay.

7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am a SAHM and slave to the naps! Its painful but its the only way to make life with baby(ies) work. Hang in there :)

    As for toys, my kids really loved (and still do love) those rainbow colored stacking cups. Plastic animals are a fun one too because then you can teach them their names and sounds they make - I bought a farm animal bucket at Target for 10 bucks and just took out the pieces that are small enough to choke on. Maybe a little musical piano? I bought small one (the size of a hard cover book - not one of those stand up ones) and my kids really liked to press the buttons. Here's a post I wrote about toys that don't make noise, if you're interested:
    http://sotorrifictwins.blogspot.com/2009/10/top-toys-that-dont-make-noise.html
    My kids were 11 months old at the time but had been using some of those toys for a couple months.

    PS - I'm a MMOTA member too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was literally cracking up out loud when I read the part about you playing peekaboo with your boss. Hahaha. I am still laughing. I then called my husband over to read your post. He is laughing still, too. It may seem crazy, but I bet those crazy times are the ones your kids will remember the most (maybe not now at 7 months, but in the future). So crazy is GOOD! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOL! I always feel like we run things a little loosey-goosey around here. I used to tell myself it is for their own good...kept them "adaptable". But thee truth is, the older they get the more serious the consequences are for messing with naptime. Now I wouldn't be caught dead out of the house between 12-2. Or maybe, I am a SAHM mom now and dammit I NEED those 2 hours to pick up the pieces of my fractured mind from all over the floor. AND I put them to bed at 6:30...they could easily play another two hours, but Mommy id DONE!
    PS on the diaper situation...Are you anywhere near being ready to move up a diaper size? That usually got us through the over-wetting spurts.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Too funny! Yes, it is very exhausting to be a SAHM, which is why many of us are so strict about our nap schedules. But, I agree with Kristen that it becomes more important when they get older. At 23 months, my kids won't nap long enough in the car to make it worth my while.

    As for the nighttime diaper issue, Tiny and Buba wear a nighttime diaper that is one size above the size they wear during the day. Buba still leaks through sometimes, but it has helped keep him dry most nights.

    Toys, hmmm..... I looked back at photos, and at 7 months, my guys were still playing with rattles, soft books, and toys they could chew on. But around 9 months they liked these:
    http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Baby-Sit-Stand-Giraffe/dp/B000LT2IHI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1266588866&sr=8-1
    http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Laugh-Learn-Busy-Table/dp/B0015KOOHO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1266588895&sr=1-2
    http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Laugh-Learn-Kitchen/dp/B001115D5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1266588918&sr=1-1

    They still play with the music table, and would still be playing with the kitchen, but we sold it to make room for a larger play kitchen. If you can wait until the spring sale in about a month, you'll probably be able to pick up some great new toys there at a fraction of the costs.

    And lastly, thanks also for stopping by my blog. I did not make the hats my kids are wearing in that top photo. They were a gift and came from L.L. Bean.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Alexis~ Just caught up on your blog. I love the updates and finally reading about the little kids. Hang in there, Mama!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just caught up on your blog, so cute!

    I have to say, the month that I did go back to work full time, I was never as physically exhausted as I am now as a SAHM with the twins. It's crazy how 7 month olds can wipe you out like that!

    ReplyDelete