New Appreciation

I have developed a new appreciation for mothers of twins.

My very-dear friend's son will be five weeks old tomorrow.  She and her husband are in their very busy season of finishing up med school and interviewing all over the place for their upcoming residencies.  I know that they are juggling a lot, and I have the luxury of staying at home and doing nothing with Ella (and "nothing" actually turns out to be quite a lot!), so I offered to try to help out today.  Since she pulled an all-nighter last night at the library and left her husband home with bottles, she took me up on the offer so that she could first sleep, and then study.

I arrived around 9:30 am (it really was the earliest I could be there--getting myself and Ella ready and out the door is proving to be more time-consuming than I imagined), and her son, Silas, was fed, wide awake, and happy.  Ella, on the other hand, was ready to eat again.  So I sent my very-dear friend to bed, fed Ella, and entertained Silas to the best of my abilities in his bouncer.  When Ella finished up, she was more than happy to check out Silas and all of his toys.  Aside from a few little squawks from each of them, I was able to avoid any complete meltdowns, and miraculously was able to get each baby to sleep for a little bit, thus allowing my very-dear friend to get in a much needed nap.

When everyone woke up, we all ate, and my very-dear friend headed to the library to finish up a project.  Again, both babies were happy.  I'd like to think that they were curious in each other, but really--that probably won't happen for another fifteen years or so.  We joke that it would be great if they did grow up and fall in love, but we'll just let them be "best buddies" for now. Here they are..happy as can be:

(Did I mention that Silas is just about two weeks younger than Ella...and yet he's so much bigger!)

And then, not even two minutes after I snapped the picture, it all fell apart.  I heard a big poop from Silas, and knew it was the type that would require some changing.  My very-dear friend had mentioned that he needed a bath, so I had planned on trying to cover that for her to make her life easier.  Ella was really content at that time, so I put her in his bouncer, brought the hangy-toy within reach, and headed upstairs with Silas to change and hopefully bathe him.  On the way to the nursery, I started the water to get it warm enough for a quick bath.  By the time I had the dirty diaper off, I could hear Ella crying from downstairs.  So I decided to forego the bath efforts, and headed back down.  Halfway down the stairs, I hear a knock at the door, and am pleased to see that it's the parents of my very-dear friend.  So with Ella crying, I hand over their grandson and go to console Ella...only to find that Silas' bouncer has the same effect as our bouncer at home:  major diaper blow-out.  So there I am with my screaming and poopy baby in front of my very-dear friends parents, looking totally incompetent.  But they were wonderfully understanding, and were more than happy to take over the care of Silas--who, even without the bath, was much cleaner than poor Ella.  So even though I had intended to bathe Silas for my very-dear friend, it was Ella who ended up getting the bath.  By the time that I had her, the bouncer, and myself cleaned up, Ella was fast asleep and my very-dear friend was home to feed Silas.

What a day!  I didn't leave her house until almost 4:00 pm, so really, the first five hours were great!  It was just that five minutes of chaos when first one baby, then the other baby, decided to poop.  I joked with the parents that I don't know if they came at the absolutely best time, or the absolute worst!  All I know is that I have a whole new appreciation for mothers of multiples, and I'm glad to be home where I can devote all of my time and energy on Ella. 

Even though I didn't get my own nap in, it was still such a blessing to be able to hang out with my very-dear friend while we fed the babies and catch up with her.  She and her husband--and now Silas--are a great source of fun and support to my husband and me--and now Ella.  We truly are blessed to have them in our lives, and it was also a blessing to be able to help her out a bit today.