Two Babies...But Not Twins

Since our two precious babies are so close together I often get asked, "How are you managing?." Or, the more popular comment, "You sure have your hands full." Usually while I am trying to get the two babies up three flights of stairs or into the car. I smile and laugh. Yes, I have my hands full. And both arms and sometimes my feet. It's amazing how useful I have found all my appendages to be. Carrying my keys between my teeth is something I swore I would never do. Who doesn't have the time to put their keys in their pocket or their bag, right? Me. No matter how much time I spend planning for every possible move Bruce might make, he comes up with something new. His eyes are constantly darting about to see what he can touch, taste or climb. If possible he prefers to do all three at once.

I might have a handle on things if Fiona was not in my arms and if I didn't have to protect her from his ever swinging limbs and head. He is really into bashing his head into people and things. Head bashing is a sign of affection and irritation so it happens all the time. He even head butts the dogs at the park. Last weekend he head butted Eric's face so hard I was sure that Eric's nose was broken. Luckily it was not. I'm dreading the day when he knocks me in the teeth and knocks out the artificial part of my front tooth. I'll look just like Lloyd Christmas when that happens. Just yesterday he started walking around with both hands balled up into fists and started Hulk Smashing his toys. He had a huge cat-ate-the-canary grin on his face. He is smart, strong, energetic, stubborn and curious...so...yeah....

For example:

I decided that going to the grocery store with the two babies would be a super good idea this morning. We usually save the grocery shopping for after Eric gets home from work as trying to carry groceries plus two babies up the stairs is asking a little much. Bruce can walk up the stairs but whenever I have a lot to carry, it seems, he prefers to sit on the bottom step and talk to the birds And he will not be moved. Avoiding having to carry anything extra is in the best interest of all parties. Knowing this, I decided to grocery shop anyway. My thought process was as follows," I'll leave the non-perishable items in the car and Eric can bring them up when he gets home. I'll just pick up one grocery bag worth of perishable items."  I get the babies into the car with no hassle. As we pull into the parking lot Bruce starts squealing with excitement. I get Fiona out first (if I don't I have to pin Bruce to the side of the car with my foot to prevent him from running away) and this upsets Bruce greatly until I finally open his door. He claps in approval as he climbs out of the car and happily holds my hand as we head into the store. Up until today Bruce has been content to help push the cart, or at least hold onto the side. But today things changed. I had barely secured Fiona in the cart when Bruce darted off into the abyss of the produce section, with all the fruit bins being too tall to see him. He stopped for a few seconds to grab a plastic produce bag off the roll and then was off again, this time turning the corner and running towards the freezer section. Thankfully the store was empty because I was frantically looking back and forth between my children trying to figure out how to get Bruce without stepping too far away from Fiona. (I am a totally paranoid parent. There are crazy people in this world that could walk off with a child in two seconds. I've probably seen too many crime shows.) I start running with the cart and catch up to Bruce, who is a very happy boy at this point because he is FREE!!!! I put an end to that delusion right quick. I wrestled him into the cart and he screamed and twisted and arched his back and fought to get out. He had huge crocodile tears running down his red cheeks (insert well meaning stranger comment here: "You sure have your hands full.") I am laughing because the five people in the grocery story seem to have culminated in the freezer section and are watching in either amusement or horror. It depends if they have any kids of their own as to which category they fall under. After the wrestling match ended I calmly pushed the cart along and continued shopping. Bruce screamed for the duration of our visit. Fiona, being the angelic baby that she is, happily sat in her car seat and gave Bruce questioning looks.

This is our day to day. Trying to give Bruce enough room to run and play while trying to give Fiona all the holding and nurturing and play she needs. I cannot have a conversation with Bruce because he does not fully understand. I tell him, "no" and he listens half of the time. Maybe. And not because he is inherently naughty, but because he is not even 18 months old. I can say that the first month after Fiona was born was horrendous. Due to very little sleep and trying to breastfeed and take care of Bruce. I cried and cried all the time. Probably for four weeks straight. Not because I was sad about anything but because I was SO TIRED!  Now that the constant fatigue and exhaustion have let up considerably, having two babies is a lot of fun. Especially now that Fiona is responsive to people and becoming more active. (She rolled over today!) She smiles at Bruce all the time and he loves it. He is still learning to be gentle, though I think that will be a life long lesson for him.

My world at this point in my life is very small and very amusing. Bruce and Fiona make me laugh all the time. Laughing at everything seems to take the edge off of particularly trying days, like when Bruce is teething and decides that standing in the hallway while screeching is the best thing to do.