We’ve achieved one year, the culmination of a whirlwind series of months during which we grew into parenthood.
All in Family
Recently, I’ve been chatting with all kinds of strangers. And that’s because I’m a mother to a pair of baby icebreakers.
If you’ve ever wondered when the absolute best time to visit an emergency room is, I can tell you. It is at one thirty in the morning, on a Tuesday, in January, during a blizzard.
We fear that if we speak honestly, we’ll be judged for our fears, our struggles, our resentments.
Before I had the twins I was certain I wouldn’t be the mom who dresses her kids in matching outfits. I figured doing so would require a lot of organizational drawer-stuffing and planning that was beyond me.
Personality Types
The first time I heard the twins’ heartbeats, they were quite different. One was more rapid than the other, and my doctor laughed heartily. “They’ll have totally different personalities,” she explained to me.
With the twins, I seem to have an unshakable idea in my mind that things should be fair. I suppose it’s the nature of there being two babies, and wanting to ensure they’re each given a good upbringing.
My idea of “big win” has really changed since having kids.
I am going back to work a little bit earlier than most Canadian moms, after only nine months of maternity leave.
Our first trip home this past summer was a week-long tour visiting as many members of the family as we could. We’ve now managed it three times in their eight months, and each time has felt like an accomplishment in line with receiving a college diploma.
Girl Colours
Colour being assigned a gender seems as arbitrary as days of the week being assigned flavours.
The first level begins when you come home from the hospital, completely exhausted, and hoping to get your first night’s sleep. You know it’s going to be hard, and that you’re going to be tired. You’re bound to fall down every crack and crevice as you figure out just how the game is played. But, you give it your best shot anyhow.
I wouldn’t say I’m particularly easy-going, but I’m definitely not a worrier. The idea of being late to catch a flight will keep me awake all night, but other than that, there are very few things that cause me worry in my day-to-day life. I have noticed, however, that with the babies it seems I’m always finding some new thing to worry about
Baby-led weaning is the latest trend in baby-feeding methods and seems like a good choice for us. Essentially, the child is allowed to mash food into its mouth with all the grace of a drunken pirate eating for the first time after four hungry months at sea.
Parenting Milestones
The twins aren’t the only ones with new skills. My husband and I are learning too, and as each parenting milestone passes we become more parents and less…well, whatever we were before.
We all want a child that keeps up with the (baby) Jones’, each step of the way.
Milestones are monetized by capitalism. It’s morbid to think about, but a reality nonetheless.
Sometimes mothers of newborns say “my baby is sleeping so well.” This is funny, because all newborns sleep well, at least during the day.
Multitasking
Truth be told, I thought I was a pretty effective multitasker, up until I had children. Now I’m black-belt level master.
It's Biological
As a non-parent, there are things about parents’ behaviours that you find perplexing. Why do they talk about poop so much? Why do they cry when they talk about their kids? Why do they want to go to baby showers?