« Life So Far | Home | Election »

Perfect Storm
posted by Brian on June 13, 2004 at 10:16 PM

Amy and I sometimes compare notes about what people say to us when we’re out in public. Bopping around town with twins automatically makes for a sort of circus act in the eyes of others, it seems, so it’s common to field comments. It’s not too annoying most of the time, and it’s always well-intentioned, but it does get kind of funny. The most common comment is probably, “Well, you’ve got your hands full!” (As if we didn’t know that.) Another one near the top of the list would have to be, “Double trouble!” (Yes, the exclamation point is necessary.) The funniest question, though, is, of course, “Are they identical?” This becomes especially memorable when it’s already clear that Franny and Jamie are a girl and a boy…

Anyway, the gist of most comments is that life for us must be really overwhelming. That’s true, to an extent, but I’ve always tried to be careful not to assume life is really all that much more hectic/busy/out-of-control than it is for any other parent. And even if it is, there’s always someone whose life is even more off the deep end. One day on a trip to play time at Gymboree, there was another parent who had four kids with her, ranging from just a few months to 5 years old. Watching her load up to leave with all the gear and kids strapped to a quad stroller (yes, a QUAD stroller) made me feel pretty good about how relaxed my life is by comparison.

The last week, though, has provided us with both ends of the spectrum. It all began the Friday before last with taking the kids to the doctor for their regular 18-month checkup. The doctor asked how things were, and I answered saying that things are basically fine, but we still had to get up in the dead of the night every night to give one or (more often) both of the kids bottles. The doctor very matter-of-factly said that that just had to end. I agreed but said that we had tried unsuccessfully a few times to gradually wean them. He then said that we just had to stop trying to do it gradually and begin offering water instead of formula. They would get the message quickly that it wasn’t worth getting up. (Incidentally, the reason he said we should stop the middle-of-the-night bottle didn’t have to do with sleep deprivation. It was because of dental health.)

So I left dreading the next few nights. Sure enough, Franny had quite the hard time dealing with our new reality at about 3:30am that night. The next day, though, she came down with bronchitis. So it was back to the doctor on Monday, who prescribed Albuterol, three times a day. OK, kind of a bother, but we can deal with it. Problem: Albuterol is a stimulant. If you’ve met Franny, you know that the last thing she needs is a stimulant. So now, not only was she bitterly disappointed (and not afraid to express it) about no midnight bottle, she was also freaking out at bedtime because, well, she wasn’t tired.

Then, the next day, Jamie, running toward the stairs just before bedtime, tripped and took a dive into the bottom stair. He came down on his mouth, blood was everywhere, and it was off to the ER. Two and a half hours and three stitches later the poor guy, huge swollen lips and all, finally fell asleep in the car on the way home. He made it through the night, but he wasn’t comfortable.

People say things come in threes, but, after the new (non-)bottle routine, bronchitis with troublesome drugs, and a nasty injury, we got a fourth: a heat wave, with temperatures up to 95 degrees. Babies don’t like trying to go to sleep when it’s 95 degrees.

So this turned out to be one of the most difficult weeks in memory for us. But on Thursday, the heat wave broke (OK, it was only a two day heat wave, but it wasn’t pretty). The doctor, at a checkup for Jamie’s mouth, said we could scale back the zinger drug Franny was on. And Jamie was visibly better (both physically and emotionally; he was really affected for that first day or so). That night, they went straight to sleep and slept through the night. And it’s been that way each night since. Things completely turned around.

Today, Amy and I split the kids up. She went off with Franny and I spent time with Jamie, just to give each of them some undivided attention. We’ve done that before, but our schedules don’t often give us the chance. What we forget is how rejuvenating it is for everyone. For the kids, they each love the attention from a parent. And Amy and I love doing it because getting around and taking care of one kid is just so much easier than two. So it’s almost like vacation for everyone. Amy and Franny had breakfast at a local place and went to church. And Jamie and I took Rafiki for a walk before sharing a blueberry scone at Starbucks and going to the park. Then, after the kids took naps and goofed around for a while, we all went out to dinner at a nice pizza place in Lexington, where Jamie and Franny went nuts over their macaroni and cheese before gallivanting around in a local park.

The kids are in bed now, once again with no problem, and it feels like we weathered a serious storm and came out in calm waters. I’m sure we’ll find ourselves pushed to the limit again (maybe sooner than later: we’re flying to Dayton this week), but it’s nice to enjoy a calmer existence, if only for a little while.

« Life So Far | Home | Election »

Comments

Comments for this post have been closed.