Monday, February 12, 2007
Jericho and Justus are three months old now. Practically three and a half months old. I think this is a little shocking to me because I remember when Caleb was three months old like it was yesterday and look how big he is now. I have a very distinct memory from my childhood. I was in third or fourth grade and desperately wanted to be able to get a glass out of the kitchen cupboard without having to climb onto the countertop first. Basically I wanted to be big. . . I wanted to grow. But I remember thinking it would take forever for me to get that big and I remember feeling like time moved so slowly. I don't feel like that anymore. Instead I feel like I'm on a carousel in fast forward and everyone is growing up much too fast. Slow down, I say. . . slow down. If I ever get the chance to design a person of my own, they will definitely come with belly buttons that also double as pause buttons. That way when the witching hour gets a little too hectic. . . pause. When a mother wants to go to the bathroom alone. . . pause. And when that very rare and quiet moment comes and that precious little cherub is snuggled in your arms just right. . . pause, just so you can enjoy him or her for a few moments longer. But until then I guess I'll just keep doing my best to put the rest of the world on hold while I enjoy these last few moments of babyhood before they're all grown and gone.
With that said, look how they've grown. They are beginning to be very aware of each other and it is so fun to watch them when they catch each other's eyes. They immediately grin and begin gooing and cooing at each other. They tend to take turns being fussy which is a blessing since I'm still not very good at juggling two babies at once. When they are in their crib together, they almost always find each other's hands and often calm one another by doing so. I've even noticed that I can calm them down quite simply by holding their hands. They have started finding their thumbs to suck and although I'm not convinced either of them are going to be thumbsuckers, I secretly hope they will be. The other night I went to get them up to nurse and found Justus sucking on his thumb. But the best surprise was finding that Justus had crammed his other hand into Jericho's mouth, who was happily sucking away on Justus's fore and middle fingers. Both boys are great smilers and have the sweetest giggles and can talk your ears off with all sorts of jibber-jabber. Oh, how they love to chat. They still aren't sleeping through the night but they are getting close, Jericho more so than Justus. They nurse and demand to be held between 7:00 and 10:00pm every night. Then they sleep pretty good until 3-4:00am. I feed them and they are good again until 6-7:00am. I honestly can't complain and can almost always make it through the day without getting even drowsy. I may need to separate them at night, because I think they try and nurse on each other and having someone suck on your head or nose or eyeball in the middle of the night is not conducive to sleep. That, and their flailing arms tend to interfere as well. But, I think if I had a twin, I wouldn't mind so much and would rather have another warm body to snuggle with (and suck on) rather than a good night's rest, especially considering the unlimited number of naps they're allowed during the day. So, I haven't had the heart to separate them yet.
Anyway, my friend Rhonda sent me this poem last week and while I think it applies to all mothers of all babies, I don't think I've ever felt these feelings so strongly as I do now. There is definitely a hullabaloo going on in our house and yard daily. There are many days and nights that we have no stew and our cupboards run bare and the house really is quite shocking but I'm afraid I wouldn't trade my babies for any of that to be corrected. I just wish it could last just a little bit longer or that time would stand still once in awhile. What will I do when I don't have a baby to rock anymore? Surely my heart will break.
Song for a Fifth [and Sixth] Child
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
Jericho
Justus
posted by Shana # 11:23 AM 
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