Our day has many transition times: between wake up and Prevacid, between Prevacid and nursing, between nursing and bottles, etc. There’s always a question of where the girls should be during these times:
- When Cate and Sam were little and still somewhat floppy, they just rested in Boppy pillows on our bed.
- When they started pitching themselves forward towards the edge of the bed, we moved them to the bedroom floor.
- When they started fussing about being left in the bedroom, we put them in bouncy seats in the kitchen.
For several days, being in a new room was sufficiently compelling. They seemed content to just sit and look up and watch as Daddy Bill and I moved about the kitchen Doing Stuff. And if they got bored, I gave them teethers, spatulas, or small plastic containers to play with and they were content again.
About two weeks ago, they started fussing about being confined in the bouncy seats. But I wanted them in sight, so I pulled them out and sat them on the kitchen floor. They seemed both startled and delighted to find themselves unconstrained on the cold linoleum. Between the novelty and more spatulas, they stayed safely occupied, if underfoot.
But now, we’re in trouble.
This morning, after Bill left for Raleigh and before Claudia arrived, I sat the girls on the bedroom floor and went away for 90 seconds to pee. I came back to find Cate pushing the foot-pedal of the diaper pail with her hands, and Sam trying to pull up and reach the flapping lid on top. Since the pail was freshly emptied, it nearly toppled on them.
Next, I got down on the floor to change their diapers (because so far, the girls haven’t found a way to fall off of the floor). Cate entertained herself while I changed Sam. Sam insisted on helping me change Cate, leaning on her belly (which made Cate giggle) and tugging at her unfastened dirty diaper even before I could pull it off.
We moved to the kitchen so that I could start formula warming before nursing. I carried Sam in and set her on the floor, then went back to get Cate. As we approached the kitchen, Sam had crawled over and had her hands in Tibbs’ water fountain. I walked over her to set Cate down and turned around to find Sam’s hand had been in Tibbs’ wet cat food and was on its way to her mouth. While I cleaned up Sam, Cate got her hands into some of the cat food Sam had smeared on the floor. Yuck.
I moved both girls back to the middle of the floor, and gave them both spatulas to play with… except those obviously aren’t compelling anymore. As I pulled formula out of the fridge, the girls became interested in the garbage can. While I was filling bottles, Cate played with the foot pedal, and Sam pulled herself up and stood there for a while. But today is garbage day and the can is empty (light). When it slid, Sam lost her balance, and fell back and bonked her head on the linoleum floor. Ouch!
Then, as I comforted Sam, Cate followed suit. While I was putting Sam into a bouncy seat for safe keeping, Cate crawled over to the open dishwasher, and pulled herself to a standing position. Then, presumably because our crappy old dishwasher wobbles, she lost her balance, fell back, and bonked her head on the linoleum floor. Ouch!
So… I guess it’s time to pull out the safety gates and start confining the girls to their mat. But did I mention that they are apparently now compelled to pull up and stand at every opportunity? Even in their mat area, they can get into trouble.
As a result, solo parenting Sam and Cate has become especially nerve-wracking, and obviously a little dangerous. They’re constantly moving and trying to practice new skills. But the time it takes you to look at one, figure out what she’s doing, and assess whether she’s still safe, is just long enough for the other one to get herself into trouble. So if you’re in the area and available, let me know if you’d like to come by and help even the odds.
