Another Mommy First

Motherhood is a series of firsts. The first time you change your baby's diaper, the first time they smile, the first time you feed them cereal with a spoon. It is exciting to see your babies reach each of these milestones... but moreover, it is the MOM who experiences the joy of a victory!

Well, I had another "first" on Friday. I put the boys in the van all by myself.

I know. This doesn't seem like a huge feat for those who have one baby or have never had kids at all. But it really is. Especially for a mom who has twins, lives on the second floor of a double and her babies recently will NOT be left alone. Oh, did I mention that they were sick, too? This wasn't like putting them in the stroller; there, I just carried a small bag with two bottles, some diapers and a few wipes. I put them in a side-by-side stroller, so I was never more than a foot away from both of them. This past Friday, we had to go to the pediatrician. I'd need the diaper bag, the bottle bag, my pump, clean bottles, and my purse. No, this would necessitate FOUR bags! How did I do it? Well, I'm glad you asked!

It was a process I had planned out in my head for weeks. Just in case of an emergency where Andy wasn't around and I needed to take them somewhere in the van. This past Friday, we had to go to the pediatrician. The boys had developed a rash around their mouths (and Jonathan also had a cough) and I wanted to be sure it wasn't anything serious. Andy had already left for work, so I was by myself. And thankfully, this was one of those ODD situations where things actually worked according to plan! Well, at least how I worked them out in my head.

Here it is.

After the boys and I were dressed and all of our bags were packed, I put two bags on each arm, scooped up the boys and went downstairs, being careful to lock each of the doors as I walked through. I used the remote to unlock the doors, put half of the bags down, put Benjamin on the floor of the passenger side, turned on the car so the music would play and then opened his window. This was the first part where I couldn't anticipate ahead of time, how Ben would react to being plopped in an unfamiliar place. Thank God, he was curious of his new surroundings and was content to hit the seat in front of him. Then I put the other bags on the floor behind the seat and strapped Jonathan into his car seat. Excellent. I was more than halfway done. After I closed his door, I retrieved Benjamin from his comfy spot in the front and then strapped him into his carseat. The boys were great. Thank.God. That could have ended so differently!

My heart was still racing as I pulled out of the driveway. But I felt like a new woman. Successful. More confident. Stronger. My mind wandered to a quote I remember hearing when I was younger.

"A woman is like a tea bag. You never know her strength until you put her in hot water."

Ain't that the truth?

The report from the doctor's office said that the boys' irritation was from extra saliva around their mouths. And Jack's cough was just a cough, nothing related to the rash or a reaction to an allergy. Thank God. I just have to keep their mouths dry and keep on pasting Aquaphor and Vaseline on top of that.

Jonathan's cold has still made for a few rough days in our house - he's not sleeping well, throwing up mucus, restless - but hey, it's not the FIRST time :)