Saturday, February 23, 2008

Fun Circuit

While I love this age, four months, I'm finding it a little stressful. I just don't know what to DO with the girls all day. They're passed the little baby stage, where they're happy to just be held and cooed over and told how pretty they are (though Charlotte does still enjoy that, I swear she smiles every time you say "You're so pretty!" She is my daughter.... we love a compliment.)

But they're not old enough where they can actually play on their own either. So when they're awake, and not eating, I feel this obligation to keep them entertained. It's too cold to take them much of anywhere, we do go out but walks around the neighborhood are not happening.

I find myself dancing around the living room, singing silly songs, and waving toys frantically in their faces, while they sit staring at me, half amused, half confused. I feel like a second rate clown, desperately trying to keep his audience from turning against him.

I persist in reading to them, with mixed results. They have one book they love, a baby Sesame Street i bought at the Target dollar spot. The pictures of baby Elmo and Cookie Monster crack them up - once. Don't try re-reading it right away, they're not falling for it. So that kills a good minute.

After that we do the 'fun circuit' - from bouncy seat to jumperoo to exersaucer to playmat to swing, trying to find anything that will keep them happy and engaged for more than 5 minutes. I'm not sure how much they enjoy it, but I know it wears them out. Usually by the time they hit the swing they're ready to pass out.

I can't wait until they play together, that will just be so cute (and maybe give me a few free moments). I keep laying them on the playmat next to each other, and they still don't pay too much attention to the other one.... though Katie was chewing on Charlotte's fist today. Cute.

Any moments when I'm not dancing around singing "you all gonna make me lose my mind, up in here, up in here....." (DMX.... I think it should be our theme song in this house ...) I'm doing laundry. We've hit a big spit up stage. Sheets, baby clothes, my clothes, all get dirty within minutes. Buy stock in Dreft. Seriously.

Today we took the girls shopping at The Christmas Tree Shop, and out to lunch, and again out to dinner and they were SO GOOD. I think we actually wore them out a little. This may be the key to me not having to spend hours a day dancing and waving toys around and singing crazy rap songs.... shopping and eating out. I can handle that.

The other night after PJ had come from work, he asked me if I could take both girls for awhile because he wanted to 'relax' after working all day. Really? would you? WHO WOULDN'T? At least your day ends when work is over. I'm still washing pukey clothes at midnight while you're snoozing away.

I don't think he'll be saying that to me again.

(Ok wait... he just asked me if i give the babies a bath every day because "I'm bored." The man never learns).

------------------------------------------------

Bright and early, Mommy already has us on the fun circuit, still in our pajamas:


Okay, she got us dressed, but.... yes.... we're bored again.


So back we go.


Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Much better.


Katie, how are you liking it?


Love it!! Good times! Charlotte, do you feel nauseous....


Hmmm, maybe a little. Time to puke you think?


Well, it's been ten minutes since I last hurled, and Mommy IS wearing a clean shirt...


Okay, I'm ready. Just let me look at myself in this mirror one more minute. Then you barf and I start screaming. Ready? GO!

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, don't you think your husband really needed that time to relax after his hard day at work? I bet HE got a lunch break, right?

Millicent said...

ROTFLMAO! Too funny. The fun circuit. Maybe I need to set one up for my Paige (5mths), I have the bouncer and walker, so thats a start...

My name is Tammie said...

I remember that stage. Sitting there staring at them staring back at me. For the life of me I can't remember what I did to occupy them other than the standard bouncy, swing, exersauser thing's. Probably tummy time, though I don't remember that going so well at that age. Don't you worry things will get lively and exciting soon. Chasing after babies going in different directions, climbing onto things, getting into things, all sorts of good fun. You are going to love it. I can't wait to read about it.

Crystal said...

Too cute!

Anonymous said...

MEN!!!!!! My husband never realized what I went through at home with my son until he woke up with me at 1am and 3am and 5am!! He then said.. wow, I don't know how you do it!! I say this as he's snoring away at 8am and I'm in the living room with my son after being awake since 630am! lol

Anyway, yes I remember that stage where I just didn't know what to do with my son. He was in his swing, A LOT!! I felt like he was bored.. I tried tummy time, swing, rocker, heck even cartoons!! lol

Keep it up... I"m sure you're doing great!!

Love the new pics of the girls... so cute!

Irma

Anonymous said...

LOL megan. I felt like that too. I even asked on the NEST wtf I should do with my 2, 3, 4 month old? I think I just did what you did. Jumperoo, do you have one? Get ONE! Get the Rainforest Jumperoo, Max frikkin loved it, he is a bit bored with it after 4 months in it, but it's great! I did the swing, jumperoo, bouncy chair...playmat but then Max went to daycare and I don't think they did much different stuff there, either. Once they hit around 5-6 months you will see a drastic change. Max was so fun at 5 months, he rolled over, and he developed this crazy maniacal laugh, lol.

Wait til it gets warmer....it will get so much more fun! Great pics!

Liz said...

You are freaking hilarious! Yes, that is how my days were. It gets better. I am totally with you on the work never ends thing!

Elyse said...

So cute! You are doing the best you can. 4 months is an in between age when they are just learning new things everyday. You are doing all that you can and that is what a mamma is supposed to do!

Anonymous said...

OMG!!!! I know exactly what you are going through!!!! I have the same routine everyday too! My "fun circuit" consist of boppy, swing, jumperoo, floor mat. The books aren't a hit with him either! Just yesterday I was comtemplating on getting a exceraucer also to add to the "fun circuit". The things mothers do.....

Gillian said...

The fun circuit.. that is AWESOME. Maybe you need to open one of those for babies.. it can be an infantile version of Curves, lol!!

Yeah.. it's that stage. They're not mobile yet, but still need entertaining.. it's hard, and you wear man hats trying to keep them occupied. Toby was in daycare by the time he was 4 months old, so I give you mad kudos for going it alone w/TWO of them, lol..

Do you have any Baby Einstein videos? Toby loved them, for a minute.. but it's something new.

Anonymous said...

HI Megan...the girls are so beautiful and are getting so big! Men are so funny...I remember trying to find things to do with Julia too. I am sure when your girls get a little bigger and they start to play with each other it will be adorable! I love to read your blog..you are a great writer. Keep singing and dancing!!

Anonymous said...

LOL hilarious entry. And sigh at PJ. He hasn't a clue, haha.

Niki said...

I love your sense of humour and have been reading your blog since your babies were born. Jack was a very special little boy and he was lucky to have you as his Mommy.

Your post about how much you love them all made me tear up because I so can relate. I'm also a Mom who walks around covered in spit up all the time too. It's awesome.

Hopeful said...

Can I make a suggestion? I do Strollerfit in Parsippany. It an exercise group for mommys and kids IN strollerrs. I love it because by the time I get home (11:30) Amelia's ready for a nap, then lunch. Then its only a few hours and DH is coming.

It makes the days fly by.

I can only imagine how difficult it is to get out with two kids, but there are so many moms there that are so supportive.

Sandy
sbcolfin@gmail.com if you have and questions

Beth said...

Cutest post EVER! I remember those days! My son will be 11 months on Thursday so he's pretty good at playing by himself now. Except when he just wants Mama to hold him. It's always when Mama has LOTS to do, too... isn't it always?!? :)

I love reading your blog and think of your Jack often.

so tired said...

I don't know what kind of house you have because you need the right door frame for this. But we live in an old house with big wood door frames. We had one of those door jumpy things that you clip in the middle of the door frame in a door way and the baby sits in a seat with their feet touching the floor and they can bounce and jump.

My kids loooved this. They would squeal with delight and completely wear themselves out. And they used this for several months. It was perfect for when you want to trap them while you are busy in the kitchen.

Here is a link to one at Babies R Us....

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2267001

Anonymous said...

My twin girls are four months old and I, too, have been asking around about how to entertain them :)

If you come up with anything new, let me know, haha!

Amanda said...

Awesome! His comment about bathing them because you're bored gave me the best laugh I've had in a while...

Anonymous said...

All I can say is, Seriously??!?!?

He didn't honestly think you bathed them because you were bored. UGH. Daddies.

Anonymous said...

Yup, I'm at the same stage with my 4 month old daughter. We've got the swing, tummy time/play mat and exersaucer. We have one of the Sesame Street books from the famous Target dollar bins, it is my daughter's favorite too!

Amy

Harris Boys said...

LMAO...I could have wrote this post 10 months ago. 4 months till about 6 months is a 'tricky' stage. You really do have to entertain them when they are awake. we also did a fun circuit at that age. we did lots of walks and tried tummy time once or twice a day. we took lots of pictures..I would dress the boys up and sign to them all day. I have a horrible voice, but the boys didn't seem to mind. :) Katie

Anonymous said...

Oh Gosh...the tears are flowing from the pictures and your headings!!! Too funny!! The girls are so cute!! As for your husband, I'm not sure they ever understand or change!! I didn't have multiples, but my girls are 10 and 5 now and to this day, my husband thinks I sit on my butt all day watching tv. They just don't get it. I'll be on a cleaning spree and he sits on the couch playing the XBox....hang in there. PJ's not the only one...I think it's the Y chromosome!!!!

tbonegrl said...

LOL! We did a LOT of lying in bed. I swear it gets easier to entertain them.

Do they like mirrors yet?

And wait until you see them interact with each other!!!

Unknown said...

I remember that age...it passed quickly for us and just wait, it keeps getting better...I feared 5 for the longest time but now that it's here I am loving EVERY minute! Every new age is just as good as the last!

Patyrish said...

I love that you sing DMX to them. HAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA Makily loves all kinds of hip hop music and while it's disturbing to me (some of it is totally not appropriate), it totally cracks me up.

The fun circuit, great idea to keep them entertained Mommy, I also had to laugh at the "do you bathe them every day because you are bored" comment. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAAA

Makily is almost four, she still giggles and grins when you tell her how beautiful and wonderful she is. She is SUCH a girly girl.

Rachael Schirano \\ Rachael Schirano Photography said...

Hahaha!!! I love it, that is exactly what my house is like now!

Anonymous said...

I don't know what to tell you in terms of enternaing the girls, bc I don't have kids yet, just my dogs lol. Just wanted to say the girls are sooooooooo cute. Men will never learn I swear, NEVER lol.

Anonymous said...

Have you tried "baby einstien" DVD's? They have them for all different age ranges, and they are great. They are full of colours and shapes and music and very stimulating for an infant's brain. I have a cousin who particularly liked the "baby mozart" video at the girls' age.

Anonymous said...

Dear Friends,

Asher and Jacob's Friends is working hard to strengthen the regulations regarding when a link is posted on our site. This is for three reasons (1) to protect the privacy of the family (2) to protect our site from legal issues (3) to take a step towards becoming a foundation. It is very important to us that a family has the choice to have their site posted and we apologize for not taking this step sooner.

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Anonymous said...

you can check out asher and jacobs website at www.asherandjacobsfriends.com

Reesh said...

I LOVE these 2 websites and refer to them often for ideas on WTF to do with my children, cause like you, sometimes I just run out of ideas, ESPECIALLY for the wee one that isn't quite old enough etc etc...

Website 1

Website 2

Anonymous said...

You are such a good mommy! I love reading about your trials and tribulations with the girls. Hang in there! :)
--A Mom in Jacksonville, FL

Heather said...

Hi! I found your blog through a caringbridge site and your children are soo cute! I am sorry about Jack's passing; I myself have a baby Jack that is only about 2 months older than your girls. I could not fathom the loss of a child and you are now forever in my thoughts and prayers. I just want to say that I too hate the in between stage...I used to go to the mall and walk around...anything that gets me up and out and changes the scenery and getting out passes the time alot faster. What about a gymboree type class; you all could do that; also try finding local chat boards in your area and they usually have mommy play groups etc. Those are nice because you can have adult conversation and kids puke is acceptable attire!
Best Wishes
Heather

pam said...

tee hee hee! you are funny. i can't wait til the boys start to play like that.

your girls are SO cute! i'll bet they're even cute when they're barfing. :D

Kelly said...

Oh yes, I remember the fun circuit! We did the same thing, and we played the same Baby Einstein music everyday during "Happy Baby Time."

Mine too didn't want anything to do with each other for a long time, but now hug and kiss one another.

Oh and PJ, shame, shame, shame! I used to try to do all of the night duty so that Mike could sleep and be rested for work. Then I went back to work part-time when mine were 4 months old. It took him one day to make a new rule in the house: If you get to go to work the next day, you have to do night duty.

And he works in the ER for 11 hour shifts, on his feet the whole time. He said that doesn't come close to how exhausting it is staying home with the babies.

Anonymous said...

That is too funny - I'm sure you don't appreciate my laughter ; )

my sister has twin girls and she's been through it too...they are 7 months and have started playing together so it helps.

patience, they'll be there soon!! (as you're thinking not soon enough)

they are so ADORABLE!! God bless them!

Triplets and a Surprise said...

ALL makes really good baby detergent and it alot cheaper than the Dreft and comes in the huge size. That's what we used and it worked great!

Anonymous said...

Megan you are hilarious! I remember that age - it's a tough one. Do you have ceiling fans? To this day Giovanni is obsessed with them, could stare at them for hours.

Oh and men are just clueless. I swear my husband thinks I eat bonbons and watch soaps all day.

Anonymous said...

I love those pictures! Oh the fun circuit doesn't end anytime soon. My guy is pushing 8 months and we're still making the rounds! Just be glad there's something out there to keep them happy. They look gorgeous as usual :-)

Anonymous said...

Awe... the babies are beautiful and I'm sure they are a handful. Been praying for you since the delivery. Wishing you well and much luck on keeping your pretty girls entertained & happy. There will come a day when they entertain each other. I'm a twin. I have a twin sister & we are best friends. God bless you & your family. Kara from New Jersey

Anonymous said...

You're hysterical!!!!!!!!! And I completely agree. This age is very hard to keep them entertained. I can't tell you the number of times I've lost my mind!!!

Keep up the good work "up in here, up in here"!

Renee