number two is my number one preference
i have something new to worry about.
a friend, and i do mean that, a nice friend said jokingly the other day that she hoped she would be around when the triplets were old enough to read my blog.
what do you think they will make of it? of you?
the plan: i will make no apologies for content. i will tell them that to their faces (or backs, because teenagers apparently only dole out face to face eye contact when they are pleading), ie:
please mum, you cannot wear that.
if you let me go, i will clean my room tomorrow. honest.
i really need the car tonight. really.
and i will tell them that feeding them wasn’t something i loved doing. but i will also add, that i love changing their nappies.
why? let’s start with the basics.
1) it is a finite task. you can gauge your progress as you clean. you know how much there is to go. pure skin, no smell is the goal. just do it.
2) there are crafty bits that challenge you. ah yes, you are a girl, so we play front to back with you. or, oho, mr jasper, you didn’t think i would forget to clean between your fat rolls?
3) babies really appreciate being cleaned. and they love being naked. the longer their privates can be exposed to the air, the happier they are. so even if you are a slow nappy changer, they’re thrilled.
4) it is a great opportunity to spend one on one time with your baby. singing, declaring this filthy nappy to be the fullest, heaviest, chow-chow* iest (*mandarin word for smelly) whatever. they are always happy when getting their nappy changed, and it is a fine time to converse with them.
5) nappy changing provided sebastian’s first opportunity to interact with his brother and sisters. when we first brought the babeolas home, sebastian was very apprehensive of carys, and jasper’s oxygen tank freaked him out a little too. so when jasper needed changing, i hoisted the bald man up on the change table, and brought sebastian to the table. (i could go over and collect sebastian because this was before jasper could roll off the table. sadly, those days are done.)
what did jasper do?
a poo
is it a little poopers?
no, a biiiiigggg poopers. it’s big, mummy.
seb would smile, impressed. his first smiles directed to his siblings were invariably centred around the change table.
6) unlike feeding, you are in charge of how long it takes. sure the baby can wriggle about, but all in all, if you have any coordination, you can clean up the mess and slide a fresh nappy under the adorable bottom in under one minute. then you can let the baby enjoy the naked feeling for as long as you both wish.
7) it puts you off certain foods. for the first few months, i couldn’t look pesto in the face. now that we’re on solids, pumpkin pie is low on my Christmas consuming wish list. (ironically, i have to make a pumpkin pie for Saturday’s feast.)
so after explaining gently to the babies turned teenagers that even though i did not enjoy giving them nourishment (or wearing the deja vu either), i will tenderly explain that i loved changing them. expand to the fact that changing jasper was easier than changing the girls, by the mere fact of outdoor vs. indoor plumbing. that the girls would splash their legs happily in wees that happened during the changing period. and probably, while i am trying to explain my desperate love for them, they will be wallowing in the vulgar and distasteful knowledge that yes, i did see them naked a great many times. yes, i wiped their bottoms. their bottoms needed wiping. they will be embarrassed, upset (why do you always bring this up, mum?) and then they will really wish i had kept my mouth shut. and maybe, possibly, hopefully, in between begging me for extra cash, to put the music up a couple of decibles, and pizza for dinner instead of leftovers, they’ll know how much i love them.
