Oot and Aboot

Today the babies and I were out ALL DAY, ALL BY OURSELVES.  It was fantastic.

Ilan brought the stroller up from the basement and left it folded in the lobby by the mailboxes so I wouldn’t have to carry it up the stairs, which is our new plan for when I want to go out.  It requires a little more planning, no spontaneous long day trips, but that is life with two babies. 

Anyway, I managed to get out of the house all by myself!  We live in a 3rd floor walk-up so just getting out of the door with two babies in car seats plus all the gear is kind of a logistical puzzle.
I can’t tell you the sense of accomplishment I had when I unlocked the stroller brakes and we were on our way.  I felt like I could GO ANYWHERE!
 
The thing that got me out of the house this morning was the October Babies Club meeting in a tea shop nearby.  When I signed up for the neighborhood parents’ club I was automatically put into the October Babies Club because of the babies’ original due date.  Even though they were born in September I opted to stay in the October club because their milestones will probably be similar to the October babies’.  So the club decided to meet this morning and I wanted to go meet other new moms.

(Side note: there are so many twins in our neighborhood that the October Babies Club actually has a subgroup for October Twins, although most of the October twins were born in September.)

I was the only twin mom there and I definitely impressed the other moms, just being there.  Ha!  After I got there I spent a lot of time describing the logistics of my day.  Both babies were asleep at first, which they do to show off to others, but it wasn’t long before both of them were crying and I was doing my little dance of nursing one while standing up and soothing the other.  I’ve never done this in public before but it turns out it’s basically the same as doing it at home.  Except I got some looks from the other moms who couldn’t believe I was nursing one baby with one hand while standing, and using the other hand to soothe the other baby.  Good times.

It was great to sit around with a bunch of new moms.  We got to have new mom conversation, like, have you clipped your babies’ nails yet, and how much sleep are you getting, and how gross is it when they keep pooping while you are in the middle of changing their diaper.  Everyone was super nice and friendly, and the venue was surprisingly large considering the city we’re in and could fit 10 women with their strollers and babies.  Also this funky tea shop happens to have a bathroom large enough for a stroller and also has a changing room in it.  It shouldn’t be surprising because this neighborhood is full of babies, but it is still funny (and the changing table is covered in graffiti like the rest of the bathroom!).

I ended up doing almost a full feeding at the tea lounge.  Almost everyone had to breastfeed their baby right there in the cafe.  Awesome.  And since I had fed the babies I knew I had a few more hours before I had to be home.  So I called a friend who I was going to make plans with anyway, and ended up hanging out at her house with her and her baby for a while (doing another full feeding there, too).

In the end I was out of the house from 10:30am – 5:30pm.  That’s SEVEN HOURS out and about with my babies, taking long walks and being social.  It felt amazing.  Last night I got about 4 hours of sleep, so you can imagine I am tired right now, especially since I didn’t get a nap this afternoon, but I am so excited I had to write it down so I wouldn’t forget this momentous day.

ALSO.

ANOTHER AMAZING THING HAPPENED TODAY.

My wedding rings fit again. :D