Where was I...... Oh yes. Returning to work.
My maternity leave came to an end all too quickly and I went back to work after four short months. I was blessed enough to have my oldest sister taking care of Alex. It was a mixed blessing. That my sister was taking care of him was very comforting. She had a wonderful way with kids and she had been a nanny for two physicians prior to starting her own family. My hours were very chaotic and changeable and she could accommodate my schedule with no problems. While her two children were very close in age to Alex, he was her only other baby. The price was right. But the best and most compelling reason of all was that, if I couldn't be there, there was no one that would love my baby more and treat him as her own.
There were down sides of course. And while it had nothing to do with how well she cared for him, they were still there none the less. I had to drive 40 miles round trip every day that I worked to get him there and back (so what I saved in day care, I used up in gas). And when it's your sister it's hard to just pick up your baby and head out the door. Sometimes I was the only other adult she would see all day besides her husband, so she would want to linger and chat, which was hard considering I had already worked at least an additional hours plus drive times. There was nothing I wanted to do more than go home snuggle with Alex and drop into bed. Let alone do housework.
But the good far outweighed the bad. And we fell into another pattern, at least as much as was possible. And watching the changes in Al was amazing. He really thrived at Diane's. Her son was only two month's older than Alex, so for all intends and purposes they were twins of sorts. There personalities were nothing alike, but they did complement each other. Alex in typical first child status was more impatient and more demanding. Clint by contrast was extremely laid back with a smile could make you melt. I always tell people that Clint was a textbook baby. When you looked at the book "What to Expect the First Year", Clint did everything by the book. If it said by this stage a typical baby "should do such and such", you could bet that Clint would be right on schedule. By contrast, Alex in his typical impatient fashion, was early at everything. I think I have Clint to thank (our curse) for that. If Clint sat up on his own at 5 months, Alex did it at 4. Alex had a month to catch up to Clint and still be extremely early. I think the milestone that stuck out most in my mind was walking. "The book" said an average child could start walking between 9 or 10 months. And Mr. Clock work was right on schedule. I remember picking up Alex one night and I was sitting on the couch with each of the boys holding onto one of my knees. They were taking something away from each other ( a rattle, or some toy) and after Clint grabbed it the last time, he turned an tottled away, across the room. Alex was so mad!! And he would drop to his knees to chase him. If Clint walked, he wanted to walk too. And guess what, by the next week he was walking 8 months.
It was so funny to watch Alex, Samantha, and Clint together.
So many little memories:
- Walking into Diane's living room while she was vacuuming. Both of the boys were in walkers back to back watching her. I laughed so hard as I realized they were following the movements of the vacuum back and forth, in pendulum fashion. Because they couldn't see each other, it looked like they were watching the same tennis match. I looked questioningly (is that a word?) at Diane, she said they were both really fussy and both of them liked the sound of the vacuum. Who knew a small engine motor could be a pacifier?
- Sitting in Diane's back yard with the kids in the turtle sandbox (didn't every kids have them). You could not take you eyes of either boy because the would stuff sand in their mouths. It definitely made for interesting diaper changes if you couldn't get to them quick enough to keep them from swallowing it.
- Seeing Diane return from a walk with Samantha, Clint, and Alex all in one stroller. Double strollers weren't common place 20 years ago, so she made due with what she had. Clint, the most content of the three, would sit in the back with no view, but content to be outside. Alex would be in the middle, which probably wasn't his favorite spot, but you could not for any amount of coaxing, get him in back. And Samantha, in her typically demanding fashion, was right up front with her legs dangling. After all age does have it's privileges.
It was a content time, though busy that always makes me feel warm when I remember those times.
