Category: Oh, baby!

On the Mic

I’m writing this while taking turns recording dialog for textbooks with Kylie, a recent graduate from Indiana State University currently teaching at our Language Center. I’m still pretty wasted from the past couple of days, helping with our faculty’s annual International Fair.
I know I’m really behind posting new photos of the babies, but truth be told, I haven’t really been taking any, either… Sometimes raising babies feels like combat, with violent spurts of intense action and getting in small batches of sleep when you can in between.
Like I said, I was pretty tired and went to sleep earlier than usual next to Max, but he woke up and threw a fit at four in the morning and woke up his sister, too, so Nam and I had to hold one each, One or both of them always need to be carried at times like this, so we both ended up shuffling around like undead in clumsy figure eights, in separate rooms so that when one went to sleep, they wouldn’t be woken by the other again. Max’s tantrum was around an hour long, so we ended up waking up partially and from there it always feels like you have to climb a hill all day long; sometimes a quick nap in the afternoon is a necessity, be it in the parking lot or in the office when nobody’s around for a couple minutes.
On the brighter side of things, Max likes going to school now. Until ten or so days ago, parting at the nursery school gate was a big ordeal; crying baby and guilt-ridden parent. Now, however, his face lights up when he sees the school coming up, and last week he even slammed the gate shut on Nam – it’s nice picking him up now as well, since he smiles after not seeing you all day and doesn’t cry anymore. It’s kind of a highlight of the day, now. It’s easy to forget that we were contemplating pulling him from school altogether and waiting until he was older just a couple weeks ago… Your child’s tears make you act drastically at times.
Mina is almost 2 months old (born Dec. 6) drinking milk at an incredible rate, weighs over 5 kilos (born at 3.5), and has GROWN OUT OF HER ONESIES. She is now wearing the biggest size onesies that Max was wearing at 6-8 months. She punched me square in the eye this morning and it hurt.
OK, it’s my turn on the mic again, gotta go.

Max and Mina Tag Team

One cries and needs to be held while walking – not sitting, not laying down, not even standing still! – and eventually cries loud enough to wake the other one. They keep us awake for long stretches but somehow get rest themselves by alternating crying times.
On a happier note, Max seems to have gotten over his separation anxiety at when we drop him off at nursery school. I dropped him off the past couple days and noticed he was crying less, and only fake crying at that. Today Nam called to say that when she dropped him off, he walked into the school himself and shut the gate on her!