Babies

When Juliana was a baby we didn't know for sure that we would have more children, but we always thought it was a possibility so we saved everything. All of the general baby stuff - bouncy seats, swing, crib aquarium, etc. was gender neutral so we were able to use it again. We even had some newborn clothes that were white and yellow and green...that we were able to use this time around.

This time it's different, we know that we won't be having any more children. When I went to my 5-wk pregnancy confirmation appointment last September, I had them make 2 notes in my chart - #1 repeat c-section, #2 tubes tied. This was before we knew about the twins and once we did that only reinforced the decision that these would be our final babies. So as we outgrow baby equipment this time it will be leaving our home.

I think that I cherish the time with these babies more because I know they are my last and I have first-hand experience with how quickly they will grow out of each passing stage. I know that I won't be making bottles everyday forever and soon we won't have bouncy seats as tripping hazards in the living room. Knowing that all of these inconveniences will come to end (most sooner than I am ready) makes it easier to deal with them. And I am in less of a hurry to get to each developmental milestone and instead enjoy where they are today. That’s not to say that I am happy to be exhausted almost all of the time or that jolting out of bed at 4:45 am this morning to get a screaming Ruslan before he woke up Wyatt, puts a smile on my face…but it is somehow easier to deal with this time.

But baby clothes, they are a problem.
#1 – so cute
#2 – they hardly got to wear them since they grow so fast at this age
#3 – looking at some of my favorite outfits makes me wish that I could roll back time for another snuggle with those tiny babies who are already growing up way too fast.

As they outgrow clothes, I wash and fold and neatly stack them on the shelf in their closet. And the stack of clothes continues to grow and I haven’t given any of them away yet. I know it’s silly to be holding on to these clothes that we will never need again – we don’t have unlimited storage and they should be used by other babies. Why is it so hard to part with those little clothes? It will be time to pack away all of the summer outfits soon enough so I should just wait a few more weeks and do it all at once…