Rough day

Poor Kathy. Yesterday was a rough day to be a Mom of twins. When Kevin wasn't sleeping, he was crying. You know, kinda wailing. Lasted pretty much all day & night. It was hot yesterday, in the 80s, and our thought is that he doesn't handle heat well. Not a huge surprise, considering that I don't either. Sh*t, I cry all summer long! But that's our working theory. It breaks your heart on one level holding a baby who's only method of communicating his displeasure to you is a wail. On another level, the brain level, it can be frustrating and exhausting. Add in a very warm day, and you have a recipe for aggravation for both child and parent.

When I got home, I took hold of Kevin and Kathy went off to try to get a few of her house projects finished. Kevin stopped crying for a few minutes (it's not some paternal innate knowledge or instinct...Kath gave me the heads-up). What was weird/funny was while he was in remission, he was cute, cuddly and gave me a massive smile. We played, chatted, tickled for about 10 minutes and then he remembered: hey, I'm supposed to be crying! And then promptly started up again.

We began to rule out causes (once again, most of these were my wife's suggestions...she's wicked smaht). I changed his diaper and put a lightweight onesie on him (that was my only idea). He had urinated, but that wasn't the cause. I took his temperature, it was normal. We tried feeding him, he spit it back out. No burps. So, ultimately, I went downstairs with Kevin in my arms and just held him and rubbed his head, belly...just trying to soothe the kid. He eventually settled down to a nap and I put him in his bouncy chair in order to get Jason's bottle ready.

Jason, btw, is being really good. Maybe they take psychic crabby turns.

So that kinda went through the night. Kathy was amazing and let me sleep in during the 4am feeding. Actually, she was astounded/horrified that I could sleep through a baby screaming in the same room as me. Hey, there was a fan on...the white noise trumps all!

Today (Thursday) my sister, niece, nephew and my cousin Beth stopped by the house for a visit. I haven't seen Beth in a long time...she's as awesome as always. The funny part is I remember when she was born, and here she is holding my babies. I guess that's kinda wild...or just that I'm an old fart.

The pack is going to take a walk over to the school behind our house to play in the playground. They have a marvelous setup over there. Plenty to do for tons of kids. Can't wait to take my boyz over there to play. Added bonus: now I don't need to buy a swingset for my backyard! Although...now that I mention it...I grew up next to a school and yet had my own swingset. Maybe so my mom could watch my sister & I through the kitchen window and not have to truck us over to the school. Hmm. Well, maybe a trip to toys r us is in order in the future...


More later,
Joe