Monday, December 15 2008 09:58
Happily, both situations, the preschool and my father’s babysitting services, proved to be God sends. My dad and Mady were bonding and still share a tight bond to this day and the preschool stayed true to its claim of potty training Bella, which they did in a little less than a week’s worth of school.
As for my first year having two children, I was surprised. I was told by everyone that making the jump from one child to two was not only a double in the work load it was exponentially more difficult. Perhaps it’s a credit to my temperament, or perhaps it’s a credit to my girls and how good they are, but things went very smoothly. Mady started sleeping through the night at just before a month old. She literally had space issues from the beginning and would fall asleep easier when on her own. Madeleine wasn’t a cuddly kid which was a departure from what we had grown accustomed to with Bella. I think the biggest adjustment I had to make as a parent was to realize right from the beginning that Madeleine and Isabella were two completely different human beings right out of the womb. Isabella has fair skin, dark hair and freckles. Madeleine, although born with dark hair, quickly turned blonde and has naturally tan skin which bronzes in the summer sun. Bella is more extroverted and Madeleine likes to sit back and observe more. I have had many peaceful car rides with Madeleine where she says nothing and that is just fine—Bella, on the other hand is a chatterbug and dislikes silence. The differences between the two never cease to amaze me.
Some people claim that nurture is more of a determining factor in who we are. From my experience I can say that nature plays a larger role in shaping who we are and what we become. Don’t get me wrong, I do think nurture has a large part to play and it is incredibly vital to be the best parents we can be showing love, support and discipline, but I do think all of kids’ personalities are hard wired.
That first year with Mady also brought us one of the most difficult winters we have ever endured. During the Blizzard of 2003 we received more than 3 feet of snow. The storm was so extreme that the normal snow levels were almost a foot taller than our 2 year old. The drifts were easily taller than me. It was so bad that I had to shovel snow off of our porches roof because I was fearful it would collapse under the incredible weight of the event. The townhome we lived in had a parking pad in the back alley and a detached one-car-garage. Both of our vehicles were parked back in the alley when the storm hit. Although I tried through the night to stay up with the falling snow I proved to be little match. I had to relent to the fact that I was going to have to dig out our vehicles and the length of our alley. To this day, I think that was the most physically strenuous feat I have ever undertaken. I shoveled over a 200 foot length of alley way to free our SUV from the icy grip of winter and for what? To get diapers.
Remember, Stop by Every Monday for a New Installment
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written by weaselmomma, December 15, 2008
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