Day 27 - Pooped Cupids

Happy Valentines Day!

I wanted to talk about a couple of things today. Firstly, we've started sleep training. (Which, when we say it aloud to anyone, is invariably followed by, "You, or the babies?" The world is a stage. Anyhow, Wifey bought this book upon recommendation:
Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old: A Step-by-Step Plan for Baby Sleep Success


Sounds like voodoo, given that our babes are in their 10th week and we've held a rather consistent 3-4 hour sleep interval up to this point. Granted, they're a little off schedule being preemies, but they've also been "learning" sleep for longer than they otherwise would have. So this is day three. It's hard to say I've seen progress--Girlie has become almost reliably fussy at bedtime. The past several nights she's cried for an inconsolable hour before settling down--and then only briefly before finally sleeping a stretch. Boy has been remarkable--almost TwinPop-like in his thirst for sleep. Frankly, the prospect of 8+ hours of sleep is not only unfathomable, but it also makes me salivate just a little. (Insert Homer Simpson drooling sound: gahwahghahwa).


I've also been meaning to talk a bit about our first (and now first few) restaurant outings with the babes. Our first was with some visiting family to a local pizza joint. But I should back up if I'm to properly explain why this is such a big deal to me. Have you ever been to a movie at which somebody has decided to bring a screaming infant--or a noisy, wandering toddler? I just don't get it. Wifey and I are a little geeky in our love for loud action adventures--something we're sadly putting on hold for a while. Shortly before the babes' arrival, we went to see some alien invasion flick, rated R I might add, and we were shocked to see a family in attendance with both of the examples I've just mentioned. It was shocking not only due to their obliviousness towards their own brood, but also because of the apparent selfishness that says, "We can't wait for a babysitter, or for a DVD release--we have to go tonight!" The content of the film no doubt went over the kids' heads--so I guess that's a plus. But the volume of the action sequences certainly did not go over, but instead through and consequently out of their heads.


As a long time non-parent--by choice--I have developed perhaps an overly thin skin when it comes to this type of parental behavior. The aggressive arm-jerking of exasperated parents on their screaming children in supermarkets across the country has left me hypersensitive towards intolerant and apathetic parenting. That being said, I know it's impossible to judge until I've walked in the shoes of those I criticize. Still, it encourages me that I have so far retained this hypersensitivity. I refuse to let my children cry and fuss at levels that disturb fellow patrons. I will pick them up and escape to the car or at the very least (weather permitting) to the parking lot. Why is this so mystifying for some?


So, back to our first outings. They went very well--it is so nice to get out. It's felt a little like being in a zoo. To take nothing away from those who have blessed us with their presence and assistance, it feels like being viewed and fed without the ability to venture out into the plains, the jungle, or--in our case of late--the frozen tundra.


Our second one was interesting in that there was a long line in the restaurant's entryway. The babes in their car seats were somewhat paraded about as people in the queue ogled. Again, more with the baffled twin-questions and declarations:
"My sister has twins." I was informed.
"Cool," I wanted to say, "I used to have a grandmother."