In case you hadn’t figured this out, I’m quite the friendly outgoing person. I’m extroverted to degree that I max out the extroversion scale on every personality test known to man. Staying home alone with my children all day, every day, simply wasn’t an option for me. I knew that would have been a recipe for resentment, and I’m glad to report that I have never resented my daughters.
J and M came home from the hospital tiny (under 5 lbs each) but otherwise healthy. Their immune systems were immature, although boosted by my breastmilk, and so I initially kept the babies out of large crowds and sick people. Still, once I was clear to drive, we could go to our local outdoor mall and people watch. The fresh air of the outdoors meant that even though there was a good number of people around, the babies weren’t any more exposed to pathogens that in our home. Texas summers get very hot, so these adventures were usually complete by 10:00 am.
People watching is fine and all, but getting out of the house was far more fun with friends.
The friends who were easiest to socialize with were those with children of a similar age. They understood why I took forever to get anywhere and would happily breastfeed unobtrusively (or bottle feed less unobtrusively) with me. They had no problem with my umpteen diaper change stops or my need to order two entrees at a restaurant to have enough calories for myself and my two nurslings.
They understood my great love for my double stroller system.
Even while I was getting my extrovert top-up, my girls were learning about friendship themselves. They were learning to interact with children other than their twin.
Once my littles were slightly less little and far more prone to run away on chubby little legs, these same friends had chubby little legs of their own to contain.
We quickly learned that requiring them to hold hands kept them all going in the same direction, which made our lives easier.
If you’re expecting and make friends with another pregnant woman, don’t be surprised if that friendship lasts the rest of your lives… and your children’s!
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You’re right that having something huge in common like children around the same age really bonds people. It helps to have a friend go through these major milestones with you
Aw lovely! We’ve definitely seen the value of friends with kids. They understand when you have to interrupt the gossiping to stop your baby from chewing on your dog’s feet.
#bestandworst
Mama, My Kid Doesn’t Poop Rainbows recently posted My 19 Babies
I loved this post you sound like a fab person to have around. I went out loads too with my Mummy mates; kept me sane and my girl got to meet lots of little ones. Missing the double entries though!! Thanks so much for linking up with #bestandworst and see you soon xx
Sarah Howe (@RunJumpScrap) recently posted What’s Right for You – Ruth Mendez