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Edited on Sun Jun-07-09 06:49 AM by IdaBriggs
My twins were born almost two months early, and came home from the hospital after relatively brief stays in the NICU. My son was there 13 days, and my daughter 19. They seemed to be "recovered" from being preemies and were on normal growth charts by the time they were four months old (an amazing feat, considering they were born and stayed under 3% for several months first), and at some level, those days seem like a distant, sleep deprived memory.
ON EDIT: Because they are now almost 28 months old! LOL! Tired mommy! :)
This morning my beloved son was awake at 6:30 in the morning. I had hopes a quick diaper change and some cuddling would encourage him to go back to sleep so his tired parents (that would be my husband and I!) could sleep in a little ourselves. (SPOILER ALERT: I'm typing this at a little after 7:00 a.m. -- it didn't work! LOL!)
Anyway, as usual I unzipped his sleeper, pulled his legs out, and then unwrapped the new diaper. As usual, it took me a moment or two to unwrap the diaper, and because there was a bit of a chill still in the morning air, my son finished waking up from his 'not really still sleeping drowse' and gave me a reproachful look. I laughed, and then stopped --
Why had I pulled his legs out *first* before unwrapping the diaper?
The answer: Habit.
You see, in those early days, we had to wake the babies up Every Three Hours to feed them regardless of whether they wanted to be woken up or not. The doctors explained it to me as "they were too small to have developed the I'm Hungry" reflux, and their tiny tummies couldn't hold enough food to sustain them past three hours. It was absolutely imperative we feed them Every Three Hours until they were large enough (between 8-9 pounds) to go "on demand" because they were developed enough "to demand."
Tired babies didn't always want to wake up just because the clock said it was time to feed them, so we learned "tricks" to speed the process along -- change their diaper before feeding, pull their legs out first so the temperature change would help 'wake them up' and talking to them while we were doing all of this (sometimes necessary to help keep us awake, to be fair!). It was an exhausting couple of months, as we went through these exercises 16 times a day....
And now, over two years later, I still automatically "change diapers" with "legs out before I unwrap the diaper". I don't even think about it -- its an auto pilot thing. And my son's reproachful look this morning gave me pause to reflect on this unconscious habit.
Now, why am I typing this small amazing moment of self-reflection to the good folks on DU early on a Sunday morning while my babies (both now awake) watch Plaza Sesamo at my feet? Well, it occurs to me I'm not the only one out there who has developed important survival habits that are really no longer relevant to my life -- and this board is a perfect example of it.
For eight YEARS, there wasn't a policy decision out of Washington that didn't have a feel of corruption, contempt and incompetence. For eight years, anyone who actually looked at who and how our government -- by the people, for the people -- was being run, had no choice but to assume the interpretation had been changed from the implied "by ALL the people, for ALL the people" to "by we really rich people, for us alone, and screw the rest of you."
Eight years. Eight YEARS of knowing anything "nice" was probably just a cover for something bad, while the "blatant in your face bad" stunk to high heaven, and made it nearly impossible to even look elsewhere. From our national security and the misuse of our troops, to the raping of our national treasures and treasury -- oh heavens! The list is too long, and most people can provide their own examples, and Plaza Sesamo is almost over.
President Obama is *NOT* the previous inhabitant of the Oval Office. I believe he is an honorable man; while I do not agree with everything he and his folks have done, I need to get out of my knee-jerk force of habit cynical reaction that he's out to screw people. I need to give him some time, even though sometimes it feels like there isn't any time left. I need to TRUST HIM -- and its not going to be easy, because to be frank, I am out of the habit of trusting the folks in Washington.
Perhaps I am being naive, and perhaps I am wrong.
But I'm going to try to change this habit anyway. At least for a little bit. :)
Good Sunday Morning to All -- Best, Ida
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