Friday, May 04, 2007

Friday Round Robin - Question 1

(Thanks to Stacie because I have totally poached this question from her list to start us off)

How good are your babies at self-entertainment? Do you ever get any moments to yourself? What do you do with those moments?

The first 6 months were awful because they needed constant attention with little interactions. They did sleep a lot more though so getting the laundry done and preparing meals was far more successful.

Once they started sitting I found that they were best entertained by having only a few toys around them as too many distractions just meant that there was a great deal of extra falling over.

Now that they are crawling/standing/climbing life has become more hectic. For some reason they never seem content to just cuddle with me (although they will readily do this with their dad), instead they want to try and throw themselves off the end of the bed or launch themselves at the window whenever I'm around. I am constantly amazed that my sister hasn't had a complete breakdown by now because she spends every afternoon chasing them around.

The boys do play pretty well together and it can get quite funny when they wrestle over a particular object. We have found that although they like their toys they prefer things that they aren't allowed so we have filled all the shelves on their level with odds and ends that are both safe for them to play with and that won't immediately make daddy's hair stand on end (a great example of this is the tv/satellite/radio/xbox remote because every time they go near them we say, 'daddy's gonna shout' so I swear they will think that is what they are called). Their current favourite is an old discarded keyboard, cellphone and replica remote control.

Unfortunately having twins means that there isn't much 'free time'. Over week-ends my hubby looks after the boys quite a lot so that I can get practical things done (laundry, groceries, diy etc) and we haven't quite reached the point where he is comfortable to be left with them or take them out for extended periods of time. Having said that though, I have managed to squeeze in some time for myself as I have just started a part-time degree but I have to admit that all my old favourites like reading have taken a bit of a back seat.

Hopefully now that summer is here (and they LOVE being outdoors) it will mean that a little more time is free to just relax and enjoy them - without sacrificing the many tasks that make any household run.

So that's me done for today, please feel free to take the question to your blog and give us an idea of how things work with you, then leave a comment so that I know that you have!

That's all :-)
A

7 comments:

Pat said...

NO babies left -even the youngest is four(grandchild that is)but it's lovely hearing about yours. How do you do it? Dad sounds great!

LisaPal said...

From my recollection, (my youngest is 10 now), it doesn't matter how well they entertain themselves when they're really little, as they seem to have an amazing talent for getting into danger. I remember putting my son into a playpen with some safe toys while I tried to pick up around the room, only to find that this tenacious 8 month-old figured out how to escape. I caught him just before he hit the floor.

I think my kids were able to entertain themselves pretty well by the time they were about 2 1/2 to 3 years old, but both of my kids are very imaginative and could create worlds of fun with just about any object in their environment. (I'd sit Rachel on the counter while I cooked and she'd pretend the spice bottles were children and would act out little scenes with them.) But I've had friends whose kids could never figure out how to play alone and constantly whined, Mom, I'm bored! With twins, I doubt you'll have this problem, but you may have to deal with a little delayed gratification.

Cass said...

I didn't forget - I just haven't had time yet. Maybe next week you could announce the question in advance - might give me a tiny chance of posting on or near Friday. (I still might not get it togther, but I'll try...)

Stacie said...

I'll try and get a good post on our current situation later this week; I am being hampered by good weather and a burning desire to be outside.

You can get the Mr. Linky box here: http://www.blenza.com/linkies/

You may want to post future questions up to a month or more ahead of time to give those of us who are slow on the uptake time to write. I know that is what Hip Blog Mama does with their various weekly goodies. http://www.crazyhipblogmamas.com/

You might also want to use the Blog Carnival submission site: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/

(I have some questions I haven't answered - if you want them email me and I'll share.)

Cass said...

OK - I've got one, sorta. Better late than never, right? It's here.

Shawn said...

Your "Daddy's going to shout" line cracked me up because until very recently, both of my girls thought when I said, "No!" that I was talking to the dog. It's only been very recently that they hear "no" said to them, more than it's said to the dog. Really, it's like having triplets -- the three of them.

Stacie said...

OK, I finally have an actual post up on this.

http://twinkies.bastetweb.com/2007/05/11/friday-round-robin/