05 December 2006

Horrifying? Awe-Inspiring? Both.

I was feeling a little smug that I didn't feel like I had anything to share in response to Ask Moxie's call for egregious parenting mistakes. Almost six months and I'd done nothing horrifying! I swelled with pride.

All that changed this morning.

It was another hectic morning at our house--kids slept great, but GH was sick so I had to get myself and the kids ready with no help. They played in their exersaucers while I showered, then I fed them and got them dressed. It's all good so far, but they were starting to get a bit fussy. I still needed to fix bottles and pack my lunch and the day care bag, so I put Maddie in the swing in the living room and Riley in the walker in the adjacent dining room, and went back to the kitchen to take care of business. I couldn't see either of them, but figured they were safe. (Cue ominous music.)

Maddie immediately started to cry. She's been really clingy lately, so I figured she just wanted to be held and I went about my business in the kitchen, singing the ABC song loudly (the twins LOVE that song), hoping to calm her from afar. Didn't work, but I kept trying.

It took me about 10 minutes to finish up in the kitchen. I then went into the living room to check on everyone and console the poor still-crying Maddie.

To my horror, Maddie had slid halfway out of the swing. Her entire lower body was hanging out. No, I had not buckled her in, bonehead that I am. To my amazement, what saved her from being on the floor was that Riley had maneuvered the walker over to the swing, where it had become wedged under the swing, preventing the back-and-forth motion. Maddie's lower body was resting in the tray of Riley's walker. I don't for one minute think that Riley had the smarts or dexterity to wedge the walker under the swing on purpose. But I am quite sure that the reason he was over by the swing at all was because Maddie was crying and went to be closer to her. The twins have started interacting more and more, and this was a very striking example of that. I was so grateful that Riley had gone to check on Maddie, even though I felt like a moron for not buckling her into the swing. Live and learn.

Yesterday was a trying day. Today didn't start out much better, but things seem to be sorting themselves out. I got a big presentation out of the way at work this morning and the rest of the week looks pretty even. My mom gets here for a visit on Thursday. I know that I need to buckle the kids into the swing now. My fingers are crossed for a quiet evening.

5 comments:

Angela said...

I can totally relate, I have made my share of parenting mistakes, my kids are 9 and 5 and they are still alive...thank God! You're a great Mom, and we all know that won't happen again!

That's so awesome that Riley went over to his sister, so incredibly sweet and wonderful!

Rev Dr Mom said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
OTRgirl said...

I'm grateful it was a benign mistake, thanks to Riley. That's a really cute, evocative image--bro to the rescue.

Yankee, Transferred said...

My 14 and 18 year olds are living proof that early parenting errors can be survived quite beautifully. And let me tell you how I let out a loud "AAAAAW" over Riley going to the rescue.

Anonymous said...

That Riley is a really good brother : )
And I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't rushing to her rescue - our daughter is like that with our son (she's older than your kids, but still).
And we all make mistakes and the kids make it just fine. They're designed to survive their parents' mistakes.