Spare capacity

One of the most common questions I am fielded with is "Wow! 3 kids?! How do you cope?!" Sometimes I reply "With a lot of help!", sometimes I say "My husband is very hands-on with the kids, so that helps." And it's true. I think I'd have been a lot more stressed out and frazzled if hubbs weren't as hands-on as he is.

Though, sometimes I get this question in its "Irritating Variant" - some people ask "Twins?! 3 kids!? CAN you cope?!" Or "Can cope meh?!" To which I usually reply calmly "Cannot cope also must cope!" Or sometimes I simply say "Caaaaan..."

I often joke, though, that I even have "spare capacity". Coz if I carry one child in each arm, and have the third child holding on to my pants leg, I still have another pants' leg spare. Sometimes Isaac'd piggy back while I carry the twins. Not often, though, of course. The extra weight of all three kids is crazy on my knees.

When I was breastfeeding the twins. I'd often be tandem feeding them (i.e. both at the same time) and Isaac would snuggle up behind me, or at the end of my feet. Sometimes, I'd be breastfeeding one baby (the other one is sleeping) with Isaac in my other arm. Then when the sleeping baby stirs, I'd use my foot to stroke the baby and soothe the baby back to sleep. It's clean! :p Besides, it works :)Also, this leaves me with the other foot as spare capacity.

Nowadays, every night, we'd more or less be able to make the kids sleep on their own beds. However, throughout the night, the kids would gravitate towards me. By morning, I usually have Isaac on my left, Shawna on my right, and Asher'd be using my tummy as his pillow and my thighs as his armrests. So my sleep in the first half of the night's usually better and unfettered, but the later half feels squashed. But I think I'd miss it when they stop doing this.

I love it that the kidzes love cuddles. Maybe's it's coz I consciously and conscientiously hug and kiss them, and ask them for hugs and kisses as well. Asher especially, is very affectionate. He loves to go about draping himself on Shawna and on Isaac. Shawna gets irritated by him doing that, though - I suppose it's akin to being ambushed from behind, sortof. But she would hug Asher and/or Isaac whenever we tell her to.

Isaac has also come to be fairly affectionate. When the twins were babies, Isaac used to rain kisses on their hands and feet - then he'd look at me and say "Mummy see, I kiss my babies! Just like you!!!" The first time he did and said that, I almost cried. At that time, Isaac was still trying to get used to having siblings and he'd been incredibly jealous of them to the extent of beating them. Thinking that I'd make him even more jealous if he saw me kissing them, I tried to only kiss them when I thought Isaac wasn't looking. However, it seems that Isaac HAD seen me kissing the babies, but he not only didn't get jealous, he started emulating me by showering them with kisses too! Sweet!

I love asking the kidzes for kisses. Isaac's pretty generous with his kisses. Asher would oblige as well. Shawna's... Very frugal with giving out her kisses, I must say, though she's started to give kisses too, lately.

The usual kiss-exchange with Isaac goes like that:
Me: Hi Isaac, can I have 10 kisses, please?
Isaac: I'd give you 8 kisses.
Me: Huh?! 8 only?! I want 10!
Isaac: Okaaay... I'd give you 10 kisses. *muakz* one, *muakz* two, *muakz* three, *muakz* four, *muakz* five, *muakz* six, *muakz* seven, *muakz* eight, *muakz*nine, *muakz*ten!!! And I give you 5 bonus!!! *muakz* *muakz* *muakz* *muakz* *muakz*!!!
Me: Wah!!! So many bonus kisses!!! Thank you!!!

Then Isaac would ask me for kisses, and I'd give it to him, plus plenty more bonus kisses. Nowadays we have hugs and bonus hugs too. I can't wait to get bonus hugs and kisses from Asher and Shawna too!!! :)