The Art of Sharing: or Lack Thereof...

Recently, someone offered to give us their exersaucer. Originally, I didn't want an exersaucer. They take up space (which we don't have a lot of), and I felt that I could entertain my babies just as well. It seemed to me like a babysitter, and I felt confident I could do without. However, the babies have come to a stage where they are not content to lie on their backs and play (they are content to lie on their tummies, but because of the spit up issue they have to wait for a while after they eat...and something has to fill that time...), yet they are not able to sit up on their own. They try. They even stay upright on their own for a little while...but without mama there to offer support, they quickly topple over. Because it takes more than 2 arms to hold 2 babies upright, and keep toys within reach for them to play with, and wipe up spit up. And because I do not have more than 2 arms. I had a change of heart about the exersaucer. Suddenly, it wasn't an superfluous object that would take up space, would hardly be used, and would mostly be an annoyance. Now it was an object that I NEEDED. And I was grateful to except the gracious gift from friends.

But, I (correctly) assumed that 1 would not be enough. I knew from trying to have the babies take turns with me holding them up, that it often did not go over well. So, I kept a watchful eye on Craigslist, and soon found an exersaucer for $20! I jumped at it! The only problem was that, the day we wanted to debut the exersaucer, I only had 1 of them clean. Being the germ freak that I, unfortunately, am, I couldn't let them play in the one I hadn't cleaned. So, for 1 day, they had to share.

They had never had a toy so big and so wonderful that there wasn't 2 of. It showed. When Ryan was in there, he tested each toy, found a favorite, and stayed there while Allie looked on longingly. We thought he didn't care whether or not Allie was there, but then I noticed the way he would smile at her when we brought her near. I have never seen a more distinctly "haha" look on his face! Allie wasn't much better. Once Allie was in the exersaucer she would spin around, playing with each toy quickly and desperately. She plays with the focus of an astronaut flying the space shuttle. She intently spun, shook, and chewed on the toys (sometimes simultaneously). And when Ryan, who was next to it, tried to spin his favorite of the toys (a barrel of monkeys), she would put her arm down so it wouldn't move. I watched her do this repeatedly, and when he didn't stop trying she turned in the seat, looked at him intently, and put her arm on the barrel so it really couldn't move.

I quickly cleaned the other one that night so that we wouldn't have any more problems. While they do need to learn to share, they will have many future opportunities to practice that particular trait. For now, I just want them to be able to enjoy the freedom of being upright, having the option of toys to play with, and playing at their pace to their hearts content. It is currently a novelty, and one that I enjoy watching!