Monkey See, Monkey Do

When the girls first started eating cereal, around four months of age, I began feeding them at the same time…one bite for Baby A; one bite for Baby B. After only a few tries, and a few cereal-caked heads of hair later, I realized that it would be better for all of us if I could concentrate my efforts on one baby at a time. And so, for the next ten months, Baby B would swing while I fed Baby A, and then I’d switch, and repeat.

This method worked well for a long time. And all the while, I told myself that I was instilling a degree of patience and respect in the girls while they waited their turns. :)

Three or four weeks ago, though, things began to change. I would like to think that the girls’ impatience was prompted by the switch from baby food to Mommy’s homemade eats…and who can blame them with steamed cauliflower awaiting on the other side of the swing?

With a great degree of hesitation and visions of vegetable-clad babies crawling through my head, I positioned the girls’ high chairs side by side, and began to feed them at the same time. Much to my pleasant surprise, they did great! Although we’ve had a couple of incidents, they’re generally much less inclined to smear creamed spinach all over themselves than I feared. It now takes about half the time to feed the girls (more economies of scale!), and mealtimes are actually pretty pleasant as the three of us “converse”.

This new methodology has brought something else to light, though…the tendency the girls are developing to copy each other.

“Wow, Sis looks like she’s having fun banging on her tray! And Mommy sure does look cute with one eyebrow raised!” And so we have “bang, bang, bang” in stereo. “Oh, and playing peek-a-boo with my bib looks like a great idea, too!” “And come to mention it, I’m feeling a little tired, so I’ll join Sissy in laying my head on my tray. Mommy surely won’t mind a little interlude to lunch.”

I think this is where the dratted phrase “double trouble” comes into play. But I have to admit that sometimes it’s so darn cute, I have to stifle a smile as I raise one eyebrow in a show of “disapproval”.