Happy Birthday?

I was awoken with a start at 3:30 a.m.  So, this is what’s like to be a new mom – waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of a crying baby. When I went into the twins’ room, I saw that Aiden was the one crying. I picked him up from his crib and gave him a bottle.

I tried putting Aiden back in his crib but he wasn’t having it. He’d gotten lonely, so I played with him for a minute or two. Before I’d even had a chance to put Aiden back in his crib, Ava started wailing. OK, my sweet boy, it’s your sister’s turn. Back in the crib you go.

I scooped up Ava and gave her a bottle, which quieted her for the moment. Then she wanted a little mommy time, too. I obliged her, then put her back in her crib.

Now that the babies were settled, I realized I was seriously hungry. Pancakes are my favorite breakfast fare, bar none. I whipped up a quick batch and devoured a plateful. I was starting to feel human again, but still quite sleep deprived. I knew the babies were due for a nap, so I went back to bed while I could.

I took a short, but much-needed nap and felt a little better when I got up. By then, it was time for another round of diaper changes and bottle feedings. Once the babies were both content again, I sat down and watched a little TV. Taking care of twins is hard work! Then I remembered – I’d bought each of them a birthday cake yesterday. First, I got Ava from her crib, brought her into the kitchen and sang Happy Birthday to her.

Ava was too little to blow out the candle on her cake, so I helped. Then I put her down and watched as she turned into a toddler before my very eyes. Oh, look, she inherited my blonde hair.

Next it was Aiden’s turn. I picked him up from his crib and brought him into the kitchen. I sang Happy Birthday to him and blew out the candle.

Then something went wrong … terribly wrong. The fact that I was tired and Ava was crying and hungry were the least of our problems. There was a faulty candle on the cake, and the kitchen table and chair caught on fire! The smoke alarm above the stove was blaring, and I panicked.

I wanted to run outside, put Aiden down on the grass where he’d be safe, then come back inside and grab Ava, but I couldn’t do it. I was frozen with fear. I just stood there. Thank goodness a firefighter showed up and tried to put out the fire. Ava was smart enough to crawl into the corner, as far away from the flames as she could get. I just stood in the kitchen holding Aiden, praying that we’d all get out of this alive.

The fire started to spread, and Aiden and I were getting trapped in the kitchen. The firefighter told me to get out of the house NOW, and finally, I felt my feet become unglued from the place I was standing. She said reinforcements were coming and promised me that my little girl would make it out unharmed.

I ran out to the porch with Aiden in my arms and watched Ava through the window to be sure she was still safe. It’s a good thing we left when we did because the kitchen was almost fully engulfed. With two firefighters fighting the blaze, I felt better about our chances, but we definitely weren’t out of the woods yet.

The firefighters had finally made progress and must’ve known that they’d have the fire out shortly. They could both hear Ava crying in the corner and wanted more than anything for the ordeal to be over for her.

Finally, the blaze was out completely, and we were allowed back inside the house. What a mess! I quickly changed Aiden’s diaper, gave him a bottle and put him to bed. Then I came back and changed Ava’s diaper and gave her a bottle. I threw away the smelly, burnt cake but left the rest of the cleaning for later. We were all exhausted. I picked up Ava, held her close to me and then put her to bed. At least with our bedroom doors closed, the smell of smoke wasn’t quite as bad.

It may be morning for everyone else, but after being up all night, we were all too tired to care.