After an absence of three weeks I was more than ready to get home to Bequia with my new baby. I missed Mac, Vanessa and our dog Sheba terribly, and was looking forward to putting Rachel in her own crib. I was grateful that the Pizzeria was still closed for the off-season, I could rest and heal before throwing myself back into the fray. The stitches from my caesarian section were painful, Dr. Cyrus had made a very large incision, and I would have to be careful not to lift anything heavy for the first little while.
Arriving home with my baby was like Déjà vu! Sheba had been jealous of the attention given to Vanessa when she was a newborn and had sulked dreadfully. This time around Vanessa was the one who sulked, she did not seem overjoyed to have a baby sister. She had been the center of attention for eighteen months and now that had been stolen from her. She ignored Rachel completely and treated me like a stranger. This didn’t last long of course, but it wasn’t the homecoming I had been fantasizing about. At least Sheba seemed interested in the baby!
Vanessa and Rachel as newborns were as different as night and day. Vanessa had been a sleepy baby and a finicky eater, we usually had to wake her up to be fed. Rachel was more demanding, waking up often during the night wanting milk. Mac and I didn’t get much sleep the first couple of weeks and Sheba took to sleeping upstairs so she wouldn’t be disturbed by Rachel’s nocturnal screaming. Vanessa was lucky, it seemed she could sleep through anything!
Vanessa and Rachel were also completely different in appearance, Vanessa looked just like me (except for her big brown eyes) and Rachel looked like Mac. I noticed that Momma Simmons and her friends didn’t inspect the bottoms of Rachel’s feet or the shape of her ears, I guess they figured I had THIS one for Mac! Over the years I found it odd that people assumed the girls were twins, perhaps it was because they were about the same size and dressed alike.
Vanessa still spent her mornings with Momma Simmons, often the whole day, but with two babies and a tourist season on the horizon Mac and I decided to hire a nanny. She would mind the children while I worked at the Pizzeria and take them out of the house while I napped in the late afternoon. It took a while to find the right nanny, but when Arleus entered our lives we knew she had arrived!
So bitter sweet seeing those two munchkins again when they were little. I don’t see how people could think they were twins. I always thought Rachel looked like Mac and Nessy like you.
I guess I bought them matching outfits, it was easiest that way! For sure Rachel looked like Mac while Vanessa looked just like me, surprising how many times people asked which was born first….