Stair Story

The stairs in our building are such a big part of my life, they feel like another family member! We live in a 3rd floor walk-up apartment which means 2 flights of stairs. They are long narrow flights, ask Grandma Marietta for the exact number of stairs-she counts them every time. When we first moved in, I was about 5 months pregnant with Ella and Drew, and the doctor advised me to limit my trips up and down to about once a day...no problem, I was huge and getting bigger! By the end of the pregnancy Mike would jokingly ask if I wanted him to push me up. I always did, but was embarrassed to ask! While Ella and Drew were in their infant seats, it was difficult, but I managed. The seats outweighed the 2 of them for a long time, but hey, I dropped that baby weight pretty quick! Once we got a new stroller and stopped using the baby seats, I would strap one baby to me and carry the other in one hand, and the diaper bag in the other. Down has always been ok, but the days when I buy milk, diapers, or whatever are always the worst coming up. I never felt comfortable leaving one baby on the landing of each flight and taking one at a time.
So, once they started walking I would just carry one baby on each hip down and they sometimes crawl up. Getting up the stairs when they go by themselves can sometimes take up to 20 min. Try being pregnant standing in a hallway with no ac and no windows for 20 min in the middle of July!! So a lot of the time I scoop them up like bags of potatoes while they kick and yell "up!" Just in the last few weeks, I have had trouble carrying them on my hips because their knees jam into my growing belly and the new baby kicks like crazy. So, I started letting them walk down. It is the hardest stage yet. I stand in the middle of them, although slightly in front, and hold each one by the hand. Ella goes 90 mph and Drew takes his time stopping to point out various things (like lint). Ella has been doing a great job of sitting and waiting for Drew during these moments. So, now it takes us about 15 min to get down and 20 to get up...
Our stair story is about to come to an end. Our place is on the market and will hopefully sell soon. While standing in a pool of my own sweat on the stairs I daydream about pushing a stroller onto an elevator and right into the apartment. I think about packing the stroller with everything we need, while in the apartment, and even, gasp, bringing out the trash in one hand! I just hope it happens soon, because I don't know how I will get the new baby in and out of the house with the stairs!