Pumping Can Be Fun

So I went on a business trip yesterday to Salt Lake City. For one day. We left Oakland at 6:30am (yes, the plan left, so that's me leaving the house at 4:30, or as we preferred to call it, "half until 5). And I got home at 8:30pm. This presented some logistical challenges. Clementine's demand is no problem -- there's lots of milk in the freezer. But I have a supply problem, if ya know what I mean. I called ahead to the SLC airport and they thankfully have a "family assisted restroom". This means a toilet in a room with a lock. And and outlet. So I can't complain too much. Then there was the problem at the client's site. I don't know them well, and they're all men. I'd tried to set it up that I had 2 conference calls during the day that I'd need a private office for. To my chagrin, as I walked in I discovered that the walls of every office are -- you guessed it -- floor to ceiling glass. Whee.

Anyway, there were at least two women in the offices. I don't know what they do, but we figured something out. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. Needless to say, I'm pondering a country-wide nursing/pumping database.

Her First "No"

So Ryan is off this weekend riding with his friend Scott. 100 miles. Why people do this, I do not know. Craziness if you ask me.

Anyway, I'm playing single mom this weekend and not liking it much. It's a whole different ball game. How do those people shower? I do not know that either.

Anyway, I got Clementine this cute toy with a spring on the top, like a bouncy wooden man with rope arms and legs. This was dumb, but I closed the top of the spring in a box so it would bounce for her, and of course she pulled on the toy and the spring popped out and whacked her. Not hard, but she didn't like it. And a few hours later, I offered her the toy again, and she pushed it away.

Before now her interactions with other things have been binary: interested or not interested. She either wants it or she doesn't care. This was her first (as far as I know) actively NOT wanting something. Since then she's started pushing more things away, mostly our hands when we're holding her in a way that prevents her from getting something or falling or something. And so it begins.

Butterflies and Bridges

Audrey and Clementine at Natural Bridges
Originally uploaded by audcrane.

We went to Santa Cruz to see the monarch butterflies, which were beautiful but a little tough to take pictures of. Clementine was perfect--slept all the way down and all the way back. She didn't notice the butterflies, but a true California girl she loves to watch the ocean, so we stopped at the beach too.

The New DeYoung

"Pointy"
Originally uploaded by shawnhoon.

We got to take Clementine to the member's opening of the new DeYoung Museum. She is a pretty great museum-goer. She's pretty interested in seeing everything, but only for a minute. That's pretty much how I feel, I just don't like to admit it. So she's our excuse. We breezed through the whole thing in an hour or so, maybe 1 1/2 hours, with her going "blah blah blah ya ya ya nol nol nol gwah gwah gwah" very adorably the whole way. The building is stunning, there are some really wonderful Thiebauds there (although I think obviously the collection suffers from being on the West Coast in the US). I love San Francisco!

Spicy Food

Wonderful article:

Ditch the rice cereal and mashed peas, and make way for enchiladas, curry and even — gasp! — hot peppers. It's time to discard everything you think you know about feeding babies. It turns out most advice parents get about weaning infants onto solid foods — even from pediatricians — is more myth than science.

That's right, rice cereal may not be the best first food. Peanut butter doesn't have to wait until after the first birthday. Offering fruits before vegetables won't breed a sweet tooth. And strong spices? Bring 'em on.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051009/ap_on_he_me/fit_baby_food_myths

I ate spicy mexican, indian, thai, italian, vietnamese, french... (well, stinky french, not spicy french) while I was pregnant and continue to. And piles and piles of garlic. Curried lentils, here we come!

Mom

Mom
Originally uploaded by audcrane.

Can you read the tattoo? It says "Mom". Is that awesome or what?

Not much time. Been very busy. Our houseguest Jessica went into labor early Sunday morning. She and Brad went to the hospital but were sent home. This was quite the to-do since she isn't due for a month and was planning on having the baby once they were safely at her father's house in Phoenix (with free babysitting for their 2-yr-old, etc.).

Anyway, she was sent home and labor abated. It was "false labor". (I hate this term. It's about as sensible as "false-almost-cutting-off-your-arm". Just because you didn't go all the way doesn't mean it was fake.)

Anyway early yesterday morning they decided to hop a plane to Phoenix. So whoosh, our house is empty.

More to post about this very-nearly-crawling baby, but have to do that later...

Babies and Bluegrass

Took Clementine to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park. This was just on a lark -- Brad, Jessica and Quinn flew in Saturday morning from Beijing and I knew they'd want to stay awake. And what better way to welcome them back to the good ol' U.S. after 14 months away? Anyway, it turned out to be a huge event, and we got lucky and found a perch overlooking one of the 5(!) stages. Saw Earl Scruggs play. How cool is that? Clementine's third extra-utero concert.

We are having a great time with B, J & Q. Jessica is 8 months pregnant and Quinn may be confusing Clementine with his little sister. He often wants whatever she has, and, surprisingly enough, vice-versa. Just last week she has started sort of bouncing with her legs when we hold her or sits on our laps facing us and bouncing. I think this means, "I'm happy. Bounce me." This is the first thing she's ever wanted (not just been curious about) besides food, sleep, warmth, the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Which is pretty cool. She is starting to notice when I leave the room (and be unhappy about it). Her perspective of the world is just fascinating. When we give her a bath, Ryan pours water from a pitcher into the bath for her. She tries to grab the stream of water--why not? Nearly everything else in her experience is solid. Imagine what a bizarre experience that must be; like passing your hand through the person sitting next to you. With bonus bizarre feeling of water running over your hand which you've never experienced before. She also tries to catch lights and shadows. And she's such a patient baby, she just keeps trying to grab them.

She also has a new method of sitting up which involves laying on her tummy, legs akimbo, and then pushing herself backwards until she's doing the splits, and then rolling through the splits until she's sitting up. Yikes! Do all babies do this?