After the second or third rendition of the evening of Is Your Mama a Llama?
It it was the funniest thing I've heard in a while. Maya's version went kind of like this:
"My yama. Ma yama. Fred? No. She isn't She isn't.
Ma yama, my yama. No. No. She isn't. She isn't. (hint of desperation)
Yama!
All done."
Greeting the llama image by flickr user altamar / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0This article was almost titled: "Keeping a toddler happy during nightmare air travel to Blogher '09."
On a Thursday evening in July 2009, my Maya (20 months) and I were scheduled on a direct flight from DC's National Airport to Chicago's O'Hare. The original direct flight was delayed and then cancelled due to thunderstorms and rescheduled for a one-stop flight with plane change in St. Louis the next morning. That flight was diverted into a cornfield with an airstrip in Illinois for an hour due to fog, resulting in a missed connection and second rescheduled flight. We finally arrived in Chicago 22 hours after we'd initially left for the airport in DC.
Here are a few tips we learned along the way:
1.) Plan your kid carrying device(s) carefully to accommodate both the airport and ground transportation.
I opted to carry my daughter Maya in our Ergo, a soft backpack child carrier, and pull a rolling suitcase. Maya traveled as a lap child and we planned to use public transpiration in Chicago, eliminating the need for a car seat. Traveling by subway, train, or bus is often easier with a baby carrier than a stroller and it is definitely easier to carry a toddler and pull a suitcase than push a stroller and pull a suitcase.
Continue reading "Five Air Travel Tips for the Solo Parent with Toddler" »
Every year, 16 million people visit Washington, DC. While travel and accommodations can sometimes be pricey, once you are in DC, you will find there are find hundreds of free things to do in and around the nation's capitol.
All 19 museums that make up the Smithsonian Institution, including the National Zoo, are free for admission. The Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorials are free. The Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol tour, and White house tour are all free, though require tickets or advanced appointments.
This month's About.com Parenting and Family blog carnival theme is Cheap Fun, so I thought we should explore the many free things to do in Washington DC that you may not have thought of. And, many of these free things to do in Washington DC are kid-friendly and easy to get to by public transportation.
1. Take in a free performance at the Kennedy Center
The Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center offers free performances at 6 p.m. every night of the week. Concerts are held on the river side of the Kennedy Center and are accessible by shuttle bus from the Foggy Bottom metro station.
There are always kids at Millennium Stage performances. School age kids are most common but the setup up of the performance space is conducive to bringing babies and toddlers as well. The lobby is enormous and there is terrace access right by the stage. It would be quite easy for Mom or Dad to take a fussy tot away to run around while the rest of the family finishes the show.
Monthly performance schedules are posted online. Performances are popular for both tourists and local fans of the performing groups so arrive early if you want to be sure of a seat.
Continue reading "12 Free Things to Do in Washington DC with Kids" »
From the day we told people we were expecting, one of the most frequent pieces of advice was "write it all down; you'll forget." And, we meant to, really.
Over the last few weeks though, more and more I've wanted to hold moments with you to never forget, so I guess I better write it all down. Every day you amaze us, with your spirit, your enthusiasm, and how fast you are learning and changing. Nearly every day you try out a new skill or new word.
You talk constantly and in full sentences, just not all of it English (and so far none of it Spanish, despite Daddy's best efforts). You will incorporate nodding and gestures to make your point. You prefer a two way conversation and always give the other person a chance to respond, even if they can't possibly understand what you just babbled at them.
So far you say: baby (your first word at 11 months), mama, dada, Paul (Paou), Alex (Aeyce), hi, bye bye, dog (gaag), cat (gat), bird (birr), fish, duck, bear, ball, car, up, down, more, water (wawa or agua, we're not sure), go, yes, no, uh oh, down-dog, and please. In the last few days, you've taken to answering most questions "no," even when nodding vigorously. You will also say help, please (hep peez), but only after someone asks if you need help because you've been whining "aah, aah, aah" at something in frustration.
You sign milk, all done, more, and sleepy.
You can find your head, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, heart/chest, tummy, bellly button, and toes/feet. The head-shoulders-knees-and-toes song never fails to yield a smile.
You love peek-a-boo and hiding games. You've been clapping when prompted for months and clap anytime anyone cheers.
And you have some sort of answer for "What does the ____ say" for dog, cat, fish, duck, rabbit, sheep, bear, lion, gorilla, and cow, and for many you will use the sound interchangeably with the name of the animal, woof woof and ba ba ba particularly.
You are fascinated by animals, but would prefer that they stay a safe several feet away at all times. We recently babysat at a house with a cat. You were very excited and a bit scared when the cat got too friendly. Then, throughout the evening, you would suddenly remember that there was a cat and be underfoot holding onto my knees asking where's the "gat, gat, gat?" You point out the "birrr" in the house several times a day.
You love being sung to and, lately, whenever you hear music, you have to dance. A car will go by with the radio blaring and there you will be on the sidewalk dancing back and forth.
You are physically adventurous (hence the forehead bruise in the above picture). You've been walking since just before your first birthday and, with six months of practice, man are you fast. And you do not want to hold hands. Unfortunately, as a city baby, holding hands or being carried is often a non-negotiable safety requirement. But safety is not one of your concerns. Just tonight, we had to move a chair out of the dining room because you just had to use it to climb up on the fish tank to reach the light switch.
You're latest obsession is "baybeesz." Anytime you catch me looking at the computer, you want to see "baybeesz", which means pictures of you or any other kids. Pictures of your parents, grandparents or animals might also be ok.
Your obsession with babies carries over to live babies too. When we are out, you will go up to any stroller you can find, looking for the baby.
You are not shy. You go to Towson University twice a week with Daddy and wander from office to office telling anyone who will listen (and that's most of the Dance department) whatever is on your mind.
You love your baby yoga. We have this plastic doll that I picked up for teaching Itsy Bitsy Yoga. Recently, you bring her to me so I can make her do half moon, toes-to-nose, and other poses.
You constantly amaze us with what you understand. Yesterday, your dad absently sang a lyric from your toy drum's song and off you went to fetch it. Tonight, I asked you if you wanted water and you disappeared. I found you standing in front of the sink holding your cup.
You hate having your diaper changed and do not want us to brush your teeth. Also, you do not want to wear a coat, ever. Shoes and socks, though, those are cool and good for putting on and taking off repeatedly (you still need help with putting on).
You love books and recognize the innate duty of all adults to read to you as soon as they come in the house. You have quite a library, thanks to your Dad, and have made more than one babysitter read the majority of it in a single sitting.
Every few months, we take you to the pediatrician so she can tell us how great you are doing, but we don't really need her to tell us that. You've come so far from the 5 lb peanut of a baby you were in October 2007.
Apparently, unlike the Spanish bull, Mayas cannot resist the lure of the colorful scarf. They must charge.
It was either get rid of the kid or get a rug.
We finally conceded that Maya running about and dropping toys is really too loud for downstairs tenants. Much craigslist surfing and carpet cleaning later, the living room has a new look.
Maya seems ok with it.
I'm still getting used to all the visual stimulation.
The camp chair is normally folded up in a corner but it was supporting another area rug (not pictured) as it dried.
As soon as the chair was uncovered, Maya had to sit in it and read a book.
More recent photos on flickr.
We've been having increased throwing of food lately - by the Mayabird (Bug, Mac, and I all throw food about as much as we always did). An inordinate amount of tasty food has been getting bitten (or even just licked) once and unceremoniously dropped off the side of the highchair. Sweet potato, broccoli, ravioli, cantaloupe (really good cantaloupe!) have all been getting dropped.
We've been mostly not acknowledging the behavior but ending the meal once a few things get dropped. But it had been getting bad the last few days. It was Paul who figured out that size matters. And, voila! food is eaten.
Apparently: (her-)fist-sized hunks** = poison; tiny bits = tasty
**The same size fist-sized hunks the babe had eaten enthusiastically for months, but no matter.
There was a glorious month there where the fish were fascinating.
Dad (or mom, but mostly Dad) could prop baby up on the couch and let her watch the fish while he read. Even cranky baby could be distracted by fish. ("Look fish. You like fish.")
But alas, fish have lost there appeal. They can not be grabbed and tasted (well, we're not going there anyway) so they can't hold a candle to toys.
The poor fish, they got fed a lot during the month they were so cool.
It's not just the influence of the dairy and corn lobby that has prevented this stuff from taking off.
Lil' Shute has me eating funny lately. I've been doing something my
sister's kid's gastroenterologist calls the five point diet: no dairy,
no eggs, no soy*, no fish/seafood, no nuts/peanuts for 2-3 weeks before
reintroducing proteins that may be irritating baby one at a time to
monitor any change.
Why would I do such a thing (remember, already a vegetarian)? Because
Lil' Maya seems to have pediatric gastroesophageal reflux problems -
basically baby heartburn. I say seems to have because the tests for diagnosing GERD (add disease to gastroesophageal
reflux) are more traumatic than we'd probably do for what seems to be a
mild-ish case of something she will outgrow anyway.
Instead, we're diagnosing through treatment. The treatment's pretty harmless if it doesn't work and fabulous if it does.
So far,diet has improved the excessive spitting up but didn't stop the hysterical screaming at night. We added meds yesterday and she nursed to sleep quietly (mostly) last night for the first time in weeks. We're really hoping it's not a fluke.
* I actually just reintroduced soy. I was working way too hard
to get adequate protein. It was that or turkey. I haven't seen a
significant change, but monitoring anything was complicated by her
getting vaccinations on Monday and being little miss cranky pants for
24 hours - poor thing.
Things happen in my life now that I thought only happened on TV . . .
. . . like the day I was getting ready to take Maya to meet Mac near
Baltimore and visit my grandmother. We were already late but we got two
phone calls simultaneously and the baby melted down and one of the
calls was from the audiologist* we'd been trying to get an appointment
with for two weeks so I had to talk to her (while the baby screamed)
and that made us later and when we got to the train station the ticket
machine broke as I put in my card and we barely made the train. Whew.
Or today, when I wasn't sure we were going to baby massage class but then decided at the "last minute" that we were definitely going. I diapered and dressed the kid, flung stuff in her bag, grabbed purse, coat, gloves, hat, scarf, and sling (and kid) and headed out. On the metro escalator, I realized that we weren't 10 minutes late leaving, we were 50 minutes early.
Then there are the things that distinctly do not happen in the movies. No one ever breastfeeds their baby in the subway in the movies. But if Maya wants to eat, she wants to eat. Faced with either the near certainty of a crying baby or the slight possibility that I may flash someone in the metro, I'm going to play the odds. (Actually, can you think of any instance of a woman breastfeeding in the movies at all? Harried moms on TV are always warming bottles.)
I have a friend who says "My baby's drunk on breast milk" to describe the happy, sleepy, post-feeding baby. But the hormones involved make mom relaxed and sleepy, too. Maya and I dozed off on the couch after a feeding yesterday even though the contractors next door were actively cutting a hole in the brick wall.
*Final birth related appointment. Unlike a hospital, my
house doesn't come standard with a newborn hearing screen machine.
Maya passed on all the tones they tested. If she hadn't, we would have
been encouraged to do early language therapy.
We returned the tub to our birth assistant yesterday, which provided an opportunity to do a weigh-in.
Maya's doing great. On Friday, we were tickled that she'd lost only 4 oz in her first couple of days. Since Friday, she's packed on 7 oz - slightly more than one ounce per day.
| First week of parenthood went by as a blur. Maya has actually been incredibly easy going. But we hardly ever put her down and I've been feeding her every two hours around the clock - so what's to fuss about? Last week, we were trying to keep her from loosing too much weight. This week, we work on getting bigger. Most babies (unless they are formula fed?) loose 5-7% of their body weight on the colostrum-only feedings in the first few days before their mother's milk comes in (10% is considered safe) and then they start gaining back. They are born with extra stores to get them through that so a 7 pound baby can safely loose 6-12 oz. But we figured Maya didn't have much to spare (10 percent of Maya's birth weight is only 7.6 oz.) so we made an extra effort to get lots of colostrum into her (which also ensures prompt arrival of the full milk supply). First mommy triumph was Maya weighing in at the pediatrician's on Friday only 4 oz (5%) lighter then when she came into the world. Go kid! More Maya pictures in the Flickr album previewed to the right. |
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It's a big day in baby stuff exchange. This morning, I had a woman drop by to sell me a stack of her used cloth diapers (the previously mentioned Kissaluvs for the under 15 pounder (size 0)
and some diaper covers). Lil' Shute's behind should be pretty well covered from birth to 3 months now.
Just a note on the used cloth diaper market: Now, cloth diapers, while supposedly cheaper in the long run, are an upfront investment. Still, it's a bit wacky but folks seem to think they can get 80% retail for used cloth diapers. Maybe they can but not from me. Inevitably, these folks are also located in the far DC suburbs and are selling 6 or 7 diapers (usually the all in one kind, not the classic fabric ones which cost practically nothing without the cover). Maybe I value my time very highly but it's not worth it to get in touch with them, arrange schedules, figure out when I can use a car, and drive out to who knows where through northern Virginia traffic (ick), to save $2 a diaper for a brand/style that may not have been my first choice if I bought retail –– repeatedly since, unless you want to do laundry 3x a day, you need more than 6 diapers. And yet, so many ads say: "I paid $15/12/10 a piece and will sell for $12/10/8." Mind boggling.
Later, two women will be dropping by to pick up stuff I've been given but won't use. I've got a spare infant bathtub and a bassinet to give away.
I've also lined up receipt of a used diaper pail and a borrowed bouncy chair. Yay for neighborhood news groups!
And the promised side shot - 33 weeks.
Now Pamela objected to the straight down baby shot from a couple weeks ago. But, really, that's how I experience this pregnancy.
The occasional full body mirror glimpse always surprises me -- "Good grief, how big is this kid? How much bigger could she/he get? Where will I put her?" I can't really get side photos unless I request help.
I'll have to try to document a little better. I may have 7 to 9 weeks of baby growth to accommodate yet - oh my. It's impossible to predict. Both my sister's kids made their debut around the 37-38 week mark. My mother's three (including me) were late with my brother not turning up until almost week 42. Only Lil' Shute knows.
Now the diatribe: That whole 40 weeks thing is just an average and it's based on an assumption that every woman has a 28 day menstrual cycle and ovulates on day 14. Since a "normal" cycle is between 21 and 35 days with ovulation commonly happening two weeks from the end (not the beginning) of it, all the math seems pretty questionable. Which is why it's disturbing that the trend in obstetrics (probably driven by insurance) is to arbitrarily insist that women be artificially induced at 41 weeks or even earlier regardless of the condition of the baby or mother. Such inductions increase the chance or further medical interventions dramatically and completely disregard the natural variations in women and in fetal development. Many more links here.
Jen Mueller is a Washington DC mom, environmental advocate, communications professional, freelance writer, avid photographer, habitual runner, novice yogi, and owner of a small green pacific parrotlet named Bug.
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