Fall

 

 

I'd forgotten how your world narrows when you have an infant, your priorities shift to the most basic and your world is focused on the needs of this tiny person.  It doesn't seem that long ago that N was that small, but it was I guess, and it's so fleeting anyhow, that you easily forget how it actually feels to be so sleep deprived (the fleeting-ness is a mixed blessing- you alternately want to keep them this small forever, or fast forward till they sleep through the night- which is presumably when they move out of your house right?). Anyhow I am now counting the day a success if everyone is alive, basic personal hygiene is maintained, the house is reasonably clean, and people are fed. That's it, everything else is a bonus.

 

This does not bode well for the hundreds of ripe tomatoes in my porch... though the longer I wait to do anything with them, the less of them there will be to do anything with. There's a bit of a sacrificial tomato vibe out in the porch right now, I'm not loving it. So I've been trying to squeeze in some freezing, and some sauce making, which is all very difficult to do with an infant who has somehow figured out that sleeping on mom is the best thing ever, (thank goodness for the ring sling), and a Toddler who is now asking why about everything- like why does the earth orbit the sun (which is probably my own fault as my answer to her question of why it's Fall now, was accompanied by you tube videos about the earth and the sun, and why we have seasons- the upshot is she can now mimic how the earth orbits the sun by holding one fist still and rotating the other fist around it, she also knows that the sun is a star, the earth is a planet, and if we moved the earth closer to the sun our year would be shorter-so your birthday would come faster, but we would also be too hot).

 

Anyways- I suppose this is an explanation of sorts for why I've been so absent here- though last night she slept well- only getting up at 12, 3 and 6 which is totally remarkable- fingers crossed it will continue, and I can resume mt regular erratic posting schedule.

I Love...how grown up she's getting

(carrying baby Elmo in a sling- she's very attentive to her babies)

N has been having a few tantrums lately, I don't know when it started but suddenly I realized she's not just crying when she doesn't get her way- she's a little out of control. So yesterday I read some advice about them- and I think we're on our way to dealing with them. The main reason for most of her outbursts is when she can't tell us what she wants, you see she has some pretty specific requests, and they're hard to interpret with grunts and hand gestures, which is where she's at. She makes lots of sounds and does a few 'words' (ca for cat- aipe-for diaper), but when she wants things she makes hand gestures or pushes us and moves our bodies to make us see/pick her up/walk over there- she also does a great dismissive wave and head shake if the things we're offering are not what she wants.

And what she wants is not so easy anymore- they're two or three step maneuvers hard to interpret- such as-"oh...you want to get that eraser from the office and put it in the mouth of the doll in the living room the one that sings while you press it's tummy- all while sitting on my lap, not on your own, in this chair- not that chair- definitely not that chair, and I press the tummy, and you put in the eraser, not the other way around, and then we clap". I think she's learning and she's developing these skills and she understands us and I wasn't challenging her enough. I was still at the last stage and she's moved on- moved on to helping wash dishes and counters, to sweeping and dumping flour in the mixer, to making her own art instead of just watching me- and she was getting bored, and then frustrated and then mad.

I need to find new activities for her- I need to challenge her- and seriously at this rate she's going to be keeping me on my toes- I feel sorry for her future teachers. Yesterday I let her help more and I was shocked by what she could do, and at how her attitude changed so much just by me explaining things to her, and asking her things. It's a beautiful thing to see a person grow.

Babywearing...what's not to love?

Baby wearing makes everything easier-Well- I suppose mixing up a chocolate cake can be a bit more difficult as the baby will certainly have access to the batter and if they're anything like my babe they will take advantage of that access (Yes-she is eating uncooked cake batter- no I'm not concerned about that). Recently there's been a recall of a baby carrier- It's heartbreaking that children died, and my sympathy goes out to those parents, I can't imagine having to deal with that loss especially when it came about from something meant to bring your child closer to you.
The fact remains though that slings- like almost any product geared towards children-are safe if used properly.

Not only are they safe, but they can be a godsend, for the mother with a colicky baby, for the high-needs child, for the kid that is so smart they need to be stimulated or they will lose their mind- driving their parents to the brink of insanity, for the teething baby, for the active parent.
I've used a couple of types of slings- but Ring Slings are my favorite- I've used one from the moment that N was home until now when a lot of people will ask if she's too big for it (to which say that the rings I use are tested for 250 pounds so if the fabric was stronger I could carry my husband). Slings have allowed my kid to experience my world and be soothed by me without my having to remove myself from my work or society in general.

I'm not sure what it is about slings that makes people so nervous- cribs get recalled, toys get recalled hourly, formula gets recalled- and those things go on- (actually our crib was recalled and we get guff about not putting her to sleep in it- so go figure). The thing about being a parent is that you want to protect your kid from everything- and doing that means that you have to educate yourself about how to use your sling properly, and which slings are safe. Just like anything else.

The slings that were recalled were pouch style slings- what I love about ring slings is that they hold your baby just like you would hold them with your arms, which is key to safety:

here's a few links to safety sites:
http://babyslingsafety.blogspot.com/
http://www.babyslingsafe.com/

and here's a call to action from Adventures in Babywearing. Go there to check out more sling stories.

Sling Baby

Right before Nora and I went out west, I ordered some Sling Rings, in the hopes of making myself a slick new sling with some silk I had around. I have a hand-me-down ring sling that has worked great, but it's got padded 'rails', and a big padded shoulder which make it comfy-but bulky. Luckily for me the rings came the day before I left town.

I used these instructions (though it's essentially just a hemmed piece of fabric sewn through rings at one end, the pleats make it pretty), which were fairly comprehensive, and easy to follow- it was a fast project- though the tail on mine had to be shortened a bit She says you can make it with a 2.5 metre length of fabric if you'd like a long tail- but for me- that long of a tail was almost hitting the ground- and I'm tall, so 2 metres was good enough, the tail was still plenty long.

It was a great thing to have while travelling, small in my purse, but Nora lived in it most days, I wore her everywhere- shopping, parks, dinner- It also doubled as a good nursing shield, and held her snug to me on the plane, so I could read while she snoozed. It was also very comfortable, I could wear her all day long and not be sore, it's a great thing.