Travelin' Gal

Tomorrow Lydia and Robin leave for Madison. I will meet up with them on Thursday in Chicago, where we will stay until Sunday. This marks two big firsts: Lydia's first plane ride and my first night away from her. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am nervous about the breastmilk issue, and setting aside the ounces for her while I'm gone has made me a little sick to my stomach, but I'm confident that it will all be okay. I will also admit that the thought of getting just myself ready in a quiet house, going to yoga, and having some time to myself tomorrow night makes me giddy. I don't remember the last time I had more than two hours to myself. Seriously.

While we are gone, Lydia will spend time with her Ganser grandparents, meet her Aunt Elise, hang out in Chicago with her Godparents, and spend an evening with Grandma Jeanette and some of her Laqua great-aunts. It should be a fun time!

For those interested, we used this article as our guide to packing.

Ending the Freeze-Out!!!

I have an intense paranoia about SIDS, as do lots of new moms. I have had to consciously stop obsessing over the baby monitor and Lydia's breathing sounds coming through it. I even read a comment on a website by a mom who was so intent on watching her sleeping babies every move for signs of SIDS that she would actually stay up and watch the baby sleep; she eventually collapsed from exhaustion.

Due to this fear, it is probably not a surprise that I have read and read and read about every possible thing that can be done to prevent SIDS. The fan in the nursery is on at all times. Lydia ALWAYS is put to sleep on her back. There is nothing in the crib when she is in it.

I also read that the nursery should be kept cool--at 65-68 degrees to be exact. So what do I do? I go to Robin and inform him that we must keep the house cooler, specifically the nursery. Dutifully, he did this. The nursery was so chilly that I actually needed a blanket for when I nursed Lydia at night. (She has been sleeping really well and did not seem uncomfortable at all, so no worries there!) The cold brought back memories of the duplex I lived in during college, shared with three other girls. The house was so poorly insulated that our heat bills were ridiculously high; our solution was keeping the heat at 62, necessitating a fleece-lined wool hat to be worn when I slept. Ah, nostalgia...

I generally do not question experts, but the 65-68 degree thing seemed a little extreme, so I asked our doctor about appropriate temperatures for a nursery. She said no warmer than 75. (This will probably translate to around 72; 75 is a little too warm for this nordic girl.) I then told her what I had read and the temperature we had been keeping the nursery at, and I think this might be the only time I felt like she was going to laugh at me. So thanks to Dr. Bell, the freeze-out has officially ended!

Tiny Love

Lydia and I have a new best friend: the Tiny Love Symphony in Motion Mobile. This little contraption has allowed Lydia morning naps for the past two days. In fact, yesterday, she didn't so much as nap as just chill under the mobile while it played Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart to her. This morning it aided in her first real nap in her crib, a nap that continues as I write. The mobile is my best friend because it has now afforded me one shower (soon to be two), one load of dishes, two (hopefully three) loads of laundry, and some time with my laptop. Amazing!

Sharing the Wealth

of Information, that is. We know a handful of people that are new or soon-to-be parents that are blogging. There is something really great about being able to share experiences. For example, today as Lydia was having a meltdown, I went back to Jessica and Aaron's blog, and it turns out that she was having a similar experience when Aidan was the same age as Lydia. There is something so comforting about reading other people's stories. 

Other friends we have that are blogging are Kelsey, who is anxiously awaiting Baby Q.'s arrival very, very shortly, and Elizabeth and Brian, who will welcome their son Oliver very soon. Yay for the internet!

Relief!

We are fairly sure the Curry Catastrophe of 2009 has ended. The 36 hours following the initial infiltration of curry was probably the most trying we have had since bringing Lydia home. She was just so uncomfortable and unhappy. She is now eating well and no longer quite as "explosive" as yesterday. I think Robin and I weathered the catastrophe well, but it was not without some "I must be a terrible mother if I can't even calm down my own baby" and "She must hate me because she won't stop crying" moments. Thankfully, those moments have passed.

We also discovered Gripe Water at a remote location--our local Target. To be fair, we did not actually discover Gripe Water, but were told about it by both our pediatrician and Jessica, mom to Aidan. Gripe Water contains ginger and fennel and helps colicky babies. Within minutes of giving it to Lydia, she looked calmer than she has looked since Friday. Ahhhh. (That is my sigh of relief.) 

Sunday Projects

Robin and I have had a very relaxing Sunday morning! We made breakfast and enjoyed it on the lawn while watching runners in the Austin Marathon go by. We were able to catch a glimpse of and cheer on our friend Aaron, the one and only person we know that was running the marathon and were particularly impressed that at mile 20 (where our house is on the route), he was still able to shout out "Nice house!" Here's hoping to a great marathon for Aaron!

 Weekend projects include:

--Finishing the railings in the house.

--Getting car seat assembled and bases installed. (see note below)

--Getting bottles organized and ready to be washed and sterilized a little closer to Baby G.'s arrival. 

--Mounting the "L"s in the nursery. 

--Trim and other paint touch-ups.

--Unpacking and organizing our clothes. We have a lot of them!

We are also eager to have people over for dinner for the first time in the new house! Friends Brian and Elizabeth (who are expecting a baby boy in April) will be joining us tonight! 

On the car seats:

The statistics on the percentage of car seats that are improperly installed are terrifying! Thanks to Jessica and Aaron, mom and dad to Aidan, we found Safe Riders, a project of the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Department of Transportation. Safe Riders does "Child Seat Check-ups" free of charge, where they inspect the installation of your car seat to insure it is correct!