There is life outside your apartment!!

My sister introduced me to Avenue Q some years ago and a song from the musical has been running through my head ever since H's first month - "There is Life Outside your Apartment"! 

http://www.avenueq.com/

I try to remember that and get outside each day whether it's in the front pak, stroller, or car!!

YouTube capture of the song, if interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrzPcx381cY

Sleepy time

As a user experience researcher by trade, part of my job is to figure out why people don't do things that the web designers are hoping they'll do.  (Find or enter a certain piece of information, sign up for something, buy something, etc)  And we try to help designers create conditions where users will find what they need intuitively.

Now mother to a 10 week old, I spend most of my days figuring out why little H doesn't nap when I'm really hoping she will.  So I've started to look for conditions that tend to go along with sleeping.  

It turns out that you basically can't force a kid to go to sleep.  All you can do is look for opportunities that are conducive to sleep, and seize them to make it overwhelmingly likely that kiddo will want to sleep.

So, here are the things that seem to work for us (to varying degrees):

• Front pak - I guess it mimics being snuggled up in the womb and for a baby with reflux it helps to be kept upright 
• Bouncing on a yoga ball - our "go to" in the house
• Car in motion - duh
• Stroller in motion - this took some growing before it worked; as a newborn it just ticked her off to be shoved curled up into a ball
• "Shh-ing" and white noise - seem to help to fall asleep and stay asleep, though they aren't enough by themselves
• Swaddling - seems to help her stay asleep at night, though it really ticked her off when we first tried it at night and still ticks her off during the day

Turning her on her side (a la one of the "Happiest Baby on the Block" steps) never did work and usually just made her scream harder.  Turns out H had reflux.  Oops!


We're still working on the "going to sleep while still sleepy" bit.  Hopefully that'll work out at some point soon.  Mommy's back is about to give out with all the bouncing and walking!!

That first smile!!

Life with a newborn is pretty rough for (at least) the first few weeks -- lots of sore nipples and crying (and not just on the kid's part!!) peppered with poop and spit-up and wondering if you've totally ruined your happy, simple kid-free life.

And just when I thought there was basically no light at the end of the tunnel and we'd totally messed up everything ... she started grinning.  Smiling!  And flirting!  And cooing!  And basically being the most adorable creature possible (for at least 10 minutes a day).

It seems like kids grin (or start sleeping!) around the time they realize that it would be to their evolutionary advantage to do so because mommy and daddy are at the end of their ropes.  In our case we must have pretty short ropes because Miss H started smiling pretty early and has kept getting cuter.  A friend of mine said that babies are great because each stage is more amazing and fun than the last.  So far this has been totally true!

Sleep is the new currency!

My husband and I do our best to share responsibilities.  For example, I'm in charge of "indoor cooking" (that is, the kind we do most of the time) and he's responsible for "outdoor cooking" (grilling and cooking on camping trips).  He also has a better head for time and financial details, so he takes care of optimizing travel reservations and similar topics.  I got to be "the best" for figuring out dinner and D was the best for figuring out retirement accounts. Seemed like we had a relatively good set-up!

Then along comes H and for the first few weeks (er, months), all that really matters is SLEEP.   Sleep is the new measure of who is the best and who is the pampered one.  Who gets to have an extra hour after the first feeding?  Who gets to dive for the covers instead of spending 30 minutes droning "99 bottles of milk on the wall" before H is limp enough to set down and mince away?  I have never loved my husband so much as when he would rock H for an hour or two after the morning feeding so I could put in earplugs and go back to sleep.  Bliss!!

First tentative steps

Our first "real" outing was to Wunderlich Park in Woodside when H was just over 5 weeks old.  Dave carried H and we rocked a 5 mile loop with a little elevation gain.  Pretty exciting.  It's amazing what being out in the woods can do for the spirit. 

Several Dish hikes followed at the local paved hilly loop, and then we felt ready for a proper challenge.  Dave figured out a hotel reservation near Lassen National Park, and we took H up to see her first national park.  It was quite chilly, but we managed a short (3 mile) hike to Bumpass Hell (though H and I steered clear of most of the sulfur fumes). Our little pumpkin did quite well with the trip - didn't seem to mind the elevation change (max was about 8500') either up or on the way down; she slept right through most of the driving even when Dave and I swallowed and yawned to clear our own ears and glanced nervously at our little companion.

At 7 weeks H and I met a friend and her two cute little ones for a short hike at Montebello (part of the Open Space Preserves up on Skyline.  We're feeling like we can do this!  Incidentally this friend was the one who recommended the fabulous Pikkolo carrier by Catbird Baby.

A few tips I've picked up along the way:
1) It helps enormously to do a short "top-off" feed before starting - it increases the likelihood of H napping for up to 3 hours on the trails (as long as her carrier keeps moving).

2) Where possible "wear" her - she stays asleep far better in the carrier than in the stroller

3) Be OK with disposable diapers for less fussing; we use cloth at home most of the time, but H is happier for longer treks with a disposable.  A good absorbing, somewhat eco friendlier option is the "Bambo Nature" line.

More great lessons are here as well: http://www.bodyresults.com/e2babyhike.asp

Wee beginnings ...

The idea behind this blog is to have space to write about our biggest adventure to date - little H who joined us in September - and perhaps include a few musings on the "user experience" of things children-related.  Here we go!