A first

Today I breastfed D on the train for the first time.  It only took me 18 months to feel comfortable.  Well, actually I had to take D to the Dr.and on the way home he REALLY wanted "milkies".  I very discreetly pulled my sweater up and let him do the rest while somewhat hiding under his fleece.

 I was always grossed out by germs on the train, however, my baby is dehydrated so he gets whatever liquid he wants wherever he wants.  I always find NYers are completely comfortable around public breastfeeding.  I mostly get endearing looks.  Only once did we get a snarky look when D was an infant at Wholefoods.  We had just left a chiropractic appointment, I was starving and so was D.  I nursed him, but he was not latching well (distracted) and tired so was crying a bit.  The woman  looked at me like" why would you bring an infant here." Because obviously nobody actually lives or has family and  things to do in NYC.

Europe Playground Tour

After attempting Europe with a one year old, I am ready to do it again and again and again. Oh yes, I have caught the travel bug yet again.  If you are contemplating a trip with your baby or toddler I suggest to try it!  Believe it or not he learned a lot from this trip.  I do have to say  that our child, while not the calmest baby, is not very high maintenance.  For example, he doesn't need toys to be entertained, he eats what we eat, he loves to walk and have fun, he can nap anywhere, he doesn't need warm baby wipes, and he is used to being around people of all ages.  We stayed in apartments, went food shopping at the local markets, ate where the locals ate, and had a wonderful time in doing so.  I loved our trip!  But enough about me, I think Desmond enjoyed Paris the most.  Here is what he has to say:

My top 10 favorite things to do in Paris

1. French bread, croissants, and pastries- any kind of carb really!

2. Salted caramel ice cream at Berthillion

3. Visit every playground on the right bank

4. Banana Crepes

5. Collect stones at Luxembourg gardens

6. Not stay still for mommy take my picture at the Eiffel tower

7. Wave to boat passengers along the Seine

8. Ride the carousel in Montmarte

9. Play with the ducks at the Tuileries Gardens

10. Watch scooters pass by the dozen

walking around Brussels, Belgium

Antwerp Zoo

Moules Frites, Antwerp 

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Delis were great to avoid the restaurant scene

Apfel Struddel in Dusseldorf, Germany

Enjoying some modern art in Koln, Germany

Chasing pigeons in Paris, France

One of the many playgrounds we toured

Ducks were a fave

Nap time= coffee time!

time to shop

Paris is for lovers.  I love this guy.

I actually got tired of croissants.....

Baby Overboard

D climbed out of his crib yesterday.  Oh horrible mom that I am!  I nursed him and,thankfully, he was fine.   A post traumatic coffee break ensued.   Somehow I  had a feeling something like this would happen, that D would climb out of the crib.  I had actually talked to my husband about it, but we just brushed it off.  There are a few things that could have prevented this: co-sleeping, or a montesori style floor bed.  But for now R just lowered the crib even more.

 I love the idea of cosleeping, but we have tried it a few times, and  D just likes his space.  In a full size bed  none of us were getting any sleep.  So, I put him to sleep at the breast in our rocking chair, and then put him in his crib.  He wakes now only at 4 or 5am (a huge improvement to every 2 hours for most of the first year, more on that later) and we sometimes bring him into bed with us then.   It is so very cozy.  I am now leaning to losing the crib completely and putting the mattress on the floor.

My favorite floor bed image on the web:

http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2009/10/its-the-little-things.html

Better late than never

After living 6 years as a married couple in the "city that never sleeps"  I guess you can say we are true New Yorkers now.  Oh yeah, for the past 16 months we have been partying hard all night long.  By partying hard of course I mean rocking, swaying, nursing, jumping, singing, rhyming, and caressing our dear son to sleep.

Since I am not getting any sleep anyway,  I have decided to start this blog.  After all, I would have been a pretty incompetent mom had it not been for all of the millions of blogs posts I read dealing with everything from green poo, to placenta encapsulation.  I wonder what other mothers did before the internet. Well, on second thought, upon looking back, I realize all my baby ever needed was me....and my "milkies".