10.22.2011

pumpkin patch 2011


Went to the pumpkin patch with Erin, Montana, Ada, Clara, and Brent and Oskar...and we were joined by Miriam and Asher. Photos were taken. See them by clicking here.

10.21.2011

Book Review: The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man’s Quest to Be a Better Husband

by David Finch

This book does not come out until January 2012, but I got a copy from our bookstore. Even with a newborn I read this book in a day! The author finds out when he is in his 30’s married with 2 kids that he has Aspergers Syndrome. Actually his wife figured it out. He wrote a Modern Love column about it in the New York Times, and as often happens with many New York Times Modern Love columns, he got a book deal out of the column. (Read the column here.)

Needless to say, I think Finch pulled a great book off. He explains what life is like with Aspergers and how he uses his newly found knowledge to change his behavior. He starts keeping a journal to detail how needs to change his behavior. This book will appeal to the masses is because his faults are the same faults we all have, but his are more, well, concentrated. He seems to have them all.

But he truly loves his wife and family and has a great sense of humor. I wondered actually if someone helped him afterwards inserting humor. And I wonder if he still has his old job.

Check it out when it comes out. Good book.

10.15.2011

photo project




So, I have a problem. I hoard something...It takes up a quarter of our refrigerator. To be fair to me, they don't make this thing anymore...it is Polaroid Film.

Until recently, I have not really had any "polaroid worthy" projects. Enter Oskar. That's right, he is polaroid worthy.

So I am taking at least one polaroid picture of him every day. Then I date the picture and put it up on our magnetic wall.

Fun.

10.10.2011

babies...


Oskar turned one-month-old three days ago. People keep asking me if I can even remember life without him.

I can.

But I do have a different feeling about him. If you have ever lost a loved one, for me my mom, you will know the feeling I mean. Sometimes, I will dream of Linda and for two or three seconds when I wake up I feel OK. I feel like everything is right in the world; my mom is not really dead. It is a euphoric feeling; specifically like the lack of a giant weight on my shoulders.

I get that feeling when looking at Oskar sometimes. I feel like everything is right in the world. And that’s nice.

10.09.2011

a few book reviews...mini style

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Marc Weissbluth

This book was recommended by my friend Marika and it has been pretty helpful. One question Brent keeps asking is when the baby is supposed to do X. This book spells out the when for sleeping nicely. He uses month my month examples to help parents know what is normal and what to do if things are abnormal. We are really trying to keep Oskar on a schedule.

The Ghost Map
, by Steven Johnson

Great book about how science can go stray when people become attached to an idea dogmatically. Johnson explains how a doctor (the same doctor who invented the whole field of anesthesiology, by the way) sussed out that cholera was a water born illness rather than in the air. The reader learns all about life in London in the 1800's. Bacteria really rule our world. Oh and you can cure cholera by drinking LOTS and LOTS of water, because cholera just removes water from your system. Oh and did you know beer has antibacterial qualities? Great book.

The Case for Make Believe, by Susan Linn

This author really believes that kids need time to use and develop their imagination. She also believes, with statistics and studies to back up her belief, that TV stifles children's abilities to play. She turned me into a believer. To the extent possible I would like to keep Oskar away from screens as much as possible for as long as possible. We will see how that works out.

10.01.2011

diaper dilemma solved

I did not want to use disposable diapers because of environmental concerns (which are debatable) and because of concerns with the gel they put in the disposable diapers these days. I have been told (but have not researched) that there is a correlation between decreased sperm counts in boys diapered with disposable diapers.

So we started researching an option that would work for Brent and I a long time ago. I thought that the diaper service in DC would work great. They deliver the clean diapers to you once a week and pick up the dirties. They do the wash. But, you have to supply the outer layer which covers the diapers. We used Thristies Covers. But it turns out that the cloth diapers they use are just not absorbent enough. So then we tried just using the cloth during the day and disposable at night. An option, but then the cloth diapers were just not working during the day. Oskar's clothes were getting wet all the time.

Montana and Erin are using cloth for Clara. (Bumgenius I think. My friend Maureen has used these with two kids, and loves them.) Their system works great, because their diapers have microfiber inserts, which wicks wetness away. I was concerned that our washer would not handle doing the laundry for their type of cloth diapers. Montana persuaded us to try it, so we got four of the cloth inserts that you can purchase with the Thirsties. These worked great and laundered well, but well, that is a lot more laundry...

So yesterday I went and purchased some gdiaper inserts and one gdiaper. Gdiapers are pretty neat. You can use them like regular cloth diapers with a cloth insert, or you can purchase their biodegradable diaper inserts and flush the used diapers! It is so neat. I looked all over the internet to see if you could use the gdiaper flush-able inserts with other diaper covers but no one had anything to say about that.

Well, it works! Tell the internets: using gdiaper inserts with Thirsties diaper covers works.

Look, diapers are messy, but this works for us.

Good times on the mommy blog.