What I learned on my weekend in Anchorage

I (we) learned a lot of things on my (our) weekend in Anchorage this past weekend. It can all be summed up pretty simply in four small words...

A baby changes everything. (Go ahead, laugh now....)

Because 11 weeks of having this little person in our life didn't quite get that message across yet, our trip to Anchorage this weekend for a little getaway definitely hammered it home! I hadn't left the island since April (waaaaayyyyy too long for me), so we took advantage of a recent sale on airfare, and headed over for some different food and some retail therapy. WOW was it a different experience from our past weekend trips over there!

Michaela did great on the plane, with the exception of a major blow out diaper shortly after this picture was taken. Luckily, it was before take off (and before there were a lot of people seated around us), so she had a quick diaper and wardrobe change while we waited for everyone else to board. So, lesson 1 - change the baby's diaper before getting in the security line. Other lessons we learned were that we needed a bag for her carseat (which we bought while in Anchorage), and that the stroller was completely unnecessary as a gate-checked item. We bought the travel bag for the stroller while in Anchorage as well, and it came back as checked luggage. Much smarter. And, finally, on the trip back, we learned that wearing her through security in the carrier was the easiest way to deal with the whole screening process. So those were lessons two through four.

After the short flight over to Anchorage, we checked into the hotel, and then headed down the street to meet Christina at the Glacier Brewhouse for a yummy dinner and house-brewed beer. Our tired, and somewhat overwhelmed girl made it through dinner ok, though we also learned lesson #5, which is to be ready for her to need to eat at exactly the moment her mom's food arrives to the table. Jason did a great job keeping her occupied while I scarfed down my food and then got myself all covered up so I could feed her. He then enjoyed his food. Oh, that's lesson #6... we'll never eat a meal at the same time again (we kind of knew lessons 5 and 6 from home, though).

Here's Daddy and Michaela enjoying some play time on the floor at her first hotel... and a fancy one at that. She and I had a chat about making sure she gets a good education and makes enough money so that she can always stay at nice hotels like the Hotel Captain Cook. You'll note the crib bars in the background there. That crib was a lovely decoration in the room. I say decoration because she definitely did NOT use it. That brings us to lesson #7: you can have them bring the nice crib to the room, but if it's not hers, she won't sleep in it. On Friday night she slept on Jason's chest on the couch. On Saturday night, she slept in the little cocoon-like nest we made for her in her carseat. That was not my first choice of sleeping location for her on Saturday, but after Friday, we were desperate!!

She may have slept in the crib on Saturday, though, because she was EXHAUSTED after a big day out. We shopped til we dropped and exposed her to a whole new world of sights and sounds. And our girl, who suffers from serious PMS (paranoid of missing something) just would not sleep while we were out. We saw LOTS of babies snoozing happily in their stollers, but our baby just wanted to look around at all the new things! So she did not sleep, but instead did things like enjoying the people watching at the food court of the 5th Avenue Mall! So, the lesson learned there was to break the shopping up into a couple rounds with a quiet nap in between. That's lesson #8.

She also enjoyed all the lights and fun things to look at while we were at Red Robin for dinner Saturday night. For the lessons learned there, I'll send you back to numbers 5 and 6. She was pretty good at Red Robin, though. I think she knows a good thing when she sees it!

On Sunday, we had the opportunity to go to church at St. Mary's. Why would we go to church on a weekend getaway? Well, I'd like to say it's because we're good Episcopalians like that. But really, it's because Ted, who used to be the curate at the church we went to in Massachusetts, recently took over as the Associate Rector at St. Mary's! So, we got the chance to visit with him for a few minutes before and after the service. It was GREAT to see him!! The visit to St. Mary's brings us to lesson #10... when visiting a new church (or pretty much any other gathering place), be sure to scope out a good nursing location in advance of the actual need to feed a soon-to-explode-with-hunger-crankiness baby! I found a nice quiet spot, but we almost had an emergency situation there!


And, finally, we get to the last lesson of the weekend... Lesson #11... even though it's a completely different experience now, we wouldn't trade it for the world, because this little girl has filled a part in our lives that we didn't know was empty. I mean, seriously, what's not to like about this?

So, we had to learn a lot of things the hard way, but we're armed with this information for our next trip off the Rock in November, which will involve a LOT longer travel day, and a whirlwind week+ of meeting friends and family. Of course, by then, she'll change all the rules on us again, but some of it might carry over!

And, finally, because I told Mom I'd get this up, here's a short video of Michaela showing off her new skill... she has figured out that she can make a different noise when she breathes in from what she makes when she breathes out. She's been practicing for a few days now.... and I can't get enough of it!

I hope our lessons can serve to help others as they adjust to new life after the arrival of a baby. And it's ok to laugh at us... we're laughing at ourselves!!!

Jason is fired as my co-blogger....

Maryanne - I SWEAR it's not my fault it took so long to get this post up here! I put him in charge of it, but he keeps forgetting!

Moving on...

Michaela Meets Her Reidy Grandparents

That should've been the real title of this post, which is LOOOONG overdue. Maryanne and Jim were here during the last week of August, soaking up all the Michaela they could for an 8-day visit. Like most of our guests over the past two years, they got in bright and early on the morning jet, after a 4-hour layover in Anchorage. I think we forget to ask, though... did Jim wake everyone with his snoring this year, too?? (Sorry, Jim, I couldn't resist!)

Maryanne (aka Mimi) scoops a sleeping Michaela out of my hands at 8 in the morning! You can tell she was mostly still asleep by the fact that she's curled in that little ball. It still cracks us up when she does that!

Jim (aka Papa) FINALLY gets his turn. I think he had to actually pry the baby out of Maryanne's hands!

We did our best to enjoy a week of decent Kodiak weather while managing my continuing c-section recovery and a finicky baby's schedule. Luckily, by the time they got here, I was about 5 weeks post-op, so I was up and about much better than when my parents were here. If you remember my post a few weeks back about fishing with the baby, that happened when Maryanne and Jim were here.

Besides that, we did some easy hiking, drove to the top of Pillar Mountain for the view of downtown Kodiak, went down to the harbor on Near Island to see "the very famous boat" (Cornelia Marie of Deadliest Catch fame... a little kid walked by and asked his dad if they could see the very famous boat), and they went halibut fishing (with Jason... I stayed home with Michaela) in an absolute downpour. Though there was no fresh halibut to grace the table, we pulled some out of the freezer and Maryanne made us a FANTASTIC dinner one night. Fortunately, I have the cookbook she got the recipe from, so I can try to recreate it at a later date... it was one of the best ways I've eaten halibut yet!

Mmmmm....yummy!

We spent most of their week here relaxing around the house, though, with Mimi and Papa (I guess we'll stick with that since it's what Regan's already calling you guys!) getting plenty of time to cuddle and play with Michaela - which was the only reason for their visit anyway! Jason and I have quickly realized that nothing is about us at all anymore... but we're ok with that.

Everyone but me (behind the camera) at the top of Pillar Mountain. I think we made Maryanne nervous with how little clothes Michaela was wearing. She was plenty dressed to us - she's a Kodiak girl afterall!

And now here we are, over a month later since they left, with only 6 short weeks until we get to see everyone again! We're already looking forward to our visit to the east coast - and basically reintroducing Michaela to everyone. She changes so much every day, that it'll be exciting all over again to see everyone "meet" her again!

My apologies to Maryanne and Jim that it took so long to get this post up, and that it's not very detailed! We had a great visit with you guys, though, and we can't wait to see you in November!!

And Jason's fired.

Sometimes I hate him.

Or maybe I'm just jealous. If I tried to do this, I wouldn't be able to actually fall asleep, or Michaela would decide she didn't want to. But, no, they've been like this for at least a half hour, maybe more....




Don't tell him I told you, but I think he would've put her to bed instead of sharing a nap like this, but he had to fly the last two nights and only saw her for about a half hour in the mornings (not counting the 4am feeding), so he needed his daddy time.


Plus, by doing this with her, I was able to do some stuff I wanted to and haven't been able to since he's been gone the last two nights.



But I'm still jealous.

Back to your regularly scheduled program....

And we're back to baby stuff.


Mom/Mary requested some video of Michaela. We've taken some lately, but nothing really worth sharing. And then within the last couple days, she took on a new activity, so we have something worth sharing now.


Right before I sat down to write this blog, Jason called me upstairs, where we watched our daughter struggling and getting frustrated as she attempted to roll over from her back to her tummy. She obviously hasn't gotten the memo that you're supposed to go the other way first (tummy to back) because she is bound and determined to roll over. Unfortunately, all she managed to do tonight was spin herself around so that her head turned toward the foot of the crib and her feet were at the head. I tried to get some video of that in the night mode of our point and shoot camera, but the battery died right after I turned in on, so you'll have to settle for the stuff I took earlier with the Flip.


We'll get to that...


In other major news, she's 8 weeks old today (HOW did that happen?!?!) and has now gone to three half days of daycare. I only cried the first day, and I managed to stop the periodic crying most of the way through lunch with Jason. Before that first day, there were days I would get so frustrated with her when I couldn't seem to get her to stop crying no matter what I did, and I thought I couldn't wait til I could get a break! Now, after three half days, and my return to work looming in the very near (MONDAY!) future, all I can think is, "HOW am I going to be away from her all day!?! I'm going to miss everything!!" Luckily, I'll get to go to the CDC (Child Development Center) once a day to nurse her, so we'll have a little time during the day, but it's definitely not going to be the same! She'll thrive there, though, with lots of one-on-one time since there are soon to be only two babies in the infant room. That makes me happy - if she has to be in daycare, at least she's getting the same time I'd be giving her!


Michaela recently had her 8 week well-baby check a little early, too. She had it right around 6 weeks because we had paper work to fill out for the CDC. I've been concerned about how much she spits up, and wondered if she was keeping enough food down. I didn't need to worry at all! At 6 weeks, she was 10lbs, 14oz and 22.5 inches long, which was a full two+ pounds more than her birth weight, and a full inch longer than her birth height! And today, we took the infant insert out of her carseat! This girl is growing like a weed!


So that's the big stuff in baby news. I still need to put together a blog about the Reidy grandparents meeting their second grand child. But, we're having a big party at the house tomorrow night - our wetting down to celebrate our promotions this summer - so I have to get through that first, and then I'll get back to the blog.


Meanwhile, in non-baby news, I have a "job" coming up that I have a lot of work to do for as well. A friend of mine, who owns a souvenir-type shop here in town has asked if I would sell some of my Kodiak photography on consignment in her shop. So I now need to go through two years of pictures and find the ones I think would sell the best! I'm pretty flattered that she asked me to provide her shop with something that she thinks it's been missing... but I'm also nervous that no one will like them and buy them! So, wish me luck on that front!


Finally, what everyone has read this whole blog to get to... the video from earlier tonight that I talked about a million paragraphs ago. Here's Michaela getting a little exercise and trying valiantly to roll over!

Sometimes it's not about the baby

I would love to offer up a picture-filled and witty post about the latest and greatest adventures in the life of Michaela.

But, last night Jason and I had a combined total of sleep less than what is recommended for a normal adult, so my wit and patience for uploading pictures are a little limited.

Instead, I'll just share a little piece of Kodiak beauty. This is what I saw out the front window about an hour ago... and I promptly ran outside to catch it with the camera, leaving Jason inside with a screaming baby. Heh.

Anyway, this is the product of a sunset just 20-ish minutes before moonrise (plus a 500mm zoom lens and a little cropping/zooming on the computer). Enjoy!

You can keep 'em, but the limit is one....

Hopefully everyone gets that... just in case, though, it's a reference to the bag limit for how many fish you're allowed to keep. In this case, I'm referring to a very special kind of catch....

As I walked up from the Buskin this afternoon, with a baby in my arms, a couple guys walking down to the river asked if you could catch those down there... I told 'em yes, but the limit is one!

I've told my mom for MONTHS, that I'd head out fishing at some point this summer, even if it meant I had to bring the baby with me. Mom didn't believe me, so we took pictures so I could prove it. That first picture is Michaela showing off her Sox pride right before we put her back in her carseat and headed out for the screaming ride home.

Here's the rest of the proof...

Having a quick snack before heading down to the river. YAY for bottles so Daddy can get in on the feeding, and I don't have to find a private spot to feed her when we're out and about!

Here I am... all dressed up in my waders, and ready to head down to the river. Of course, she started crying right after Maryanne took this picture.



But, she stopped as soon as we started walking down the path, and then fell asleep, allowing me to get to business!



You'll note in this picture that, not only am I fishing, but I actually have a fish on my line (note the bent tip on my pole). Sadly, this cast only resulted in a pink (hooked legally in the mouth, but still a pink), but Michaela was pretty happy with her first fish.



I don't recommend fishing while wearing a baby unless you have someone to help you get the fish off the hook. Truth be told, I usually make Jason do this anyway, but at least I had a good reason today.

And here we are, showing off my stinky pink! We were trying to decide whether the baby would have increased our bag limit of silvers by two since she was helping me out. You don't have to have a license if you're under 14 (I think 14), so I'm wondering if I could've claimed an extra two fish on her behalf. It turned out not to be an issue since she had a melt-down and we had to leave before any of us caught any silvers anyway, but I'll have to do the research for the next time.

Finally, I have to share this picture because 1) she's too cute for words in it and 2) that's a doll she's smiling at (thanks Mr. and Mrs. A!!), so it's not all fishing and boy stuff for her! She likes the girl stuff, too!

That's the latest from here. Jim and Maryanne got in on Saturday and will be here until Sunday morning. I'll share the rest of the grandparents-meet-Michaela stuff later in the week... I just had to get this up here today.

So, yes, Mom, it IS possible to bring the baby fishing with us!!!

Four weeks already!

Truth be told, she'll be five weeks tomorrow. But we're slow. And sleep-deprived. Yesterday, I thought about blogging, but then I decided to take a nap instead. I should be doing that right now since Michaela is sleeping for the first time all day today right now (It's 5:45 pm and she's been asleep since about 4. I'm pretty sure babies are supposed to sleep between the hours of 9 and 4... she didn't get the memo.). But, I feel so bad that it's been over two weeks since we updated the blog that I'm doing this instead. See how much you mean to me?

Let's see... what's happened since the 2nd? We've done about a bazillion loads of baby laundry, but Jason ran out of socks one day because we forgot our own. We've gone through more diapers than I ever thought humanly possible and she's showing no signs of letting up on the VERY regular pooping. We've started to get back into our Kodiak hikes - slowly at first while I continue to heal, but we're going further and at a better pace now with only one major "feed me now" melt-down so far. We've learned not to leave a naked baby on the changing table for too long or it can result in a bigger mess. And, Michaela got to meet her Waitt grandparents and aunt.

In the midst of all that, she took her first bottle (YAY! No worries that she'd starve at daycare), let us know very firmly that she's not interested in a pacifier, slept "through the night" (5 hrs) on more than a couple occasions, and grew like a weed! Jason and I are trying to settle into some kind of a routine (not a schedule, just a routine), and I've tried to avoid going crazy by getting out of the house as much as possible. I'm pretty sure that full-on sleep deprivation is in effect, but we're managing to function and find our way through our new life as a family of three. It is truly amazing to me that such a small person can change your life so much and can fill your heart with so much love. She can also fill your heart with frustration as she cries unconsolably for the third night in a row for no apparent reason, but we've decided we're definitely going to keep her. She made us fall in love and there's just no going back now. *grin*

Moving onto the good stuff... pictures!

Hiking out at Spruce Cape. I LOVE my Sleepy Wrap. Jason prefers the Baby Bjorn, but I like the cuddly feeling I get from the wrap instead.

Grandma meets Michaela! Grandma is lucky that Michaela was out of bed for her... just remember that, Grandma.

I think Grandpa had to pry Michaela out of Grandma's hands. He had to continue to do that for the rest of his visit....

Heather doesn't seem very excited to be meeting her niece (*snicker*, *snort*). Heather liked holding Michaela the best when she was like this. Like a good aunt, she was quick to hand her back when the screaming started. She also continously offered to change a diaper, but never did....Smart lady.


Family portrait at Ft. Abercrombie. Next time, maybe we'll show Michaela's face.



I did not lay my baby like this to sleep, I swear. She started on my chest and slid into my lap and then slowly kept moving her head off my lap until she ended up like this. She slept like this quite comfortably for a half hour or so. Silly kid.

This is more like it! Isn't she cute!!?!

First bottle!!! Daddy's now in on the feeding game! We started her a day after she hit 4 weeks just in case she resisted it at all. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get used to it since she'll get bottles during the day while she's at daycare. She's now had 4 or 5 feedings this way with no complaints at all! YAY!!!

She really WILL sleep anywhere....

Here's the wider shot of that one... I'm guessing she started higher on Jason's chest, too adn slid her way down. Again, silly kid.

And, finally, a story.... Jason is going to hate me for this one. Oh well!
Today, I scheduled a hair appointment since Jason was home during the day. I waited WAY too long to schedule it, so I was stuck with the 2:45 appointment. Jason had to leave the house no later than 3:30 to head into work for his duty night. I figured I'd be close to getting done by the time he had to go, so, if I wasn't home, he could always just drop the baby off with me on his way out to work. Well, that's what he did, but it wasn't pretty! Apparently he didn't get the text I sent him, telling him he'd had to drop her off because the hairdresser was running behind. So he did some stuff between 2:30 and 3-ish, at which time he determined Michaela was hungry so he'd give her a bottle real quick. That was his first mistake. So, when he brought her into the salon, looking a little worse for the wear, I said "Rough afternoon?" and he said something along these lines:

"Yes. She was really fussy the whole time. I gave her a bottle, which she spit up half of. On me. Then she was in the bouncy chair and had a major diaper blow out. So I had to clean that up. My other flight suit is just on the floor in the living room. I really have to go now. Oh, and she's not wearing pants. Just a onesie. Ok, bye."

Something tells me he's really looking forward to my doctor's appointment next week when he'll get to fly solo again (though Maryanne and Jim will be here, so it won't really be solo). At least we all had a good laugh at the salon!

And now I need to run because she's starting to wake up and I have left-over pizza in the oven that I was hoping to eat before she needed to again! We'll do our best to not wait so long between updates anymore!!