Aunt Maura came to Town

She's got her Daddy's hair

 It’s Friday, which means that Safia and I have almost survived our first week together.  Right now she is rocking sweetly in her swing, not sure how long it will last, but I’ll take what I can get.  I’ve been testing her endurance today – she “sat” in the boppy long enough for me to get dressed and brush my teeth, and then she laid on her play mat long enough for me to make breakfast and eat it (quickly of course, but something is better than nothing!).  Now if only I can finish typing this before she wants out of her swing – somehow I doubt that is going to be possible!  Wasn’t possible – but she was in there for almost 10 minutes – little victories these days.

Now she’s sleeping, so I have 20 minutes to an hour to get things done.  When she goes down, I’m always faced with the dilemma, do I also lay down and rest, or do I get a few things done – I usually delude myself by thinking I can get a few things done and then lay down.  It usually doesn’t work that way which leads to me being exhausted and grumpy by the time Rube comes home.  To top it off, what I actually get done is so minuscule, I don’t feel like I’m getting anything done – maybe that’s the universes way of telling me that I should be laying down!

My sister Maura came for a short visit. She had a meeting in Atlanta Thursday evening so she flew in early to spend a day with us.  Safia enjoyed hanging with her aunt. We even successfully attempted going out to lunch.  We walked to lunch, and Safia slept through lunch, but of course, I pushed the limits by taking the long way home, which resulted in a hysterical baby for the last five minutes of the walk.  Lesson learned.   Maybe.

This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one, not the relaxing re-entrance into co-parenting I was hoping for.  Rube is playing at Washington Farm’s Strawberry Festival and the Americana Festival on Saturday.  We’re going to try to go to the Strawberry Festival, but I’m not holding my breath that we’ll actually get there on time– we’ll see how long it takes for me to get Saifa out of the house by myself!  Rube is also finishing up his course work for his master’s program.  He’s almost done, the end is in sight, but almost all of his work is due on Monday.  Since he’s playing music all day Saturday, I’m going to guess that Safia and I’ll be hanging out all day Sunday while he works.  Once everything is done, he will have both his Masters in Early Childhood Education and his teaching certificate – it’s been a challenge for him to work full time and go to school, the added adventure of a new baby has made it harder!

Rube and Safia in the Ergo - a nice relief from
 holding her - maybe he'll try to do his work this
weekend with her!

How do you . . .

Having a baby entails a huge learning curve – everything is new, and no matter how prepared (or unprepared) you feel, nothing compares to the reality that you are responsible for this tiny little helpless baby or advanced fetus, the in-vogue way of talking about newborn’s first three months.  Rube and I were lucky enough to have my parents with us for the first week so I could ask all those silly questions – mainly, is this normal? – to people who’d had some experience.   Rube and I were also lucky enough that Rube was able to take three weeks off so we could stumble through the process together.  At least during that time, there was always someone to turn to ask – do you think this is all right? (a case of the blind leading the blind, but reassurance, no matter who it’s coming from is always nice!).

Now, the stumbling through the day has become my sole responsibility – and with it has come a whole new set of challenges, and a whole new set of “skills” to learn, and a whole lot of experimenting of what works!  Tasks that were once simple (eating, going to the bathroom, cleaning the house, any everyday task I used to do without thinking about) have taken on a level of complexity that I never imagined and leaves me constantly asking myself “How do I . . . ?”  And the how do I's have changed – no longer is it 'How do I change a diaper?' Or 'How do I get a squirming little girl dressed?'  Or 'How do I get her to stop crying?'  Or 'How do I get this girl to take her pacifier?'  Now it’s 'How do I go to the bathroom?' ''How do I eat?' and 'How do I get anything done???' 

So we’re learning slowly.  It’s getting easier day-by-day – Safia is becoming more “independent” – taking naps in her bassinet, spending time in her bouncy chair, or on her play mat.  Granted, she’s only entertained in the bouncy chair or on the play mat for about 5 or 10 minutes, but hopefully as she gets used to all these new forms of entertainment, she’ll spend more time in them.  And I’m getting better at getting things done quickly, and doing things one handed. 

There has also been a steady stream of friends helping us out – whether it’s keeping us fed (because the thought of having to make dinner is still overwhelming!), or coming over and providing me with entertainment and another set of hands.  We feel really lucky to have such a great support system since our families are so far away!

Finally, it seems that Safia is on another growth support/feeding frenzy, or at least that’s what Rube tells me.  I sometimes wonder if she’s just testing my patience, preparing me for what’s to come.  Which leaves me with my last “How do you . . .” question,  'How do you not loose your mind when you’re nursing constantly?'  Hopefully the answer to that one will come sooner than later!

Just the Two of Us

Safia - 3 Weeks Old

This weekend, Safia and I spent the afternoon together in preparation for our solo time this week.  Rube went to Atlanta to play music with his band (High Strung String Band) at a friend's homebrew festival.  It was a great chance for him to get back into the swing of playing music, after a band hiatus of a few months.  Safia, Zoey and I held down the home front - we worked in the garden, went for a walk, started cleaning the screen porch from the pollen and construction mayhem, and nursed many, many, many times. I determined that our garden beds are a little wide for easy gardening with baby - to reach the middle of the beds, I have to lean way over which is near impossible with a baby strapped to your chest.  And I learned the very important lesson that once Safia goes down for a nap, if it's anywhere a meal time I need to eat immediately, not putz, not think about what I want to eat, not look for kitchen implements (our kitchen is still not totally put back together), and not do just one more thing before I get something to eat.  Needless to say my putzing and her short nap (at this point it's anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour) lead to me only eating a granola bar and a smoothie over the course of 7 hours - not the best situation for anyone involved!

We had high expectations for Do Nothing Day - but it somehow seemed to morph into a Just Do a Few Things Day.  Rube did another round of planting in the garden (making up for my inabilities on Saturday), we went for a long walk, and we did some more things around the house.

It also was a day of firsts for Safia - she finally took a pacifier and sucked herself to sleep (we had  been working on introducing the pacifier for about a little less than a week).  She had her first Skype date with her grandparents (my parents).  I also took my first
solo excursion out into the world to a friends baby shower, and Safia had her first bottle.  From Rube's report, she was a little taken aback by the speed of milk delivery, but happily ate quickly.  Rube and Safia than joined me at the baby shower - her first party.  In the evening, we resumed our weekly Sunday Euchre game with our friends Seth and Katie - they brought over dinner from Tlaloc, our favorite Mexican/Central American Restaurant in Athens, and after enjoying our dinner (partly without Safia, partly with her in our arms), we played cards - the game was slower than usual, especially when Safia decided with was time for a nursing marathon (playing cards one-handed is a skill I need to improve on), but all in all, it was great to resume one of our normal routines.

And of course, it was her first Easter - she had a busy weekend!

Now with my first post under my belt, we'll see how the rest of the day goes!

Just a Typical Day

I 'heart' daddy, but he's just so boring.

not my shirt, but similar

Happy Earth Day!  I'm reminded of a T-shirt I used to have, that I'm not really sure, sitting here, where it might be.  It was a hand-screened shirt I made while living in California.  A friend hosted a crafting party in which there was candle making and screen printing of shirts.  A number of friends, including myself, owned silk screens for printing shirts and we passed one another's screens around, giving everyone an opportunity to print all the different images and messages.  The one shirt that I printed that comes to mind today, on this Earth Day, had a large image of the planet earth with the message 'Good Planets are Hard to Find.'  I loved that shirt so, so much and really wish I had it in my immediate possession so I could wear it today.  At any rate, happy earth day: good planets are hard to find.


Yesterday, all in all, was pretty uneventful.  I didn't leave the house until 7:30pm when I walked the dog.  Our intention was to take a walk all together - Ellen, and I, Safia, and dog - however Safia got hungry and needed to feed as we were gathering momentum to leave.  With the sun quickly going down, it was just man and dog on a spirited jaunt around the 'hood (I'm sure Zoey appreciated the accelerated pace).  Earlier in the day we had, not one, but two, musical jams; one with the violin and the other with the guitar.  She really seems to like it, but I'm still not sure whether it's the music she's engaged with, or the lounging, vibrating, rocking chair she sits in when I play music for her.  Whichever it is, it's pretty sweet.

Well this is it.  Paternity leave over.  Just a short weekend, and then back to the grind.  We are declaring Sunday, 'Do Nothing Day.'  No errands, no house projects, no blogging, no school work, just hanging out, driving each other crazy, and loving on everybody.  If you'd like to participate in Do Nothing Day, please feel free to stop by, we'd love to see you.  Hope everyone has a pleasant weekend, wherever you may be!

Nifty Notion!

One-finger typist no more!

So remember that 'Slow Blog Movement' post where I extolled the virtues of slow typing?  I explained how Safia would sleep on me as I slowly, pecked away, one-finger style on the keyboard.  You may recall that I attempted to make it seem like I enjoyed it; like it was some sort of labor of love; that it was somehow a superior brand of communication; that it was, in a way, cooler to type like 3 words per minute.  Well, that was all ludicrous balderdash.  What I have devised is a new paradigm of baby sleeping/parental vigilance/blogging freedom.  Here's the scene: sleeping Safia gets shimmied into the Moby Wrap (a long piece of fabric wrapped around baby and adult that secures baby to adult in a comforting and loving manner, yet allows both adult hands to be free to engage in various manual tasks), computer is placed on counter top in the kitchen, I sidle up to the computer, standing, baby in wrap, bouncing, shushing, and commence typing with both my hands in a typically efficient fashion.  That's not all...I'm also eating toast and drinking coffee (carefully, and craning my neck out from above baby's head as to avoid possible hot coffee splashing scaldage).  I know, I know...brilliant!  Safia sleeps, Ellen sleeps, I type like a normal human being, I eat, I get caffeinated - everybody wins - that is until Safia gets hungry...then, kablooey!


So, I thought I'd spin a yarn about an adventure we had yesterday.  The Yen-Kohls piled into the car to go to a photographer's studio in Comer, GA (about 30 min. away from Athens in nowhere land: "Make our town, your town" is their motto) so Safia could get her picture taken in an artsy way to be hung up in the midwife clinic.  Babies are supposed to like riding in the car right?  The vibration and the sound of the engine are supposed to sedate them straight into sweet slumber, right?  Well let me tell you something about Safia: she wasn't too keen on a car ride yesterday.  I don't know, maybe it's because the Prius runs so quietly and the gas engine shuts off frequently, but our little girl was a-wailing the whole ride over.  When we got there, ideally, Safia would be in deep sleep so that really cute, posed in props, sleeping newborn pictures could be taken.  Safia, of course, was wide awake.  After rocking her, walking her, swaying her, and shushing her, she did finally get to sleep.  The photographer's pose of choice:  place Safia in an over-sized tea cup, arms propped on the edge of the cup, head laid angelically on her arms, all the while sleeping soundly.  You may have guessed that Safia didn't hold that pose for more than .3 seconds before popping awake.  More walking and swaying and shushing to get her asleep, and tea cup attempt #2 went predictably the same.  We decided to just go with an awake baby being held in Dad's arms pose.  That went much smoother.  We quickly got some pics snapped, Safia pooped on me, and we were back in the car for more sobbing and yowling, before we found ourselves back at home.  Whew!

Growth, Physical and Otherwise

8 pounds 11.5 ounces.  That's how much Safia weighs as of yesterday afternoon.  That's about a pound gained in a week.  I guess that's validation that the spate of feedings we endured throughout the past week were for good reason.  It seems like just two weeks ago (cause it was) our little girl only weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces, and now she's 8 pounds 11.5 ounces...she's growing up so fast! (sniff, sniff) 

already scheming something

Also, we've been gradually increasing the amount of time she sleeps solo in her bassinet, and she's been making steady progress.  Last night, she started the evening in the bassinet and slept for almost 3 hours before stirring.  Feeding, diaper change, a little wide awake time, and she slept for about 2 hours on my chest.  Then, on and off again until the morning arrived.  I can only hope that this longer sleep, bassinet relaxation trend continues.  However subtle and miniscule, these little victories and accomplishments signal sure signs that things may be settling down here ... a bit.  


Yesterday was also bath time for our little nugget.  We've stuck to sponge baths so far as the umbilical cord stump was pretty stubborn in falling off.  She has, as a whole, detested the process of bathing so far.  Last night was no different, but she didn't melt down until about half way through the washing.  I'll call that progress.  We aspire for Safia to be a water baby.  We hope she'll take after her mother and  will take to the water like a fish and find comfort and serenity in being in water.  We hope she doesn't perceive nor develop her father's anxiety and distress with regards to water and swimming.  With this end in mind, we're thinking of introducing Safia to the bath tub.  With luck (and good planning, timing, and tension-free execution), perhaps our bathing time will go from tears to cheers, but we'll just settle for no-tears for a start.

It's Tuesday, Right? April still?

Days come and days go.  Time has whole new dimensions.  The days have seemed to fly by, but yet it was only two weeks ago that Ellen's parents were here - and that seems like ages ago.  Each day plods along and I get so antsy because there's always so much to do.  We advance through most days completely unaware of day, date, or time of day.  It also astounds me that this is my last week at home before going back to work.  I'm already anxious about leaving Ellen and Safia, not because I don't think that Ellen can handle it (she can!), but because I know that life is easier, happier, saner, and more enjoyable  when both of us can share the responsibilities connected to caring for a newborn infant.


**Nerdy tangent alert**
As humans evolved into walking on two legs, the shape of their pelvis became narrower.  This, coupled with the extraordinarily large brain size, as compared, proportionally, to other mammals, necessitated human babies be born three to four months earlier so the baby's head could fit through the birth canal.  Therefore, at birth until about three months, a human newborn is highly dependent on its parents while it develops its brain and central nervous system.  Many refer to the first three months of a newborn's life as the 'fourth trimester.'  Also, one must consider the postpartum period for mothers, which include huge hormonal changes, new roles and responsibilities, healing, stress, and sleep deprivation.  Taken as a whole, it's a whole lotta fun.
**Nerdy tangent alert cleared**

Anyway, I definitely feel guilty for going back to work, but I know I have to.  I am comforted to know that, by the time I go back to work, there'll only be three and a half more weeks of school left in the school year, and they'll probably go by quick.

Well it seems Safia's feeding marathon sessions have abated a bit (knock on wood).  She's napping more and more in her bassinet throughout the day, which is nice.  The weather here in Athens has been beeeeeau-ti-fulllll these past few days so we've taken advantage by going on multiple walks around the neighborhood.  Zoey, our wonderful and kind canine family member is still adjusting to our slower pace of walking around the neighborhood.  She has been absolutely terrific with Safia; very gentle with her and always protective (if a bit too protective at times as G'ma Reeny can attest to).

Growing and Learning

Safia at 2 weeks old

Safia is not very pleased that I am blogging right now.  How have we reached compromise, you might ask?    We've agreed to these conditions:

1. I will swaddle her snuggly.
2. I will hold her in my arms, on her side, looking out (she likes to check out the world).
3. I will bounce on the exercise ball - without stopping or pausing
4. If she scrunches up her face and begins her pre-crying maneuvers, I must stop blogging immediately, bounce with more joie de vivre, and make a steady shushing sound in her ear (sometimes I give a quick kiss to the cheek for good measure).
5. I will blog lovingly about her and not reveal anything embarrassing, nor display any silly pictures of her (ok, maybe a few).
6. She agrees to not cry.

I think those are fair terms.

This was a full and exciting weekend.  Visitors came, delicious food was eaten, music was played, walks were taken, books were read, and naps were taken.  Like I said, full and exciting.  There were a few moments worthy of note.  Firstly, on Saturday morning, we attended the new parents group that meets at Full Bloom (I have mentioned this wonderful parental oasis in Athens in a previous post. Review if needed). Now, it should be disclosed that this sort of thing is not our cup of tea, but numerous people had recommended it, so we thought we'd give it a shot.  There were about 4 other babies with parents there, so it wasn't too overwhelming, and it was very informal.  Babies did baby things, and parents chatted about parental things.  What was great was that nobody there was trying to sugar-coat caring for a two-week old infant.  We were reassured that we were definitely in the thick of it, and that it gets much better  and much easier after about six weeks.  We were reassured that the struggles we've been having with inconceivably frequent nursing is totally normal.  We were reassured that she will sleep longer, thus allowing us to sleep longer.  We were reassured, most importantly, that we were doing great - that we were doing things right, that Safia looked happy and healthy, and that the crazy things we notice and question are the same crazy things that other parents notice and question.  A collective sigh ensued, and we returned our attentions to suppressing our social awkwardness.

Another phenomenon that bears mentioning is that Safia slept in her bassinet alone for about an hour on Sunday evening.  I know what you're thinking:  Big woop, dude.  My response to you would be: It is a big woop, dude.  This little solo siesta allowed Ellen and I to have two hands free (that's a total of four free hands) for an hour! And what did we do with this marathon 60-minutes of freedom?  We ate dinner together - just the two of us -  no baby.  It was pretty sweet.  Sure enough, just as we finished up our dinner, we heard the telltale sounds of a rustling infant through the monitor; the series of grunts, increasing in volume and urgency, mushrooming into a full-on wail.  We knew that our mini-date was over.  Swaddling, holding in arms on her side, shushing, bouncing...repeat.

Lastly, the spring season is fully upon us.  Azalea blooms are ridiculous.  Tomato, peppers, and eggplant seedlings are vibrant.  And what did I spy when I glanced at our blueberry bushes? Wee-little blueberry babies gathering their juice.  I just hope Safia is ready to eat solid food when these blueberries ripen this summer.  I can't think of anything better to introduce Safia to the world of solid food than home-grown blueberries - there is no equal.

What's In a Name?

Names are complex things.  They are a source of identity and we learn to define ourselves by the name we are given.  So what is the meaning behind Safia Rose Yen-Kohl?  Hold on to your hats...here we go!


After completing her undergraduate degree at McGill University in Montreal, Ellen spent two and a half years serving in the Peace Corps in the West African country of Guinea.  While there, she became quite fond of the common name, Safiatou.  She made it a bit more succinct by shortening it to Safia.  Safia is Arabic in origin and means 'true friend.'


Rose, her middle name, is the name of Ellen's paternal great-grandmother.


And quite obviously, we have hyphenated our last names to produce the Frankenstein, conglomeration, Yen-Kohl.


Now wait a minute....we're not quite done yet.  Young Safia also has a Chinese name.  In one Chinese tradition, families consult the help of a "fortune teller" to help derive an appropriate and auspicious name.  The birthdate and birth-time of the father, mother, and baby-to-be-named are all taken under consideration.  Also, Chinese names are based on the number of pencil strokes used to write out the full name (For example, my family name, Yen, is written 顏 and has 18 strokes) and the total number of strokes in a name helps to determine how appropriate the name is.  After analyzing these components, a list of names are offered.  We were given five different choices for Safia's Chinese name, and we chose 顏詩穎 (Yen Shī Yǐng).  The first character, 顏 (Yen), is my family name.  The middle character, 詩 (Shī ), means 'poetry.'  The last character, 穎 (yǐng), means intellectual. 


So there you have it.  Safia Rose Yen-Kohl.  顏詩穎.


I have one more week left in my paternity leave from school.  Yesterday, we video chatted with my classroom so that my students could meet Safia.  It was hilarious and awesome.  I have great students.  It's going to be really hard to go back to work, but at least I know my students will welcome me back (see below).  

A message from one of my students

Meandering Musings

We were lucky to have some wonderful visitors come by yesterday.  During our conversation, we spoke, briefly, playfully, about what instrument I would have Safia take up.  Certainly, it is my sincere hope that Safia grows to love music and can use it to enhance her life, and I do hold not-so-secretive ideas about which instrument she should play (mandolin - have you seen those long and slender fingers?).  But as we good naturedly planned her musical future, it did trigger in me very real consideration of her future prospects and what lies ahead.  Up until now, our thoughts have been pretty focused on survival.  Making sure she's eating well and gaining weight, scrupulously examining her every bowel movement for color and consistency, watching her sleep and making sure she's still breathing (newborns have some crazy breathing patterns), and general hyper-vigilance about everything revolving around her well-being.  But now, watching her sleep in my lap (breathing steadily), I think of the boundless potential that this tiny, adorable, breathtaking, remarkable, wondrous, poop-factory holds.  The hopes and dreams that parents have for their children: to be happy, to be healthy, to always feel safe, to be compassionate and tolerant, to be prosperous (and I don't mean monetarily), and to leave a positive mark on the world are at the forefront of my thoughts right now.  My mind is abuzz with all the possibilities, the unknown.  To want so much makes my eyes well up.  So this is what it's like to be a parent, huh?  For once it's not Safia who's crying - it's me.

photo credit: Mr. Parmer

Yesterday, we got our first drop-off of cloth diapers from the diaper service company here in Athens (All Kleen, inc).  They drop-off clean cloth diapers and pick-up the dirty ones once a week so we're in steady supply.  We figured that starting with the diaper service would be a good way to ease into the cloth diapering world.  As we hit our cloth diapering stride, we would then ween ourselves from the diaper service.  In all honesty, though, the diaper service is so inexpensive, it might be more economical (in time and money) to just use the service.  We shall see.  Safia was awake, alert, and in a wonderful mood for what seemed like an eternity yesterday.  We had a sweet front porch chillin session in the late afternoon watching the baby squirrels frolick, the cardinals court one another, and the rainbows of color from the blooming dogwoods, azaleas, and irises.  How pleasant.

Storytime in Babyland

Yesterday, we ventured out into the real world - the first trip in what felt like a looooong time.  Settle in, grab a cup of tea, and ready yourself for a brief, if not a bit exaggerated, rendition of our mini-journey outside our sanctuary of babydom: As our front door creaked open, the glaring and radiant sunshine pummeled our pupils, hastening their immediate constriction.  As we shielded our eyes from this merciless, solar assault, we soldiered on, intent on our goal.  Baby in carrier, carrier in hand, we hurtled to the car, secured Safia into place, and in mere moments, we were commingled with your everyday, garden-variety citizen.  And can you believe it - people were just going about their business, completely oblivious to the fact that we just had a baby; totally just like walking around, talking on cell phones, and like driving around  and stuff.  Astounding.  OK, all dramatizing (and thesaurus use) aside, we have felt a little isolated with this needy little nugget.  Even little trips outside the house require much planning and preparedness: pack the diaper bag, check for a dirty diaper, hopefully coordinate a feeding to our departure time, get her situated into her car seat carrier...did we remember to put clothes on ourselves? Visitors have been our lifeline to the outside world, and we have come to really appreciate it (hint, hint...those of you in Athens...come for a visit!)

Well, our first stop was to Full Bloom (a retail/resource space for pregnancy and early parenthood) to get Safia weighed.  In addition to making sure she regained the weight she lost following birth, we wanted to do a pre-feeding weighing to compare it with her post-feeding weight to see how much she's ingesting.  We were reassured to discover that she not only regained her weight, but packed on a few extra ounces for good measure (she's now 7lbs 13.5oz for those keeping score).  Our next stop was to the midwifery clinic for a little check-up for Ellen.  Everything in order, we ventured back home.  Excursion successful.  A couple of good friends came over for a visit, and we ate some tasty food.  I took Safia (in the Moby wrap...love it) and Zoey (the dog. on her leash, not in the Moby wrap) around the neighborhood for an invigorating walk while Ellen took a much needed herbed bath.  Safia's feeding marathons continue.  We are in high spirits.

Get that blasted camera out of my face already!

Sleep, Eat, Poop, Repeat.

As the title may suggest, Safia is living the simple life.  I feel as though we have been prescribed the same daily existence.  We catch sleep when we can get it, forget to eat, get "hangry," devour something, anything, then settle into the couch for the next cycle to begin.  I suppose I should enjoy this period in her life.  Before too long, she'll be teething, then she'll be mobile, then she'll be talking, then she'll be driving, and then she'll be acting like she's smarter than me (we all know that is an impossibility).  Anyhow, I realize this is a pretty sweet chapter in her life.  Sometimes I get frustrated when trying to decipher the cause of her fussiness (nice way of saying inconsolable wailing) or astonished as she scrunches up her face - a sure sign she's making a deposit in the Bank of Pampers - in seemingly 10 minute intervals (in the end, I should be happy about the pooping thing as it's a sign she's feeding sufficiently if not proficiently).  At any rate, all she has to do is open those eyes, and I instantly melt.  I can (and do) spend hours just watching her sleep in quiet wonderment.  She's pretty awesome.

So I'm sure you've been thinking, "I wonder how long Rube is able to stay at home with his new family?"  Well, the answer is that I had to fight for the right to use my sick days I had saved up.  When I return to work on April 25th, I will have spent a total of three weeks on paternity leave.  When I first investigated the school district's policy for paternity leave, I was not surprised that they did not offer anything for fathers, but I was appalled when I learned that they would only allow me to use 5 of my sick days to be home with new baby and recovering wife.  I could go on for days about the damage that these antiquated and anti-family policies have on society, but perhaps that's a different blog.  I will, instead, direct you to an article written in the New York Times almost a year ago.  If you're interested, click here.

Well, we're convinced that the spate of marathon feedings around bedtime are because of a growth spurt that occurs around this time in Safia's development.  The official breast-feeding term is "cluster feeding," and we have embraced it.  I have a new appreciation and love for our house fan (a fan in the ceiling that draws all the hot and stuffy air up and out the attic).  Not only has it been effective in cooling our house down in the evenings, but because it kind of sounds like a freight train, it has done wonders for calming Safia down during those, "I'm not really hungry, I'm not really sleepy, I don't have a dirty diaper ... I'm just not really in a good mood," moments.  The sound of the house fan, coupled with some rhythmic bouncing, and Safia is blobby in seconds.

                              OK...I'm making a to-do list for today!

A Slow Blog Movement

As I type right now, Safia is sound asleep in the crook of my arm.  So precious.  Yet, I am forced to type one keystoke at a time (chicken pecking style).  It really makes me think of the "slow" movements that have become so popular (slow food, slow travel, slow living, etc.).  Perhaps I may be the pioneer of the slow blog movement.  Each key mindfully and deliberately struck.  Every word patiently simmered to prose perfection.  In fact, make sure you read this blog slowly, for that is the intended rate of consumption. In fact, everything, lately, seems to have slowed down a bit; we've downshifted.  Taking the time to be an engaged participant, feels right.  We feel very fortunate to be able to have this slow time together.

look carefully - not one, but two dimples!

Since we've been home, friends have stopped by regularly to meet Safia and to bring us food to help make sure we don't forget to eat.  We feel so overwhelmed by all the kindness and nourishing food that has come our way.  A neighbor sent out a message on our neighborhood listserv announcing Safia's arrival and encouraged neighbors to bring over some food.  Also, a friend set up a giving calendar on the website www.carecalendar.org.  This resource is such a great idea and can be used in so many wonderful and compassionate ways, that I wanted to pass it along.  Consider it if there is ever a need that needs to be filled.

Last night was a repeat session of the previous night: 2 hours of on-and-off nursing at the beginning of the night and then some solid slumber.  Perhaps a trend is forming?  I suspect today is going to be rather mellow.  Maybe a nice walk around the neighborhood before it gets too hot (upper 80s for the past few days!).  I've played a number of instruments for Safia and she has been particularly fond of the violin.  I'm going to schedule another violin music session with her this morning to see if we can get this music thing to stick.

Lots of love, from Safia