Kleinland: Random Weekend Entertainment: from Transformers to Ina May

Friday was our 4th Anniversary, and our friends Abby and Jason kindly accepted the roll of Nory's first babysitters! (Though I am loath to admit it, there are actually some exceptionally nice people in Santa Barbara, and Jason and Abby are among them). Earlier that day I had coffee with some mom-friends who were amazed that I was willing to leave Nory. I had a few moments of guilt (what! I'm supposed to feel bad about it?), but nevertheless, we left her for over three hours while we went and saw Transformers, the movie. Except for the absence of a plot, the movie was great, and I only had one moment where I regretted leaving the baby - where I thought, "maybe we should have picked a better movie to make leaving the baby worth it!"

Dan took Finny and his camera gear to Ellwood early Saturday morning to give Finny and the camera some exercise, and to help Jason and Abby break in their new lens (they bought the same giant white paparazzi type lens that Dan has). Needless to say Finny found the only mud puddle left in town and enjoyed his transformation into the mud monster shown below. I doubt he would say the same for the bath he received when he got home!

Finny the mud monster

Saturday afternoon we went to a public lecture given by Ina May Gaskin. Ina May is probably America's most famous midwife, having spent the last 3 or 4 decades revitalizing natural birth in America. She currently works on a midwife type commune called "The Farm" in one of those southern states (Tennessee?). After attending thousands of births, she has really incredible statistics - less than 5% transfer rate to the hospital, and UNDER 2% C-SECTION rate. Incredible since the national average is now creeping past 30%. It was a real treat to see her in person! I have one of her books and reading it while I was pregnant really took the fear out of labor for me. Her lecture was both funny and informative.

Ina May, Nory, and me

I found an Ergo baby carrier on Craig's List and bought it yesterday. So far, both Nory and I are delighted with it. The sling worked well but my back and shoulders would start to hurt after an hour of wearing it. The Ergo goes over both shoulders like a backpack and even has a waste band - I wore it all day yesterday and still felt great! It is so nice to be able to have both hands free and hold the baby at the same time.

So snuggly!

Last, I thought I'd share a photo of Nory in her bouncy seat. When she was born she wouldn't have anything to do with it, and I thought she was just the rare kid who didn't like it. Yesterday I tried again and she LOVED it! She would flail her arms and sometimes hit the mirror or rattle which made her smile. She was quite content to sit in it for an hour or so while I made lunch and did dishes. It is fun to see her starting to have an interest in toys.