Returning to work

April 4th Meggan (writing this) returned to part time work at the clinic.  This was a difficult decision for us to make.  Our friends and family in Canada, used to many moms being off on EI benefits for a 1 year maternity leave, say 'why so soon?'.  Our USA counterparts say 'Wow! You were so lucky to get 6 months off and only be returning part time!'

The biggest component was that I missed working.  The other huge factor was that my clinic owner was willing to work around Jason's schedule to make something work.  Jason took two afternoons off work to be with Rachel, and our schedule was set.  We each work about half time.

Being back at work is fantastic.  I love being a PT, and I love using my brain and my hands.  I love the social aspect of seeing patient after patient.  The time at work always flies by way faster than I even mean it to... and before I know it, it's time to rush back home again.  At the end of each shift I call home to see how hungry Rachel is and if I have time to do my charting or not!  I really missed work while I was off and I'm already scheming to find my next course or certification to learn more.  I also find that I enjoy my time with Rachel much more when I don't have to do it for so long.  I like the balance.

Of course, this wouldn't work if Jason didn't have the option to work part time around my clinic hours so we can flip childcare... and he loves being home with Rachel.  He's now the one going to the library with her for Song&Rhyme and to BabyTalk at the Health Centre.  I take her to swim lessons.  We split chores around the house.  Any free time either of us gets when we're not working, we are out running, since we're both training for big races this summer.

Here's a typical day:
6am Rachel gets up.  Jason showers and gets ready for work.  Meggan tries and fails to coax Rachel to sleep a little longer.
7-9am Jason works with his morning client while Meggan and Rachel eat breakfast, get dressed and pack for the day
9:15am Meggan leaves for the clinic and works through her patients while Jason and Rachel have a morning walk/nap, change diapers, do laundry, put together lunch, try to get dishes done and the kitchen clean.  Rachel has a bottle and eats lunch.
1:30pm Meggan returns home and feeds Rachel since she screams for it when she sees Mommy, even if she's just eaten.  Meggan is ok with this since her body is ready to feed!  Jason leaves for work.  As he runs out the door, he tells Meggan when she last ate/napped/was changed.
Afternoon - Jason works.  Meggan and Rachel get organized for dinner, change diapers, feed her, do chores, go for a run in the stroller, hope for an afternoon nap for Rachel so Meggan can make dinner.
6pm - Rachel eats dinner, then starts bedtime routine.  Jason has finished one job and is either off to coach or do yoga.
6:45pm - Jason comes home to kiss Rachel good night Meggan puts her down
7:30pm - Jason and Meggan eat dinner, then have time to themselves to clean the house, pump milk for the next day, finish the dishes/laundry, do physio exercises, and might fit in email/a game/book before bed.
Rachel is still waking up 3-4 times a night on average.

Anyway, we like it.  We think this balance of splitting child care, working half time, and each getting time with Rachel is good.  For now, it works.  We might try to keep it going, if we can avoid daycare.  We'll see!

Solid Foods

(written by Meggan)
Rachel recently turned six months... this means FOOD!!!  Thank goodness, too.  Rachel ate so much and all the time when we were in Virginia that we were very anxious for her to start trying solids.

There is a lot of information on solid food out there, but few sources agree on the best foods to start.  I read quite a bit, came up with a plan, and started making food.  We took the advice of our local nurses to encourage starting with iron-fortified cereals and iron-rich foods such as beef and chicken.  We also liked the concept of trying vegetables before sweeter fruits in hopes to reduce a sweet tooth (like Mommy's!)

We knew that April would be a busy month for us, so in March we started making baby food.  We made pureed squash, chicken, beef, and sweet potato.  We bought rice cereal and pumped extra breast milk to add to the purees and to freeze in ice cube trays to add to the cereal.

pureed chicken

We have friends who have picky eaters as children and some friends who can't seem to force food down their baby's mouths... so we were wondering what Rachel would be like.

The big day arrived and we started mashing up avocado for Rachel to try.  She took it down like a starving girl and wanted more and more and more!  She grabbed the spoon and shoved it in her mouth greedily.  Green goop was everywhere and we were proud parents... until the next day when she broke out into a full body rash.  Oops.

After two days break we started again with rice cereal.  This was a big hit and easy for everyone.  She developed the method of spoon goes in, then suck the thumb right away to help swallow.  When hungry, she will literally dive her whole body forward over the spoon.  Soon she took down all the foods we had pre-made, and we were looking to find more finger foods for times on the go.  Sadly, starting solid foods has not helped Rachel sleep better but it has decreased the frequency of her feeds.

We love the idea of making our own baby food and avoiding buying jars from the store.  It's easy to do when we're at home.  Last summer we got extra local pears and peaches and canned them in water without any additives... now Rachel is eating that local Okanagan fruit!

We tried to take our frozen ice-cube-tray-size foods with us on our Easter trip to Vancouver.  It worked out fine, but I wouldn't choose to travel with frozen food again.  I debated canning my own baby food size jars, but I was talked out of this by anyone who had ever tried it, warning me of loads of work and botulism risk.  So I have moved to the dehydrator and snack foods.

dehydrating pureed sweet potato

This weekend we'll be going on our first camping trip with Rachel.  Of course it won't be a regular trip.  We'll be leaving late after work on Friday during Rachel's fussy time, get to the campsite late, wake up early Sat morning, and run in a trail race.  Should be no problem!  I am bringing cheerios, rice cakes, dehydrated sweet potato, green beans, pears and peaches.  Plus, I'm going to buy some jars of store baby food and have them on hand if need. 

Like our pride in our cloth diapers, I find making Rachel's baby food and feeding her very fun.  It feels good to provide good food for her... cross your fingers that the camping trip goes well for us all :)

New York City

Since we mentioned it here on the blog, most of you know we went to New York City as part of our trip to the east coast of the US in March. More on the rest of the trip later, but here are some fun shots from our trip to NYC. On Friday we caught the DC2NY bus directly from Vienna Metro Station to New York. This saved us having to drive, and allowed us all to ride together in the same vehicle. We went with Jason's mom, sister, aunt, and cousin.

After checking in at the Roosevelt Hotel, we ate lunch at Grand Central Terminal and wandered up to Rockefeller Center. Rachel stayed busy looking around at everything. We bought tickets to ride up to the "Top of the Rock" Saturday morning, and checked out the Lego store. Then we walked to Times Square, the home of commercial over-stimulation -- hmmm, did I (Dad) mention that NYC is high on my list of places you couldn't pay me to live? You can see in the picture to the right that the three girls are looking in three different directions to observe the craziness.


As part of my cousin's "sugar quest" we visited the M&M's store and the Hershey's store. We had to go back to the hotel to recuperate before dinner. Dinner at a cafe a few blocks from the hotel, and then the older girls went to see Spiderman, a new play with music from U2. You may have read about its many production difficulties; while the play was good it was paused several times to restart technical action scenes. Meanwhile, Rachel and Daddy headed back to the hotel. While walking back, Rachel's head and eyes were moving back and forth constantly in the stroller, trying to take everything in. She began to make a few frustrated sounds, but as we entered the hotel lobby she visibly relaxed and began to smile again. When we got to our room, which was quiet, she sighed and was ready for some fun playtime before bed. Even a 5-month old knows you have to recharge after NYC!

View of NYC from Rockefeller Center

Next morning we were up with Grandma O. and off to the "Top of the Rock," the observation deck at the 70th floor of the Rockefeller Center. Beautiful sunshine greeted us after we zoomed up in less than a minute thanks to a super-speedy elevator. Rachel's favorite part of the deck was feeling the wind in her face as she came in from the outside section of the deck. After descending, we took Rachel's first subway ride down to the end of the Manhattan and the Staten Island Ferry terminal. This free ferry was a great way to see the shoreline, and spend an hour inside (it was cold outside) looking at scenery. Most of the ferry did what we did on Staten Island: disembark, walk through the terminal, and immediately re-board the return ferry back to Manhattan. Nice views of the Statue of Liberty.

Taxi back to the hotel for rest, then we headed out on an afternoon trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met). Rachel was reasonably entertained by the Egyptian section, and we also viewed the armor collection and the musical instrument section. More dinner and then we went to see Robin Williams in his Broadway debut play, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. A deeply affecting play, it was nonetheless good to see phenomenal acting from the entire cast.

Sunday morning we started our day with a run at Central Park, which was a nice change from the concrete jungle. While there, we saw several thousand people walking, running, and racing in the 2011 Colon Cancer Challenge, to raise awareness and funds. We also saw people cleaning up from an early-morning duathlon, and tons of people going to the zoo, or simply enjoying the sunshine in the park. Following our run we returned to Times Square area, visited the Disney Store, and rode the big Ferris wheel inside Toys R Us. Rachel liked the Ferris wheel while we were moving, but was unimpressed with the stopping and starting to load the next round of passengers.

Soon it was time for another park with less stimulation, so we headed to Bryant Park, where we enjoyed more sunshine and used the public outdoor reading room: shelves full of books for anyone to read while sitting in the park. We walked back to the hotel past the NYC Public Library, where we talked with a couple from Connecticut holding a sign reading "Talk to Me." We finished up our trip by waiting in line on a random street corner for our bus.

Grandma held a sleeping Rachel for the majority of the long ride home to NOVA.