Two Wheels One Baby

Sleeping
To prepare for having a baby in an open air loft with one bedroom, we knew we had to be crafty with the baby sleeping arrangement. We had no idea what to expect with baby temperament, but we knew from reading books and talking to other parents that for the first two months, you have to get up so much during the night that it may be better to keep baby close for convenience.

Kyle mentioned that he read something in his dad book, Be Prepared (really funny book, btw), that a newborn can safely sleep in many makeshift beds, including dresser drawers. We have a nice external california closet in our bedroom with drawers that are perfect bassinet size. In my attempt at baby minimalism, I simply bought an organic mattress from Absolute Organic Baby to custom fit the drawer. In addition to the drawer option, I wanted something more portable, so after extensive research, I found the baby Miyo Baby Hammock (shown left) designed by New Zealanders. You can see a video demonstration of the sling here. The hammock is great because it mounts to any standard door frame and folds up nicely for travel.

For the first few months, colicky Annika traded beds A LOT. She went back and forth from the drawer, to a boppy pillow on our bed, to sleeping next to me in bed. We have just now gotten into a more regular sleeping schedule with the hammock. Now, at almost 5 months, Annika loves the Hammock.

Secrets of getting ready
Annika LOVES white noise (clothes dryer, hair dryer, sleepmate white noise, microwave fan), so I have the pleasure of drying my hair with a toy attached to the cord for visual stimulation. She goes nuts!
Ice Skating
We bundled Annika up in her polar bear outfit, courtesy of Auntie Cory, to brave the 28 degree weather (10 degree wind chill), and go skating at the Fresh Pond dog swimming area. During the summer, it’s nice to take the dogs here and sit on the benches, but it makes for a perfect ice skating destination in the winter. The wind was too much for Annika so I got maybe 15 minutes of skating in, but it was really nice. I also fell on my tailbone because I was skating backward while playing with Gordo (our pug) and someone had thrown a rock on the ice while it was melting (since frozen). My skate hit the rock and I hit my ass. ouch.