Arctic Motherhood: February 2010

Hittin' the Ice

Alright, now for some real fun! It's been unseasonably warm for over a week now: temps between 10 and 45 F. We had to bump up our outdoor activities a notch. My husband upgraded his skis and took a couple of trips down the river. And I dusted off my skates and hit the rinks.

Until last week, I'd only walked around the track at the Big Dipper Ice Arena with other moms and kids. It's boring; even my son threw a fit when I'd drag him along on these "play dates." Being on the ice is a whole 'nother ball game. Cold air in your face, loud music, kids playing around you. You can look up at the ceiling and see yourself skating in the mirrors. It was tough to skate backward with all of the kids in my way, and after a while I became so dizzy from going in circles that I had to quit and go eat a burger. But, baby came along for a nap in the stands to cheer me on.

Not old enough to skate (or rather feet too thick to fit into conventional skates), he preferred to pull rather than ride in his sled on the ice track. But, he sucked it up and rode in the sled while our friend Sadie pulled him.

This time we became even more hungry and had to hit Quiznos. This is where we learned our son is old enough finally to be bribed. He ate his sandwich like a champion after being promised he could play with a gadget if he did so. Thanks, Sadie!

We spent a considerable amount of time recently playing with our neighbors. They live about 10 minutes away, so it's easy to do things spur of the moment. During one of our playdates, we spent 2 hours playing on the river. Again, we were overdressed for the awesome temps! Anyway, the kids insisted on walking or pulling the sleds instead of being pulled. We made snow angels, threw snow balls, pointed out dogs and airplanes and had a few laughs. It was a great day!

Winter House Projects

Despite the inherent lack of sleep we've had, things have improved. The baby is finally sleeping slightly longer: sometimes almost 3 hours instead of 1-2. Also, he's pooping less at night, which means we don't have to bathe him in our master bath sink every hour or so to prevent the acidic breast-milk poop from eating his little butt away. This is nice! It creates more time for other things, like house projects. Man, the boys sure had a lot of fun working with tools around the house. Look! Our washer wouldn't drain because it sucked a baby washcloth into the pump! Now that's some strong suction!

1 Month Down

Daddy's maternity leave is over today. He's used up almost all of his sick time, so it's time to head back to the office (or the salt mine as he and I fondly call the local oil refinery where we met 5 years ago as shift-workers). He and I have had a great, sleepless month with our two boys, now 1 month old and 23 months old. I cannot believe it has been one month already. Our youngest has already grown out of clothes. He's bursting out of the newborn (5-8lb) ones, but I refuse to retire them until my mom arrives in a couple of days and can see him in them. We'll see how much he weighs at his 1 month appointment, tomorrow. Our oldest just went through a growth spurt as well. They grow up too quickly.

Heat Wave

Yesterday, it was just warm enough (+17) and I had enough energy that I had a craving to take out my skis. My cutoff for outdoor activity is around +10, so there aren't many days during a period of 5 months that I am willing to go out and play. My husband strapped on some snowshoes and packed me a trail down to the river, which is already hard-packed from snow-machine, skijor, and dog-sled activity. He also did a little skate skiing. Then, we took the dog and our older son out to play. We stayed out for quite a while, until our hands (and paws) got cold and we were exhausted from all of the fresh air.

Making trail through the front yard toward the river (as seen from master bedroom)

A pug enjoying the winter highway on the Chena River

Kid's still smiling after he had a double roll-over on the sled

Can't wait to try out the new swing set this spring!

Back on Track

Just to prove to you that life is not all fun and games for us up in Fairbanks, I'm here to tell you that we were a little out of sync a couple of days ago. From time to time, it happens. With our first son's birth, it happened during week 2. This birth, it happened during week 3. It happens when my husband and I will both feel extremely tired on the exact same day. This results in my husband incorporating cuss words into his vocabulary, both of us hurting each others' feelings throughout the day, and me bursting into tears at some point for no good reason. It's rare, but it happens. Our older son caught on too and decided to catch his first stomach bug later that day. Cleaning up after him at the same time we were giving our younger son butt-baths every 1-2 hours really pulled us back together, and after about 24 hours things were back to normal.

In fact, the next day ended quite well. Grandma Gigi gave our older son a bath and put him to bed. Meanwhile, we cleaned the house and put away laundry. My husband grocery shopped, and I plucked my eyebrows and revived my retainer, which I'm happy to report still fits after neglecting it for the 6 months I was pregnant and feeling sick. And I was in my bed by 9:30. It was a great Friday night! You know you're getting old when a babysitter, a stocked fridge, clean house, and early bedtime make for a good Friday night.

Unfortunately, Grandma Gigi is going to Anchorage a week early for a job interview. However, we've appreciated the moments she's helped around the house and she's taken our son out to play. And I still have my husband, my best helper, for one more week! And in 2 weeks, Grandma Linda comes to help and play! Life is good.

Growing Like a Weed: Week 3

The baby is beginning his 3rd week of life already! He's really starting to plump up nicely. I'm tempted to bring him to the public health clinic to get a free weight check because his next regular appointment is not until he's one month old. However, his cheeks are more chubby, belly is much more round, he still sleeps great (especially with mom), and he still does not cry unless you undress him. And then, still, he is pretty good. He seems perfectly healthy, and I know he must be close to 7 pounds already (left the hospital at 5lb 4oz), so I'll avoid the waiting room for today and just enjoy him at home.

I've been lounging around a lot, trying not to "overdo it." The only place I've gone (pretty much) besides the 4 baby check-ups I had during baby's 1st week of life is a 1 year olds birthday party at Kaleidoscope Billiards (fun!). There were a lot of cars to drive, cheetos, pizza, juice and ice cream cake to eat. Anyway, this means I wear sweatpants and baggy shirts all of the time. I think I need to spruce up my supply of sweatpants, so a trip to Old Navy is probably in order soon. I also need to go to a craft store and buy some supplies to make my son a flat pillow. Every night when I sneak in to peek at him, he's resting his head on the door of his car bed instead of on the mattress. But, I probably won't do either because if I leave the baby at home, he'll be hungry for my milk, and I don't like hauling him around on unnecessary trips when he's so little. The life of the breast-feeding mother begins once again. Thank goodness for Medela.

My mother-in-law is here to visit for a couple of weeks. I think it's been about a year since she's stayed with us, so she's having quite a fun time taking photos of the boys. Yesterday, she brought our older son to Gymnastics, Inc., where he unsurprisingly hogged the red car with the door that opens and closes like a real car. She has video footage of a girl stealing the car from him, and he was quite a polite little guy throughout the situation. I'm proud of my sweet boy . . . even if he does throw the occasional screaming fit! He's almost 2. What can you do? Anyway, they plan to go to Bonkers Indoor Playground, Barnes and Noble story time (more like to play with the giant train set they have), and 2 year old story time at the library (which also equates to toys . . . and fish . . . hamsters). It's nice to have family come and help out!

Meanwhile, my husband's been chipping away at my and his lists. It's pretty nice. We have 2 giant televisions, which have pretty much served as decoration until yesterday; we now have 8 local channels! I don't imagine I'll be watching much other than Sesame Street. Also, he dusted the fan on the 15 foot ceiling (gross). Installed programmable t-stats upstairs. And a ton of other things . . . today he'll do a few upgrades on some plumbing. This is in addition to doing the brunt of the cooking and cleaning. I've been somewhat productive myself. I've managed to do a little of the baby's cross-stitch that I plan to hang on his wall, finish one of the 7 books I've started, and also keep up with the laundry.

Well, it's time to move this sleeping baby off of my lap, load up the woodstove, and get a bite to eat.

As you can see for yourself, the big brother is doing great and still loves, loves, loves "his baby." He also loves having his gigi around . . . and her tuna fish sandwiches (see his shirt)!

3 Boys and Mum-mum

How could you not just love these 3 boys to death?

The one on the right is surprisingly good. He's a grunter, not a crier. And he eats and poops every 2 hours like clock-work, which keeps mom and dad on track. The one in the middle is a talker. He repeats words continuously and loudly until you repeat them back to him. He's a bundle of energy who wears everyone out, but he's a joy. And the one on the left is a life-saver. He takes care of all 3 (and the dog). And the family is a lot of work! He goes back to work in two weeks, which is sad for everyone.

Here is "mum-mum" and her little angel. Mum-mum is recovering nicely from the delivery, but is still tired due to the 'round the clock feedings and diaper-changes. Some days are good and some days are bad. Yesterday was a good day, but she overdid it riding tricycles around the house with the almost-2-year-old, so today is a bad day. A nap is probably in order. And mom and dad are looking forward to tomorrow when grandpa will take the almost-2-year-old for the day!!! Mum-mum is thankful for the help because she is definitely not up to taking care of both boys by herself. Perhaps if the older one had the laid-back personality of the younger one. But, that's never been the case.