When Lapland Babies Go to Church

As the weather changes, I've been wondering how other cultures, especially those in northern climates, deal with babies in cold weather. I found this on the web and thought it was amazing.
(http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14101/14101.txt)

When Sunday morning comes, the Lapland father harnesses his reindeer to the sleigh. Father and mother wrap themselves in fur coats and put a fur coat on the baby, and away they go over the snow to church, it may be ten or even fifteen miles, for the reindeer can go a good deal
faster than a horse.

But the old Lapland custom of caring for the babies while the grown people are in church, you never would guess. For as soon as the reindeer is made secure, the father Lapp shovels out a snug little bed in the snow, and when it is ready the mother Lapp wraps the baby snug and warm in skins and lays it down there. Then the father Lapp piles the snow around and over the baby, when they go into the church and
leave the baby in the snow. So common is this that sometimes there are twenty or thirty babies, down to the little wee-est ones, buried in snow around the church.

You might think the babies would suffocate, but they do not, nor do they freeze. In fact, the snow does not make them cold. For when it covers anyone all over, if they have clothes enough on, so the snow will not melt and wet them, it will keep them warm. And as the little Lapland babies are not strong enough to knock the snow away and let in the cold, they just lie there safe and warm and go to sleep.

When church is out the father Lapp goes to the spot where his baby is, puts his hands down into the snow, pulls the baby our and shakes the snow off it; then the reindeer is unfastened, father and mother tuck themselves and the baby in the sleigh, and over the snow away they trot home again. (1914, "Dew Drops")

Still not sleeping through the night

OK, I heard from an online friend of mine that her daughter is sleeping from 9 pm to 7 am every night without waking up. She is almost exactly the same age as Melina. What's up with that? Melina still wakes up about twice during the night to feed. The friend's baby is eating solids and formula, and sleeps in a crib; this may be the difference. Melina is breastfeeding and sleeping in our bed, and has just begun eating solids. Apparently, babies who sleep in cribs sleep longer. I'm thinking it's about time to make that transition, because I need more sleep. I've been continuously sleep deprived for about 2 weeks; before that I got a few good nights of sleep, and before that I've been sleep deprived for five and a half months. Actually, no, longer than that, because I couldn't sleep when I was pregnant, either. Anyway, I like having M. in the bed with us - it's nice to wake up to a little baby. When I wake up in the middle of the night I just look at her sleeping peacefully, and that's usually relaxing enough to get me back to sleep. I think it's good for her, too, to be next to us as much as possible for these first few months. However, this sleep deprivation has got to stop. We haven't bought a crib yet, but perhaps we should start looking for one.

First Halloween

Last night was Melina's first Halloween. She dressed as a pirate with a black and white bandana, a puffy white shirt, jeans, and little black satin shoes. Needless to say, she was exquisitely cute. We had a very busy day, starting with a trip to Pix Patisserie at 2:30 to meet with someone in my mom's group (whose daughter, 5 months, was dressed as a pumpkin); then we went to the Kennedy School to meet with another mom, whose son was dressed as a bumblebee. The Kennedy School was crawling with toddlers in cute little costumes - bees and princesses seemed to be the most popular. Unfortunately, all this activity meant that Melina missed her nap, so she got grumpy just as we were sitting down for a well-deserved pint of ale. I brought her home and she got a quick nap in as the trick-or-treaters began showing up. Later, when Jeff was home, we went for a walk around the neighborhood while Melina looked around or slept in her stroller. I don't think six months is really the optimum age for enjoying Halloween. I'm looking forward to next year, when she should be able to toddle around on her own.

A half birthday

I hosted a party for Melina's half birthday (Jeff was in Minneapolis for work). It was also my friend Sue's half-birthday, so with two half-birthdays we had a full cake, along with pumpkin carving. Melina slept through much of the first half of the party, but woke up in time to mash some cake into bits and make the rounds of admiring friends. She was decked out in several layers of pink (photo to be posted soon). A good time was had by all.

Melina's first shots

Melina's first vaccinations went off without a hitch. She was real trooper. She didn't cry or really even bat an eyelash, and she had no delayed reactions to the shots. As for her stats, she has shrunk a bit since her last visit to the doctor: she is now at the 50th percentile for length and the 25th for weight (14.6 pounds). Her head remains large at 70%!

Vaccinations!

Today Melina goes in for her first vaccinations. I waited until she was 6 months old to get any shots, because it just seems unnecessarily cruel to subject a tiny baby to vaccinations (especially if she's not in daycare). Also, I wanted to wait until her system was a little stronger. Vaccinations are so controversial in certain circles - on one hand I feel like a terrible mother risking her life unnecessarily (especially after reading Mothering magazine). Dr. Sears, on the other hand (who is also on the alternative parenting side of things) is pro-vaccine. Anyway, I don't want her to get sick, and I generally believe in vaccinating kids. Today she gets the whooping cough and HIB vaccines. Whooping cough seems to pop up here every winter, so I think it's a good idea. I am not looking forward to it, though. Apparently I'm supposed to act like nothing is wrong, greet the doctor as if I'm glad to see her, massage Melina's arm before the shot, and then instantly distract her with a toy. She doesn't seem so into toys lately, but maybe a bowl of spaghetti would work...

Lots of laughs!

Jeff got Melina laughing last night more than I've ever heard her laugh before. He made a bunch of funny faces and whooshing sounds that she found absolutely hilarious. It was unbelievably cute. We got some of it on video (sideways, unfortunately... it's so hard to remember not to do that!).

Babies on the way!

I know so many people who are pregnant right now, or who have just had babies. My friend Amelia just had a baby boy, Andrew, last week; my friend Tara is due on November 7; my friend Becky is due in late March; and my neighbor across the street is due October 28. Very exciting! I can't wait to get all these babies in one room!

No rolling yet

Melina still hasn't rolled over on her own. It's strange, because she is very advanced in other areas. She's been holding her head up since she was about 1 month old, and has been standing for 2 months. Now she briefly can sit up unsupported before flopping over onto her side, but she still has yet to turn over. I wonder if it's because I don't give her enough tummy time, or maybe because we're still swaddling her at night? She sleeps so much better swaddled up. When she's in our bed it's impossible to sleep with her if she's not swaddled, due to flailing limbs. She doesn't really like to be on her tummy, though she's definitely getting better at it. After a few minutes of looking and grabbing at the rug, she starts to cry; she doesn't show any interest in (or awareness of) turning over by herself. Oh well. I guess she'll figure it out eventually...

Grabby grabby!

According to my Dr. Sears Baby Book, the primary accomplishment for baby's fifth month is to accurately reach out and grab things. Melina has been working hard on mastering this skill. She can now reach out and grab an eye, a nose, a string bean, a few single hairs, a fork, a cup of coffee, a dinner plate... Now when we go out to dinner she can sit up in a lap (propped up with arms on both sides). She puts both hands on the table and can reach out and slap or prod whatever happens to be on your plate. It must be so much more satisfying for her to actually grab the things that interest her! As an adult, it's a whole new world of keeping hazardous items out of her grip.

Squishy squash

Last night we tried giving Melina some "solids" for the first time. She's been showing a lot of interest in food lately - studying what we're eating and grabbing at our food. That, plus the two teeth, is a sign that she might be ready to start solids. (Though why they're called solids I don't really understand...)

I wanted her to have "real" food for her first try (as opposed to prepared baby food), so I mashed up some acorn squash and Jeff fed it to her on his finger. She gummed it for a bit and rolled it around in her mouth with a "what the hell is this?" expression on her face. There was no apparent moment of epiphany; instead she spit most of it out and grabbed for the empty squash skin, which provided several minutes of messy entertainment. We'll try again in a few days with more squash. (Apparently you're supposed to give them the same food over and over for several days, to get them used to it and to watch for any allergic reactions).

I was a little disappointed in her reaction. I wanted her to get all excited and start bouncing up and down. I guess she's not quite a "foodie" yet.

Back to work

I'm on my third week of half-time work now. I was kind of dreading it, but it's not that bad, especially since the rainy season has started and it would be dreary to hang around the house all day. It's nice to be using new parts of my brain, and to be able to respond to emails and drink coffee with both hands. I'm working a full day on Mondays, and half days (until 1:00) on Tuesday through Thursday. The biggest challenge is not getting quite as much sleep as I was before, though I can still take naps in the afternoon. Luckily we found a wonderful person to take care of Melina; she's our old neighbor, and a friend. She has a ten-year-old daughter who also comes over after school on Mondays to play with the baby. I have no doubt that Melina is in very good hands, and she doesn't seem to be unhappy or lonely - heck, she doesn't seem to miss me at all when I'm gone. She obviously knows who I am and prefers me over other people at times (especially when she's in the car seat), but she doesn't bat an eyelash when I leave for work. We'll see if that changes as she gets older.

Two real teeth

Melina now officially has teeth. They have pushed up through her gums and can be seen with the naked eye. They both came out at the same time, right in the middle of her lower front gums. They do make breastfeeding a little more interesting, though I haven't really been chomped yet. Apparently we are supposed to start brushing them sometime soon, though that just means rubbing them with gauze. I think I'll wait a few more weeks, until they're more than 2 mm long.

Working on a tooth!

Melina has been hard at work pushing up new teeth, figuring out how to use her hands, and experimenting with new vocalizations. Today I noticed two tiny white ridges pushing through her lower gum - teeth! She has been drooling a lot and complaining a little more than usual, so I'm not that surprised. Today she also discovered that she can use her voice in a new way. Instead of a whiny sound, it's more like a real voice. It's kind of hard to explain.

In the last two weeks, she's also made leaps and bounds in the ability to use her hands. Now she can grab the binkie, pass it from one hand to another, and try to put it back in her mouth - usually upside down. I wouldn't be surprised if she was hammering out Beethoven on the piano by the end of next week.

Apart from that, she's even more interested in what's going on around her. If she hears something interesting while she's eating, she'll turn her head and look around. She's easily distracted and usually easily amused. She's laughing a little more every day, though her laughs still sound a little rusty.

She just managed to pull my glasses off for the first time. What a victory! She studied them for several minutes, grunting softly, and managed to fold them up before losing interest and bursting into tears.

Melina Update

Melina's grandparents Frank and Alba visited last week. We went wine tasting, then went over to Cannon Beach for a night. They were great guests, and were crazy about Miss M. Here's a picture of Melina on the beach.

Katrina Survivors

I met some survivors of Hurricane Katrina today. They were shopping at Marshall's with a check for $650 from the feds. One was a very frail, petite old lady--maybe 80 years old--and the other was a tall, gangly man with a fuzzy beard, a patch over one eye, and bright new tennis shoes. Both were black. They did not look like your typical Portlanders, and they had thick southern accents that were hard for me to follow. I got into a conversation with a large woman in a wheel chair who was related to them. Apparently they had gotten trapped in their attic and had broken out with a sledgehammer and an ax. The old lady had a beautiful grand piano that was destroyed. They were trapped on the roof without food or water for several days, while helicopters flew by. The man told me that he had waved to the helicopters, but none had stopped until maybe the fifth day. Then they were taken to a dry overpass in New Orleans, where they were stuck for several more days. Without food and water. (Couldn't they have been taken somewhere safer??) People were breaking into stores to steal food and water, and were selling it at high prices to those who were trapped. (I learned all of this in a 2-minute elevator ride to the food court). It was amazing to meet people who had been through everything we've seen on the news. It was amazing that this frail 80-year-old lady survived. The whole story was amazing.

Little stringbean

Here's a song I like to sing to Melina (to the tune of "Little Boxes"):

Little stringbean on a trellis
Little stringbean full of little beans
And you're growing, and you're growing
And you're growing
Extra long.

Today Melina met two other babies about her own age. We had them all laid out together on a blanket. Very cute!

Not sleeping through the night

Well, the sleeping through the night phase didn't last long. Last night Miss M. woke up at 2:00, 4:00, and about 6:30 to eat. What's up with that? I guess babies do this occasionally even after they've been sleeping well. I hope it doesn't last. Luckily I can feed her lying down now, so it's not quite so disruptive.

Melina's First Real Camping Trip

We went to Olallie Lake last weekend for Melina's first real camping trip. We've been going to Olallie Lake for several years now. The second time we went, a forest fire was sparked by lightning and we had to evacuate. Now the burned forest is starting to recover, mostly with grasses and small huckleberry bushes. Olallie means berry, and it really is huckleberry heaven. There are probably 10 different varieties of huckleberries, all with slightly different flavors.

Anyway, it was very hot during the daytime and very cold at night. Surprisingly cold. The first night I spent most of the night hovering over Melina to make sure she didn't freeze to death. She was wearing a terrycloth sleeper, two layers of fleece sleep sacks, and a cotton/wool hat. I pulled her into the sleeping bag with me, but then I was worried about suffocating her and it was impossible to change position or turn over, so I didn't sleep at all. Melina slept like a log.

The second night was a little warmer. We swaddled M. and then put her in a fleece sleepsack. She slept like a log again, and this time I got a little sleep too.

We went hiking on Saturday. Olallie Lake has some wonderful hiking. Lots of small alpine lakes with easy trails lined by huckleberry bushes. Definitely a good place to hike with a kid.

Little laughs

Melina laughed for the first time on August 16 - I mean a real recognizable laugh, not just a squeal. Two local kids had come over to see her, and they were making clicking sounds with their mouths and bobbing their heads up and down. Melina broke out laughing - kind of a creaky laugh, like the laugh of someone who hasn't laughed in many years (or who has never laughed at all!). She's done it a few times since, and I think it will be more common now. She was laughing at her reflection in the mirror this morning.