Fatty Milk

I had the following casual exchange with the nanny this morning before work,

"You know, it's so strange to me that Eleanor eats so much more than Calliope. I mean, she's smaller than Calliope... yet she took seventeen ounces yesterday while we were gone, and Calliope only took eight and a half. Doesn't that seem like a big difference?"

"Yes, that's true. But your milk has a lot more fat in it. In fact, I've never seen breast milk with so much fat in it before."

So there you go. I have very fatty milk. And since the nanny used to (until last week) work in a daycare center, she ought to know.

Speaking of the nanny... we totally hit the nanny jackpot. She is amazing in every respect. She comes in in the morning and immediately sits down in the glider to read stories with Calliope until naptime (sometimes just a few minutes after she arrives). She folded the baby's laundry today, which considering she has two charges, I would never ask her to do. She washes the bottles. She leaves everything spotless.

But these are all things. The really great thing about her has nothing to do with all that, and everything to do with how calmly and lovingly she tends to the babies. She's really amazing. And I can't get over my luck that this all fell into my lap.

And on top of all that... based on the suggestion of a SMC member on the board, I went back to HR and asked again about changing my dependent child FSA. And since the guy I talked to last time is away on vacation (and thus not answering my calls), I went to the HR office and talked to someone else... and she said there's a good chance that HR at the main site will agree to cancel my FSA deductions after all! It seems crazy that I have to negotiate for my own money -- if it's possible to change it, why wouldn't you let me??? I mean, it's my money!) But she thinks the odds are good that it will all work out!

Oh happy day! I don't have to choose between kissing five thousand dollars away and kissing a fabulous nanny goodbye in a few months!

And the last good thing... the reason that I was at the hospital today and thus, in spitting distance of the HR office, is that the director of Ambulatory Care called me and said, since your boss isn't here to do interviews (since she left), why don't you come over and interview this medical assistant candidate yourself? I'll even send over the courier to pick you up.

The candidate was great! Eager and hardworking and computer literate and comfortable with adolescents and a nursing student to boot! Of course, that means she's going to leave me when she graduates in a year and a half...  but given all I have on my plate, I will let that worry take care of itself. In the meantime, it will be wonderful to be able to focus on my actual job and to

In only slightly less thrilling news, Calliope rolled over last night from stomach to back. I put her down on her belly with her arms under her, so that she could push up more easily, so maybe that gave her a slight head start? But it did not look accidental. She let herself fall to one side, but then she was able to give herself a push with the top leg to get herself all the way over.

I am starting to wonder if I am going to have an athletic daughter. That would be very strange indeed, considering the gene pool that I am contributing. I was the least athletic child ever. As I mentioned previously, extremely late to walk (and also to sit (9 months) and crawl (12 months), though I made up for it with chatter), and I was and am very uncoordinated. I hated exercise as a child. I liked playing outside well enough -- building forts and such, not playing catch -- but preferred to curl up inside with a book. But anything with running or balls (of the projectile variety) or teams... ugh. Insecurity and ineptness had a nice reinforcing effect on each other. I decided to start jogging in eighth grade, and to try participating in sports (teams where there were no try outs) very deliberately in order to try to enjoy what everyone else seemed to think was fun.

Today I love being active but I still hold no athletic skills whatsoever. Well, I took to skiing very quickly indeed, but that was the big exception, and it's been years since I skied.

Anyway, it will be very strange (and delightful) if my daughter ends up being sporty. Although I doubt there's any real correlation between early physical skills and athleticism? And if she ends up being bookish and kind of nerdy like the rest of us... that's great too! I'll know just how to deal with that.