A Final Post of the Long Weekend

pushing up into "downward dog"

all the way up... if only I could figure out how to lift my arms
(I can lift one, momentarily, but not both)

We finished off the long weekend with three more adventures.

First, another run in Prospect Park to the Vanderbilt Playground. Calliope slept until past 7, again, hallelujah! Usually I wake up right before she does, or else to her just starting to stir. Today I woke up with a start, from a deep sleep, to the sound of full on crying. I was totally disoriented and thought I had forgotten to set the alarm and was going to be late to work.

Oh, the joys of a three day weekend! No work!

We had a quick nurse in bed... still not something I really enjoy, much to my chagrin... and then we both went to the bathroom. Baby poop in the potty looks pretty gross, but it's sure a lot easier to clean up than off a baby bottom!

We've been having a fair amount of success with the pottying, though if Calliope is trying to tell me when she needs to go, I'm missing her signals, apart from about a week when she would screech in the high chair when she needed to pee, which was amazing! We rely on timing, and diapers. But after sleep and after meals, she generally sits on her Baby Bjorn Little Potty, and often uses it. At the very least, she is familiar with the concept of using the potty, which will probably make potty training easier, and at best, it may make it possible to potty train at a younger age. It would be awesome to have her out of diapers at a young age, but I also don't want to make this into an obsession. I'm very glad, however it turns out, that she mostly poops on the potty for now because it means she doesn't have poop on her skin.

Anyway, we didn't get out as quickly as a result, and Calliope was falling asleep in the stroller on our way back from the playground. Oops. I try very hard to always have the morning nap in the crib. I carried her the last block home to keep her awake.

The run was a lot better than the last two. I'm really getting the hang of running with the stroller, and my stride definitely lengthened out, especially on the way home, which just feels so much better. And afterwards, I was just bursting with energy and ready for another adventure. Not that I got anything productive done during Calliope's nap besides showering, eating, and pumping.

Memorial Day swinging, midway through our run

After the nap and Skyping with Grammy -- Calliope definitely recognized her this time, since our last visit was only two weeks ago, and was much more responsive as a result. I put the computer on the floor so Calliope could play in front of it. She demonstrated her new "downward dog" position, and loved having Grammy clap enthusiastically every time Calliope removed a piece from her jigsaw puzzle.

Then we went to the nearby Ave F playground with our friend Emily and her four year old daughter, Annabelle. Calliope thinks that Annabelle walks on water. Yeah, like Jesus. Everything that Annabelle does makes Calliope laugh. And Annabelle loves being idolized. It's a win:win relationship.

We were delighted to see that the sprinklers were turned on at the playground, so Annabelle and a couple of neighborhood kids had a blast filling up cups of water at the sprinklers and then pouring them on Calliope and my feet. And Calliope was tickled to be part of the fun.

She had a quick lunch on the playground and then was once again falling asleep on the way home, once again ahead of her naptime schedule.

After another short nap, she played on the floor in the living room until it was time to go to a trial music class with Amy and Seth (her husband) and Eleanor. They were the only two there, and it felt a little strange at first, but the class was great and Calliope loved it. The big finale was billowing a parachute over them, which they both loved.

Calliope was tired enough that her joy isn't as apparent as Eleanor's

She got fussy and tired towards the end, though, which is very unlike her. And completely lost it on the bus ride home. She just wanted to go nurse and go to sleep... at 5:45.... on the bus.

I generally try to avoid breastfeeding on public transportation but she was completely hysterical so I finally gave in, after wiping up her snotty nose on her shirt. Between baring the breast and wiping the nose, I'm sure I made a positive impression all around. But it seemed like it was all Hispanic women, plus me and Amy, giving me and Calliope sympathetic smiles, so whatever.

She was hysterical again, getting into the stroller, and when we arrived home. She skipped dinner and after a long nursing, passed out in my arms, poor thing.

I guess I planned one too many fun adventures this weekend? I didn't realize she would get so tired, given that she was napping and getting to bed on time (except for two nights ago, and that was only one hour late, at 7:30.)

I'm going to ask the nanny to try to give her three naps tomorrow, and I think we need to aim for 6 pm bedtimes for a few nights. This is no easy feat -- it means giving her dinner pretty much as soon as I get home, because things always take longer with Amy and Eleanor there.

Still, I hated seeing her so upset tonight. She's so rarely like that. And I guess I need to tone down the activity level just a bit.

Live and learn.