Nursery

Quilt gallery

The theme of our nursery isn't something I intentionally chose. What happened was that my MIL gave us a few quilts that were sewn for our nephews (her grandchildren). I washed them before Albert was born but then just set them aside for awhile. It didn't seem right to let him play on something that was almost 20 years old. 

I also have a quilt that is 40 years old that my mom sewed for me before I was born. And I have a quilt that I made for my baby. There is also quilted pillows and a cushion for the window seat that I quilted out of old jeans about 3 years ago. There is a graduation quilt that people signed when I finished my undergrad in 2002, so 18 years ago.

The furniture that ended up being SUPER useful was the changing table and the glider. Albert isn't really at the point where he sleeps well in his crib, but I am confident we'll get there eventually. The gliding footrest is EVERYTHING. We didn't use the bassinet for long, instead we put Albert into a cosleeper. The most clutch feature of the cosleeper was the vibrating clip-on heart. We also use a separate white noise machine. We do have a baby-cam setup, but since he co-sleeps we don't realy use it unless he goes to bed and we stay up late, or vice versa, he sleeps in and we get up early.

Back to School COVID edition

In a normal back-to-school frenzy, I would be stressing about my teaching assignment and preparing documents like syllabi. I also have a tendency to stress about all the things I put on my summer to-do list that I didn't finish.

This year I have a baby AND there's a raging epidemic in our country. How that changes things is that my department has posted the teaching schedule about a month earlier than usual. This is great because I can start working on my Canvas sites weeks before classes start rather than days. This is particularly great with my baby because I have to work in small (~15 minute) chunks rather than in marathon sessions like I used to.

Due to COVID, my students will only meet me via Zoom. I will have to go to campus for my lab, which meets from 5:30-8:20pm on Tuesday and Thursday. I will be teaching CHEM 100 lectures (introductory chemistry) from home on Monday and Wednesday from 4:30-5:45pm. I will be teaching SCIENCE 100 lectures (Freshman Seminar) from home on Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00-3:15pm.

I have been using Zoom all spring and summer with my family and mom fitness group. I feel confident that I will be able to run the class. Here are some recommendations that were compiled by exit interviews with ~350 students.

1. Discuss class norms on day one

2. Email students regularly

3. Send motivational messages via Canvas Insights

4. Use images or videos on slides instead of text

5. Give a 5-10 minute break in a 75 minute class

6. Make Zoom link easy to find on Canvas homepage

7. Have Canvas page populate gradually. Seeing the whole semesters content is too overwhelming 

8. Use the whiteboard feature to show problem solving

9. Use polling for student engagement but do not use too many different softwares

10. Consider Zoom breakout rooms and Google docs for groupwork

11. Record and post class meetings

12. Be flexible with exam times

13. Consider "Remind" app for students to communicate with each other outside of class

14. Build in social-emotional support. Let them talk off-topic in breakout room for a few minutes before diving into material. Tell jokes and give motivational pep talks. 

Yes, I could have cut and pasted these, but I wanted to type them out and paraphrase in hopes that the message would penetrate my brain more deeply and permanently.

Clifton Strengths

I took the CliftonStrengths assessment and out of 34 possible strengths, I got a coaching session based on my top 5.

Achiever

Activator

Significance

Strategic

Woo

Achiever is under the broad category of Executing. People exceptionally talented in the Achiever theme work hard and possess a great deal of stamina. They take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive. I like making lists and getting things done. I can persevere in tasks even if they require a great deal of focus and time.

I have 3 strengths in the influencing theme: Activator, Significance, and Woo. Activators make things happen by turning thoughts into action. In a group, I tend to "zone out" when people are talking about ideas but then "lean in" when they get to the action part. I contribute ideas for what to do when a group has identified a cause or issue that they want to pursue.

The Significance strength is found in people who want to make a big impact. They are independent and prioritize projects based on how much influence they will have on their organization or people around them. I use my status to help bring attention to issues effecting my community. My title and previous awards can bring more resources to my organization.

People exceptionally talented in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with someone. Woo is also an acronym for "winning over others." Wooers tend to have lots of contacts who they know at a superficial level. I realized later in life that I can hold back in social situations because I am too concerned about whether people will like me.

Strategic falls under the theme of strategic thinking. People exceptionally talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues. This is a skill I acquired later in life by taking adventures in Los Angeles without a car. Learning to be flexible in travel plans has taught me to be flexible in other areas of my life.

One concern I had is that these strengths are what I cultivated in my professional life and helped advance my career. I don't know whether they will help me be a better parent. Maybe becoming a mom will shift my strengths from these top 5 to a new set. My friend encouraged me to take the assessment again thinking only about momming. I just don't feel like I have my mom identity just yet. She said it's early days yet, like halfway through freshman year. There's still time to find myself in this new role.

gender is a construct

Women vs men is irrelevant. Now I would divide humans into "has carried a baby in their body" and "has not." Does this make me a TERF? TERF stands for “trans exclusionary radical feminist.” I think J.K.Rowling was turned down a lot with young children in tow, she was also the victim of sexual and domestic abuse, which has led to her becoming an aggressive biological essentialist.

My friend who is a stepparent said that if you truly accept your parental role, stepkids can pierce your heart as deeply as babies you have carried in your body. I can't speak from personal experience on this topic, but I trust her. The Netflix documentary "Babies" has an episode on changes to the parent's brain. If there is a heterosexual couple, generally the mom's brain is the one that changes. If there is a homosexual couple, one partner's brain will change. I can say that I know my son has irreversibly changed me.

http://www.thecourieronline.co.uk/a-thorough-analysis-of-jk-rowlings-bigotry/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkeynz/jk-rowlings-transphobia-wasnt-hard-to-find-she-wrote-a-book-about-it

https://www.vogue.com/article/jk-rowling-transphobic-tweets-harry-potter-franchise

Becoming Nicole

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/jk-rowling-trans-tweets-nicole-maines-supergirl-harry-potter-1234632167/ 

Professor Ruth Feldman

https://ruthfeldmanlab.com/people/

Baby blankets

Sometimes you get gifts, especially if you are a first-time parent, and you don't know what they are or what purpose they might serve. Sometimes if a product is new, the packaging will give you ideas about how to use the item. But if it is a used or hand-me-down item it may not be in its original packaging. It can make you feel like you don't know what you're doing, like you aren't ready for your baby. I didn't know the difference between receiving, muslin and swaddle blankets. 

I did a little research about swaddling before my baby was born and ended up making two swaddle blankets out of an old flat bed sheet that measure 48 x 48 in. Typical dimensions for a swaddle blanket are 47 x 47 in. My baby didn't like being swaddled, so I didn't get a lot of use out of these. A swaddle blanket can be stretchy. I have one that I like made of muslin cotton that is thin and breathable, as well as stretchy.

A recieving blanket measures 30 x 30 in. It is smaller because it is used to swaddle a newborn baby. I definitely ended up with one of these from the hospital because I didn't have the proper baby clothes to bring baby home from the hospital. I had just a onesie with no pants or socks and it was cold and windy. Oops!

People gave us a bunch of rectangular blankets of thicker flanel recieving blankets. Dimensions of 28 x 34 in.

Uses:

Covering the changing table

Layer between your body and baby while babywearing

We got a bunch of thick polyester fleece blankets, square in size. Some had an animal attached. At 4 months my baby actually likes these, one in particular with an elephant head. He cuddles it (with his mouth) while he's in his swing. At first I was resentful at these gifts because babies are not supposed to have toys or blankets in their sleeping area until they are 2 or 3 years old. But when awake, the younger baby can still appreciate such warm and fuzzy blankets.

Song archive

List

Itsy bitsy spider

Old McDonald

The farmer in the dell

One two, buckle my shoe

Working on the railroad

The ants go marching

Over the rainbow

5 little ducks

5 green and speckled frogs

Monkeys jumping on the bed

Ten in the bed

Song that never ends

BINGO

The muffin man

The wheels on the bus

The riddle song

Baa baa black sheep

Mary had a little lamb

Head shoulders knees toes

Frère Jacques

Hush little baby

🇪🇦 Dans mon pays d’Espagne olé 🎼🎵🎶

🌞 Soleil

🏔 Montagne

🌊 La Mer

🐮 Un Taureau

🤠 Un Chanteur

🎸 Une Guitare

💃 Des Danseuse

🕺🐃 Des Corridas

🦐 Des Paellas 

🕺💃 Du Flamenco 

🐚 Des Conchitas

https://t.co/eUh9hM1T3L 

#French #Spain #babymusic #kidsmusic #childrensmusic

 

cooking with baby in a pandemic

I have been grinding cardamom seeds for granola in the coffee grinder. I take it out to the garage. But I'm usually wearing baby. It does startle him, but also is fascinating to him. We make lots of blended smoothies and run a juicer so I think the kitchen noises have just become a part of life. I was taking it to the garage because dear husband (DH) has been working from home (WFH) and Zooming 24/7.

My new kitchen hack is to break up a task into parts that can be done ~1.5 hours apart. For example: Greek turkey bites. 1) set out ingredients and measuring spoons, cups. Nurse. Nap. 2) chop and combine ingredients. Refrigerate. Nurse, nap. 3) portion out burgers and bake. Nurse. Pull food out of the oven. I can get something made by 2nd lunchtime (i.e. 2pm).

I have also done this with flourless chocolate chip cookies and quinoa broccoli bites. This is a giant leap forward since I have been having a really hard time preparing homemade food. Please share if you have any other tips for cooking with bebe.

Yesterday we started practicing for fall classes (zoom synchronous teaching) by wearing a chest harness and bluetooth ear buds while preparing brownies and a pizza. It was painful to watch back because it was so awkward. I hope if I keep practicing, I will improve.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhakB_ls06nRrcMcPF06uodLjS035nHCE 

When baby wants a diaper change or a feeding he does a really adorable slow blink and flashes a smile like a Gerber baby. He literally bats his eyelashes. I think it's because my husband won't change or feed him until baby gives a smile. It is either so wrong or genius. If the food or diaper change doesn't happen soon after the adorable smiling session, then he'll turn into Chucky and start howling.

Baby is put to bed by my husband at 8pm. I usually stay up til 9:30 or later doing: dishes, laundry, watching videos on my phone, catching up on social media, eating late dinner, buying stuff on Amazon. I hate to admit this but I count the hours throughout the day, praying for the strength to make it to 8pm. One strange thing about motherhood is that no matter how tired or in pain I think I am, I find I have a deep well of strength that kicks in when my baby needs me.

https://www.budgetbytes.com/greek-turkey-burgers/

http://www.picklesnhoney.com/flourless-almond-chocolate-chip-cookies/

https://www.blissfulbasil.com/vegan-cheesy-broccoli-quinoa-bites-with-sriracha-aioli/

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