motherhood
sciencewoman | November 1, 2007I'm back...and semi-dug out. Minnow and I survived the conference, though not unscathed. There was an unfortunate incident in which Minnow tumbled off the hotel bed and ended up with a carpet imprint on her forehead. But otherwise, it was a successful conference. That said, I don't recommend bringing a nine-month old to a conference alone. Here's how it went and what I learned:
On our flight to Conference City, Minnow and I were jammed into a middle seat. She wiggled, she made faces at the other passengers, she spilled my water, she banged on the tray table, and mercifully, she slept for 1/3…
sciencewoman | October 18, 2007Wow everyone! Thanks for all your suggestions on my last post. I thought I'd respond here, since my comments are plenty long enough.... I'll probably still miss some things though.
Re: pumping and breastfeeding. I am planning to nurse on the plane and during the conference proper. Unfortunately the first day I have an off-site field course for 10(!) hours. Hence the need to bring the frozen milk and pump that day. I'll probably end up tossing what I pump, but if I don't pump at least somewhat I'll be in serious pain. I've got a manual Avent pump for that purpose. Apparently, in addition to a…
sciencewoman | October 17, 2007In a moment of pure foolishness, I decided it would be a good idea to submit an abstract. This was way back in June and the conference was months away. Surely, things would be calm and under control by the time the conference came. Minnow would be sleeping through the night and I'd just pay a student to come along and babysit (turns out they have daycare on-site). It'd be fun. I missed the conference season last year, and this would be a great way to network and let people know my new affiliation. Besides there was a perfect session...
I don't know what I was thinking. But at the end of next…
sciencewoman | October 16, 2007Where we left our story, Minnow and I had arrived on campus for my 8 am lecture.
First, just a reminder that my child really is the most easy-going 8 month old in history.
I brought along her stroller, a sling, a few toys, and her diaper bag (all already in the car). I figured I'd put her in the sling during class, or if she wanted to get down and crawl around, that would be OK too. Secretly, I kind of hoped some student would volunteer to watch her and I'd gallantly refuse saying that her education was more important than my inconvenience. None did.
We arrive about 3 minutes before class,…
sciencewoman | October 16, 2007Very little can go wrong on Tuesday and Thursday mornings if I am going to be able to drop Minnow off at daycare and get to my lecture on time. Since Fish leaves for work at 5:30 am, the child waking, loving, tending, and delivering to daycare all fall on my shoulders. Which means that thorough preparation the night before is critical. And on nights when I am frantically writing the next day's lecture, it's Fish's job to wash out the dirty bottles and get things ready for the next day.
Last night (despite a reminder) he didn't do his job.
Minnow didn't sleep well and I couldn't have gotten…
sciencewoman | October 15, 2007
This weekend, Minnow, Fish, Princess Pup and I went for a hike. We didn't go far. Just enough that we got away from the city and to a spot where we could look out over a lake and see the trees turning colors on the far shore.
I've often seen environmental issues framed in terms of our responsibility to future generations. The idea is as old as the Iroquois: ""In every deliberation we must consider the impact on the seventh generation..." and it is the driving force behind the idea of sustainability. Basically, I like to think of it is as a long-period version of the golden rule: "do unto…
sciencewoman | October 12, 2007This morning I slept in...to the ridiculously late hour of 7 am. Then Minnow woke up and our day got underway. As a result of my laziness and Fish's work schedule, I had to get ready for my day while wrangling a wiggly Minnow. This is actually pretty typical, at least two days a week I fail to get up before she does.
But this morning I faced a new obstacle. I've baby proofed our bathroom and I let Minnow crawl around and play while I take a very quick shower. Usually, she spends a little bit of time banging on the shower door but spends most of her time looking for trouble.
This morning…
sciencewoman | October 1, 2007When I lived in Utopia, I was pretty mainstream. I drove to work, but shopped at the cooperative grocery. I liked to hike and get outdoors, support local businesses, and compost. So naturally when I was pregnant, I consulted my instincts and my mommy-friends and made some decisions about how I was going to parent. And for the few months that I parented in Utopia, things went pretty well and when I needed support I had numerous friends and neighbors to turn to.
But then I moved to Mystery City, and I realized how non-mainstream my ways really were. People look at us as if we are odd when we do…
sciencewoman | September 22, 2007The other brouhaha this week has been over Facebook banning breastfeeding pictures because they are "obscene" and then banning a Canadian mother who had posted such pictures. Tara did a great job summarizing the stink.
Here's what I think about this:
I mean, honestly, my flabby, white, stretched out stomach is more disturbing than Minnow eating her breakfast.
This picture is a couple of months old. She's got a lot more hair than that now.