wassup

It's raining.

It's hard to believe E is off to China again tomorrow. Simone and I are looking forward and are very thankful that Grandma and Grandpa from California are spending the week with us though.

I unknowingly requested from Netflix and watched two movies in a row (you've got to watch something during those middle of the night feedings) that were from the same director, Alejandro González Iñárritu: Amores Perros (2000) and Babel (2006). Seeing the first one helped prepare me for the style of the second. I also got to see lots of Gael García Bernal. Maybe I should watch Motorcycle Diaries next. :) It made me think about how theaters used to show double features (I'm sure a few art house theaters still do this)--what movies might be interesting to put together, a certain director, actor, writer, theme. I think I'd like watching more movies this way. It's like going to a museum and seeing an exhibit versus random disjointed pieces.

Simone is still doing 90% breastmilk and 10% formula. I had lunch with a group after church last Sunday. One guy was a pediatric resident who had done a rotation in Swaziland. I thought it was interesting that they still generally recommend that HIV infected mothers breastfeed unless there is a good supply of formula and clean water available. The risk of transmission is weighed against the likelihood of the child dying from malnutrition/dehydration. Apparently the worst scenario is the child getting both breast milk and bottle (when the mom is infected). Because formula is not as easy to digest, it may cause the intestinal system to be more vulnerable to HIV being transmitted from the mom's milk. Random thought--you know how breast milk is great because it strengthens the kid's immunity? Would it possibly be more beneficial to get breast milk from several healthy women instead of just one? I saw an ad this afternoon for a feature on the ABC evening news about American moms sending their breast milk overseas for malnutritioned infants.

Simone has been crying a lot lately. We try not to hold her all the time; we put her down when she's sleeping. But it's hard when you're so tired. And sometimes if you wait too long it takes a loooong time to calm her down again. We're trying to let her cry more instead of putting off _everything_ for her. For example, sometimes I just need to put in my contacts. It seems to small, but I wasn't eating properly because I wouldn't take the time to even prepare a plate and microwave it because of her fussiness. We love our new Ergo carrier because we can carry her and still have our hands free. Yesterday I made zucchini bread with her in it. The downside is she's still being held all of the time.

Parenthood is a good lesson in receiving help. All the meals we've received and free babysitting, some from people who are more acquaintances than friends, have truly been gifts of grace. It makes such a difference to have food when you're too sleep deprived and busy soothing a crying baby to cook. So far we've cooked like twice each. And I did bake a cake when E was watching Simone. I was excited to use my bundt cake pan for the first time. It's not easy accepting and asking for help. This week two different women watched Simone so I could work on my analysis/report for the PhD survey. And E and I got to have another sushi date night.

With our friends Jen & Chris from Cali:


I officially declare Sophia/Sophie to be the girls name of the year among my demographic (upper middle class, highly educated New Yorkers). I met another one born this year at our co-op's 50th anniversary celebration.

Stinks:
I spilled water on my keyboard; for my desktop computer so at least all was not lost. I got a new Apple keyboard only to discover that because my operating system is "too old" that several of the special function keys don't work. The ones I'm really bothered by are the volume keys. I like being able to control the volume without having to toggle windows. I'm thinking about returning it and buying an old one off Ebay.

Finished reading and moderately liked: Run by Ann Patchett


Can totally relate:


Speaking of crying girls...mine wants to be picked up. Until next time...