We're Here

And we learned some lessons along the way:

1. When you get print tickets for your infant traveler only, put them with your passports immediately so you won't have a mad dash at 11 p.m. the night before your trip trying to remember where they are.
2. If you happen to call the airline to ask for assistance in this particular case, DO NOT trust them when they say it's no problem that you don't have them, as long as you have the booking code you're good to go.
3. When you wake up late and think, whew we've got another hour to get ready, USE THAT HOUR WISELY. i.e. not on Facebook.
   
4. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES fly into JFK. Just don't. DON'T. If you do, you have to LEAVE SECURITY AND WALK OUTSIDE in 20 degree weather WITHOUT YOUR COATS (even on the baby!!) to take a decrepit train and then proceed through security all over again.
   
5. DO NOT forget to change the baby's diaper regularly, even if baby seems perfectly comfortable and fine. Set timers, whatever you gotta do, just get that done regularly.
   
6. DO NOT pack any less than 7 diapers. There's a good chance you'll get poo or pee on you.
   
7. Do not pack any less than THREE backup outfits, cause you'll have to recycle previously peed on outfits when #2 bites it, you can't find the socks, and oh yeah, there's poop on the blanket.
   
8. DO NOT pack all of your clothes and the baby's clothes and for crying out loud, the baby's formula all in one suitcase. Because if you happened to not listen to Rule #4, you will be SO shitouttaluck when that suitcase doesn't arrive.
   

The good news: Christmas gifts, all my stuff for showering, etc. made it, and we didn't lose the baby in NY. It could have been worse, although I'm not sure we'll do a two-stop trip again to try to find out.

Say a prayer my suitcase makes it.

Miserably Hot

It was 97 degrees F (36C) in Redwood City yesterday, which means Team Hansen nearly melted. We don't have air conditioning at our new place; it rarely gets this hot and because we are closer to the city, we figured it was OK that we didn't have it.

We went to the grocery store Saturday to enjoy the air conditioning (see above) and actually went to the mall yesterday to return some shirts I got and buy some other things. It was nice to soak up the air conditioning. We went to see Josh's new place, which is pretty awesome. It reminds me of his place in Penn. I think he'll like it there.

We bought a fan last night but are glad it's cooling off this week.

Practicing eating

We had an eventful first meal here. I videotaped the first part where she doesn't understand what that food thing in her mouth is and is hating it - a lot. Seconds after the tape ran out, while I was going to get a new one, she has a geyser puke-out!
We're going to practice this some more!

Those Pampers People Know What They're Doing

In an effort to be environmentally conscious, we were using Seventh Generation diapers. They have no chlorine, and chlorine is bad because it produced dioxins, which are very very bad. They're also supposed to be able to break down easier in the landfill. However, the 7thG diapers leak like hell. I didn't realize this wasn't a normal diaper experience until I was sitting in the breastfeeding support group amongst a circle of women and of course of course Lucia has a massive poop-out. A poop-out, for those of you not familiar, is when she poops and it leaks from the diaper all over her clothes and up her back, etc. So she has a massive poop-out and the mother next to me says, "Are those Seventh Generation? They leak really bad."

SO much of being a mother, so far, has been fumbling along for me, not having any sense of what's normal and what's not. It's like being lost and not being able to find your bearings. I don't know what I don't know. 

So I mention the poop out to Mary, who says to switch to Pampers, that they don't leak. I was reluctant, as we have about a million packages of Seventh Generation diapers. But tonight's poop-out was the icing on the cake. And by icing, I mean pumpkin-soup consistency absolutely all over her and having to change her in the trunk of the car and having to strip her down naked when it's 50 degrees out, resulting in her making the most horrific cries and subsequently ripping my heart out. It was a real delight. We bought pampers on the way home, and we'll be using these from here on out. I'm returning the 7thG diapers to Whole Foods and hoping for a store credit. 

While I feel a slight tinge of guilt over the environmental implications of us using Pampers, I can't handle poo everywhere. I'm drinking a beer to calm my very frayed nerves. Thank god my mom was with me to help me clean Lucia up and get her calmed down. Gawd.