Miles In Between

OK, it was technically her second (the first being her birth).  She LOVED it!  And this time, not crying was a good thing

The first time around, I thought I could not live without:

• My Moby Wrap
• A U-shaped Nursing Pillow
• The Sleep Sheep (white noise machine)
• My Clothes Line

Well, guess what?  I can live without those things!  I can have a baby without those things!

This time around, I found I could not live without:

• The Woombie
• My Breastpump (= Freedom: Dates with my Husband, Alone Time for Momma)
• A 55cm Bouncy Exercise Ball (sure-fire calming)
• An Extremely Supportive Husband and Daddy to my Babies
• My Fellow Penang Mommas & Support Group

Think these two are related?  They have the same ears!

One happy momma.

Here’s how my baby girl woke up early this morning.  OK, it was 6:45, and she went back down until 9.  Love these smiles!

A little late on this one, but what can I say?  There’s double the work around here and way less than half the time.  Here are a few shots from Miles’ 2nd birthday party:

A few weeks back, our amah Suzi took us to get a Hindu blessing for our baby Hazel.  Apparently the god who is worshiped in the temple behind our apartment is very strong; Suzi told me she was praying to him when I was in the hospital in labor.  The short ceremony for one-month old Hazel included lighting incense, offering fruit and ringing a bell loudly around her head (that part she didn’t like so much). I know it mean a lot to Suzi to do this blessing for Hazel.  Here is a shot of her with Suzi’s mom.

If you read my recent Bali/Lombok Trip report, you might be thinking, “Wow! Laurel and Tim go on all these great adventures and everything is perfect”.  Actually that’s what I thought when I re-read it.  We did have a great time.  But of course we had some challenges: carrying two sleeping children through Ubud at 95* and 100% humidity, sweating like crazy.  Miles insisting on eating a banana, and being no where near a market or a ripe fruit on any of the banana trees (which I think is what spurred on his craving, “nana tees! more nana tees!”).  Neither kid wanting to take a nap.  Miles waking up at 5:30am because he got over tired.  The anxiety of being at an amazing dance show and the sun goes down and my mom brain being like, “bed time! Get home now!”  Carrying an infant for 16 hours straight on a travel day.  Nursing so much on both of our travel days I was afraid my boobs would fall off.  Using the boob as a pacifier, which is not a good idea when you have a puker.  Smelling like sour milk from being puked on.  Blowout diapers in the car. In the plane. On the boat.  And then getting home and struggling to regain the ease and comfort of routine that is inevitably lost while away.  There are some parts of traveling with children that are no fun.

But then there’s the good part.  In fact, it’s better than good.  It’s a great thing about traveling with children.  Since toting a couple little nomads around the world, I have both witnessed and felt cultural walls and barriers melt before my eyes.  Everyone in the world has kids, and they are everyone’s greatest joy; it is something we share.  Where in my early travel days a sarong-hawker on a ferry jetty might have irked me with her pushy salesmanship, I now look on as she pats my baby girl’s cheek and connect with her as a mother when she tells me she has 4 little girls of her own.  I’m touched by the driver, who I might have once been suspicious of for a random stop, when he pulls over after an hour of driving so I can rock the baby and let her “drink”.  And when Miles sidles up to a father-son duo working on an art project in a local neighborhood and is welcomed to join in, I am reminded how in youth we hold no cultural stereotypes or hesitations.

And so, despite the week it takes us to recover from an outing, we’ll keep traveling while our means allow.  Especially if we leave all the gory parts out of the trip report and focus instead on the good memories and photos we gained.

Maybe some of you caught the latest NYT 36-hours edition…about Penang!  Well, last weekend we did one of the must-do items, and made a trip to Monkey beach.  It was a great day.  We went with Grandma Linda & Grandpa Wally who were visiting and another family in Penang who have a 2 yr old and a 4 month old.  We took a boat over to the beach, spent a few hours on the sand, had a delicious barbeque lunch, and all the babies fell asleep on the boat ride home.

The boat ride over:

Tim playing Tarzan, Hazel with Grandpa Wally, boats & airplanes:

Taking Miles for a swim:

Hazel & Theo nap in the sun tent while we’re having lunch.

Hazel hollering, it’s what she does best:

Asleep standing up on the boat ride home (I LOVE photos of my children asleep, it reminds me of happy times )

My Dear Hazel,

There will come a day (when you are about 6) when you will want to look just like your momma.

Then there will come a day (when you are about 14) when you will deny any genetic link to me.

And then there will be a time (when you are about 21 and need professional clothes) you will curse your abnormally long torso and arms that won’t fit dresses or jackets and thin feet that aren’t quite narrow and limit your shoe selection, and know it will all come from me.

And then, hopefully, there will be a day (when you are 28 and recovering from the birth of your first baby) that you will be proud of your good-looking 58-year-old momma and proud you passed on my genes.  Even the double-shot deep belly button.

Love,

Momma with the belly button abyss.  You have it too!

P.S. I read an article online about how we should be proud of our postpartum bodies.  So, here I go posting mine online, stretch marks and all, belly to belly with my baby girl.

Thought this made an interesting compare (bathtime at 6 weeks):