Tip #1 -- Squeaky floors

Having never raised a baby before, I have read everything I can get my hands on. I've also gotten lots of advice from family, friends & other new moms I have meet at the mom groups I go to.

But there are some things about babies you can't/won't find in the books. So let me fill in the gap.

Tip #1 --Squeaky floors

Before your baby is born, fix all the squeaks in your floor

This has really become an issue for me. For a baby who can sleep through the antics of a deer crazed dog, B seems especially sensitive to our squeaky floors. Now granted, we do have the squeakiest hallway leading up to her bedroom and bathroom. Today I found myself practically walking on the moulding just so I could take a peak at the slumbering bambino who'd been asleep for over three hours.

What a difference 15 days makes

September 9, 2006

September 24, 2006

B is getting bigger, and gaining weight like a champ. She will be 5 weeks old on Monday and things are going well. Nursing is finally getting easy....something just clicked the other day and it's going smoothly.

She is outgrowing her preemie clothes, but not quite. Preemie clothing varies so much in size. She has 4 preemie sleepers, two of which she's outgrown. We have t-o-n-s of clothing waiting for her when she gets just a smidge bigger, so we are hesitant to buy her any more during her transition to a larger size.

More later....

B. is for beautiful

B.
8.21.06, 3:24PM
5 lb, 15.5 oz
18.3 inches

Cruising Lake Superior

On Saturday, I went on my first boat ride on Lake Superior. Clay and I went with a friend from work. The cruise was called A View From The Lake through the University of Minnesota (and other sponsoring agencies). We left from Two Harbors (about 30 minutes north of Duluth) around 9:45A and spent about 2 1/2 hours on the lake.

The trip was an educational one, with the main goals of highlighting the problems of storm water run-off, mercury and global warming. While out there, we played a watershed game, collected plankton from a 47 meter water column, and pulled out worms and shrimp-like creatures from a bottom sample (collected at 370 feet). We also looked at pervious pavement, a composite concrete in which water flows right though. An interesting idea that needs a little more experimentation in the Northland.

Fun fact of the trip: Lake Superior has a flush rate of roughly 185 years. This means that a particular drop of water (or pollutant) would take 185 years to leave the lake. Lake Erie on the other hand, has an approximate flush rate of 5-10 years.

We couldn't have asked for a better day to travel on the lake. The breeze was nice, but the sun was warm. A nice break from the heatwave we've been having.