little feet, big sky

Towards the end of my pregnancy last year, I did some chiropractic and acupuncture at Berlin Wellness Group on Wilshire. I can't speak more highly of this place. Dr. Berlin is warm, funny and knowledgeable, and I firmly believe that it was his skill in part that helped us birth safely right around our due date when there was concern we might go over it. The staff are incredibly supportive, and make no secret of loving babies! Everyone there is so attuned to the needs (and fears) of pre- and post-natal women. Even if you're in perfect pregnancy health, a massage and adjustment here is a welcome treat in those last few months.
 
http://www.doctorberlin.com

Spice is growing up fast! She's already cut four tiny little teeth that she uses to pretend she's a hamster while nibbling on carrots. She's also becoming extremely skilled in the Mother-Nipple Torture technique; I can see now why so many moms give up nursing when those little fangs come in. She's walking with the help of a hand, though there's still a lot of drunken-sailor in her gait. But the most fun of all is just how interactive she's become, rather like a cross between a Furby and Teddy Ruxpin. She's learned how to clap fairly efficiently, but waving to someone is still both hands wildly swinging in partially synchronized circles. Toys go in and out of other toys (like the rattle in the play tea kettle, or Mommy's keys into the bottom of the toy box), toys get banged on other toys, toys get ignored like other toys... you get the idea. In fact, the latest attention-grabbers I've been using to keep her occupied are the Great Outdoors ("no, love, we don't eat rocks - at least, not without soup") and various kitchen oddities ("surely a pastry blender is an age-appropriate toy!"). As you can tell, I have it spoilt and easy, and am still in the honeymoon phase of toddlerhood; I'll get back to ya in a couple of months!
 
I've also been sucked slowly back into work. Sure, it's less than part-time, and of course I'm not getting paid since it's for the start-up, but it's work and it has me both feeling productive and panicked. I'm loving the feeling that I'm part of something bigger than laundry or emptying the dishwasher, but panicked because I'm sure all my previous coding knowledge has either evaporated from my brain, or has been steadily dribbling out my breastmilk, take your pick. Which ever it is, it seems to not be in my head very much. The spouse-unit argues this isn't the case, but he hasn't witnessed me pouring dishwashing detergent into the washing machine. (Um, I hope not.) Still, I'm working on small fry stuff, nothing major or earth-shattering, like an iPhone app that's going to save humanity from evil blood-sucking aliens, or anything like that. Er. No, of course not.
 
Add to this a lovely upcoming visit from the MIL, venturing across the pond from Sweden, and my workaholic mother staying over the following weekend, plus upcoming international trips that need to be planned for, packed for, "stocked up on cat food for the feline monsters" for, and more. So, yeah, it's been busy, but with such lovely summer days as these oddly gray ones we've been having here in L.A., who hasn't been?

               

The Uncle Goose blocks have been a total hit. While she's too young to stack them yet, we have a slick little game where I make columns of 5 blocks all around the room and she knocks them down. Sometimes we go for broke and I try to see how high I can build before she bulldozes my tower.

Her Boon FrogPod with bathtoys isn't at all natural, but it fits in the categories of 'unusual' and 'toys'. The FrogPod fits the shower wall and stashes all her bath goodies. Some parents might find a nearly two-foot-tall green plastic frog in their shower to be an eyesore, but our bathroom is yellow rubber ducky -themed, so we're hardly ones to judge. The bath goods themselves are these non-mildewing foam shapes that stack, float and stick to bathtub and tile walls. She chews on them, slaps them together and pulls them off the walls faster than I can stick them back up.

We prefer wooden toys since the spouse was Waldorf-educated and I'm not fond of over-sized plastic, electronic toys. I wish I could make them myself since they're crazy expensive, but it's time-consuming to do properly, so I just try to buy selectively. I generally like Moolka for their selection of natural toys, but from a Waldorf perspective, most of the toys still don't leave much left for the imagination.

@livesinthetub got her the lovely soft duck below before she was born and with the crinkly material inside, it's a solid favorite. The little wooden elephant she's playing with up top is actually one of the spouse-unit's from when he was a boy. Maybe that's the charm of natural toys, that they'll always be endearing to future generations.

Few things in the Western world make me want to cry nearly as much as a parent carrying a tiny baby in a BabyBjoern. Seriously, these things are so innappropriate for babies, they should be outlawed. In the spirit ofThe spouse-unit has regularly commented that I should blog something like the "basics of babywearing". Every time he suggests it, I remind him that all I've learned on the subject, I know thanks to the internets, so reposting such information is a waste of time when seekers can go straight to the source with sites like thebabywearer.com (TBW).

But it's recently come to my attention via moms I've directed to TBW that the site, while a vast repository of babywearing (BW) knowledge, is overwhelming and a bit of a turn-off if you're not already a BW fanatic. So, here I am, attempting to condense what little I know into something useful for those new to, or curious about, the art and trust-fund-demolishing addiction known as babywearing.

The number one question I see by neophytes posting on babywearing groups is "what's the best carrier?", or something similar to that like "which is better: carrier X or carrier Y". The real answer is always something like "well, all babies are unique and all moms are different, so I can't really answer that, because it's all so individual." This often seems like some kind of blow-off answer, but it's the honest truth. The question is akin to asking a random stranger on the street, "what's the best clothing for me?" Everyone is a little biased towards their own personal tastes, and yours are no different. How did you come to love Simple shoes, or get stuck buying nothing but Abercrombie & Fitch? You probably tried it once, after trying a dozen other styles or brands and found you liked the colors/style/fit enough to stick with it for a while. And then one day, you realize your tastes have changed and you switch around brands or styles until you once again reach fashion equilibrium.

Finding the right carrier is exactly the same search. It's why you meet one mom who would just die without the Ergo, and another one that shredded it, burned it and buried the ashes so that no one else would have to suffer using it. What works for one parent could be loved or loathed by another. The trick is to be adventurous (and patient!) and try out a few before giving up on babywearing all together.

This is also a good time to bring up that for most parents of babies (and some small toddlers), having a bad back , or being short, are not necessarily reasons not to wear your baby. Chances are good that you could be super-comfortable in a carrier with appropriate padding, or with better support.

So let's get started. There are many different types of carriers, and by the end of this post, you'll be able to spot them out and about.

Soft-structured carriers (SSCs): These are carriers of varying design that are usually composed of some kind of square (or squarish) "body" panel and varying types of straps to secure the baby against your body. They come in varying sizes and can secure with buckles, clasps or by tying. There are Asian-inspired ones that a based on historic carriers used in Asian countries, like the podaegi (Japanese) or the ______. The Ergo is a type of SSC that features padding, has an attached sleeping hood, secures with multiple buckles and