Papaya Mom

Papaya has begun solids, if they can be called that. For the last few
days she’s had a few tablespoons of rice cereal with water daily and
loves it - it is a lot more like “mush” than “solid” in my book.
Unlike a few weeks ago when we tried this, she now gets most of the
food swallowed with little to no trouble. She opens her mouth wide
for the incoming spoon and seems happy to be eating. Luckily she has
not had any issues with getting stopped up at the other end so we are
in the clear. In the next few days I plan to add in some squash,
carrots or green beans depending on what is organic and fresh at the
local Grocery!

Tutu, Papaya and I spent the day at Auntie Tutu’s house (my aunt
Janine) going through my Grandmother Wyatt’s things that are being
saved. We photographed and cataloged the items in an Excel
spreadsheet, but there is a lot more to do. It was so nice that
while my Grandmother was alive, Janine went through everything with
her so we have the story behind many of the jewelry pieces.

Last night we had to have Tutu come and kill a roach that had made it
into Papaya & my room. I am a big wuss about roaches after my roach-in-
the-ear incident which I will spare you the details of. Of course
this left me with little sleep, so now I plan to turn in for the
night. 11:20 p.m. Hawaii time….

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Today Papaya and I attended our first Stroller Strides class
(www.strollerstrides.com) where I got a great workout, met some
Kailua Moms AND Nursed while walking with Papaya in the New Native Sling!

Ooops, Papaya is waking up so I’ll have to tell you all about it later!

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We finally got a sling! Here in Hawaii I had only brought the Baby Bijorn, but really missed our sling from home. Yesterday, Mom and I picked up a New Native Baby Sling at Kahala Mall and I proceeded to wear Papaya all day long. She went to visit her Great Grand Tutu in it, waited for her Tutu to have a Mamogram at Kaiser and of course walked all over Kahala Mall on Mom’s side! She loves the sitting up side carry now and it is so nice!

Check the sling out at http://newnative.net/ it is a one-piece thing which makes it hard for me to mess up!

I’d really like to learn to sew so that I can make myself a few more slings/carriers in the next year. My favorite so far is: http://thosemartins.com/bmt/index.htm a Mei Tai carrer that I think Papaya will love.

In news, I’m the co-organizer for the 2005 Nurse Out in Seattle. I’ll have a webpage up for it soon, but in the meantime you can see what it is all about at www.ProMoM.org/nno

Papaya Mom

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Today was an exciting one for us, Papaya went in the ocean for the
first time. After lunch we (Mom, Pono and I) slathered her up with
waterproof sunscreen and pulled on her very first swim diaper. You
may think a swim diaper is a silly idea in the ocean, where the waves
will wash away any waste, but then again she is not on your lap just
waiting to drop #2 all over you;) I went for the swim diaper,
avoiding any poo on Pono or I. Covered in sunscreen and with a cute
little hat on (a gift from Jill Edery) we walked over to Kailua Beach.

Tutu video taped as Pono and I walked down to the water and sat at
the edge with Papaya. We let the waves come up and wash over our legs
and her feet. Papaya, who loves to stand, was ankle deep in wet sand
and not sure what to do about that funny feeling. She was surprised
by every wave for some time until she figured out that the roaring
thing coming towards us was the water that would splash her. She had
a few moments of uncertainty, but a quick smile and hug from Mom kept
her happy. By the end she was going between Pono and I, smiling and
staring out at the waves. We decided to wait for calmer water before
we take her out any more than ankle deep. Come to think of it, I
think I’ll wait some time so that she does not end up scared. I want
her to maintain her love of the water.

We’ve decided that a blow-up wading pool in the front yard might be
fun for Papaya to get a chance to splash in the water daily. Baths
were too hard on my back as she gets heavier so she now takes showers
with me. She thinks it is a ton of fun and giggles when we wash her
hair.

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Out here in Paradise Papaya and I are doing great. Of course, all the time we’ve spend traveling then adjusting left my blog quite empty. But, never fear, we are back online!!!!

The flight over was great, I used my Mom’s miles to upgrade to first class and it was worth it! I had room to nurse Papaya, ate great food and had friendly neighbors. I think not sitting in each other’s laps as I usually do in coach made the difference in people’s friendliness. One older couple who were traveling to visit thier son on his very first port call, in Guam, really enjoyed Papaya. They asked to hold her and would walk her around showing her all the neat things to see. It was nice to have a break to go to the restroom by mysel!

Of course, I caught a cold on the plane. It was not an awful one, but it is the first time I’ve been sick as a Mom. No time to sleep the day away and get better, there was a princess to attend to. In addition, my coughing and sneezing scared her when she was nursing so it took a bit for her to latch back on. Luckily, in my opinion due to the breastmilk, Papaya did not get sick at all. The same can’t be said for my Mom who took the cold right off my hands and then suffered it herself.

Once we were all better we started to really enjoy our time together. We gave Papaya her first non-breastmilk food…..PAPAYA! She thought it was interesting but did not know what to make of that new taste, or the fact that food was in her mouth without a boob. We then started rice cereal with breastmilk, but she got a diaper rash so we are taking a week off then trying again. I’m hoping it is coincidence and not an allergy.

Since she’s been here she’s met;
Grandpa and Tutu of course…who love her BUNCHES!
Great Uncle Sherman and Great Aunt Elaine who live in Kamuela but were on Oahu passing through.
Uncle Pono who likes her but is a bit freaked out by to much crying.
Her Great Great Grandmother - Tutu Warner! They spent a lot of time smiling at one another!
Great Uncle Benny, Great Aunt Christine, Uncle Christopher & Uncle John
Adventure Dad’ ex-CoWorker Dave Adams, his wife Sandy, daughter Kathy & sons DJ & Zach.
Adventure Dad’ ex-Coworker Eric Eck and his girlfriend.
Papaya Mom’s long lost friend Angela who we ran into at the NEX and spent hours catching up with!

We are having a great time!

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