A reader

Alex is becoming a true and true reader.  Last night he read me an entire Scholastic level 1 (“big type and easy words”) book about Wall*E.  It was mostly about smashing trash.  He only needed help with a few words:  everywhere, uncubes, treads.  The rest, he sounded out entirely by himself.  The great thing is, even as he is heavily focussed on sounding out particular words, he is also aware of tone while he is reading out loud.  He will read a sentence, then go back again and read it with feeling to get a good intonation for it (which is something I do when we read together, so I will take credit there!).  He was so very proud of himself!

Today he got a superstar at school — for probably the third time all year.  He was thrilled.  Somehow, I think last night’s accomplishment and today’s are connected.

Have Breast Pump, Will Travel

I have tried really hard to avoid business travel while the kids are this young, but I could not really say no to a same day, to Boca Raton and back business development trip. I had it all planned out, no problem, and then — British terrorists got caught trying to blow up planes with liquid explosives, and the whole air travel system got thrown into chaos. The TSA banned liquids on all domestic flights. How the heck was I going to get my pumped milk home for the day?

I desperately posted to a bunch of mommy boards and lists hoping to get some guidance. The rules seemed to have an exception for breast milk and formula, but only if the baby is traveling as well. After hearing the story of another mom who got her milk and ice thrown away, I decided I had to check the milk.

I checked my Medela pump in style traveler backpack. I put three blue ice packs in the standard issue black cooler bag, which made it too full to hold the usual bottles. So I transferred the milk to bags after pumping so there was more room for ice and more of the milk was in contact with the ice. I think that helped a lot.

I am happy to report that despite having to leave the bag in the rental car in the hot Boca Raton sun between noon and 3 (in for a penny, in for a pound!), the cooler packs were still cold (though no longer frozen) and my milk was still cold when I finally got home at 8:30 pm. I packed my bag and left the house at 7 am, so they were good for more than 12 hours! I had a bit of a scare when I arrived at my destination in that my pump did not seem to be on the carousel at first, but the baggage collectors found me, thank goodness. I had to pump at the airport before checking the bag for the return flight (whereas my original plan before the ban was to pump once I was through security and checked in, and I had set the flight times with that in mind). That made me cut things a bit closer than I would have liked with heightened security.

The funny thing to come out of the whole ordeal was that a reporter happened to be on one of the lists to which I posted my original query, and contacted me. My story ended up being part of a larger story on liquid ban hassles in the Washington Post [.pdf].

After the article appeared, I learned that the pump was slightly damaged when I had checked it. The faceplate broke, and it reduced the suction but didn’t totally get rid of it — enough of a problem that it seriously affected my output, but not so much that I was able to figure out what the issue was right away. I had to order directly from Medela, eight bucks for the part, but more than three times that for overnight shipping. I’ve made a request to the airline for reimbursement. We’ll see what happens.

So to anyone who Googles travel with breast milk after liquids ban and finds this page, my advice would be checking your milk is fine with plenty of ice, try to carry on your pump if at all possible, and if you must check it, remove the face plate first.

Welcome Nate!

Welcome Nate Cake
Our friend Jill hosted a lovely “Welcome Nate” brunch/party today at Mimi’s Cafe. We ate amazing French toast, Nate allowed everyone to fawn over him without fussing one bit, and Alex behaved like an absolute dream child throughout the whole thing. Nate received a lot of wonderful clothes and other neat gifts, which was an unexpected treat on top of having everyone together to meet the little man. Katie came in from Nashville for the party, and Keri and Sean came in from Santa Fe, and my Mom was still here from New York. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and family surrounding us.

Mommy and Nate Jill and Annette Alex all dressed up Nani Aunt Katie and Grandma

Nathaniel Dennis Wasylik

We are proud to announce the birth of Nathaniel Dennis Wasylik, born at 8:17 pm on Wednesday, December 28.

He arrived with emphasis, weighing in at 9 pounds, 7 ounces, and measuring 22 inches in length.

Mother and son are happy, healthy, and looking forward to coming home in a couple of days. Nate is also looking forward to meeting his big brother Alex.

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¿Donde es su cabesa?

Ask Alex this question, and he will very smartly tap his head. He does it in English, too. He also waves bye-bye and hello, says “hi!” and “bye!” He signes for milk and for eat. If you sing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” he churns his arms to the music. And coming soon: footage of our little man the dancer! He loves to boogie waaaay down.
Our little boy is so cute! And there is a lot going on in that cabesa right now…