Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Adding to the arsenal

Oh joy. The Little Ninja has added new weapons to his arsenal.

He was born talented, with an incredible ability he developed in utero - that of making precisely targeted strikes with his hands and feet in particular, though I have been gifted with a head butt a time or two when going in for a kiss. But recently The Little Ninja has developed new talents with his new equipment: the helmet and his barely visible tooth. And I tell you, both of them take you completely by surprise.

My experience with the head butting should have taught me better, I suppose, but I just can't help wanting to kiss and hug The Little Ninja. He's just so cute! But with his helmet, he has learned to turn his head just so - the way you would if avoiding a kiss, in fact - that the edge of the helmet strikes my nose at a remarkable velocity and strength. I back away in tears.

And to go with his piranha jaws, which he uses to clamp down on anything he can get his hands on, particularly fingers, he now has a tiny tooth peeking through the gums, like a little sliver of glass that you don't notice until it's sliced into you and you're bleeding all over the floor. Yes, that's what Mommy tastes like once you get through the outer rind.

To add to this, he is growing skilled in using one of the weapons he has had all along: his nails. As he becomes more coordinated he's learning all kinds of tricks. A new favourite is raking his nails down my face. Or trying to gouge my eyes out. Or just see if he can rip a section of my cheek from my face. You know, all in the name of fun and exploration. Of course, if I were to cut The Little Ninja's nails more often, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be able to scratch for like a minute or two. I don't know about other babies, but The Little Ninja's nails grow in FAST. I think if he stopped wriggling around and held still I could probably see them growing. Like little exacto knives sliding out on the ends of his little fingers. And just as dangerous.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Off and running

Today, for the first time since... wait, let me think... since I was six weeks pregnant with The Little Ninja, I went running. :D

If you could call it that. Well, I'm going to call it that, anyway.

It wasn't the energizing, easy 5K I used to do all the time. I only did about half that and it was far from easy. I ran for 60 paces and then walked for 60. But it was still energizing. I mean, I was keeled over trying to catch my breath at the end, but I felt good. OK, I wasn't THAT out of breath. I did some stretching and had a shower and my energy was way up until I sat down to work and fell asleep. Seriously. I guess it took more out of me than I thought.

After rereading the line I was working on for about the tenth time, I went to lie down for a nap. Really, there's only so much you can do. So I napped for an hour and then it was time to go pick up The Little Ninja from daycare (another 4K, but just walking this time).

So I walked 8.5K and walked/jogged/ran another 2 or 2.5. I'll have to recharge my Garmin so I can keep better track of my running. Because this was not a one-time event. I'm back world! Off and running!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Helmet Chronicles: progress and setback

So you know how we were having so much trouble getting The Little Ninja to sleep with his helmet on at night? We totally solved that.

It seemed that the problem was mostly that he didn't want the helmet back on after his bath. My brilliant solution: bath him in the morning and since the helmet doesn't seem to bother him once it's been on for a bit, we now just NEVER TAKE IT OFF. At least, not in the evening before bed. And you guys, it worked like a charm! He sleeps! With the helmet!

And you know what else?! The helmet guy measured his head at the appointment on Saturday and IT'S ALREADY IMPROVING! Seriously, after just two weeks, and those not even full-time! Yay!

So obviously, after good news like that and much applause for my fabulous solution to the sleeping problem, it all had to go wrong.

The Little Ninja has a fever. And since he needs to be able to get rid of the heat, we have to keep the helmet off until his temperature returns to normal. So far, the helmet's been off for two days already. 2 DAYS!

Two days of mostly sleeping, on his back, no less, possibly making his flat spot worse! Not to mention that the poor little sucker obviously doesn't feel well. And that he isn't allowed at the daycare with a fever so I'm babysitting and not working. I hope the fever goes away soon, so The Little Ninja feels better and we can put the helmet back on. It doesn't work lying on the shelf, after all.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Aaaand it's fall.

After a stunning close to the season with 31C on Saturday, fall came crashing in later Saturday night, with a violent thunderstorm. And we've had cool, rainy weather ever since. Yes folks, that was it. Two nice weekends and it's over.

Fall in the Netherlands is not like fall was where I lived in Canada. There the days stay sunny, for the most part, but the air begins to take on a crispness, especially at night, that turns the leaves bright colours. Here fall is really the rainy season, though there are those who might complain that that's summer. Fall weather, more than the rain, is known here for changing quickly and violently. It's not unusual to go through half-hour cycles of hard rain and then sun, with strong gusting wind the entire day. The temperature is cool, which is good because otherwise you'd be too hot in your rain suit, which you need for the gusting rain. Normal umbrellas are useless here. They break with the first use.

During the last storm, I walked through an umbrella graveyard. Broken, discarded umbrellas littered the square, metal skeletons poking out of garbage cans and heaped beside them; others lying forlornly along the side of the road, bent into tortured shapes only hinting at the violence that destroyed them.

But I digress. The point here is that fall has arrived, bringing its stormy, changing weather. We, however, are off to Canada in a few weeks to enjoy the pleasant fall weather there. And to introduce The Little Ninja to my family, but timing is everything. A little less rain and a few more leaves changing colour. Welcome autumn!

Monday, September 5, 2011

The Helmet Chronicles: Success and failure

After the success of the first week, building up the hours during the day that The Little Ninja wore his helmet, we thought we were in the clear. The Little Ninja seemed not to even notice the helmet, though he did sweat a lot. This weekend we decided it was time to extend helmet time from all day to include night.

What a freakin nightmare.

It seems he can't sleep at night with his helmet on. Or at least, that's what we deduced from the hours he spent screaming when we put him to bed. No amount of soothing, cuddling or distracting toys were any help. He rubbed his eyes, he yawned, and threw a tantrum because he couldn't sleep. For HOURS. I know the helmet guy said we were supposed to be tough and not, under any circumstances, take the helmet off when he was crying. That we had to show The Little Ninja that the helmet was there to stay and that crying would not make us take it off. He also emphasised that the longer the helmet is worn, the more effect it will have. With this haunting our thoughts, we made it through hours of screaming. But there is a limit, people. At a certain point you start questioning whether a shapely head is worth all this pain and anguish.

We totally caved.

I mean, the helmet guy isn't pulling his hair out listening to the screaming and going out of his mind trying to soothe The Little Ninja. No, that would be me. And The Recyclist. So we took off the helmet, dried off The Little Ninja's head, which by that time was totally soaked, walked around to sooth him, and then laid the little guy back in his bed. He was asleep in seconds. Seriously.

We tried it again the next night and the next night. Same thing. We are all going crazy. We go back to the helmet place next Saturday for the first check-up/adjustment. Are we going to have to tell the helmet guy that it just isn't working? That we've failed already?