Category: family life

Riverbend Farm, Day 4

Shirleyjdietz1 Comment

This is the beginning of my fourth day, visiting in North Carolina. Everything is going pretty well.

Yesterday was exciting because I rode a horse again. There has been a period of time when I’ve stayed off horses. It ‘s because it seemed like the risk of injury was real and unnecessary. I felt the same way when I quit water skiing after nearly pulling my arms out of their sockets. But yesterday, I wanted to ride Andi. He is a beautiful gelding who used to be my horse and now lives with Julie on her farm. He’s been ridden much more regularly lately and there were four others going on this ride. It was on Riverbend property and all the horses are used to these trails. It felt safe. And it was fun. Andi is still quite energetic but he behaved well. It’s nice to not feel “too old” to do something I’ve always loved to do.

Where are my cowboy boots? I don’t know…

Some reflections on being two years old (not that I remember it personally):

Gwennie is 2, and in many ways I feel sorry for the stage she struggles with. It has to be hard. She is now so aware of herself as a separate person from her caregivers and parents. She has learned to say “no”, just for the feeling of power it embodies. But she’s still too inexperienced to know the good reasons for saying “yes” to many things. 

Today she always says “yes” to ice cream, fruit snacks, and watching Bluey on any available screen. Tomorrow it may be different. 

When she gives her attention to a person speaking to her, she looks at them seriously. You can see her focusing on what is being said. She is on task, learning what language is for. Because of that, her ability to speak has jumped tremendously since the last time I saw her. 

She has learned how to beg, saying “please” with just the right wheedling inflection. Inflection and body language are not lost on her. We don’t know when or from whom she learned to stomp her foot when she’s mad and saying no, but she’s got that down too. 

She has to be desperate before she asks for help with tasks she thinks she can do. She anticipates people stepping in to help. She often tells me “no Mimi, don’t help me” before I even think of helping her. I would describe her as “rough and tumble”, athletic and a risk taker. Last year when I visited, she would only spend a minute or two in the swing before being done. The motion seemed to make her dizzy and uncomfortable. Now, she climbs in the swing herself, buckles her own safety straps and wants a “big push”. There is always a lot of laughing and squealing for joy. 

How would you get yourself up into something at armpit level? She did it.

These first few days she has almost seemed resentful of me. She has not wanted me hold her. She says no to almost everything I ask her to do. She clearly prefers mommy, daddy, her siblings and Emma to me every time there’s a choice. That’s gradually changing, mostly because I don’t try to get her to do anything. I sit and watch Lassie with her. 

She runs most of the time.  She has more blue jeans than I do. She wears cowboy boots. Her “princess hat” is a brown, winter sherpa with ear flaps. But she has learned to sit still while daddy puts rubber bands in her messy, blonde hair.

She has learned to pretend. She takes daddy’s order for pizza, puts some in his hand, and takes his imaginary money. I know that’s not how I learned to pretend, but times have clearly changed. She plays alone in her bed, putting moose and frog down for a nap and covering them. She has her private places where she plays and sings to herself.

Watching all these things happening is fascinating and thought provoking. I am seeing how a child soaks up everything in their environment, for better or worse. I am seeing how important parenting is. 

Kevin and Julie are at their jobs already. Emma (super nanny) is playing with Gwennie. I think my task for today will be getting ready for Wednesday. A friend from Hayward is coming down to visit me and the family, and get a taste of North Carolina. My friend is a man, close to my age, and yes, we have been getting acquainted for the last nine months. I haven’t been writing about our experiences because I wasn’t ready to write. Maybe I am a little more ready now. More to come.

At Riverbend Farm

Shirleyjdietz3 Comments

I am in North Carolina, sitting in my trailer listening to the roar of the pressure washer as Kevin washes Julia’s vet truck. As you can imagine, it goes in dirty places around the countryside and gets in need of a good washing. When I last saw her, Julia was walking around the yard with the baby, probably looking for the next project.

It has not been that long, Labor Day weekend actually, since I saw Julia, Kevin and GwennieRu in Wisconsin. They came at the last minute when they realized they were not going to be able to join us for Thanksgiving. While they were with us, GwennieRu pretty much gave up crawling. She is loving her freedom to roam.

But I had already put plans in place to be here at Riverbend Farm for Julia’s birthday (tomorrow), so here I am. I arrived Sunday, late in the afternoon, just in time to have dinner with the family and their invited friends. The invited couple, with their five children, got the tour of the farm, the river, the pool and the new picnic tables, where we ate dinner. I spent most of the time getting reacquainted with GwennieRu, and listening to all going on around me.

Yesterday was my day to get settled in with groceries and checking out the trailer. The guest bedroom and bath in the newly remodeled basement is nearly ready, and I could soon have that as an option. But that is a decision for another day.

JULIA’S DAY OFF

Today, I jumped into family life. The three of us, Julia, Gwennie and I went to Bible Study Fellowship. It’s Julia’s weekly group study and I got to sit in. Gwennie went to the SeaTurtles group for childcare, which she apparently loves. The Westover BSF in Greensboro has hundreds of women enrolled and the facility is large enough to get lost in. It’s impressive that so many women are interested in studying the book of Revelation, and going to great lengths to do so.

Next was a pediatrician appointment for GwennieRu. She had a good time tearing up the paper on the exam table, but did not like having her ears examined. We are happy to know that she is up to the 30th percentile in her weight, and 90th percentile in height. In other words, tall and skinny, but overall healthy.

Getting home around noon left time for the big project of the week, castrating sheep. If you will, please go back and read post August 1, 2024 where the sheep almost died. Dr. Julia did not want to repeat that story. Fortunately, it turned out well this time. Not only did one sheep get castrated, but two got fixed, or broken, depending on the point of view. They are both doing well. One other “guy” got a reprieve since he was anemic, and another was also allowed to remain virile – I’m not sure why.

I helped with the first one, but after that GwennieRu woke up from her nap and needed someone to play with. I find both jobs very interesting.

We are teaching GwennieRu to play soccer. She’s a natural. Gonna be a goalie.

This story has been interrupted several times today, illustrating how difficult it is for me to find time to write. It is now night and I must get to bed so I can get up again early for another day at Riverbend Farm.

Being Grandma in 2024

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This year has produced three times with GwennieRu so far. The first was in December – February when she had her heart surgery, the second was when she visited Wisconsin in April, and now I am with her and the family again at the end of May.

I chose this date to come because Daddy Kevin and the boys were traveling to a baseball game in Baltimore for three days. During that time, it was me, Julia, Gwennie, Ryleigh and her girlfriend, and Reagan and her girlfriend holding things together at the farm. We all helped with baby care. I helped with farm chores and some landscaping projects. We women can do some awesome getting along when we set our minds to it.

The boys left Thursday afternoon, earlier than I was expecting. I was out getting my food supplies when the nanny called me and wanted to know who was taking over, as she needed to get home. I did a U-turn and came home to relieve her. Julia was soon home from work and we started our time without the men.

Friday morning – well, first I must explain about the dogs. Back in February I mentioned the mating of Penny the lab, and Hanky Panky the poodle. Eight puppies resulted from this union. The planned kennel area in the basement had not materialized and the puppies had been born and raised in the living room and kitchen, upstairs. Sales of Doodles have dropped off since Covid time and the six remaining puppies are now 10 weeks old. Previously, it had been a challenge living with the three adult dogs who are good at being in the way at every opportunity. Now there are nine dogs. Six of them are still in the process of being trained. Six of them are small enough to slip under the chain link fence when left outside. Need I say more.

We are so cute, and we know it.

Friday morning my first trick was mixing cereal, getting Gwennie in the high chair and feeding her. It didn’t go quite as planned. When Gwennie doesn’t want something, like sitting in the high chair, she makes it impossible to happen. Fighting her and the newfangled baby equipment resulted in a bowl of cereal upside down on the carpet and a distressed child (not to mention a distressed grandma).

Julia left for work, and I took Kevin’s usual job of watching Gwennie until the nanny arrived. I had not quite caught on to the morning routine, and Gwennie could tell. I picked her up to comfort her and walked to the kitchen in time to see several puppies, outside, on the wrong side of the fence. Babe in arms, I rushed out to secure them before they ran away.

Calling “puppies, puppies, puppies” as I had heard Julia doing, I opened the gate expecting them to come back in the yard. Instead, the puppies who had still been in the yard ran out to play with their siblings as I struggled to control the flow. Gwennie was mesmerized, clinging to me as, one handed, I tried to scoop them in the right direction. Once in the yard, they followed me into the house and I shut their doggy door. Thankfully, the nanny arrived and I went out to find the new escape route and block it.

Doing that, the feeding chores, and a good bit of weed whacking took most of my day. Later that evening, as I was telling Julia about my morning, she dejectedly asked me if this visit was turning out to be as bad as the last time. Seeing the situation on the farm through the lens of my writing had been kind of hard on her. That is the tricky thing about writing experiences of the kind where one has to laugh to keep from crying. In reality, Julia has to do this ALL THE TIME, and I know she is doing the best job she can. I am now learning to laugh more while in the midst of the normal chaos. Just so you know Julie, my visits to you and the family are rich with all kinds of experiences that I do not regret or shy away from.

Tomorrow, my week of substitute nanny begins. I am looking forward to being with Gwennie, the family, the dogs and puppies. Just sayin’…

Don’t worry Grandma. You will get the hang of it, eventually.

Adventures at Julia’s House: Just One of the Pack

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In case I haven’t mentioned it lately, Julia is an equine veterinarian. But that does not limit her love of animals to horses, not at all. When I list the animals on Julia’s farm, cats and dogs are usually at the end of the list, and that probably does not give a true picture of the magnitude of effect they have on the family. Specifically, the dogs are an inescapable part of life at Julia’s house. I know, having tried to escape them. So, I will introduce them to you to round out the picture of life on the farm.

Tessa is the oldest, the diva of the pack. She came to Julia years ago as a stray, and has been her faithful companion through vet school and at least four different homes. She is getting stiff and sore, and a bit owly at times. I identify most with her.

You’re getting old when your eyebrows turn grey
Diva dog

And then there is Penney, who was added a year before Kevin and Julia married. I think they got talked into keeping Penney without full knowledge of her. Penney is a yellow lab and her outstanding characteristic is that she’ll eat anything. This was discovered early on when she filled her stomach and esophagus with rocks (yes, they were under the grill and they did taste good) and had to have them surgically removed.

Penney
Penney and rocks

Next comes Moses. One of Penney’s redeeming characteristics is that she is a pretty good mother. Moses was the family’s choice from her first litter of puppies. He is a labradoodle. All I know is that there is a lot of hair walking around and he is in there somewhere.

Moses, Penney’s fine son

All three dogs spend a lot of time in the house. Their favorite places are anywhere that food might be dropped – always the kitchen at meal prep time and under the table when the family meals take place. They also like the same relaxing places that people like, namely, the couch. They are big dogs. They have big paws and dangerous tails, well, except for Tessa. She’s never had much of a tail and no one knows where she lost it.

Life with the dogs includes lots of barking, lots of letting them out, letting them in, feeding, watering and petting them. GwennieRu is already finding them fascinating, particularly when they loom over her and lick her face. When they are turned loose from their kennels in the morning, there is a mad scramble up the steps from the basement and out to the kitchen – you don’t want to be in the way.

One day, I came upon Julia and Kevin discussing ways to find money to cover projects on the farm. I shook my head in amazement when I heard them talking about puppy prices, and how they could have six to eight more labradoodle puppies to sell in fairly short order. Talk turned to action and in a few days Penney was taken to visit her “puppy daddy”. Since mating was not an easy event to schedule, the male poodle came home with Julie and Penney. Now there were four dogs dominating the house, and of course, one of them was in heat. Interesting. Fittingly, the poodle’s name is Hanky Panky.

Hanky the poodle

He stayed for a few days, and kept Julia up all night with his lonesome barking and whining. We were glad when he got picked up and taken home. He did his job though. I have pictures but you’re not going to see them.

You might have gotten the idea that I don’t like dogs all that much, but really, I do. I don’t like the dirt they bring in, the hair they drop everywhere, the dog scaze on the windows, and the barking that wakes the baby and anyone else who’s sleeping. But I do like them as individuals, and they must know it. I have been accepted as one of the pack. In fact, I’m often the one they come to for food or water or petting. They are part of the adventurous life at Julia’s house, and in a couple months it’s going to get worse… just sayin’.

Penney “you’re going to drop some of that on the floor, right?”
You might have thought you were going to sit here, tough.
precious (and rare) moments

Adventures at Julia’s House: Girl’s Day Shopping

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I could have titled this “Not the Usual Day Shopping”, or “How Much Stuff Fits in a Buick”. I settled for “Girl’s Day Shopping” because it was shorter, we were all girls this trip (Julia, GwennieRu and I) and we certainly did shop.

Sometimes I dream of taking a daughter to a nice clothing store, out to lunch, and maybe a stop at a nail salon or spa. These are only dreams though, and not really my style. Not really Julia’s style.

But I had offered to help Julia shop for her postpartum wardrobe, knowing that it is a difficult time when you’re no longer wanting to wear maternity clothes, but are still waiting for your body to return to normal. Every day can be a struggle in less than comfortable clothing. So shopping was in order.

We bundled ourselves up – it was cold – and went to town in my Buick Enclave. I had my empty propane tank in the back. Earlier in the week the store had been out of propane. I was hoping they had been resupplied. On the way to Tractor Supply for the propane, Julia remembered the order for animal feed that was now ready for pick up. Normally this would be a job for her truck, but, oh well. It wouldn’t hurt to try to get the 20 bags in the Buick as long as we were there.

Twenty minutes later, the back of the car was nearly full to the ceiling with 50 pound bags of feed and the now full propane tank sat in the second row seat next to the baby.

We were near Big Lots, a fun place to find odd things. I didn’t find much, but Julia found bleach on sale and got six gallons, and a few other things. We found room for them on the floor where they wouldn’t tip over. This shopping trip was already well worth doing.

Returning unwanted Christmas presents was on the list, so we went to what I would call a “ritzy” department store that actually had large departments for every age person, mostly clothing, and no carts for carrying anything like a car seat. I should have opted for putting Gwennie in the front pack, but she had looked so comfortable in the car seat, that I kept her in it and carried it in. I try never to disturb a comfortable baby.

We did the returns, and whizzed past what they called their “sales” where there was nothing we were interested in. I will say that they could do more for their customers by having a cart or two by the door. Why not?

We were hungry by this time and coasted around the outdoor mall for a while in indecision, looking for a satisfactory restaurant and a bathroom. Tropical Smoothie seemed right to Julia since she often drinks lunch. I ordered a salad and a side of sweet potato and thought to sat down and eat it, when Julia asked if I wanted to get going. I didn’t really mind, so the lunch went in a bag and sat on the dash, while we looked for the next store.

TJ Max was our destination. This time I put the baby in the front pack, which was not only easier, but more fun. All the people we met loved looking at Gwennie, and it was easy to go in front of a mirror and let her look at herself and laugh. Julia found a bunch of jeans to try on and disappeared into the dressing room. When Gwennie got bored, we went back out to the car where she took a bottle, and I ate my slightly soggy salad.

No trip to town is complete without a trip to the grocery store. Julie loves to buy groceries. I think it is her way of relaxing, since usually no one wants to go in the store with her. She can coast as many aisles as she wants to and consider all kinds of food purchases uninterrupted. This is rare and precious time.

When she came out with a full cart, to our already full car, we had a fun time figuring out where everything would go. My car cooler took most of the things that were perishable. Cauliflower, lettuce and assorted vegetables went in holes between the bleach and bags of clothing. I can’t remember everything we had but when we were done we high fived each other and felt pretty proud of ourselves. This kind of shopping trip is not for the faint of heart.

I was glad Julia was driving. She said yes, the front of the car did seem a little elevated because of the load of feed in the back, but not enough to impede our progress. We headed home. Shopped out. Well, not really shopped out but there was not room for anything else.

At home, Kevin came out to help us unload. He opened the back door and said “Wow!” We took that as a compliment and proof that we had done something significant. He started hunting for the baby which he knew was in there somewhere.

We found her. She was still smiling too.

And so ended our girl’s day shopping. We got a lot done. For now, that’s the kind of girls we are, and that’s how we shop. Just sayin’…

Adventure at Julia’s House: A Day in the Life

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Mommy = Julia, my daughter. Daddy = Kevin, her husband. GwennieRu = my 5 month old granddaughter. Written by me = Grandma

Last night I walked to my camper at 9 pm. There is a circular drive that I travel, going back and forth. It is graveled and my feet make crunching noises as I walk. Sometimes I walk to the side in the grass so the dogs won’t hear me and start their barking.

Most nights it is very black, with little ambient light, and the stars are amazingly visible and bright. Orion’s belt is directly over my submarine shaped trailer. I stopped and looked last night, and most nights, even though it was cold outside.

When I wake in the morning, it looks like this. Again I am trying to burn this scene into memory because it is so beautiful. I make the walk to the house. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

GwennieRu was lying in her crib this morning, playing quietly with some toys. As usual, it didn’t take much to make her smile. Mommy had gone to work. Daddy was going to a doctor’s appointment. Felix, the exchange student from Germany, had gone to catch the bus to school. For a while it was just Gwennie and me, having the house all to ourselves.

Her routine is very simple. We played on the living room floor, she spent time in the swing while I fixed her next bottle, we walked around looking out of all the windows, we touched the kitty and the doggie. When the fussing started, I gave her “breakfast” and she fell asleep in my arms.

Mama came home between appointments. We had coffee and talked a while and she finished some outside chores, before heading to the gas station to fill the cans with diesel for the farm tractor. Daddy was home by this time and it wasn’t long before he came to tell us something. Mommy had somehow locked both her truck keys and both her cell phones in the truck, with the engine running, at the gas station. She was waiting for a man to come and open the truck for her. Poor Mommy.

GwennieRu and I went outside for a buggy ride. I was pushing her along the wide right of way when Mommy drove past us. She stopped her truck and ran out to give Gwennie a kiss. Gwennie in her stroller is pretty irresistible.

There was another long nap in the afternoon, during which I did some cleaning for Mommy and some for myself. Almost every time I come to “red clay country” I have a new pair of shoes that gets ruined. This time I scrubbed them clean and set them out to dry.

I was determined to have dinner ready before 6 pm today. When Felix got home from school, and he and Daddy were talking sports and dogs (the usual topics these days) I let them know that dinner was in the oven and would be ready in 45 minutes.

That morning when Mommy got in her truck, she had smelled something good and remembered that last Friday (this is Monday) she had gotten a frozen Penne Toscana from one of their favorite restaurants. She hadn’t meant to forget about it and was a little worried that it might not be good anymore. I told her I was willing to eat it. I cooked it and it was wonderful. Mommy has this sign on her refrigerator in the kitchen. It is our hopeful motto.

Mommy had a management meeting after work so she didn’t get home until 7:30, and wasn’t able to eat with us. Gwennie was taking her evening nap. She and Mommy get most of their together time at night, after I leave.

And now, the dishes are in the dishwasher, the leftovers are put away, Mommy and Daddy are having a glass of wine together and talking about their day. It was a pretty good day.

And now I am ready to walk out on the gravel path under the black, star studded sky.

Mama’s “what more could go wrong?” Day

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As told through the infant eyes of Gwennie Ru.

This was going to be a good day because it was Mama’s day off work. I was looking forward to having her feed me, rock me, and basically devote herself to my every need all day. It was going to be great.

And it did start out kind of like that. I didn’t sleep well during the night but I was having a decent early morning nap. I could hear the washing machine going in the laundry room. I could smell the faint aroma of bread Mama had put in the oven. I was getting ready to announce that I was hungry when Daddy came in from feeding the animals. He said one of Mama’s favorite horses had not come up to get his grain.

When a horse doesn’t come up to get its regular feeding something is really wrong with the horse.

Well, Mama went tearing off to find the horse. I tried to protest but she couldn’t hear me. I did the only thing I know how to do when I’m hungry. I cried. Daddy went too. I don’t get it, but then, I’m just a baby.

I guess the horse was really sick, and since Mama is a horse doctor she was trying really hard to save the horse’s life. After a while, Daddy came back. He was supposed to be working at his job, on his computer. He hadn’t planned on the horse getting sick today. Yesterday, Daddy and I spent the day together while he was working on his computer and that hadn’t gone too well. I think he was worried that today would be a lot like yesterday.

Daddy turned the oven off and took care of the bread so it wouldn’t burn. I was still very hungry and felt that crying was still in order. I knew it would get to one of them sooner or later, and I would get fed, but no. In a short while, Daddy put me in the carrier and strapped me to his chest and we went out to check on Mama and the horse.

She had pulled the sick horse to the barn and was trying to get it in a stall and give it medicine, but before she could, she got real excited about something else.

For a minute or two, I forgot about being hungry and watched Mama run out to where her little milk goat was standing in the road. She had some of the goat’s favorite food and was trying to get it to come to her. That reminded me of how hungry I was and I thought about crying some more.

Mama’s little goat that keeps running away from her.

Mama chased that goat from one place to another till she was satisfied it wouldn’t get run over by a car. She gave the horse some medicine. And then she came over to me and Daddy. I thought they had been having fun, but evidently not. Mama said to Daddy “What more could possibly go wrong next?” Daddy just looked over at our car and said “maybe that flat tire?”

I don’t know about grown ups. Why would a flat tire make them laugh? But I do know that I like to hear them do that. I also know that it is a very good thing when Mama and I sit down in the rocking chair because I know I’m going to get fed. As usual, I got full and fell asleep, but I could still hear Mama calling Grandma and telling her about me, the bread, the horse, the goat and the flat tire and her “what more could go wrong?” day.

A good cry and a full tummy always puts me to sleep.

Each Unique Day

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I expect to pass through this world but once;

any good thing therefore that I can do, or any

kindness that I can show to any fellow-creature,

let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it,

for I shall not pass this way again.

Stephen Grellet

Every day, good or bad, is unique and should be appreciated as such. There will never be another one exactly like it.

I awoke last Sunday morning, wondering what had roused me when it was still so dark, I realized that it was cold. That was not so unusual, but it shouldn’t have been the case. The RV that has become my room at Gwennie Ru’s farm cools off quickly at night so I leave the propane furnace turned on. Clearly it had not been running and it was 55 degrees.

But I soon realized that it was not the cold that was bothering me. I could hear a sound, a lot like a child crying, and it was repeating again and again. I had never heard it before, and it was disturbing. I put on shoes and a sweatshirt over my pajamas, hunted up a flashlight, and went outside to investigate.

It was Heidi, the goat. My RV is parked near the barn where Heidi has a stall. She is a small animal and was perched up where she could look out at me. She looked fine, was not tangled in anything, and had sufficient food and water. Yet, she kept calling, or crying, I’m not sure which.

I spent the next hour listening to her while I read my furnace manual from front to back. I understood very little of it, but one instruction stood out as being reasonable. Turn off the thermostat and reboot. I pass myself off as a genius with all sorts of devices by turning off and rebooting.

By the time I had learned about furnace “lock out” and done all my rebooting, I was late getting ready for church. I didn’t feel like hurrying and told Kevin and Julie I would come later by myself. This resulted in our family taking three cars for the half hour journey. Julia took her work vehicle because she was on call. She barely has room for Gwennie’s car seat in there. Kevin drove the family car and had Felix, the German exchange student, with him.

On my way, in my car, I considered the uniqueness of my morning. Being awakened by a bleating goat was so unusual. Learning about furnace lock out was interesting. And if those things weren’t enough, I looked up and saw a sign that I had never noticed before even though I had driven the road many times. That section of highway was maintained by the Doodle Cooke family. I had been clueless. Doodle Cooke. Too good to be true.

The rest of the day continued to be a marvel of experiences. Going to three different Walmart locations in one day, eating at the BEST hamburger restaurant in the U.S. (or so they claim), bottle feeding Gwennie Ru in the parking lot of Trader Joe’s, seeing Felix’s new, bright fuschia, gym shoes, traveling in our 3 car caravan back to Riverbend Farm.

Is this really the best burger? It was good…
Gwennie Ru, enjoying her time at Hops Burger

Once I start taking notice with an attitude of being thankful, each day seems a bit more special, and definitely unique. It’s good to be here, no matter where I am.

P.S. I have started taking Heidi outside to graze on the green grass and clover. I think she likes it.

Working in Gwennie Ru’s Orchard

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Today, on her day “off” from work, Julia is pulling weeds in the orchard.
I was out early pulling weeds too. Then Julia brought her truck with this lovely mulch to spread around the young trees.
She also brought the supervisor, who promptly fell asleep.
We hauled and spread, straightened fencing and did our best to frustrate the fire ants.
A dozen trees set free from weeds and two tired (and sweaty, dirty) people who are glad to have the job nearly done.
Gwennie Ru spending time in her orchard.

Gwennie Ru and the Magic Sleep Suit

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One morning last week I came to do granny’s day care with Gwennie and daddy Kevin met me at the bedroom door.

“We had a great night! We put her in this sleep suit and it worked like magic. She only woke up once!”

Well, I could hardly wait to see what on earth a sleep suit could be.

Sure enough, Gwennie was asleep, and it most certainly was a suit that she was wearing. She looked like an astronaut, minus the helmet. She was lying on her back in this puffy yellow fleece coverall with zippers coming up both sides. Her arms were stretched out wide on either side and the thickness of the suit kept her from bending them very much. The lower part of the suit was bulging around the abdomen with two tubes out the bottom for her legs – lots of room for moving around. She looked very warm and cozy. I am very much in favor of keeping babies warm.

That’s kind of ingenious, I thought. A cross between an incubator and a straitjacket. Normally, when Gwennie Ru rouses from sleep, or is startled by noise, she starts jerking her arms around, hitting herself in the face and rubbing at her eyes and ears. That wakes her up for sure. This suit gently holds her arms out but still gives her some room to move inside the sleeve. And the same with the legs. I watched as she fussed a little, gave up, and went back to sleep.

Ingenious. I kind of want one.

In my size.

Most of the time her legs aren’t even in the leg compartments.