There are many baby-products for which I’ve been unexpectedly thankful. The Swedish Nosefrida is one of those. Our friend with a 4-month-older gave it to me.
It’s a crazy looking contraption, but it works. Being unable to blow one’s own nose is a quandary I’d never really considered. Especially when you’re breastfeeding, which doesn’t allow for breathing through the mouth. People say that those big bulby suctioning things don’t work well. But the Nosefrida cleaned out Nina’s blockage in a flash. Thank you, Nosefrida!

A lot of people say Nina looks like me. I have trouble seeing resemblances between babies and adults. So here’s a side-by-side look at our baby pics. I think we do look somewhat alike. Although Nina’s such a good sleeper, it’s hard to find a picture of her with her eyes open. In any case, if there is a resemblance, I guess it makes sense – we are related!

This is a piece of artwork from a new Canadian visual art/literary journal called Pistol, published by PistolPress. I don’t know much about them except that the sample artwork on their site is amazing. I just ordered a copy of their first issue. John recently had a comic published in another Canadian art publication called Carousel. Seems like there’s a lot of cool, experimental art endeavors cooking up in Canada. We were discussing why this would be. John says it may have to do with more government funding for this kind of thing, compared to the US. He also pointed out that there seems to be a wider acceptance of experimental art, like in Europe. I think Americans may be too commercially focused for much that is experimental. In America, difficult art is often dismissed as devious or snobbish. Others just give up on it – not hard to do, given that there’s so much other stuff to entertain us. I certainly find that, when I get home from work, I’m happier to turn on HGTV than read a literary magazine. We asked Nina for her thoughts. Here’s what she had to say:

“The stereotype of American crassness is pretty valid. Mainly because worldwide ‘broad’ or ‘mainstream’ culture is American driven. Being on top of the capitalist pile means that Americans are encouraged to support things that support that system – Hollywood, Disney, etc.”

Hmmmm…Nina sounds like she’s had a few too many one-on-one conversations with Dad.

Nina made me breakfast this morning. Delicious Ninacakes!

One of the biggest surprises for me as a momma is the absolute necessity of waterproof padding. On the recommendation of friends, I bought various plasticky sheets and slick pads before Nina’s arrival – but sort of not believing that I’d use them much. Boy, was I wrong. Cute as she is, Nina has liquids spewing from her consistently throughout the day, and it’s more than any diaper or burp cloth can contain. Thank god for plastic as well as our in-home washer/dryer!

My favorite products: The Gerber Waterproof Multi Pad and these PeeWees disposable sheets.

John and I started watching the BBC’s lengthy take on Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited a couple years ago, when we were living in Japan. We still have a few episodes left, so we’re watching those now. Somehow, Brideshead, with its nostalgic depiction of effete Edwardian England, is quite soothing when taking care of a baby. It’s a very slow-moving TV series — I often end up falling asleep and have to re-watch — but a nice escape from reality. A few months ago, we saw Jeremy Irons in Takashimaya trying on a jacket. He looks almost exactly the same as he did in Brideshead. And he was wearing what looked like a period outfit — some sort of peasant blouse and jodhpurs.

I’m back on the blog after a hiatus. We were in the hospital a few days longer than expected due to the c-section, and then we had visitors once we got home and have needed some time to get acquainted with Nina. I’m happy to say that our little girl is pretty easy to care for. She sleeps well and is easy to soothe (thanks in part to Dr. Harvey Karp of Happiest Baby on the Block fame – I feel like we should write the guy a thank you note). Nina also likes sucking on her hand and being pushed along the Brooklyn Heights promenade.