We got very lucky and H recovered from his semi-cold within 24 hours.  Over the weekend we had a nice, but as always, too short, visit with Oma and Grandpa.  We visited the Burlington Farmer’s Market, got some hot chocolate, went out for breakfast, and took a stroll to North Beach, where Holden got to use one of the playground swings for the first time.  He’s still kind of little to be using the swings (it clearly states on the back of the swing that it is intended for infants no younger than 9 months and must be used with adult “super vision.”)  Holden wears 9 month onesies and I wear corrective lenses, so I think we meet the criteria required for responsible use of the playground swings.

Here’s H looking coy:

And as always, garnering much adoration from Oma and Grandpa (and Papa too):

On Saturday night we had dinner with our pals Adam & Sue.  After dinner, we took our beer and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies outside.  We gathered around the chiminea to enjoy the warmth of the fire and catch occasional glimpses of the stars through the patchwork of clouds above us.  It was as close to camping as Holden will get this season.  We are contemplating a wintertime camping trip in one of the cabins owned by an outing club to which I used to have a membership.  The cabins typically sleep at least 10 people and are often located near snowshoe/hiking trails.  A few years ago, Rob and I stayed at this cabin: 

We ended up leaving early because we both got sick after our first night in the cabin.  Hopefully we’ll have better luck with camping this next click around.

Other than thoroughly enjoying the fall, we have been focused on the move that our family will likely make within the next 6-12 months.  Not only have we made our peace with this, but I think we are actually looking forward to it.  I think that it is a good time for us, personally and professionally, to move onto new things.  It is looking more and more likely that we will end up in Boston, and we are getting really excited by the prospect of living close to the subway and still being able to get away with only having one car.  And while the housing market may make it a little more difficult for us to unload our condo, it will make it a little easier for us to find a home in Boston.  We are excited about the prospect of having a little yard where we can garden instead of having to drive to a community garden, a process that has become increasingly complicated with an infant.  We are excited about not having to manage a condo association anymore, and mostly not having to deal with the noise and commotion that seems to be almost constantly emanating from our downstairs neighbor.  And a dishwasher.  I am excited about having a dishwasher.  That will be the real deal breaker.  I’m not worried about making friends in Boston.  One of my former college roommates lives in Boston, and she has been giving us some expert advice on the good places to look for housing.  Plus we know this guy from our days of frequenting the Half Lounge on Church Street in Burlington.  Plus, I’m sure we’ll meet people in our neighborhood and people geeks from my new, hypothetical job.  I am hopeful, optimistic, excited, ready, and overdue for this change and I am confident that I can do at least a decent job with a job talk if I can get my foot in the door for an interview.  My fingers are crossed like they never have been before.

This week was full of recovery in our household.  I saw the eye doctor on Monday, who changed my contact lens bandage and told me to come back in 11 days.  So far, so good on that front.  My cold got worse at the beginning of the week, but seems to have at least plateaued, if not gotten a bit better.  Now H seems to be coming down with something.  He’s just not himself….sleeping a lot, not very energetic, sneezing constantly, sounding a little stuffy.  I gave him some extra cuddles today, and every time, he fell asleep on my lap.  This is not something he ever does, so I think he must really need the shut-eye.  Yesterday we took a fall stroll to North Beach, which is now closed for the season.  I love places that are deserted in the fall and winter months that are normally crowded and filled with energy during the summer.  There was something peaceful about the empty pavilions and the shuttered snack counters, with sand already accumulating on the wooden floorboards.  H and I took in the view of the lake, which was mostly consumed by low-lying fog.  The leaves were a bright yellow and contrasted sharply with the tree bark, darkened from the morning rain.  No one was around except for a group of stray kittens that kept peering at us with curiosity from behind the trees.  I really love the fall.

Today I submitted my first job application of the season.  Up to this point, I’ve been uploading my CV and cover letter to companies, in the hope that my skills are a match for a position that might be opening up.  But this time, I was finally fortunate enough to be able to respond to a specific job ad.  I am so hoping that something pans out.  The job is in Boston and we would have to re-locate.  Rob and I have made our peace with that eventuality.  So, that was another thing I got to check off my list—plus, I was able to get in several hours of manuscript writing.  I do believe I am finally bouncing back from my eye problem and my cold.  This weekend Oma and Grandpa will be visiting us.  I hope that H is back to normal soon, so that we can have a fun visit, without too many meltdowns or tears.

For all of your medication questions while breastfeeding—LactMed was helpful in finding out what I can or can’t take for my cold.

Holden is now 3 months old.  He also has a neck, finally.  We continue our action-packed schedule with lots of “playdates” with other momma/infant duos around town.  Last week we took another walk with Susan and little Ella.  The babies were so good we even got to eat lunch. 

On Tuesday we had a “coffee” date in the morning with 4 other momma/infant pairs.  It was nice to sit in the cafe and talk about our babies while downing some much-needed caffeine.  Holden, as usual, dwarfed his chronologically-similar companions.  I got the usual litany of questions:  “Is your husband big?” “Were you a big baby?” “How big was he at birth?” I had to laugh because I think I actually weigh more than Rob, so my response was “No, my husband is definitely not big.”  I feel like I should blame Holden’s size on the German ancestry on both sides of his family, but then I feel like that would take credit away from the wonderful job Holden has been doing with his eating.  Here is Holden wearing his new sweater that Oma made for him, just before we left for our playdate:

Some more recent milestones:

• Holden isn’t rolling over yet, but almost.  He is rocking himself back and forth while on his belly, but hasn’t quite got the momentum yet to roll all the way over.  I’m sure we’ll curse this ability once it finally emerges.  Yesterday, he managed to roll onto his side and got stuck there.  He started crying after he realized he was stuck.
• Holden is now grasping with two hands instead of just one. 
• Holden’s fist remains an object of fascination for him.  He holds it above his head, often regarding it critically for several minutes, rattling off a string of angry-sounding phonemes, only to slap his fist down on the mattress with finality.  My guess is that his fist has not been cooperating. 
• Holden will hug his stuffed animals, which is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen:

• Holden HATES being on his back, or otherwise laying around like a baby.  He is happiest when standing.  We got him a johnny jump-up, which he LOVES.  The little guy gets a kick out of bouncing around:

• Several weeks ago, Holden outgrew his infant prefolds.  He now wears PREMIUM sized prefolds.  His butt is big.
• Holden wears mostly 6-9 month outfits and even some 12-month stuff.  Unbelievable.
• Holden got to meet my friend Amanda yesterday, and he was actually being a show-off.  He was continually vocalizing and kept looking at her with a big smile.  Definitely showing off.  And flirting.
• Holden has been drooling for several weeks now and rubbing things along his gums.  I’m sure that teeth will be in our not-too-distant future.
• Holden laughed (not in his sleep) for the first time last Friday.
• Holden can make funny noises by vibrating his lower lip.  He always looks slightly surprised after he has made the noise, as if he didn’t do it on purpose.

Unfortunately, after our playdate on Tuesday, I experienced another really painful corneal erosion.  Holden was napping and I was sitting at my laptop, working on my manuscript.  My eye started out feeling itchy, then it got progressively more painful, watery, sensitive to light, and finally so unbearable that I had to call Rob home to help me out.  It felt like I was being stabbed in the eye.  I managed to get an appointment with the opthamalogist for the following day.  Problem was, our car was in the shop (along with the carseat), so we had to make arrangements to have Rob leave work early again to watch Holden while my friend Amanda took me to the doctor.  My eyesight was sufficiently blurry to keep me from driving, so I really couldn’t drive myself in an unfamiliar rental car from the car dealership.  I ended up having a minor outpatient surgical procedure on my eye, where the damaged patch of tissue was debrided, followed by a stromal micropuncture (where the membrane was punctured with a bent needle to allow the new tissue to heal around the membrane, like Velcro sort of).  After the procedure, a contact lens was placed on my eye to protect the tissue on my cornea and I was given antibiotic drops to instill 3x a day.  I go back on Monday to have my eye examined again.  Having a doctor come at your eye with tweezers and a needle is not pleasant, but it was actually better than my imagination had predicted it would be.  I was given a prescription for Vicodan for the pain, which I can’t even take because I am breastfeeding.  I took ibuprofen for the pain the day after the surgery; incidentally, my post-surgical pain was not even remotely as horrible as having the corneal erosions happening all the time.  Yesterday my vision was super blurry and my eye was achey and swollen, but even with just the ibuprofen, I was in much better shape than before.  Today my eye is almost back to normal.  I had no pain last night for the first time in months.  I’m sure that I will start sleeping better at night.  Holden has been waking 4 times a night over the past few nights for feedings, which I am sure was exacerbating the eye problem in the first place.  I can deal with waking up 4 times a night to feed Holden—I just can’t deal with excruciating eye pain anymore.  I mean, what if it happened right before I was supposed to give a job talk or something?!  The thought of that happening gave me a case of the howling maternal fantods, so I decided to just get the procedure over with, while I’m still out of a job and have the leisure to recover at home.   

We had big plans to take Holden on his first camping trip this weekend, but the forecast is full of rain, and I woke up with the beginnings of a cold the day after my surgery.  This morning Rob woke up with the same symptoms (sore throat, aches, etc.), so I ended up calling the state park and canceling our reservation.  We lose half our money, but a camping trip just wasn’t in the cards this time around.  Our Friday got off to a rough start anyway—in addition to Rob feeling under the weather, our cat puked (on the carpet, of course), and Holden had one of those blow-out moments that necessitated a thorough sheet changing and cleaning.  At least I’m not running around the house squinting and wearing my sunglasses anymore!  Rob reminds me that this is all karmic downpayment for some good times ahead.  Our relaxing apple-picking adventure from last weekend needs to hold us over for a few more days.  I should really get around to making applesauce with all those apples.  Here we are at Shelburne Orchards ushering in the first of our gorgeous fall weather, with some apple-picking and cider donuts:

Good times!