MacGuyvering Parenthood 

Matt and I have officially been parents for three months as of tomorrow. A lot of ideas we’ve had, things that have worked for the most part or perhaps almost worked, come from a sense of trying to use whatever tools we have at hand even if we have to use extra imagination to make them work. I think of this as MacGuyvering Parenthood as we try out these ideas. We definitely had to think on our feet when we brought William to his very first Pleasanton Holiday Parade. We had a stuffed diaper bag, we had a stroller, we had everything but a changing table, ooops. Luckily, we did have his blanket for a soft surface, so we were able to do a quick and painless diaper check and change for him.

Continue reading “MacGuyvering Parenthood “

Mother’s Room at Work – Updates and Challenges 

Some articles I’ve read about pumping breast milk at work suggest looking at a photo of your child to help the pumping process. One photo I’ve used is this of William in his high chair at daycare, alert and ready to eat.

Continue reading “Mother’s Room at Work – Updates and Challenges “

Spectra S1 Breast Pump 

As a new mom returning to work, one of the most important parts of my day is the opportunity to pump breast milk. Frequent readers of my blog will know that I’ve been through a few breast pump options from electrical, the Medela Pump in Style that I received free from insurance and a few manual pump options that I bought on my own. Last week I spent a lot of time talking with a fellow pumping mom at work and on her recommendation decided to buy a pump from a different manufacturer, Spectra.

Continue reading “Spectra S1 Breast Pump “

Rocky Horror Picture Show Experience at The Retro Dome – Throw Back Thursday

Every so often my Facebook program On This Day reminds me of a time I hadn’t thought about in many years. This was the case when the memory for the time Colleen and I went to The Retro Dome for the Rocky Horror Picture Show Experience. This was the second time I’d seen Rocky Horror, the first had been in a theater as a teenager in a rite of passage as most people my age had gone. This time, I knew a bit more what it would be like, so I decided to dress up in costume as one of the characters, Magenta.

Rocky horror costume

I was so excited to be going that in my naivete I posted a picture of our tickets, complete with a scannable bar code on Facebook. Luckily, no one used them to get in before us.

retro dome

Colleen and I had a lot of fun with the show. There are a lot of songs that the actors on film, the actors on stage and the audience sing. For this reason this show, as many at the Retro Dome were, was a sing along for everyone. After the show the actors graciously allowed people to take photos with them. The first one I found was of course the actress playing Magenta. As I had an authentic costume (at least according to the package) I was surprised that mine was so much shinier and with a shorter apron. I also didn’t have the option of the maid hat.

Rocky Horror

Everyone wanted to have their photo taken with the actors, so I really appreciated the actor playing Rif Raff sticking around to let me take a photo with him as well. I’m amazed that I don’t have a single photo of Colleen from this event. She didn’t have a costume on, yet it would be fun to have a photo of what she wore.

rocky horror 2

Colleen and I would went to several other events at The Retro Dome including the last event when we heard it was closing down. It was a great place to have a fun and inexpensive night out. I will have to go to a Rocky Horror event again at some point, and perhaps also go some day with Matt and William when he is old enough to stay up and appreciate it.

~ Danielle

Numbers/Numeros – Book Review 

As parents, Matt and I are delighted that William will be exposed to English and Spanish both at daycare. This may help make it easier for him to learn and retain Spanish, a commonly used language in California, at a later age. To help his learning and retention, I bought two bilingual books for Maribel to read to him including Numbers / Numeros. I first noticed this book due to the soft area on the front where a baby can feel what the down of a chick (un pollito) might feel like.

Continue reading “Numbers/Numeros – Book Review “

William is Eleven Weeks Old

It’s hard to believe for us that William is already eleven weeks old. We do see some of the more coordination in his movements. When turning towards something, such as a toy, or away from it, such as a hand trying to do an outfit change, it’s clear his movements are increasingly deliberate a good deal of the time more often.

Continue reading “William is Eleven Weeks Old”

William’s Debut at Church 

Ever since I returned to church a few weeks ago, without William he had not yet started his vaccination schedule, I had been asked multiple times when he would make his debut. Today was that day. I had set an alarm, which I turned out not to need as William had woken up early to breastfeed. I made sure to get to church extra early so we would have a chance to check things out before the service started. One of the first people I saw was the Children’s Ministry Leader, Peggy Joy. She helped me show William the manager outside of the sanctuary.

Continue reading “William’s Debut at Church “

William’s Two Month Pediatric Visit and Day After

Although William was 10 weeks old and not 8, this he had the appointment known as the Two Month Pediatric Appointment on Thursday. It was a bit delayed due to the schedule of the pediatrician at the holiday time. At the time the appointment had been made I had not accepted the job I am at now. So, I had anticipated that Matt and I would all go together. Instead, Candy went on my behalf to this, the first appointment at which he would start his vaccination schedule. As usual, William cried during the naked weigh in as he prefers to stay warm.

Continue reading “William’s Two Month Pediatric Visit and Day After”

Avent Comfort Manual Breast Pump – Product Review

It’s a thought that probably ran though the head of every woman who is pumping milk for her child(ren), what if I need to pump at a time when I cannot get to a working electrical outlet? It had occurred to me that I would be riding in a car for many trips over the Christmas holidays and beyond. I researched manual pumps and was torn between two of them, including one made by Medela the manufacturer of my electrical pump, yet reviews and even the company’s own statement indicated it worked best when only used occasionally. As I wanted the option to use often on a road trip, I decided instead to order the Philips Avent Comfort Manual Pump.

Continue reading “Avent Comfort Manual Breast Pump – Product Review”