We went on a short trip to Pacific Grove near Monterey in California. It was a mixed bag of fun and exhaustion for Loki and me. For dad it was hard (net)working on his 4.5 day conference on geoengenering. He barely got to see the beautiful sand dunes, beaches and, of course, the famous aquarium in Monterey. Although Loki and I had fun, it was not all easy breezy. First, Loki is not cutting one but three teeth at once, and he developed a cold the evening we arrived at the conference grounds. He had horrible nights with very, very little sleep (I walked around with him approximately every hour for the first two nights) and the other nights were not much better. Because Dad was not feeling all too well either and was at sessions and often working as a rapporteur almost 13 hours a day (with tight meal breaks), we agreed he needed to sleep as much as possible, so I took over his night shift for a few nights. That combined with seeing each other only during breakfast, lunch, dinner made for an odd "vacation."
Regardless, Loki and I had fun. He was even charmed by the new pediatrician's office we visited in Monterey per advise of our own doctor's office (yes he had fluid behind his ears but "not yet" an ear infection). Loki liked the ocean, but not so much the feeling of sand on his toes. He loved the big fish in the aquarium, but not so much the ladies room (he starts crying every time we walk into a public restroom with more than one stall....). Loki loved watching all the people in the dining hall, but not so much seeing the flag pole without flags.
The food was amazing and it was great to get to meet some interesting people during our big group meals. One of my favorites? Paul Crutzen, Dutch Nobel prize winner and atmospheric chemist best known for his research on ozone depletion, and a researcher from South Africa, who was one of few who dared to join us at our table with baby!
Lunch with Dad:
One of many walks:
Playing on the blanket is fun:
Big blue eyes:
Dangerous tricks on the boardwalks:
Untitled (written 8/30/2008)
5 months ago
7 comments:
Dat klinkt als een uitputtingsslag!
Ik hoop dat je nu thuis een beetje kan bijkomen.
Heb je ook genoten van het aquarium?
De foto's zijn erg leuk!
However exhausting this has been to you all, it also means that the world is open for you guys. No more avoiding of crowds, etc. That is a big triumph, ain't that so?
Love and take care, Heleen and Frits
Dank jullie voor jullie eerlijke, mooie vakantie/werk verslag. Alle goeds gewenst van Circe
You have such a great writing style! We loved the post.Foxen liked the picture of Loki standing up in his stroller best - just like he likes to do.
I hope your vacations will be relaxing one day not too far away for all of you.
I find it interesting what you are writing about Loki's likes and dislikes. It reminds me of Anna's early days where we observed some rather strong reactions in unexpected situations, but didn't think much of it. Until we recognized a pattern. She also had issues with large bathrooms but mostly when they were tiled on the floor and the walls and brightly lit. She didn't like puppet theaters and started crying when watching regular puppets or - even worse - shades moving. To this day she is having issues with too big crowds, too much light, too much noise, up to panic attacks when all of these come together, or when noises are very sudden - such as alarms. The interpretation of her behavior by therapists: She is associating those situations with similar experience in the operating room or just bedside where multiple hospital stuff was bending over her and - while helping her to get better - basically 'tortured' her with needles and IV's and breathing machines and what not, all while she was hooked to machines beeping and sending off alarms and being exposed to brightly lit rooms 24/7.
She has been displaying anxiety in her preschool in absolutely harmless, but typical school situations. So, at 5 years of age we have to realize that months of NICU and years of frequent hospitalization during early childhood actually did have quite an impact on her, even though she appears to be an outgoing, extraverted, fun loving child to the unsuspicious observer. We are now looking into trauma therapy to help her 'get over it' and finally be able to go to school without crying before she has to enter Kindergarten in a new environment this fall.
I am sorry if this is alarming, but you may want to pay attention to patterns in Loki's dislikes. There are very helpful therapies even for very little kids.
Much love, as always.
Thanks for sharing this Mascha! As I said, there is a post in the making with some info on preemie development and the ongoing issues one may face. I think yours is an unfortunate but rather typical example! I hope Anna will get a chance to "process" her challenging beginning so she will be able to focus on academic tasks and just having fun being a kid!
Dear mom, dad and Loki, unbelievable how you manage all those situations with no sleep, sad Loki and work all together. The love between you 3 must be huge! Always when I read the blog or sype with mom and Loki I feel very proud, you are my family. One day I'll be able to help out without taking a long trip to the other side of the world, that must be great!
Big XX
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