Duck, Duck, BIRD!

Well, nothing too exciting happened yesterday. Except....BIRD SAID HER FIRST WORD!!!! I've been waiting practically since she was born to see what this brilliant little person was thinking about. Turns out she's got ducks on the brain! Mama Bird gave her a little stuffed terry cloth duck, which the Bird absolutely adores. She loves to hug, chew on, and whack this duck. When I go to pick her up from a nap I often find her chillin' in her crib with Duck. So Papa Bird and I were holding it up for her and saying 'Duck' over and over and over, ad nauseum. Bird must have gotten sick of us idiots babbling on about her duck and not playing with it, so she put a stop to it by holding up her hands in a gesture of surrender and saying "DUCK"! Wow. It's somehow made me feel like I know what her voice is, even though she's been babbling away loudly for months now. That she articulated an actual word that we both know the meaning of just made her into such a kid. Supposedly she's only supposed to know 3 words or so by 12 months (she's 10 months now), but this Bird is smarter than the average Bird, so I wouldn't be surprised if she starts work on her first novel next week. Something perhaps entitled: Boobs, Ducks, and Pureed Carrots: The Three Great Loves of Baby Bird's Life.

In other news yesterday, I got to go on an Argosy cruise! What scenery! The couple I'm babysitting for had a great rehearsal dinner party while we cruised the Puget Sound for three hours. Their little red-headed 5 week old slept right through it, despite being the subject of the Auntie & Granny Paparazzi. I wore her in the Moby all night to avoid a massive game of pass the baby. Hopefully I'll post some pics soon.

The minute we got back to the dock I got a page from a second time mom who thought for sure she was in early labor. Fortunately for me, I've found that second time moms often labor at night for days or even weeks, and then stop completely during the day. My old midwife pointed this trend out to me, and attributed it to a brilliant evolutionary development: labor at night, take care of the other young during the day, and then eventually have your babe under the cover of darkness. It was also a full moon last night. Anyway, I did get a full night of sleep, and dreamed that this mom had a precipitous unplanned homebirth. I caught her baby, covered in thick mec (I don't carry any birth equipment with me, because I never intend to catch babies, but in my dream I tried to suction this kiddo with my mouth over his nose and mouth-not super effective). He was pink and toned, and all kinds of supernatural weather events (lightning filling the sky, flying rainbows, water spouts on Lake Washington) were happening outside. I told the dad to call 911, but they never came, and I did the whole birth myself (intact perineum and a lovely placenta, but a slow trickle hemorrhage that I gave her Shepherd's Purse and lots of fundal massage for, BTW). This dream was perhaps partly due to being almost done reading the last Harry Potter book, partly because I did accidentally catch a baby the other day (but in the hospital), and partly because I love this mama and I really want her to have a calm, spiritual, and healthy birth-but not an unplanned homebirth!

I rode my bike down to the pier and back last night, which was fun. Everyone was out in the International District and Pioneer Square, celebrating summer, Friday night, and a full moon. Some fella hung out the side of his souped up blue caddy with gold rims, and asked for a high five! Sorry man, too slow for me!

Gotta go! I'm off to yoga at the Y, and then maybe Goodwill for a dress to wear to the wedding tonight. I also had a dream last night about a dress I tried on years ago at a thrift store and loved, but it was too small. In my dream I went back to the store and the dress was 75% off, so I thought, 'Why not, I'll just try it again.' It fit like a charm.

Love,
Caren