Life with Margo

Week number 2 of the experiment – that’s where Jake takes over daytime parenting – has been filled with excitement! On Monday, there was the aforementioned emergency visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science. On Tuesday, Jake and Margo went to Rockridge, where they ran into Jen McKay and her friend Barbara, and the four of them had lunch at Ben ‘n’ Nick’s. The weather was a little brisk so Margo wore her hand-knitted hoodie.

Margo Models Her Hoodie

Later in the day, Jake and Margo went to Montclair. That’s right: two outings in one day! The second outing included the task of nipple shopping, which sounds weirder than it is. (Margo has been spitting up quite a bit, and Maia called the pediatrician’s advice nurse, who recommended trying other nipples for bottle-feedings, because – perhaps – Margo is swallowing too much air when feeding.)

In the evening, there was a third outing (this one included Maia) to visit a daycare center in Montclair.

On Wednesday, Jake and Margo went to San Francisco to pick up Jake’s pants at Nordstrom. After picking up the pants, they walked past the new Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco, which is a new building designed by Daniel Liebeskind, through Yerba Buena Gardens, and down to the Ferry Building, where they watched Golden Gate Ferry riders using their TransLink cards.

On Thursday, Jake and Margo decided to really get crazy. First, they decided to wear the same shirt because they share a sarcastic sense of humor and they are not above letting everyone know.

Jake and Margo Hella Love Oakland

For their afternoon outing, they tried a class at the Gymboree location on Lakeshore Ave. The class included some singing, some playing with toys, and a little bit of interaction between the parents (all moms except Jake) about how old, how big, developmental stages, etc. Unfortunately, the overall experience was a bit of as disaster for Jake and Margo becauase Margo was tired, which led her to cry through most of the 30-minute class. (Or, maybe Margo just felt uncomfortable with the forced interaction of the Gymboree environment and prefers a more organic way of interacting with her dad and others.)

2 more weeks of paternity leave, unless Jake decides to become a stay-at-home dad.

Yesterday’s post made mention of Jake’s not having made any unexpected visits to Lawrence Hall of Science since he took over daytime daycare. Well, around 2:30 p.m. yesterday, Jake went to Lawrence Hall of Science for an unplanned visit because Maia’s breast pump wasn’t working.

Not that Jake minded, because it’s much easier for Maia to feed Margo than it is for Jake to feed her with a bottle. Jake and Margo made an outing of it by walking around 4th Street in Berkeley.

In the past couple of weeks, Margo has become much more interested in putting things in her mouth and licking things. Sometimes she will lie in her crib with her face down and she will start licking the sheet. She also licks her clothes, her toys and just about anything she gets her hands on. And, of course, she has been sucking her thumb, especially when she is tired. Once, she took Jake’s finger and put it in her mouth. Jake and Maia are enjoying watching Margo’s exploration of the world.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008 is the day Maia returned to work at the Lawrence Hall of Science and the day Jake took over full time daycare (at least through the month of September). The first few days have been filled with lots of phone calls between Maia and Jake to check on one another and for Jake to ask questions about what to do when Margo does this or that. There have been no emergency visits home for Maia and no emergency visits to the Lawrence Hall of Science (and no emergency room visits), so the first week of this experiment seems to be a success.

As for what Margo and Jake have been doing with their time together, the first week was largely spent just trying to beat the heat, which reached the 90s outside and the mid-80s in the house. Each day has basically followed the same pattern: a little napping and a little playing in the morning followed by bottle-feeding around noon, another nap, and then an outing. On their first day together, Margo and Jake walked around the Grand-Lake neighborhood, which included walking past the first apartment that Maia and Jake shared. The next day, Maia was home with Margo and Jake and they had lunch at the Rockridge Cafe, but spent most of the day at home. Jake and Margo walked around Rockridge and Elmwood on Thursday. On Friday, Jake and Margo took BART to Jake’s work, and then they went to the Ferry Building in San Francisco with two of Jake’s co-workers. 

On each outing, Margo has really been enjoying the stroller. She seems to really like looking at the world around her, and usually she will nap for at least a little while. 

When they are home playing, they rotate between activities like looking at Margo’s mobile, sitting on the porch to see what’s happening outside (this usually includes discussion of why sport utility vehicles are bad for the environment), sitting in the swing, and playing in the Exersaucer and the exercise mat.

For Jake, the hardest part of the week has been bottle-feeding Margo and figuring out when Margo feels like eating, napping and going out. Today is the start of week number two of the experiment, and things are going more smoothly with bottle feeding (so far) and Margo is currently taking her 2nd nap of the day. Jake has managed to shower each day either when Margo is sleeping, when is home before work, or by putting Margo in her bouncy seat.