Weekly review: Week ending May 19, 2017

Posted: - Modified: | review, weekly

A- had a fever, so we took it easy for a couple of days. It was great to have a digital forehead thermometer that we could use to check her temperature. W- bought it during her last fever. She's gotten pretty used to it, and will lean in and position her forehead as we bring the thermometer close to her. We checked each other's temperature so many times that I think we may need to replace the batteries.

As A- cooled down from her fever, the weather warmed up, so we went to the playground for plenty of outside time. I pushed her in the swing for as long as she wanted, and we went up the stairs and down the slides a few times. We also went to the JFRC for their sensory play day. She splashed the water around for a bit and sampled the cereal that was in another bowl, but was far more interested in emptying and refilling my bag.

I took A- to the dentist for a quick examination. The dark spot that I had noticed on her right central incisor had lightened up, but it was a good idea to check anyway. The dentist confirmed that everything was still okay, and that we're doing pretty much all the right things as well as we can. I asked the dentist about fluoride varnishes and other recommendations from AAPD, and she explained her reasons for minimizing additional fluoride exposure considering the fluoride that A- probably gets in her diet. Makes sense to me. Home care is the main thing. A- is definitely keen on imitating us (brushing teeth, flossing, etc.) and not too keen on us doing things for her, but she'll let us wipe her teeth and gums with washcloths a few times a day. I hope it's enough.

A- is quickly picking up other household routines, too. If we pull the dining chair up to the sink, she can stand on it and imitate how we wash dishes. She seems to enjoy the water play. Laundry is fair game, too. Most of our clothes are too unwieldy for her, but the small flannel wipes are just the right size to unfold and shake out, and then I smooth and re-stack them after her interest wanes and she moves on. She has also gotten pretty good at looping a long towel behind her neck and snuggling into it, almost like a boa.

A- continues to practise standing in short bursts on the mattress. Once she stood for a count of 60, which was the longest I've seen from her so far. Lots of snuggles and shared time with W- and A- this week, too, including some adorable turn-taking around hugging A-'s sheep.

I asked Nilda about feeding dynamics. It turns out to be good to wait for A- to agree to sit in her high chair instead of occasionally giving in and letting her snack while sitting on the floor. I'm also feeling more confident about resisting what seems to be A-'s requests for a snack a short time after a light meal, although I'll let A- have another bedtime snack if our evening routine stretches out a couple of hours longer than I expected. Nilda also shared some sun safety tips: light long-sleeved shirts and long pants will help keep A- safe from both sun and bugs this summer.

We were planning to host W-'s family for Mother's Day. Since we were in a tidying-up mood, I simplified A-'s play area and the diaper setup in her room, rotating out many of the toys and putting other things closer within reach. The party got cancelled, so W- wrapped most of the steaks and put them in the freezer. More for us, then! I've also been able to squeeze in some cooking, including a graveyard shift banchan-making spree.

W- bought a PS Vita Slim and passed his old Vita down to me, so I started playing Trails of Cold Steel. I enjoyed Trails in the Sky, and I'm looking forward to exploring this one's world. I've also made sure to mix in some productive graveyard shift time, including a few chapters of the Week by Week textbook and a bit of reporting for my consulting client. W-'s been busy, too. He broke up the concrete pad and buried the rubble. Level up!

Blog posts

Sketches

Focus areas and time review

  • Business (1.0h – 0%)
    • Earn (1.0h – 100% of Business)
  • Relationships (0.0h – 0%)
  • Discretionary – Productive (5.9h – 3%)
    • Drawing (2.9h)
    • Emacs (0.8h)
    • Writing (0.8h)
  • Discretionary – Play (8.4h – 5%)
  • Personal routines (18.1h – 10%)
  • Unpaid work (83.7h – 49%)
    • Childcare (73.9h – 43% of total)
  • Sleep (51.0h – 30% – average of 7.3 per day)

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