6 months of being a parent

Over 6 months ago my life changed significantly. I don't know how I can possibly summarize my experience but I'll give it a shot.

The arrival
She arrived on a sunny October's morning, our little daughter, Mylla. I think that's where my last blog post ended. The last month of my pregnancy was rainy however the sun came out upon her arrival and kept on shining for months to come. It was a sign..for sure! In the end I found it very hard to catch up on sleep since it was so gorgeous outside every day. On the North Shore you have to make the most of any sun you get...it's been drilled into me. I was almost asking for rain after a few weeks so that I would feel better about napping.


The North Shore forest behind our house



Walk at Capilano Dam

Since we thought that life would not be busy enough with a newborn we decided to move houses when Mylla was 2 weeks old. Luckily this was during her sleepy period and we could toss her around as much as we wanted. Looking back at this time, it was an incredibly hectic period and I probably wouldn't do it again. The combination of the everlasting sunshine and stacks of boxes everywhere I turned made it very hard for me to relax and catch up on sleep. Charlie was probably even worse. His to-do lists to go through after coming back from work were always too long. He was like a walking zombie some weeks.


Mylla didn't mind the washing basket as a temporary bed

Love
I don't think I could ever imagine the sensation of looking at your own offspring and the immense love you feel for this little thing. It is quite something and it feels like the biological instinct kicked in. I wanted to take care of and protect this little baby, no matter what. During the first month I often burst into happy tears. My body was pumped with hormones, I was sleep deprived and the slightest tune of a beautiful song, an article about a child in need or a cheesy movie made me weep.

I never thought that staring at a baby would be particularly interesting and I was surprised at how long I could gaup at her: her little feet, her ever moving fingers and toes, kicking legs, her little smile which grew by the day. It seemed like she acquired a new skills constantly...grasping, turning over, both hands touching, sitting up, etc.



I was hoping that Mylla still didn't know how to read when I was breast feeding on the bench with the sign "To enjoy the flavors of life, take big bites"



The early smiles

First family photo by the Greenpeace ship

Baby needs

It was a new experience to be forced to take care of something that is totally relaying on you. Something that has such immediate needs that you need to attend to or the world falls apart. Going grocery shopping was an adventure since Mylla was bound to wake up and be incredibly hungry just as I was lining up to pay. I had to leave my stuff a few times just to satisfy her hunger. Her cry was rather penetrating the first couple of months (I carried ear plugs in the pocket just in case). Now, six months afterwards she is still very attached to me. I am breastfeeding every 3-5 hours and she refuses to take a bottle. Although I have really enjoyed breastfeeding I am certainly looking forward to when she is eating more solids.

Life has just got better and better as we have been getting more used to her and she has got used to us. She has turned into a very mellow little baby who usually doesn't cry much. May it last...

Same same but different
To stay sane I have made a real effort to get out and get my exercise, my adrenaline kick, on a regular basis. Charlie and I have managed to go riding a few times together (much thanks to our friend Roz who babysits Mylla) but most of the time I ride with girl friends. Charlie and I have also tried a couple of bike shuttling days when Mylla hangs out with one of us in the car (which she usually never minds) and we take turns. It works as long at you want it to work.

To stay motivated I have signed up for a trail running race called the Ironknee - a trail running race along Baden Powell which takes place at the end of May. I have been out running with Mylla in the chariot but prefer to hit the trails without a baby. It's so nice to get back into back into trail running after knee surgery and after the pregnancy.



Breastfeeding mid-ride

Mylla can't wait to also ride skinnies




Biking with Charlie again!!
 

Ever since we moved to Lynn Valley it has annoyed me that I have not made it up Lynn Peak due to my deficient ACL. It was awesome to reach the top with Mylla as our baggage.

Mylla yawning. Maybe the views were not up to par?



A string of tape marked the top at 992 m. No views from the top unfortunately.



The first outing behind the bike

Finally big enough for the back pack

Birthday ride in Squamish




Mountain biking mum and baby (For all you people grasping for air..I can assure you that I only biked a few meters with her on the back, only enough to get a photo. I promise.)

We have done lots of walks and day trips but stayed relatively home bound for the first three months. At Christmas we drove to Rossland and Nelson in the interior B.C. to visit friends and go skiing. Thanks to Roz (again) I got to do some skiing with Charlie. Nelson had some good snow when most of B.C. I have clocked up 10 ski days this season and Charlie 12. I can't complain. Charlie and I have often taken turns but we have also had help from visiting parents. We have had a couple of awesome powder days in Mt Baker. I will certainly upgrade to fatter skis next season!

I  was wondering how Mylla would handle the 600 km journey to Rossland and Nelson together with sleeping at foreign places. Of course she was fine! We kept to our routines and bathed her before bed time, no matter where we were, and she slept like a log.


Bathing time in the chilly bin at the youth hostel in Rossland



Mylla and Jessica (dressed as a frog) are hanging out in Meryn and Michael's heated van while Charlie and I could enjoy awesome powder at Baker

Mylla became the true favourite at the backpackers in Nelson where we stayed over Christmas. We found out that staying at backpackers in a private room was much better than staying in a hotel. In a hostel we were able to enjoy the common areas (cook dinner, watch movies) while Mylla was asleep with a cell phone (using a fab baby monitor app). In a hotel room it was a nightmare to try and watch some of the usual TV junk while she was asleep in the same room.

The grand parents
Of the grand parents Charlie's mum came over first (unfortunately Charlie's dad could not make it this trip). She was adoring Mylla, who was also loving grannie's company. We had some fantastic days in Whistler. I was so impressed that Kris got back on the skis and hit the slopes like it was something she did every day. In reality she had not been skiing for seven years I think. She looked like a pro to me.

My parents were here just a couple of weeks ago. Their support and helping hands were great. I managed to get out biking and running in addition to the necessary evil stuff like dentist appointments (yes..plural!), physio, etc.



Granny visiting..maybe they both went to the same hair dresser?

Kris helping to decorate Mylla;s room

Mormor and Mylla hanging out in Port Moody

Morfar with the precious load

A soak in the hot tub at Glacier near Mt Baker to celebrate parenthood and skiing!
 

No work (at least not as I knew it) for a whole year
So how does it feel to have a whole year off work? In my mind I still work, very hard indeed, but it is different than working a 9-5 job as an environmental consultant. I didn't know what to expect but I assumed that I would get bored very quickly. I have really enjoyed it so far. I fill the days with walks/ runs/ rides with her, meetups with other new mums, play time, lots of feeding, skyping friends and family around the world, baby swim, sewing, pottery. I especially like it since I know that I am back to work in October. It will go by so quickly.


Mylla came along to my pottery course and was happy (at least most of the time) to sit and watch mum's creations. Al the woman in my class adored her.

Plans of Team Bartlett's next big adventure
We have planned a big adventure which is starting in July. We load up our bikes with a tent and all the gear we need to stay self-sufficient and we cycle away from home with Mylla in the chariot. We are then heading up north to Alaska and finally Whitehorse. The plan is to get there by bike and by coastal ferries. The trip will take us via the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island, Prince Rupert, a visit to Haida Gwaii, to Juneau in Alaska, Hanes or Skagway following the Inside Passage ferry, and a finally end up in Whitehorse in Yukon from where we will fly back to Vancouver. I'll provide a map to show an overview of the route in my next post. We are allowing about 5 weeks for this trip. How exciting!

The trip is requiring a fair bit of preparation. We have cycle toured before, of course, but not with a baby. What will be the difference? I guess, more gear, shorter days, more poos. We have bought a bigger tent to fit all of us (I don't think Mylla would like the vestibule of the old hubbahubba tent!). In packing we'll need make sure that we are not bringing too much baby stuff so that we need a second trailer.


Mormor keeps on worrying about bears when we mention the cycle touring plans. We'll keep a rifle in the chariot maybe? :-)

 
Many people will call us nuts, but we just have to give it a go! It will certainly have its moments, but I am sure it will be heaps of fun! As long as Mylla is warm and fed she will stay happy. It will be an amazing way of showing her British Colombia (I'm sure she will thank us for it later! :-). Stay tuned for how we are getting on with the preparations...