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odin’s first 9 weeks of life, we lived in 4 different places. now that we’re home and settled into our own space, we’re working on some routines. i hear babies like routines so we’re trying them out. pictures inside of the latest.

uganda poses some additional “considerations” when trying to accomplish standard baby care. for example, do i really want my wee little one swallowing ugandan tap water during his bath? probably not. so, for now the kiddo is bathing in the sink and i’m boiling his bath water. don’t worry - of course, i’m letting it become tepid before pouring it all over him. doing bathtime this way reminds me of my time in southern chile when my host-grandmother would boil me bathwater on the wood-burning stove. i imagine i’ll relax on this over time (i’m already bringing him into the shower with me), but then again maybe not since he will get old enough eventually (even though i deny that he’s growing up) to want to drink the bathwater.

odin’s first uganda bath. we don’t bathe odin often. honestly i could count on one hand how many baths he’s had in his life. but, really how dirty do newborns get? once he’s crawling and putting everything in his mouth (or at least near his mouth), then’ll he need more baths, but for now i like letting his baby skin do its own thing. odin’s first bath in uganda was probably the first bath he actually enjoyed. the trick was his full tummy. everything is more enjoyable when you’re tummy’s full of milk, really.

i wouldn’t say that odin takes naps yet. he sleeps a lot during the day but i think to qualify it as a nap would mean it was scheduled. regardless, the more he sleeps/nap when the sun’s up, the more he sleeps once it’s down. huh, who knew. (as i’m finding out most of the new parents i know, know this. luckily they passed on their wisdom so i could learn early.)

odin in vibrating chair with canopy. odin’s nap location du jour.

odin & uno sleeping juntos; proud mom watches. we’re attempting to get odin accustomed to napping on his yellow blanket so that when we’re out and about we always have his nap place in tow. plus, i like the idea of a kiddo that can sleep anywhere as long as he’s got a blanket. maybe my happy napping bubble will burst, but for now it’s working.

nighttime routines are influenced somewhat by wanting/needing him under a mosquito net. since our return home our bedroom has been consumed by mosquito nets. odin’s crib is a sidecar attached to my side of the bed and the main net is large enough to cover the whole bed + crib. then odin’s crib has another net over it. i know it’s overkill but what the heck. most of the time his net isn’t down anyway because he doesn’t like it, but by virtue of being in the room it disrupts the mosquitos that much more (the insecticide treatment on the net disturbs their standard feeding habits). so bedtime comes around and odin and i snuggle down under our mosquito nets to nurse, read, sing songs and tell stories. the nice thing is i can comfort him and nurse him and sleep with him in the middle of the night all without ever having to leave the safety of the net.