Oy, long interlude--sorry. I've been pretty consumed with the details of leaving Norway during the past few weeks. Less than two to go before we leave--I can hardly believe it. The running joke with all our friends here is that we're leaving at the right time, the start of the mørketid. Sun sets circa 4:30, and it's fuzzy out when Leo wakes us up at 7:00. It's not Norway's finest time, though it's nice for getting all koselig with candles and loved ones...
I've been enjoying last days in Norway by taking a lot of walks up in Nørmarka with my friend Natasha and her baby Anna, which has been really fun. Up in the forest it's quite cold but the babies sleep happy as clams in their prams or, in Leo's case, on his mama's chest in the Moby. And I've enjoyed walks and lunches with my barselgruppe, my new-moms group (yet another of the amazing services socialized medicine hooks you up with--a crew of moms all on maternity leave, all of whom live within a half-mile radius of each other). We had a fun Halloween party at Thor and Kristin's, though attendance was low due to illness. What else...well, we're doing a lot of last-minute shopping for Norwegian wool and gifts for folks at home and I've actually packed one suitcase!
It's been an eventful week as Ben and Leo got sick simultaneously, with seemingly different illnesses. Tuesday night Ben got THE FLU. Was it THE FLU or just the flu? Who knows--he was achy-headed, nauseated, felt really blech, etc. We've medicated him only with Tylenol, oscillococcinum, and fluids, despite a brief period yesterday when he was demanding Tamiflu and I was encouraging him to hold out (I haven't been convinced he has the flu of swines, but what do I know?). Anyway, the main concern has been keeping Ben away from Leo, who woke me up Tuesday night with mucusy chortlings and choking sounds and sneezes. Leo has had a very slight fever--37.6 C at its highest (99.6 F), so I had the unhappy task of taking his rectal temperature at the first feeding last night, circa 11:30. He SCREAMED. Generally Leo is a pretty good-natured kid, but when you attempt to mess with his nether regions (i.e., a diaper change or related) when he's hungry, he gets furious. On the other hand, if you feed him first and then change him in the middle of the night, he gets wide awake and lies there in the crib saying "Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!" and then it takes ages to get him to shut up and go to sleep. So, I opted for the screaming, redeemed by a nice long nursing session.
This morning, Ben claims to be almost all better, and Leo's fever is fluctuating but still just vaguely high, and he's being mellow on the couch (snoring, actually). Parenthood seems very weighty when your kid is sick. The urgent care place told me to just watch him and if the temperature went to 38 (100.4), to bring him in. But of course I have to watch his mood, too, make sure he's feisty and hungry and etc. Because Ben is not allowed to touch him, I'm the mom in charge. It's good for me, but scary.
Okay. On a lighter note, this Norwegian tv commercial is really cracking me up. The punchline, "melk styrker kroppen," is basically the Norwegian take on "milk: it does a body good" ("milk makes the body stronger"). Enjoy.
And here is a picture of Leo. It's from when he was about three weeks old. I look at it and feel amazed by how much he's grown.
Peace out, brothas and sistahs.
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