Mar 15, 2009
trip to Trondheim
Last week, Lilly and I had our first trip together, just the two of us. The occasion was the annual conference of a health sector network for people working with women and men with various physical and mental disabilities, focusing in particular on issues related to sexuality (NFSS - Nettverk: funksjonshemmede, seksualitet og samliv). This year the network met in Trondheim, so that's where we went. I'd been invited to give a talk based on my research on pornography, in particular how some women have sought to change pornography to better reflect their experiences of sexual desire and pleasure (Hva porno kan være godt for).
I was a little anxious before our trip (I'd just had three breast infections in a row, Lilly had been fighting a cold, I would be flying on my own with Lilly, and it'd be the first time Lilly would be watched by someone else than me or Leighton after our very first experience with that when a friend of mine took Lilly for a stroll while Leighton and I had lunch nearby. Also, I was eager not to disrupt Lilly's schedule, which pretty much goes like this: in bed 7 p.m. till 7 a.m., again from 10 a.m. till noon, and when awake prefers to play and explore on the floor. Will take a short nap in the late afternoon if we're out for a walk, or a drive. She still nurses about every two hour but also eats a slice of bread for breakfast, and then again for lunch, and for dinner (we do try to have her eat other things too...). She's a regular little girl, poops in her potty either in the morning or before or after her nap).
All went so well! From we got on the bus that took us to the airport Tuesday around noon till we got back Wednesday night. I'd packed lunches for us that we ate on the bus; Lilly had her one slice of bread with leverpostei (liver paté) and I had my usual two.
Lilly was on my lap during the flight and then happy as can be with her favorite bamse on the bus into Trondheim.
In our hotel room, she loved the mirrored sliding closet doors (and the exposed electrical outlets). I was a little bummed there wasn't a bath tub (we don't have one in the apartment and I miss taking baths with her).
After resting up a little, we went over to Mikrobryggeriet for dinner. As I've said before, Mikrobryggeriet is the only place to go in Oslo to get a decent beer. Now they've opened up a spot in Trondheim too, and here they also serve food (we wish they would in Oslo too) and (high score for this) they have high chairs for children.
I'd brought a sandwich for Lilly (another slice of bread with liver paté) and ordered a big IPA and a chicken wrap for myself (they were out of wraps, so I got a chicken salad instead).
Lilly nursed herself asleep as always and I retreated to the bathroom (! - I didn't want a reading light to disturb Lilly's sleep and I was comfy enough in the bathroom, with a cushion on the heated floor) with a book of short stories by Gunnhild Øyehaug whose debut novel, Vente, Blinke, received much praise last fall. I loved the novel, but wasn't so crazy about these short stories (Knutar, 2004). I went to bed around 10 p.m. and also slept well, the bed was very comfortable and the comforter not too heavy (ours here at the apartment are). We met with some of the people from the network for breakfast, and then played and explored in the hotel before nap time. We heard a little bit of another conference speaker's presentation, but Lilly prefers to do the talking, so I didn't feel too comfortable being there with everyone's eyes on us (of course, they were probably just admiring Lilly, right?).
My friend Thea joined us for lunch before my talk. We first met as students at Univ. of Oslo, oh, about fiften or so years ago. She now lives in Trondheim where she has a post. doc. postition in Latin with a project on Sappho. She and her samboer Martin has a son, Johannes, who's just a little older than Lilly, and I had recruited her to watch Lilly while I would give my talk. It was so nice to catch up with her. Here she is with Lilly and Grethe. Grethe (who's on the network's board and has four children and six grandchildren) had offered to help watch Lilly, and so she did.
My talk went really well. I struggled a little to focus at first (what with Lilly and all; I could hear her being fussy at first and had no way of knowing after that if she was happy or not, or if she was just far enough away that I couldn't hear her), but no one seemed to notice, and everyone seemed really pleased with my presentation. Apparently, Lilly had one five-minute meltdown right before a scheduled short break (during which I nursed and comforted her) halfway through my two-hour talk, but other than that she was happy exploring the hotel lobby and playing with her toys (at least, so I was told). She fell asleep in the taxi on the way out to the airport, and then impressed her fellow travelers on the plane down to Oslo, being so happy and all at the end of the day. It was passed her bedtime on the bus from the airport, but she was restless, seeming hungry, so we had some sandwiches as soon as we got in through the door, a reunion meal with papa. And then she fell asleep, and slept just as peacefully as she had in Trondheim, and as she typically does (aside from when she's teething or ill). And snipp snapp snute...
I was a little anxious before our trip (I'd just had three breast infections in a row, Lilly had been fighting a cold, I would be flying on my own with Lilly, and it'd be the first time Lilly would be watched by someone else than me or Leighton after our very first experience with that when a friend of mine took Lilly for a stroll while Leighton and I had lunch nearby. Also, I was eager not to disrupt Lilly's schedule, which pretty much goes like this: in bed 7 p.m. till 7 a.m., again from 10 a.m. till noon, and when awake prefers to play and explore on the floor. Will take a short nap in the late afternoon if we're out for a walk, or a drive. She still nurses about every two hour but also eats a slice of bread for breakfast, and then again for lunch, and for dinner (we do try to have her eat other things too...). She's a regular little girl, poops in her potty either in the morning or before or after her nap).
All went so well! From we got on the bus that took us to the airport Tuesday around noon till we got back Wednesday night. I'd packed lunches for us that we ate on the bus; Lilly had her one slice of bread with leverpostei (liver paté) and I had my usual two.
Lilly was on my lap during the flight and then happy as can be with her favorite bamse on the bus into Trondheim.
In our hotel room, she loved the mirrored sliding closet doors (and the exposed electrical outlets). I was a little bummed there wasn't a bath tub (we don't have one in the apartment and I miss taking baths with her).
After resting up a little, we went over to Mikrobryggeriet for dinner. As I've said before, Mikrobryggeriet is the only place to go in Oslo to get a decent beer. Now they've opened up a spot in Trondheim too, and here they also serve food (we wish they would in Oslo too) and (high score for this) they have high chairs for children.
I'd brought a sandwich for Lilly (another slice of bread with liver paté) and ordered a big IPA and a chicken wrap for myself (they were out of wraps, so I got a chicken salad instead).
Lilly nursed herself asleep as always and I retreated to the bathroom (! - I didn't want a reading light to disturb Lilly's sleep and I was comfy enough in the bathroom, with a cushion on the heated floor) with a book of short stories by Gunnhild Øyehaug whose debut novel, Vente, Blinke, received much praise last fall. I loved the novel, but wasn't so crazy about these short stories (Knutar, 2004). I went to bed around 10 p.m. and also slept well, the bed was very comfortable and the comforter not too heavy (ours here at the apartment are). We met with some of the people from the network for breakfast, and then played and explored in the hotel before nap time. We heard a little bit of another conference speaker's presentation, but Lilly prefers to do the talking, so I didn't feel too comfortable being there with everyone's eyes on us (of course, they were probably just admiring Lilly, right?).
My friend Thea joined us for lunch before my talk. We first met as students at Univ. of Oslo, oh, about fiften or so years ago. She now lives in Trondheim where she has a post. doc. postition in Latin with a project on Sappho. She and her samboer Martin has a son, Johannes, who's just a little older than Lilly, and I had recruited her to watch Lilly while I would give my talk. It was so nice to catch up with her. Here she is with Lilly and Grethe. Grethe (who's on the network's board and has four children and six grandchildren) had offered to help watch Lilly, and so she did.
My talk went really well. I struggled a little to focus at first (what with Lilly and all; I could hear her being fussy at first and had no way of knowing after that if she was happy or not, or if she was just far enough away that I couldn't hear her), but no one seemed to notice, and everyone seemed really pleased with my presentation. Apparently, Lilly had one five-minute meltdown right before a scheduled short break (during which I nursed and comforted her) halfway through my two-hour talk, but other than that she was happy exploring the hotel lobby and playing with her toys (at least, so I was told). She fell asleep in the taxi on the way out to the airport, and then impressed her fellow travelers on the plane down to Oslo, being so happy and all at the end of the day. It was passed her bedtime on the bus from the airport, but she was restless, seeming hungry, so we had some sandwiches as soon as we got in through the door, a reunion meal with papa. And then she fell asleep, and slept just as peacefully as she had in Trondheim, and as she typically does (aside from when she's teething or ill). And snipp snapp snute...
Mar 1, 2009
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