Double Wars recap, part 2

I'm finding it harder lately to find time to write up things like LJ posts (or scroll texts...) since Gwen has recently decided that afternoon naps are for babies and she doesn't need them anymore. I was really worried as to what that would be like at the event, since around a week ago she was reliably waking up between 5:00 and 5:30, and then cutting out the afternoon nap (sleeping maybe half an hour between 13:00 and 19:30). Luckily, she did amazingly -- went to bed about an hour later than normal, and then slept through a full 10 hours not waking up until around 6:00; all three mornings the first time I woke up enough to check the time, it was 6:30. She also napped a lot better, in part because there was so much going on so she was getting nice and tired out, and also because she liked sleeping in the wagon that I was borrowing, an awesome little wooden wagon with a sheepskin that made my life a lot easier:



(And here you can see one of the adorable little hoods I made her). I'm hoping we can keep the "go to bed a bit later, sleep until after 6:00am" schedule going; the last two nights have sort of worked.

The wagon was one thing that made the event much easier to navigate; another thing was that there were so many babies there; two or three about her ages, another two or three who were 3 months, at least one who was only 2 months, and then any number of older kids. There were four wagons like Gwen's, and it wasn't uncommon at all to see babies on people's backs or fronts. There was a corner of the main lounge that had a thick rug and lots of pillows for babies and kids to play in; one morning when not many other people were up yet I sat there with Gwen and we were joined by Viscountess Elizabeth and Astrid, who is about a month younger. Astrid and Gwen were fascinated with each other -- or, more precisely, with each other's pacifiers! They kept reaching for the other one. :) But having so many babies and kids there meant that any time I needed a hand, someone to take her while I went to the bathroom, or help making a bottle, or to entertain her during court, or while I taught, or in case she started crying if I left her in the wagon while I ducked into my cabin to get something, there was always someone around who'd be willing to grab her. Countess Anna and Isabelle, Vitus's lady, were both always on hand to relieve me if I needed it, which was very nice. As I said in my other post, it was strangely more difficult navigating the event with her alone than the trip to Osnabrück was; I think it was partly because it was indoors/outdoors and I had so much extra stuff, like my cloak, a blanket for her, my feastgear, my crown and the hat I borrowed from Countess Anna so that it didn't sit on my glasses...

I ended up missing most of the fun stuff in the evening, going to bed with Gwen around 8:30 or so, but I actually don't mind too much. I did get to attend most of the royal dinner on Wednesday, and though I missed feast at Vitus's encampment, goncalves brought me up a plate after each course, so I got to enjoy the food at least (it was delicious. I love camp cooking).

Traveling to and from was interesting, since as I said I took her in the babybjorn, leaving the stroller and carseat at home. When you have a baby strapped to your chest a little below eyelevel, everyone wants to talk to you, or talk to your baby, or offer a finger to play with. It was pretty sweet. The trains we took were not too full so I was able to take her out of the carrier (she doesn't like being in it when I'm sitting) and let her sit on her own seat. She loves this. I have to keep a hand near her just to watch her balance, but she loves to sit and loves to be a big girl. And KLM really takes seriously their preferential treatment for people traveling with babies; I got bumped to the front of the line for boarding on both flights, and on the first one they kept everyone else on the bus until I'd gotten off and onto the plane. On the flight back, I was the second to board, after a family with a man in a wheelchair. This meant that I was able to lay her down in the aisle while getting situated, which was a big help. She slept the entire flight both ways, and before boarding was happy to lie on the floor and play with toys. While we were waiting to board in Copenhagen, someone who came off the plane that we were going to be boarding whipped out his phone and took a picture of her lying there playing as he walked by.

I am very lucky to have friends who like to sew and friends who have kids slightly older than Gwen; her wardrobe improved immensely over the course of the event. She was given a hand-me-down Landsknecht bodice from Maggie and Bettina:



(Here you can see the other hood I made her). And I don't have pictures of these yet, but liadethornegge and Lady Isabetta each made for the A&S competition a little tunic, and Viscountess Anna knitted her a hat and mittens (both of which she used on Thursday because it was pretty cold out!) which are absolutely adorable. She's going to be the best dressed little princess in the kingdom. :)

Someone, one of the random people who was holding her at one point, gave her the most beautiful compliment, said that she has eyes like pearls. It's one of the best descriptions of them -- they're not quite blue, not quite grey, and very luminescent. I love it.

Now she's fussing again, maybe I can convince her that a half hour nap won't kill her?

Gwen's new favorite food

Is mangoes. I offered her a piece from a fruitplate on Wednesday and she slurped it down rapidly (it was awfully ripe). I picked one up yesterday and it's not as ripe, but still soft enough that I gave her a slice and she's been nomming on it, and a slice of melon, for 45 minutes now. The first time we gave her melon she wasn't so impressed, but the mango...I first gave her a small piece, and when she finished it and I turned to get her a larger one she started crying as there was no more mango.

I'm amazed at how quickly she's developed the ability to turn large pieces of food into something she can actually eat. At the airport on Friday I had a slice of pizza and I gave her a piece of the crust, and she quickly started scraping it along her bottom teeth getting off small pieces at a time. After lots of nomming on the mango and melon, she's able to gum off pieces that are small enough to chew and then swallow.

In other skills, yesterday afternoon she finally rolled all the way from back to belly without needing a little push to get the last shoulder around. She figured out the trick, of leaning her head away to give her the clearance she needs. Now that she's figured it out, she does it constantly. However, she doesn't always remember how to get back, and she doesn't like being on her stomach that much, so it all results in tears.