One of the amazing things about our new life in Berlin is easy access to restaurants.   I when I said easy, I meant it.  Herr Rossi is a fantastic Sicilian run restaurant right across the street.  Which means that in less than 5 minutes we can be back with Kai in the apartment.  So with peace of mind, we went for a farewell dinner with Megumi and Yukie, reserving the couch in the back (to facilitate a quick feed if needed).  While Kai didn’t sleep the whole way through, between the 4 of us there were enough hands to keep Kai occupied as the rest ate.  And ate well we did — it was my 4th time eating there, and it has yet to disappoint.

This was not Kai’s first concert, in fact we had gone to see Sir Simon Brattle and the Berlin Philharmonic a few months back (an amazing performance).  But since it was inside the womb, maybe we can’t count that.

Taking advantage of the Tuesday lunchtime concert series, Kai got to bring his very own comfort lounge to the performance — a philharmonic drive in!  It wasn’t Sir Simon Brattle this time though, so I think we’ll need to see how we can sneak Kai into a proper performance.

Babies like to eat.   Wolfson’s like to eat.  Wolfson babies like to eat.  A lot.

Which means that Chika has more than a full time job on her hands.  We now are into full swing on the breast-feeding side, so our midwife gave the OK to begin using the bottle.

The good news is that hopefully this will give Chika a needed break now and then, and spread the work around (Grandma Yukie taking on this one here).   It still requires plenty of additional work (the human body has a built in warming mechanism and can be served on-demand, while refrigerated bottles need prep time).  Plus it’s still the extra work of getting it into bottles in the first place.

All in all, the good news is that for the 10-30 minutes that Kai is eating, he is generally happy, peaceful and quiet.  I think that is the favorite word combo in this household.

Traveling +1 is not just a matter of arithmetic.  It becomes a logistics exercise.  To take the buggy (and where can you park it) or go with the sling (and how do you eat while wearing an infant on your chest) become part of the equation.

Luckily Kai was extremely cooperative today.  Chika had deposited him into the sling (yes, he is there hiding under Chika’s custom convertible Japanese outerwear) and all through the journey there, the 1 1/2 hour brunch, and the journey home he either slept or cuddled awake with mom.

Do we pursue onwards with new found courage, or is it just a unstable condition waiting to explode?