4 Weeks: Walk in the Park

Mary and I took Augs and Dogz on a fun walk today in the Public Garden and the Boston Common. Here are some still photos I snapped to document the event.

Prep child by bundling him warmly in a bear suit, preferably with ears. Pacifier not required, but much preferred.



First stop was a stick-mauling exercise in the Public Garden. Ferocious houndog.




Sunlight filters through red Bugaboo to illuminate child... he really relaxes when he's in the stroller. He woke up later on.



Mary, looking very beautiful and content walking the Monkey Moon through the Common. Click for more detail.



Watson found a nice piece of lumber to carry out of the park as we headed for home. Would make a nice piece of firewood with only some trimming. Nice work!

Day 122: The $181,011 Old Wives' Tale

Update on our problem of how to get to the hospital after Mary goes into labor: I recently read that it may be good for a woman to walk after labor has begun (see bullet 2 under "Upright Positions").

Although some sources say it may not be that great, or even not help at all, it certainly does give us an excuse to not to buy a Subaru, parking spot and baby seat, as I feared we might need to a few posts back. Instead we can just walk to the hospital (it's less than a mile, I checked).

So this old wives' tale, by giving me an argument in favor of walking, saves us an estimated $181,910. $150,000 for a parking space in the Back Bay, $31,690 for a Subaru Outback 2.5 XT Limited in quartz silver metallic with off black leather interior and manual 5-speed transmission, and $220 for the Britax Roundabout car seat, which rated highest in Consumer Reports' quick picks for car seats, with a spectacular rating of 81/100.

Of course, all this savings will once again justify purchase of a ridiculously expensive stroller, so we have to add back another $899 for a Bugaboo Cameleon stroller with bassinet, in green, for a grand total savings (after stroller) of a whopping $181,011.