Gas attack!

Last night had one of those scary episodes where the baby woke up screaming and writhing in pain, much like he had that night I arrived in NY last summer. I kept picking him up to thunk his back and bounce him to get the gas out to no avail, but he would calm down when I held him upright, only to start crying again when I laid him down. I don't know if it was the chili I had for lunch, the curry I had for dinner, or the old-ish bottle of milk he had at the Baby Kennel yesterday, or a combo of the three, but the poor little guy was really miserable. Finally I broke down and busted out the big guns - the bottle of Colic Calm I've had lying around here for ages. I used it when he was a newborn but was never sure if it *actually* worked; this time it definitely did; he was calm and happy and sleeping within minutes. I don't know why I'm reluctant to use this product; there's something about squeezing a thick black substance into your baby's mouth with a syringe that's just super creepy. And it makes their poo black the whole next day. But now I know it for sure works for this particular kind of episode, so I will definitely not hesitate to use it again!

I had a good time last night despite being on the face of it a bit of a disaster - saw the movie, then tried to meet friends at this party in Hollywood, but it was raining and there was literally no parking anywhere, so the friend that was driving with me and I just ditched the rest of the group and had dinner instead. We both remarked how this reminded us of so many nights in our twenties - desperately driving around Hollywood looking for parking, trying to get into some hipster party. I don't miss those days one bit, believe me!

Today I was going to spend the whole day in Ventura at a friend's kid's party, but she canceled because of the rain. Remind me to never, ever hold B's party outdoors in March (a very rainy month here in SoCal). I'm kind of bummed my entire day is now shot, but hey, it's an opportunity to try out some candy recipes from Pinterest, so I might just do that.

I have become completely obsessed with building a sleeping loft in the attic for B when he gets older, and/or for out of town visitors. Why not just replace the wall to the second bedroom, you ask, which will probably run about .001% of the cost of building into the attic? Haven't you figured out by now that I can't do anything like a normal person...? Anyway I may have a contractor or two over for estimates next week - first I need to see if it's even allowed and possible (if the ceiling joists can't support a floor and people walking around, then that's out), but I am afraid of how much something like this could cost. There's making a stairway to the attic, there's insulation, wiring, re-routing of air ducts, putting in a window, flooring, lighting, electric outlets, and of course walls and ceiling. Could run upwards of $20,000. If one guy charged me $5500 just to take down one small wall in my house I can only imagine what a major renovation like this would cost. I am curious, though. It would definitely pimp this place out!