“That’s Cause You Don’t Got Kids!”
It was a Wednesday afternoon and I was perusing the aisles at Duane Reade. I had one purchase in mind, a pregnancy test. I brought my item to the cashier to purchase. She noticed what I was holding in my right hand and said“Oh! Are you excited?”I clutched the E.P.T test“Yes,” I replied“You got kids?” She asked with a smile“No.” I replied.“That’s ‘cause you don’t got kids.” she said and began laughing uproariously. It turned out I was, in fact, pregnant. Nine months later I delivered my son. Adjusting to motherhood has been tough. But tougher still was finding out that the other people in my life could not understand that I was now a mom. I have compiled a short list of unhelpful questions and comments that people have offered me, post child. 1.“Why is your house so dirty? Can’t you clean when the baby is napping?”My house does not look like “Martha Stewart’s Living” because I am busy caring for a child 24 hours a day. As far as cleaning when the baby is napping the first issue there is that the baby refuses to nap. Perhaps you could come to my house and force my child to [...]
Introducing Joe to Blue’s Clues!
My son and I are big fans of the TV show Blue's Clues. The show first aired in 2001 with a host named Steve Burns. For those of you that have been following my blog, you know how much I love Steve. Steve is a charismatic and highly engaging host. He calls the viewer a "friend" and makes one feel as if you are involved in his adventure. The adventure: solving a puzzle based on three distinct clues that his dog, Blue, has laid out for us; "Blue's Clue's"I have been watching re-runs of the show (as it no longer airs new episodes) on Noggin. I noticed, somewhere along the line, that Steve is mysteriously no longer on the show. He is replaced by a fellow named "Joe." The Joe episodes of Blue's Clues are okay at best. Let's face it, he is no Steve. But the lingering question in my mind was: how did the show introduce Joe to the kids who were long time Blue's Clue's fans? They had known Steve for such a long time, it must have been tricky to do.Well, I finally got my answer yesterday when I caught the episode: Meet Joe Scrapbook Adventure. [...]
It’s All “Relative”
Ahhh yes the in-laws. If it isn't hard enough to deal with your own family's idiosyncrasies now you have to deal with your partner's family's quirks. They come to stay with you maybe when your baby is born or for special occasions like say a birthday or a major holiday.For my part, I like my boyfriend's family very much. However, the prospect of accommodating other people in my home is intimidating and causes me anxiety. What if my house isn't clean enough? What if they are not comfortable and they don't tell me? I'm in a state of constant worry about...well, pretty much everything. The truth is I'm a control freak. And nobody knows my routine like well...me.But, I must say, that the wonderful upside to having family stay with you is...the help!! They love their grandchild/niece/nephew/etc. as much if not more than you do! So they help you with pretty much everything.My advice to you is, accept it! Even if you are a control freak like me. Because when they leave, you won't have that help anymore. And you'll notice the difference.
An Eventful Visit to CMOM (Children’s Museum of Manhattan)
I had the pleasure today of visiting CMOM (The Children's Museum of Manhatan) with my son. As someone who grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I am familiar with the museum and have foggy recollections of visiting it during my childhood. However, when I set foot into CMOM today, it was a totally new and exciting experience and entirely different from how I remembered it as a child.As soon as I entered the museum I realized that I was going to have to do the dreaded task; check my stroller. I begrudgingly headed to the coat/stroller check line. As soon as I reached the front of the line I was reminded of how incredibly disorganized I am as a human being not to mention as a mom. I stood there shifting items from the diaper bag to my purse not really knowing what I was doing. I finally got it together and set out with my son to explore the museum.Note to parents visiting the museum: if you are going with an infant 25 lbs and under, since they require you to check your stroller, bring an infant carrier such as the Baby Bjorn or the Ergo [...]
The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done to Date
I have stayed home with my son for exactly one year now. I just recently re-entered the work force as a substitute teacher for the New York City Department of Education. And let me tell you, after not working for one year, it is tough to go back to work.Don't get me wrong, having and caring for a child is a job unto itself; however, reporting to a place of work on a given day at a set time is work in an entirely different way from being a mom. Plus, when I return from said job to my home, I have to do my other job, mom. It's really hard. When I am working at my "real job" I can focus on what I am doing. I'm not thinking about my son, because I know either my parents or my boyfriend is taking care of him. But its when I get home and I haven't seen my son all day, that I begin to feel sad and resentful of the "real job" from taking me away from my son.Its a tough dilemna. I need to make money to pay rent and my bills, however, I don't want to miss [...]
In Response to Cat Antics
I've received a few responses to The Cat Antics blog. One was from Mint, stating that she was dissatisfied with the picture of Egreck because it didn't accurately depict the image of baby and kitty sleeping together. I wholeheartedly agree with her on that one.It's too bad that I didn't have a camera ready at 4am to catch those two in action. :pHowever, I also received a response from Cordy saying that the same situation happened to her; she caught her cat, Piotr Lev, and her baby in the crib together. So I asked her to send me a picture of this event to post on my blog. That way the readers will know that I am not alone.Also, it will satisfy Mint's craving for a baby/kitty crib picture. Although, Pitor Lev, is clearly awake in this photo. Sorry Minty.So here it is:
Cat Crib Antics
I went to sleep late last night. I'm talking late, like midnight late. My son had been asleep since 7pm and for some reason I could not get myself to wind down.Finally, after watching massive amounts of television, I knocked out. My boyfriend stumbled home from his overnight shift at the airport at 5am. I woke up abruptly to him standing in the bedroom doorway:"Babe! You know the door is wide open?!" He said pointing to the doorway of the bedroom.He was right.I sat up immediately."Oh my G-d!" I shouted. My first thought was: the cats! Generally, we keep the bedroom doors closed so the cats can't come into the room at night."Go check on the baby!" I exclaimed.My boyfriend rushed over to my son's crib to find a sleeping baby next to...a sleeping cat. They were curled up next to one another comfortably. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or scream at that point; so I let my boyfriend deal with the situation. He promptly removed Egreck, my cat, from the crib, and we all went back to sleep. Pictured above is the illustrious crib hopper.
Dr. Michael Thompson Rocks!
I recently wrote an email to Dr. Michael Thompson praising him on his book, It's a Boy.The book talks about child development with regard to boys specifically.I really enjoyed his book and admire Dr. Thompson as writer and clinician. So I decided to tell him all of this in an email. I sent him a short note stating how much I liked his book (It's a Boy) and how it inspired me to write a blog about developmental milestones.To my surprise and delight he wrote back: Dear Sarah, Thanks for sending me the link to your blog. I very much enjoyed your piece on developmental milestones and competitiveness. Warmly, MichaelI wrote back to him asking if I might include his response in my blog. He responded almost immediately back stating:Dear Sarah, Yes, you may post my comments on your blog, but let me add a couple of sentences: "Thanks for sending me the link to your blog. I very much enjoyed your piece on developmental milestones and competitiveness. What you say about moms and dads subtly competing about their children's milestones is so true...and more than a bit sad. It suggests that the children of "good parents" reach their developmental [...]
The Transition to Solid Foods
My son has been eating baby food jars since he was six months old. I only feed him organic baby food because I feel that it has the purest ingredients for his little body. His favorite brand is Earth's Best Organic Baby Food However, he is having a really hard time transitioning from pureed baby foods to solid foods at a year of age.He likes certain solid foods a lot. But his issue with solid food is mainly the texture. He finds the texture of many solid foods unpleasant. I offer them to him and he spits them out instantly.So far he has rejected:--avocado - which everyone insists is a winner. He says - not so much.--peas - I put a pea in his mouth, he sticks his tongue out and the pea shoots back out onto the high chair tray.--salad - He doesn't know what to make of it, so he throws it on the floor.--boiled carrots - same tongue action as the peas--broccoli- It's so weird looking, it must be a toy--black beans - he makes a strange face, sticks his tongue out and the beans fall to the floor--most vegetables in general - he hates the texture [...]
Adiri Bottle Review
Adiri was kind enough to send me a sample of one of their Natural Nurser bottles to sample. I was able to try the bottle out on my son. The following is my review of the Adiri Natural Nurser Ultimate Baby Bottle - Stage 1.The Adiri bottle is designed to simulate breast. On the box it states "Introducing the ultimate baby bottle: the world's most breast-like bottle experience." Pictured above is the Adiri Natural Nurser. On the left is the bottle and on the right is the cap.After receiving the bottle I read the product instructions, which prompted me to boil all bottle parts in hot water for five minutes before use.Well, unfortunately in my haste to try the bottle out, I didn't read the directions well enough. I put the pumped breast milk directly into the upside down bottle and the milk spilled everywhere. So I had to start over again. Note to Adiri users, read instructions thoroughly; even if you are one of those people who 'hates instruction manuals' and can 'figure it out on your own by trial and error.' So, I washed the bottle and parts out with hot soapy water as instructed by Adiri. I [...]
First Birthday Parties
My son turns one year old today! May 6th. Happy Birthday, goo-goohead! The first birthday is a big deal. In most ways it is a bigger deal for the parents than it is for the baby. As my best friend said wisely:"The first birthday is celebrating that you survived one year with a baby."And its true. My son is not going to remember today, unfortunately. But I will. And later in his life I can show his pictures of what happened on his first birthday.My boyfriend and I agonized about what to do for my son's first birthday. Should we throw a huge party and invite everybody we know? Or do a low key family event.It was really a tough decision. In the end we compromised; today we are taking our son out to lunch with our close family. Next week we are having another tiny family party with a few of my son's friends and their moms.Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday goo-goohead!!!!!
For the Love of Coffee
Well folks, it's been a year. My son is turning one tomorrow and I am getting nostalgic. Many things have helped me survive throughout this year; my boyfriend, my incredibly supportive friends and family, even my cats and one more crucial thing...coffee. Coffee, I love you very much. You got me through a very hard transition in my life; from bachelorette to mother. You are a loyal friend. When my son was waking up every three hours on the dot, you were there to help me survive.You were there during the summer in your iced form. You were there during the winter season in your standard heated variety. But the most important thing is that you stayed true to me. You never let me down.When I thought I might collapse from exhaustion and emotional upheaval you lifted me up and gave me the necessary energy to cope with my problems.I want everyone to know, that you are safe to drink (in moderation) while breastfeedingAnd thank goodness for that.Thank you coffee. You are this mom's best friend.
My First Substitute Teaching Experience
Today I substitute taught at my old elementary school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I got up early, got ready, dropped my son off with my parents so that they could babysit, and took the subway uptown. I got off the train and started walking uptown towards my old school. Who did I happen to see? Cynthia Nixon! For those of you that don't know who Cynthia Nixon is, she played Miranda on 'Sex and the City'. I smiled at her, she smiled back at the fact that I recognized her and we continued on our respective daily journeys. What a nice start to the day! I got to the school ten minutes early and it was really busy. I was trying to figure out what I was supposed to do and where I was supposed to go, but every time I went to ask the secretary the phone rang or she was accosted by another teacher or student needing her assistance. Finally, I was handed my schedule for the day. I was placed in a different class each period: 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, respectively. The first class were 3rd graders. I was told that I should [...]
The Developmental Milestone War
"Aww! Your son is so cute! How old is he?""A year.""Really? He's big for a year. Is he walking?""No, no he's not walking yet." "Oh, well my daughter was walking at 9 months. Just give him time he'll do it. Is he talking yet?""Yeah, he says 'mama' and 'dada' but he doesn't really know what they mean.""Well, my daughter was talking at 11 months, he's going to get there...."Sound familiar? What I have just recounted is a common phenomenon amongst parents; competition.Human beings are inherently competitive. But that competition intensifies when it comes to our children. Because our children are extensions of ourselves. So if another parent tells me that their child is talking at one year, I get anxious and defensive; its only natural. I'm thinking to myself:Why isn't my son talking? Is there something wrong with him? Is there something wrong with me? What's going on?!So what do I do? I bring up some other wonderful thing that he has started to do!"Well, he just recently started pointing!! And that's early too! He's actually under a year. Usually kids don't start pointing until after they turn a year." I know, its immature of me. But I need to [...]
Adiri Bottle Arrived
Just wanted to let you guys know that the Adiri bottle has arrived. It is a Stage 1 feeding bottle which means that the flow is slow. I haven't sampled it yet, but plan on doing so soon.Please check back here at oldschoolnewschoolmom.blogspot.com for my review of the Adiri bottle.