Going Broke to Go to Preschool
My son is barely one year old, and I am dreading when he turns two. Why I am so afraid for him to turn two? Because I can't afford Preschool.Currently, I am staying home with him and my boyfriend is working. We figured out that if both of us were to work, we wouldn't be making more money.The "extra" money brought in would go directly to paying for some sort of childcare. Thereby defeating the purpose of me working altogether.So I chose to stay home with my son. However, we are still really struggling to get by financially. So, by the time my son turns two, I though about enrolling him in sort of Preschool situation.Until I started researching the possibilities.The majority of Preschools in New York City are privately funded and extraordinarily expensive.For example, I had heard wonderful things about the Montesorri School in Cobble Hill. So I looked up the cost of their programs or two year olds.I kid you not, for two days a week, part-time (meaning 9am - 12pm) it is nearly $8000/year!Clearly, this is not a viable option for my family.And surprisingly, this is a typical cost for a preschool program.I started to wonder if [...]
Old School New School
You may be wondering why this blog is called Old School/New School Mom. Well, wonder no more!In raising my son, I believe that it is important to take parenting ideas and advice from the previous generation (AKA the Old School) and also integrate parenting advice from our peers (AKA the New School).You will be a better parent, I believe, if you are able to integrate these two worlds together.For example, in previous generations, they didn't rely so heavily on fancy electronic baby toys to entertain our kids. They simply read to their children, let them crawl around on the floor; explore and learn by doing. I like this idea. Old School.However, I have to admit, that there are some fancy electronic flashy baby toys that are pretty neat. So I am not ruling them out all together. For example, there is a Baby Einstein toy that lights up, plays random classical music, and has interesting objects to touch that my son adores. See? He loves it. But if you'll notice, he is also holding a plastic bottle in his right hand that he also adores. So, he loves a lot of things, Old School and New School.The point is, you [...]
Remembering to Eat
I recently told my best friend that I would like to get a job where I would get paid to eat. When she asked what I meant, I replied "My current job (the job of 'mom') is one where I NEVER get to eat, because I am always feeding someone else." And its true. As a new mom, I find that I am constantly taking care of my son, leaving me no room to take care of myself. By the end of the day I am exhausted because I have been attending to another human being's needs all day and ignoring my own. People who don't have children can be sympathetic to this feeling, but they can't really understand it until they are in the situation for themselves. But now more than ever I realize how important it is to take care of myself. I realized this because I haven't been doing it. Most days I forget to eat at least one meal. As a mom, it is so important to attend to your own needs. I have found that if I neglect myself, I don't have the energy to be there for my son in the way that he [...]
Free to Be You and Me at The Library
I almost fell into the trap myself; paying for activites to do with my son. When he was an infant, I was still pretty isolated. I didn't yet have the playgroup to hang out with and no real mom friends. So I when I would see local advertisements for Baby Yoga, $10/class I would start salivating. It sounded so appealing, being in a calming class with other new mothers and my new bundle of joy; however, I literally did not have the $10 to spare. So I didn't pursue it.As I noticed how many paid baby activities there were in my neighborhood and in New York City in general, I started to feel like maybe there was something wrong with me. Perhaps I had to pay for activities to do with my baby to have a good time. So I hung my head down and went home.Out of sheer curiosity, I began researching free baby activities online. At first I couldn't really find much. But then, I remembered my best friend, who recently graduated from an Early Childhood Education program, telling me that the Public Library had a great Early Childhood program.Boy was she right! First I tried to attend [...]
Trusting Your Inner Mom
I went to the library today with my son for their Story Time program as I usually do on Tuesdays. I was feeling a bit stir crazy, since we didn't get out yesterday, so we went to the 10am program. My playgroup buddies were missing in action, as both their babies were taking naps at unceremonious times. So I was there solo.After the program, I was approached by a lovely woman carrying a six month old infant in an Ergo baby carrier. "Excuse me?" she asked "Can you do me a favor? Can you help me fasten this?" She was referring to the back strap of the carrier. She was unable to reach the strap herself to click it together securely."No problem!" I said and I obliged."You know, I had actually had the same issue with the Ergo carrier myself, but I learned a trick." I told her."Pretend like you are fastening your bra strap together.""Oh!" she replied with surprise. "I hadn't thought of that."She tried my trick, and it worked. She was thrilled.We got to talking, so I asked her out for coffee. She told me about the issues she was facing with her son, starting solid foods, his [...]
Cloth Diaper Update
I've written to a bunch of cloth diaper companies asking for samples. Here is what I said:To Whom it May Concern:I am the mother of a 11 month old, and I am heavily considering the cloth diaper option. I currently have blog where I am beginning to review baby products. http://oldschoolnewschoolmom.blogspot.com/Would it be possible for your company to send me a sample cloth diaper to try?Thank you for your time.Sincerely,Sarah Fader ************************************************************************************* The responses I've received so far have boiled down to this; we can't send you a sample because our company is too small and we would go broke if we sent out samples to everyone who asked for them.I have included the current responses I've received below.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Good Morning Sarah,Thank you for your interest in Thirsties!Unfortunately, as a small Mom and Pop company, we are unable to send out samples.You could watch our Outlet Store at www.thirstiesoutlet.com, or find a retailer on our wholesale site: www.thirstiesbaby.com.Best wishes in your endeavors!SonyaThirsties Customer Support-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I am sorry but we are a small company and we are unable to send out samples to everyone that asks for them. We get this request 5-10 times every single day and doing so would put our [...]
The Search For a Playgroup
When my son was around four/five months old, I was going a little stir crazy. I wasn't employed and I had no real mom friends. My only friends that had babies lived too far away to visit on a regular basis. So I hung around the apartment with him a lot. My dad noticed that I was going a little nutty being in the house all the time."Why don't you try to meet other moms?" He asked. "Join a playgroup? You guys used to be in a playgroup when you were younger BLAH BLAH BLAH playgroup..." So I indulged him. I looked online for playgroups. And the majority of the playgroups I found cost money. I was astounded. It seemed counter-intuitive that I should have to pay for my child to play with other kids. Plus, I had no money to spend on such things. My boyfriend and I were barely making ends meet as it was. So I kept looking.I contacted a local children's toy store to inquire about playgroups. They informed me that they organized mother's groups by birth month. Great! Could I join it? Yes, for a mere $30 fee. So I succumbed and paid the cash [...]
The Power of Cheerios
When my son turned nine months I started introducing what they call "finger foods." That is to say foods that babies can pick up with their fingers. My friend (and mother of three) Alana informed me that Cherrios were the perfect first finger food. When I was over at her house with my son we plopped him in a high chair with a bunch of Cheerios and waited to see what he would do.At first he just pushed them around and played with them. After a while he realized that he could pick them up. And then eventually he grabbed a Cheerio, shoved it in his mouth and ate it. Alana and I cheered. He was thoroughly encouraged and began eating more and more Cheerios.The love affair had begun.At 11 months he is still obsessed with Cheerios. They are a source of nutritionThey also serve as a form of entertainment when he throws them on the floor and laughsNot only does he eat them, but when he is finished with them, he starts feeding them to me as well When he is in his car seat for a long ride being fed Cheerios makes him feel at ease. I actually [...]
Listening to Grandma
As a new mom, I would like to think I have it all figured out; I don't need anyone's help. It doesn't matter that I've never done this before. I know my son. I understand him. Every single time he makes a peep realize exactly what he wants. I never crack under pressure while he's crying his head off. Can you tell I'm being facetious?Let's face it. There are times when I have no idea what my son wants. He's crying, so I try to feed him. Oh wait! He's not hungry, maybe he's tired? So I nurse him. But he doesn't want to nurse. Perhaps he has a dirty diaper? Nope, all clear. Okay, no problem, maybe he's bored. I'll play with him. Nope, he doesn't want to play. What is it?! What does my son want?!The point is, at these crucial times its okay to accept help from those who have been there before; the grandmas.Recently, my son had a terrible virus. He had a fever and was horribly congested. He was so congested, in fact, that he could hardly nurse and could wake himself up in the middle of the night coughing. Once again, I adopted my [...]
To Cloth or Not to Cloth That is the Question
When I was pregnant, I thought a lot about diapers; how extraordinarily expensive they are, how I barely had money to clothe myself let alone waste money on a perpetually disposable item that unfortunately was a necessity.I thought about cloth diapers. I really did. I considered the option. But then I thought about the prospect of washing excess poop in the bath tub. Yuck. So I vetoed the cloth option.Now that I have nearly a one year old son, I am thinking about diapers, again. I spend $34/month on them. That's $408/year. Considering my household income, that is a lot of money.So now I am thinking about cloth diapers again. My best friend recently told me that her parents used cloth diapers on her. This was nearly 30 years ago. They, like my boyfriend and I, had very little money. So they never touched disposable diapers.This brings to the forefront an interesting issue; if disposable diapers are so expensive, why do the majority of the parental population use them? Convenience? Less mess? What did people do before disposable diapers? They used what was available to them; cloth diapers.I've decided that I cannot live in ignorance of the cloth diaper any [...]
Complaining About/Praising Products
I'm the sort of person that gets excited about a product that I really like. On the on the other hand I am also the kind of individual that gets upset when I feel a product has let me down. I recently rediscovered the concept of calling various companies to let them know what I thought about their products. I used to do this often before I had my son, and now that I have a child I have acquired a new found fervor in contacting corporations to let them know what I think.For example, I recently was making a box of Annie's Home Grown Macaroni and Cheese for my son. I really like Annie's Home Grown products because a lot of them are certified organic, they are delicious and (most importantly) my son loves them. I went to open the cheese packet and found that it already been slit open a crack. Being a nervous mom, I called Annie's Home Grown to inquire about this open package. The representative was so pleasant and helpful on the phone. He apologized immediately and offered to send me coupons for Annie's Home Grown products.And it's not just Annie's Home Grown. I've found [...]