Aiven's Sunglasses

I have been asked about what sunglasses I have found that Aiven will actually wear. This pair from iPlay stays on him pretty well (30 minutes today!). I bought them at the Giggle store on the UWS.

Weekend Picture Update

Husband's Alumni Bulletin Part 1

Alex wrote this just over a year ago. Clearly, he is the writer in the family.

Less than two years ago, my life took a sudden turn for the awesome. I was at a singles Jewish event when I noticed a comely lass without a chaperone. Gentleman that I am, I challenged her to a game of ping pong. Undeterred by her withering rejection, I gallantly allowed her friend to beat me 21-12, 21-10, and 21-6 in what was supposed to have been a one-match tournament. Enchanted with my chivalrous display, this young lady whisked me away to another bar, whereupon she plied me with many shots of a curious liquor that made me spill my guts in more ways than one. We spent the rest of the evening chatting away until the sun rose and our romance bloomed. I dumped her two weeks later. But were this story to have ended there, I would not be writing you this update today. Oh no, for a few weeks after said dumpage, a little morsel of missing-her-ness and a liberal dose of remorse caused me to adjust my mating strategy from 'repel-commitment-at-all-costs' to 'accept-commitment-under-my-terms.' This strategy also failed, which led me into the highly successful plan now well underway called 'do-everything-she-says.' By means of this update, what I am trying to announce, in not so many words, is that I am now a married man. Her name is Cara, she's a Canadian, and she's a redhead. Yeah, I know, redheaded babies. We'll see about that. Stay tuned!

I am addicted

I stockpile. I stockpile EVERYTHING. It drives my husband crazy, but he has come to accept it and he usually makes a joke about it now.

I am waiting, as I type this, for him to find the 3 additional munchkin teethers that arrived today. Aiven liked the first one so much, that I though it would be best to have some extras (one for the nursery, one for the bedroom, one for the living room and one for the diaper bag). I don't think he will find it very funny though.

Cool Idea: SnoozeShade

I think I am going to have to get one of these.  My son is a redhead with fair skin, so I am obsessed with keeping him protected from the sun. 

Baby Carrier Conundrum

I have way too many baby carriers.

We started with a sling when Aiven was an infant. Alex used it more than me.

Then we moved up to the BabyBjorn carrier.  We love this one as Aiven can face outward and see the world.  However, he will be outgrowing it in the next couple of weeks.

I have a Moby.  When I have the patience, and I can get it just right, I love it.  But truthfully, I have only used it a handful of times and not once in the past 3 months. 

We also have the Ergobaby carrier.  We carried Aiven in this all over Argentina as it had good back support and we were wearing him for extended periods of time.  It also has a hood which we found helpful in putting him to sleep.  And, it is easy to sit down with him in it.  The problem with the Ergo is that Aiven cannot face outwards, only inwards toward me.  I cannot conceive carrying him on my back like the pictures on the website display.  I would go bald from Aiven pulling chunks of my hair out back there.

I just bought -- and returned -- the new BabyBjorn Comfort Carrier.  I really liked this carrier.  It had better back support then the original BabyBjorn carrier I have, similar to the Ergo, but Aiven could face out in it.  Plus, the arm straps were much more comfortable than either of the previous carriers.  The problem is that the weight limit for him to face outwards is 26 pounds.  Aiven already weighs 20 pounds.  So, I might get 6 months out of this carrier before exhausting its usefulness.  Oh, and it was over $100.

I keep doing research to try and find a carrier that meets all of my needs.  I have not found a solution yet.  So, I guess I will keep the BabyBjorn he is about to outgrow for a sibling we hope to have for him one day and start using the Ergo more regularly…and knowing my son, who is outgrowing everything at a pace I could never have anticipated, he will probably outgrow carriers altogether before I find a solution.

Bugaboo's New Stroller - the Donkey

Great article from Jordana Horn on Kveller.com.

The $1,500 Stroller

A New Favorite Food

This makes Aiven's day much easier  ;)  I add a bit to his morning cereal.

Cord Blood

Rather than pay a large upfront fee and yearly fees to collect and store cord blood for the remote chance we may need it one day, my husband and I found an alternative solution.  We had heard that Israel has a public cord blood bank.  It is free to add your cord blood and it is free to withdraw a match.  It could help your child or save someone else's child's life!  We thought this was a great idea.

A week or so after hearing about Israel's cord blood bank, we came across an article about Duke University doing something similar.  We looked into it and decided that was what we would do.  There was plenty of paperwork and our medical team needed to register online in order to be certified to do the collection, yet for the most part it was pretty straightforward.

If you are interested, I encourage expectant moms and dads to check out the link and feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Carolinas Cord Blood Bank

Here is an article that speaks more to the public vs private blood banks.

Cord Blood Bank Article

How I Found my Babysitter (NYC)

Barnard has a babysitting agency.  It costs $25 to register.  I tried out 3 girls for 2 hours each while I was at home.  Z was by far the best.  She clearly was comfortable around a newborn and not intimidated if he was fussy or crying.  I adore her because I trust her with my precious son, and I don't trust many people with him. 

Everyone has different requirements and tastes.  This is an excellent option to find someone who fits your needs.  Check it out.

Barnard Babysitting Agency

Pregnancy Shows on TV

I sometimes find myself getting sucked into watching these shows. I think TLC has them on a constant loop.  When I was pregnant, I watched them all the time and I had a couple of observations/questions:

• Do they induce all these women because the camera crew could only follow them around for X many days?  Time to get the show taped, so let's give you some pitocin to hurry it up! 
• Natural Delivery now means a Vaginal Delivery.  I thought a natural delivery was one without drugs.  Has the vernacular changed that quickly?
• Being over 35 means high drama for these shows.  Being over 35, to me, means nothing.   I have had friends that have had issues in their 20's getting pregnant and being pregnant.  I don't think those issues discriminate and I think we are taking better care of ourselves than ever.  So, I don't really buy into the "over 35" drama.
• These shows made me panic.  Yes, there are a million things that could go wrong.  But, aren't most pregnancies uneventful and aren't most children born healthy?  These shows made me feel like those chances were miniscule.
• Where is the variety?  Every birth had complications or inductions or drugs, etc. etc.  I would love to see a home birth, a water birth, a birth using the Bradley method during labor, and a long, hard labor with drugs and without.  Where are all the other details: the interventions, doulas, midwives, the food we all (or should) sneak into the hospital to keep our energy up?

So, with that being said, Oprah's network has a new show, "Deliver Me", about 3 women in an OB/Gyn practice together in California.  Not a bad show so far but nothing new really.

Bravo is debuting a new show this week, "Pregnant in Heels".  I will likely check it out because it promises to be absurd.  But then again, I was probably pretty absurd at some point during my pregnancy as well.

And so it begins... repost

Getting pregnant, being pregnant, the birth process, raising a baby....

It seems everyone has an opinion.   Even the bodega man who must be 70 and has no kids will offer up his opinion, some advice or something along those lines.

I have come to realize that there is a tremendous amount of information out there and that most, first time, expecting mothers either take in too much or too little.  It can be overwhelming.

All of my friends have had children.  I was one of the last.  So, I have years of knowledge behind me from observing.  How they got pregnant, how they gave birth and everything after.

They planned it, it was an accident, they had planned on pain meds, had no time for pain meds, didn't want pain meds, had them anyway, refused pain meds, long labors, short labors, had a back labor that lasted 20+ hours with no pain meds, induced, c-sectioned, home birthed, water birthed, birthing center birthed.

I guess I have something to say too.

Beautiful Day in Central Park

Shout out to my UWS playgroup

Really, it is more of a support group for us mommies.  We all met at a new mother's lunch and started to get together regularly.  We don't get together as often anymore as work and others things fill our days.    We always have issues, questions, products etc. etc. to talk about.  We got together today and walked in the park and it was really fun.  The weather was spectacular and the boys (yes, we all have boys) are all growing fast and the smiles on their faces are wonderful to see.

I love getting together with these amazing women.  It is so nice to know we are all going through similar things and to have friends to talk about it with.

I wish my husband had a group like this.  I am sure he has things he would love to talk about with other new fathers (like, how to deal with a wife who is so sleep deprived, she has turned into a snappy, crabby woman he doesn't know).

As promised, here is the training cup I mentioned that I have been using with Aiven and the spoons I use as well.  I love the spoons for feeding, but not for giving to Aiven to handle and become familiar with.  They are a little too long and thin for that.  I ordered some Beaba spoons for that, but they are too big to feed him with just yet.  One other thing I did not mention, but Aiven loves - is the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder.  So far, I have only used it with some mango pieces.   It has been messy, but he really has fun with it.