Results tagged “baby” from Momtourage: Blogger Knows Best

As if it's not hard enough being a new mom as it is, now there's the added pressure of stimulating your new baby intellectually as well.  That hypnotic black and white mobile over their crib just won't do it anymore....now it's videos like Your Baby Can Read (which my best friend purchased) and infant playdates.  I saw that commercial again the other day, the one with the baby boy in the high chair giving stock market feedback and I actually thought it was real....a new enrichment program like Your Baby Can Trade.  It's not far off people, "...when baby picks a winning stock we reward him or her with a quiet time or a wheat-free, gluten free, carob cookie."  The New Wining - Teaching Your Baby All About Pinot - I'm telling you it's not that unrealistic.  

Sorry I've been away for so long.  I've missed blogging and all the comments from my readers but I had my big Endometriosis Surgery in June and that took me out of commission for literally 6 weeks.  Not kidding.  I'm just starting to feel normal again.  Just to give you a quick update:  I still have my ovaries but only one Fallopian Tube...so we're now officially Reproductively Challenged.  One of my friends asked me recently if I got pregnant, despite my age and my issues (reproductive not psychological) would I keep the baby?!  I was like are you kidding?  Of course!  I would want to have the baby Jesus.  Speaking of miracle babies, above left is the latest addition to our family, our  new niece, born in February.  She's now 7 months old and cuter than ever.

As you may or may not know, my husband and I have been "trying" to have another child for some time now.  Our first pregnancy was a spontaneous one so we thought the next one would be as well.....wrong.  Ever since I gave birth to the uber baby six years ago (nine and a half pounds), I have been suffering with very painful periods.  The pain is so bad I thought I was pre-menopausal or something.   To which my sensitive G.P. told me, "You're not pre-menopausal you're just overweight."  Thanks.  After seeing many specialists (including Infertility Specialists) and having all sorts of humiliating tests done (now when I see a gloved hand I just disrobe....which made skiing somewhat awkward this year) finally I have the answer:  Endometriosis.   

by airannie

When we got married, there was no question that I would keep my name.

Even writing it sounds funny. It is "my" name after all, of course I get to keep it. And my husband never did, never would, ask me to change.

At the time, it didn't feel like a feminist statement, although I was a little disappointed to see how many of my friends changed theirs. It was more that I like my name, I have a professional reputation behind it, and I can't stand paperwork.

As if there isn't enough pressure on kids today, there seems to be a push to get babies to read now.  Remember when teaching your baby to sign was all the rage?  I remember seeing tons of babies in restaurants signing the 'eat' sign and thinking, "What a shame.  There are so many deaf children in the northeast."  I had no idea at the time that it was a movement!  I woke up late last night, after passing out on the couch around 8:30pm.  Lily is on vacation this week from school so we took her and her friend for a fun-filled day at the New York Hall of Science, needless to say I was wiped out.  The place was so crowded we could barely move but the kids didn't seem to mind.  I guess the native New Yorker in them doesn't mind 20 person ques for the toilet and various science/math games.  Any rate, I digress, around 2am I came across an infomercial for Your Baby Can Read or some such thing...I can't remember the exact name and I don't care to give them a plug here anyway.  It was so ridiculous it was laughable.....

My sister gave birth to another daughter yesterday at 3:43pm......all 7lbs 15oz of her!  The biggest one yet for my sister.  This little girl, who is yet to be named, is baby number three.  There are two names being bandied about right now.  Thankfully, my nine year old niece's favorite, Hannah Montana, is not one of them.  She was induced two weeks early but mum and baby are faring well.  I have yet to see the new tot so I haven't been able to play babyrazzi yet but I will soon.  The last time my sister gave birth I was her partner as she was widowed on 9/11.  I'm overjoyed at the birth of this baby but I can't help thinking of when Patrick (or as we like to call him 'the terror') was born.  So, I'm slightly melancholy today but truly happy about non Hannah Montana.

Now that I have one of my own, it's no wonder A.A. Milne wrote a book of poetry for six year olds.  Something magical happened when Lily turned six on 12/22/08: she blossomed socially.  It was like she awoke from baby slumber into a true, young girl: she's chatting like mad; very confident; sassy; cracking jokes; telling her friends to copy her; had her first sleep over; and is suddenly full of 'poo poo and pee pee' songs.  It's a lot of fun....but it also makes me melancholy for my baby.  Now that we're in this stage of life the curtain has officially closed on 'totland'.  She had her friend Eleanor sleep over last night.  I was so relieved when Lily came into my room for a cuddle after her friend fell asleep.  I was actually heartened to hear her say, "I miss you mama."  I miss you too my darling....but I'm still here for you.  I always will be.

by Rita Arens

When my daughter was born in 2004, I was all prepared to breastfeed. I had the bags, I had the pump. I wasn't psyched about it, but I wanted to do anything I could to ensure she had the best in life. I knew that was breastfeeding. So I asked my doctor for the absolute smallest "good" window. My doctor looked at me like I was nuts, stammered around for a while, then said six weeks. I don't know if he pulled that number out of the air or out of a medical book. I've never heard anyone ask that question before: Probably because it's so loaded.

I won't lie. As a teenager, I was glued to Interview With a Vampire and its seemingly endless chain of sequels, (including The Tale of the Body Thief in which Lestat, that immortal superstar, gets a chance to live in a human body--a premise so predictable that even Lestat himself seemed bored by it). But the Twilight novels are a different sort of blood-sucking beast. I attempted to read Book 1 of Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster series and failed after one chapter, but the novels have become so popular that I know the whole tale--Bella the fey schoolgirl and her undead hottie boyfriend--without turning another page.

My husband and I are seeing a fertility specialist, turns out we have reproductive issues.  I had to take the HSG test earlier this week and god was it painful!  They warned me ahead of time to take a painkiller and I was like yeah right.  I had a 9 and a half pound baby the first time!  I gave birth to a toddler!  How bad could it be?  Wrong.  Very bad.  In laymen's terms, it's an xray of one's fallopian tubes, ovaries, the works....  Looks like my right side is completely blocked. Why am I not surprised?  It couldn't be easy but I did conceive Lily 5 years ago with that same blockage (most likely) in place....so keep your fingers crossed. 

When I was a teenager, a girl in our school got pregnant.....by a college boy no less.  Very shocking.  At least back then it was.  Today, this is very common and accepted and even more common for the grandparents to raise the child whilst the young woman finishes college and or grad school.  That girl was a friend of mine by the way.  Her son, the mistake, his real name is Robert, is now 25!  The mistake will graduate law school this year.  I remember the days when he wasn't supposed to answer the phone and his family denied his existence.  Thankfully, those days are long gone.  My husband and I waited a long time to have Lily.  She's now five and we're now old.  I'm 40.  I can't believe I actually typed that out loud.  Actually, at first I typed 36.  How pathetic, I'm even lying to people I can't see about my age.  Here's even more shocking news:  this dinosaur is trying to reproduce.  Should my eggs be in the Smithsonian too??

by Morra Aarons Mele

A email tonight from the Obama campaign began, "The era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has created a financial crisis as profound as any we have faced since the Great Depression." During the recent boom years, greed and irresponsibility extended to Main St. too, but that's hard to talk about if youre a politician.