Jackson is beginning to notice that we have pets and that pets are … cute. And fun! And they make good pillows. Miles was lounging on the couch one afternoon this week and sensing a good photo op — Jackson was wearing his red “Brooklyn” sweatshirt, after all — I sat Jack next to Miles and told him to “smile for Mama!” As instructed, he smiled brightly into the camera, but it was his other gesture that made my heart explode into a million pieces. As he grinned for me, he ever-so-gently reached for Miles’ paw and he held it long enough for me to snap several pictures. Years and years from now, long after Miles is no longer with us and Jackson has left home for exciting adventures of his own, it’s moments like these I’ll think of when I remember the “good ole days.”
This week, it was better. How was yours?
[Click to continue]
by Wendy on February 17, 2012
· in Parenthood,Weekend Open Thread
Read the full article...
I feed my baby formula. Exclusively. Here in Brooklyn that’s one of the biggest parenting offenses you can commit. It’s right up there with circumcision and “crying it out” in terms of emotionally scarring your child for life. I didn’t plan to feed my baby formula. Or, I should say that wasn’t my preference. But ever since I had breast reduction surgery when I was 19, I knew that it was unlikely I’d be able to exclusively breastfeed any babies I had. My surgeon told me it was a “wait and see” thing and that I wouldn’t know whether I’d be able to breastfeed until I had a baby and tried to.
When Jackson was born, I didn’t try to breastfeed him right away. The first 12 hours were just so crazy that I can’t remember why I didn’t try. Did I not know I should? Did no one suggest it to me? Was I too tired? Was I scared that I couldn’t do it? I can’t remember. But I do remember about 12 hours or so after he was born visiting him in the NICU, where he was being treated for jaundice and low blood sugar, and attempting to breastfeed for the first time then. Jackson, Drew and I sat in this small private room just off the NICU and with a pillow on my lap to prop up the baby, I tried to feed him. He was so little, though — only 5 pounds — and his mouth so tiny, that we weren’t able to get a good latch. Consequently, that was the first time I failed at breastfeeding. [Click to continue]
by Wendy on January 18, 2012
· in Essays,It's Personal,Parenthood
Read the full article...
There’s a joke that once you have kids, you stop having sex. That isn’t exactly true or there would never be any siblings. Still, there is truth in most clichés, and one of the challenges I’ve found since becoming a mom is simply finding time to be with Drew, just us.
The first three weeks were the hardest. My hormones were so crazy after giving birth and my whole world seemed to turn upside down and I wasn’t getting any sleep and Jackson was screaming non-stop and suddenly I was sharing my favorite person with someone else, someone who, quite frankly, was annoying me much more than he was charming me. Drew hates it when I put it like that, but it’s the truth. I had a hard time connecting to my baby those first few weeks and as much as I loved him and hoped things would get better — they have! — a part of me worried that I had made a mistake, a mistake that was going to really screw up my marriage (it wasn’t and it hasn’t). [Click to continue]
by Wendy on January 11, 2012
· in Essays,It's Personal,Parenthood
Read the full article...
One of the things having a baby does that I didn’t really consider before Jackson was born is it makes you visible. Even in this neighborhood where I found 18 — 18!! — women who gave birth within a few weeks of me to join my new moms’ group, people still know me by my baby. If I go to a store without Jackson — oh, to have a few minutes to myself! Even if it’s just to run an errand — the check-out women ask me where my baby is or how my baby is doing. They never talked to me before I got pregnant and I feel conspicuous in a way I wasn’t before. That’s not a bad thing. But in a city where it’s easy to be anonymous, being conspicuous is something I haven’t felt in a long time. [Click to continue]
by Wendy on January 4, 2012
· in Essays,Parenthood
Read the full article...
