Apr 30

100 days old

Parker has reached 100 days old!  To celebrate my mom got a giant traditional Korean rice cake which looked like it weighed about 20 pounds.  Of course Parker still only ate breast milk… while the rest of us set a good example by gorging on the cake.

Love watching Parker grow and learn and do something a little different everyday.  As a mom I definitely feel more relaxed now and am not so insecure about whether I am doing things “right” such as when Parker was a newborn.  At this point, I’ve learned that there are so many different ideas on how to raise a child (thoughts on co-sleeping, crying it out, number of naps, why she fussing, how to fall asleep, how to wake up, best toys to buy…?) that the right way is really just what works for our particular family, which happens to be a mishmash of all the baby info available on the internet (although I do like this site: Secrets of Baby Behavior).

 

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Apr 21

Our Little Family

 

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Mar 16

2 Months Old!

Haven’t posted in a while but I’ve been uploading most of the baby photos on a private blog that is just for family and friends.  Now I don’t know why I have a public blog, but I guess it’s still fun to have something for all the world to visit with a fleeting curiosity.  Plus I love reading other mommy blogs so maybe someone will like reading mine too, especially if they want to read about a couple with a baby living in a tiny ass but cozy apartment in the city.  But I’m not really into giving advice or inclined to give a ton of detail about what I’m doing so… enjoy the photos?

Anyway, it’s been two months since Parker has been born.  She is awesome.  I’ve been tired and have had some days of severe crankiness but overall — I think it’s been going well.  We also survived a cross town move and Phil working a lot.  We’re lucky that Parker is a chill baby.  Most of the comments about her have been about her hair.  I think it makes her seem older than she really is which makes me feel like she needs to do more/I need to do more than what she might be capable of. Like feeling bad if she isn’t being read to or interacting with something constantly while awake, as if she were a 6 month old.  If Parker was bald I’d probably be content with her current eat/poop/sleep schedule which she does for the majority of the time.

Parker inside her UPPABaby bassinet wearing robot leggings!!!!

With my mom in Madison Park

Baby socks and Lulu's feet

 

Okay fine, here are just a few things I’ve learned in the past two months, that I am rattling off from the top of my head:

1. The UPPAbaby stroller has great steering and I like using it in the city, but it is definitely big.  It can’t fit through the hallway lobby of our apartment building! So we keep the bassinet inside the apartment (which Parker currently sleeps in) and the stroller frame in the trunk of our car.  Yes we’re lucky we have a car at all and lucky that we have alternate side parking right outside our building.  Now that I’m a SAHM I can move the car T/F & M/Th 8:30 AM-10 AM and not pay for monthly parking!

2.  Babies have toe jam!  How, when they don’t even walk anywhere?

3.  We moved to the Gramercy/Murray Hill area of the city.  There are several parks within our area, the famous Madison Park, another park on 29th and 2nd Ave, and a third on 26th and 2nd Ave.  This third park is where there are zero children and instead filled with adults from the nearby methadone clinic. It’s too bad because it’s a huge park but uncomfortable to be in with a kid.

4. We cloth diaper but have no laundry machines in our building.  I take everything over to the laundry mat a couple of blocks a way.  It’s kind of a pain but mostly because of the steps that lead into our walk-up building and because for some reason I choose to do diaper and baby laundry at the same time.  This is dumb and I should really just do more trips to the mat a week with less of a load.  I bring Parker with me in the Moby wrap and she sleeps the entire time.  Phil has also been able to help which has made doing laundry easy.  For adult clothes we do drop-off service.

5. I really hate smokers now and how imposing their noxious fumes are.  I also hate that I’ve only realized this as a mother and not when I was a casual smoker in the past.  There are so many smokers in the city and I wish baby poop was as toxic to them as their smoke is to Parker.  The problem is that we’re forced to breathe the same polluted air when walking through the streets.  It really sucks.

6. I’ve gotten really good at typing with one hand.

7.  Babies are really tiny! Taking photos that show how tiny they are is really hard!

Didn’t think I’d write so much but I missed being able to type with both hands really fast while the baby slept for a bit.

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Feb 02

Our first day out

10 days after giving birth, I was able to venture out in the neighborhood.  The weather was great –  57 degrees and it’s only February 1st!  I broke out the Moby and Parker and I hung out at Clinton Park on the swings for a little bit, then went to the supermarket to pick up a few groceries.  Hanging out in the park was fun, except I think it’s good to get to the park before 3 pm when school lets out – as there were some teenage girls hanging out at the swings as well.  I know I sound like a priss and I’m pretty sure I hung out at the swings when I was a teen too but now that I’m a mom I realize how nice it would be to have the kiddie playground exclusively for the kiddies.  Speaking of which, it took me a while to find the entrance into the kiddie park – I’ve always steered clear of it to avoid looking like a stalking pedophile and instead would creep/stalk the periphery of the dog park.

It’s strange learning this new social system of mommy hood.  Do I have to say hello to other mommies as if our babies are Volkwagons?  Or do I just give the nod of approval to only certain moms that have similar gear to what I have?  Ugh, I already hate making eye contact with people in general on the street – but it seems especially difficult to purposely avoid eye contact with other moms!  I did say hello to one mom walking in the park, but her child was toddler sized and if not for her child I’m pretty sure we’d have nothing in common!  *Sigh* am I mean?

At least Parker was snug and cozy the entire time we were out and she got a little sun too!

 

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Jan 28

Our beautiful little snowflake

Born on January 21st.  Mama and Papa are in love.

 

Update on the birth story to come, but short story is: water broke -> tried no meds -> tried epidural and pitocin -> had c-section -> gave birth to lovely healthy baby and mama is doing great and St.Lukes Roosevelt Hospital Labor and Delivery Floor is the best.  The cowlick on Parker’s head is from the knot that formed because she wouldn’t budge past the pelvis from her face-up position.   Grateful for my wonderful husband and awesome doula.  I feel so lucky!

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