Sunday, January 29, 2012

What's in a name?

Sometimes I am surprised my kid knows her own name. We call her by so many nicknames its astonishing she responds. Of course we do the standard shortening of her name - Whit or Whit whit if I am being cute. But also Squish, Smooch, Mugwhup, Baby doll, Hun, Sweets, Babe, Cutie, Sweetheart, and Munch (short for Munchkin - cause obviously Munchkin is too long) - just to name a few. I suppose since she is the only little person in the house - she figures no matter what we call her we must be talking to her. What are some of your favorite nicknames?

Friday, January 20, 2012

Play Date Fail

First, an update. It turns out the missing ingredient in Whitney's diet was ... sugar. I know, right? We also cut out freeze dried fruits and most of the rice cracker/puff stuff - but not all. And I am not convinced the rice stuff contributed to her problem. Juice though, seems to be the ticket. As soon as we added a little bit of juice and the occasional karo syrup in her milk then viola! Whitney was all systems go again. So nice to have a happy kid - now we just need to deal with the teething and the tantrums and and and.... :)

Ok, play dates. Well, hold on, let me back up. Very very few of my friends have children. In fact, most of my friends are single and childless. My work colleagues - and fellow stage managers especially - seem to put off having children until much later in life. A lot of moms in my field don't become moms until late thirties, early forties. I personally didn't want to wait that long. The moms I do know are either far away or their children are not remotely close to Whitney's age. All of this makes me pretty isolated.

I want Whitney to have friends and interact with kids her own age. I also want to have a friend or two that I can hang out with - and since we haven't started daycare or anything like that yet - I joined a Mom group in my area. So far this has been pretty ok. I have met some really nice people and found out about local stuff I never would have known about otherwise. But, I can't say that I have made any friends. I was close a couple times, but each time now they have moved away. NYC can be tough on a young family.

I decided I needed to be more proactive and host events at my house. Since it is winter and we can't go to the playground - at least not for long. Well, today was the first such play date. I had 5 RSVPs - which was great! Especially since the announcement didn't go out until 2 days ago. One problem - no one showed up. A couple people didn't even bother to cancel. Whitney and I were left with the house all set up and no kids to play with. That - sucked. Not that Whitney cared, but me - well, I guess some memories from childhood are making this worse than it is.

I am not going to let this get me down though. The notice was a little short for this one and stuff comes up when you have a wee one. So, Whit and I are going to keep trying. After all, I need to get my money's worth out of the 6 x 6 play mat we have had sitting in the closet. Who knows, maybe next time will be better.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Is this irony?

I've been mentally composing posts for this blog for months, but never had time to write. Then, a week before Christmas, I got laid off. So now I have all the time in the world to write. Except, wait a sec.  This is supposed to be a blog about being a working Mom.  But I only have time to write if I'm unemployed.

Headdesk.

The job I lost was supposed to be my panacea - one that allowed me the flexibility to work from home, that didn't have insane hours, and that paid a hell of a lot more than my previous one.  Granted, I put up with a lot of shit to get those perks, but it was worth it. So now I'm job hunting, and interviewing for positions like my old one I had before - advertising agency with tight deadlines and long hours and a lousy commute. 

And even if I "only" work until 6 every night, I'll end up spending barely an hour with my kid before he goes to bed. We'll arrive home in time for me to plop him into his high chair for dinner, then immediately whisk him into the tub, followed by a few stories and bed. The morning will be just as hectic, if not worse.  And weekends will return to the way they were - time for the cleaning and chores and grocery shopping that couldn't get done during the week.  It sucks and I'm absolutely heartbroken that this is the way it will be.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Battles with digestion

My daughter has been fighting a losing battle with regularity. Frankly, at this point I am at my wits end. We have followed the advice of the doctors and friends and the internet. Still we seem trapped in a cycle of constipation. I feel so bad for her and I can't help feeling responsible for her problems. Our doctor tells us it is most definitely her diet - but she eats fruit and veggies and wholesome stuff. We have tried to stay away from tricky fruits like bananas and we took all freeze dried fruits out. We have even tried some of the wackier things from the internet - Karo syrup in her milk, snacks of fig newtons, pear purees, boiled prune water... still, the cycle continues. We try to eat food made from scratch (fig newtons being an exception). So, I am at a loss. My husband wants to go to a new doctor and get a second opinion. I just want her to feel better. Anybody got new advice?