The cab thing

Oh how I miss this

One of the beautiful things about NYC is the constant availability of pretty affordable taxi cabs to take you anywhere you want to go. The first few years I was here it was awesome just because no one ever has to be designated driver. Then I loved it because the husband and I could wander as far in the city as we wanted and if we were exhausted and lost and hungry we could hail a cab and hop in and be home in 25 minutes or less.

When Brady was tiny we could still pretty much jump in and out of cabs as we liked. His infant seat was easy to strap in and we had a neat little foldable stroller frame that it popped into.

But now cabs are no more. We have to lug around his behemoth 19lb convertable Britax carseat. It’s easy enough to install in the car, but what the heck do you do with it once you get where you’re going? You certainly can’t carry it. If we’re visiting friends it might be ok, but anything else is pretty much out of the question. On Saturday we’re going to dinner in SOHO with the in-laws for my husband’s birthday. We really wanted to go early and walk around first, but it just can’t happen.

Now, I know plenty of people who hail a cab, pop the stroller in the trunk, and get in the back with baby on their laps. I’ve seen it done with babies as little as 2 weeks. Cabs are exempt from carseat laws so it’s perfectly legal. I’m not judging anyone and believe me, I envy their freedom, but I just can’t in good conscience do it. My mother was The Seatbelt Enforcer when I was growing up. The first question she asked me upon coming home from a trip with someone else, even a relative, was “did you wear your seatbelt?” Not, “did you have a good time,” or “were there boys there?”, no she had to inquire about my car safety above all else. Once I started driving she would ask if everyone in my car had been buckled in.

So it just wouldn’t occur to me to cab it sans carseat. I guess we’ll just have to rely on subways, busses, and the kindness of the in-laws to get us around.

Dear UES Dog Owners

I hate to pick on dog owners, I really do. There are so many of you out there that I love. Plus Brady just adores dogs and if he’s angry to be in the stroller or in a bad mood, the sight of one will instantly cheer him up.

However, some of you are not doing your doodie-duty and you know what I mean. I understand that it is gross to put your hand inside a plastic bag and then pick up feces with it from the sidewalk. I know that it might feel embarrassing to have people watch you do this. But you still have to do it. It is not nice to let your dog take a giant dump in the middle of the sidewalk, where people walk, and then just leave it there. People cannot keep their eyes on the ground at all times, and once one person has walked in it, it becomes a mine-field that requires fancy footwork to get out of.

And I hate to tell you, but rain DOES NOT wash it away. And guess what? If there are leaves all over the place, like there are this beautiful autumn weekend, and these leaves might obscure your dog’s poop from general view this does not make it ok to let it lie there.

In fact, if you don’t pick it up from the leaves and I push my stroller through said leaves, again just enjoying a fall family type of day, the wheels of my stroller will then go straight through your dog’s crap and I will carry it home with me.

And then my husband and I will have to wait until the baby is asleep and use that precious time to scrape sh-t out of the stroller wheel with plastic knives. It is not fun and it is your fault.

Please be courteous of the people around you and PICK UP YOUR POO!!!!

This is so not cool.

As a disclaimer, I know that a lot of dog owners are very very good about this and I do not direct my rant at them, only at those who poop and leave.

A year gone by…

Birthday Boy!

I really wanted to write something on the big day…but it was a BIG day and I just didn’t get time. The party was wonderful, the boy had a blast and got some awesome gifts, my cakes came out great. It was just an beautiful day. I’m a little sad now that it’s all over. A whole year has passed and my baby is getting so big. I just wanted to reflect for a minute on what it was like when the big event went down.

One year ago I went to my 38-week checkup at my OB – where she told me that she thought I would go soon, but that I really hadn’t made any progress. Imagine my shock when, 3 hours later, my water broke with a huge gush at work. Especially since our birthing class instructor had told us “it’s not as if your water’s going to break with a big gush while you’re at work and you’ll have to go running off to the hospital.” No, I am not kidding.

Honestly, labor seems like a blur of pain and sleep when I look back on it. I remember pushing and I remember very clearly when he was finally born. I checked to be sure he was a boy (what would we have done with all of those blue clothes?) and they put him on chest. He wasn’t as gooey as I expected and he was quite squished up. We thought his poor little nose would never recover! But it did and now he’s the cutest boy who ever lived (if you ask me). After they cleaned him up and did his APGARs they gave him back to me and he nursed like a champ from the first moment – something he is still doing to this day.

Bringing him home from the hospital was absolutely surreal. We had no idea what to do with him or what life would be like. As it turned out, life was hard for awhile. But it’s gotten easier and more fun. Today I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I honestly cannot believe that I’ve been lucky enough to get this beautiful, fun, smart, and amazing little boy as my own.

My squishy-faced newborn

We still get too little sleep and don’t get enough done. I still struggle over staying home instead of going to work. It’s exhausting to say the least. But I love, love, love my little family!

My mischeivous little boy.

It Toddles

I'm walking!!!

While Brady took his first independent steps a few weeks ago, he hadn’t really taken to walking until a few days ago. Until then, he still felt that crawling was really the only way to get anyplace. Then on Sunday he just suddenly decided that walking was a viable means of going place to place. We have yet to capture this on camera so the pictures here are from Halloween night. (More liony goodness!)

Brady walking is one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen. We call him FrankenBrady because he sticks his arms out in front of him and swings his legs without bending his knees. It’s truly awesome!

Oops!

I suppose this means that my baby is not really a baby anymore – but a toddler. The term “toddler” awakens all kinds of fears in me. It gives me visions of temper tantrums in the middle of clothing stores and pizza being thrown on the floor of restaurants. But so far, in reality, it’s been pretty cool. I now spend my days with a person who can actually (sort of) communicate with me. That’s better than anything I can imagine right now.

And to think, a year ago today I was waddling around with about as much balance as my son has now. (Actually I never really waddled, but I was clumsy!) A year ago I was stressing over having everything ready for baby, finding him a name, what labor would be like, would I get all my work done before leave, would I go past my due date. Today everything in my life is different – some great, and some not-so-great. But I can honestly say that I wouldn’t want to imagine my life without this little man!

BFFs

Hi, I'm Brady. I'm almost one year old and I still like the boob.

No, not like Paris Hilton’s show or signatures in your high school yearbook – I’m talking about BreastFeeding Friends. I have finally become friendly with a few moms who are still bfing their one-year-olds and even a little older. It seems it would be so rare to find these people and yet I had more trouble meeting others who nursed when Brady was 3 months than I do now. Maybe it’s because moms who are still nursing at a year are desperate to commune with others in the same boat. Perhaps, like me, they think they are oddballs and need reassurance that what they are doing is normal. Maybe it’s just nice to swap stories about screaming kiddies in the middle of the night who will accept nothing but the boob or discuss what in the heck we’re supposed to do to get them to eventually wean. Whatever it is, I am SO happy I found them. It really makes me feel better.

And by the way, yes you read that right, I am breastfeeding my almost ONE-YEAR-OLD! My little baby is turning one year old on Saturday! I cannot believe a whole year has gone by. Expect frequent, nostalgic, retrospective, and introspective posts this week…