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Aerin’s Eczema Treatments

Our younger daughter may be a happier and easier baby than Claire, but as with many things in life her merry temperament seems to have come with a tradeoff: her sensitive, eczema-prone skin. No one else in J or my immediate families suffer from eczema so this is brand-new territory for us. (Our pediatrician told us that if neither parent has eczema, there is still a 20% chance of the child having it. If one parent has it? 60%. And if both parents have eczema? 80%.) And while Aerin's eczema has improved significantly since I quit breastfeeding — before, she had pus oozing from sores all over her face and body — she still suffers from extremely dry, itchy skin with the occasional...

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The Serious One vs The Happy One

At about this time last year, I would often wonder if I were doing something wrong with Claire. Yes, every new mother has her moments of doubt regarding childcare, but the type of worry that went through my mind was of a different sort — I was concerned because Claire was such a serious, intense baby. "I don't think I've ever seen a baby frown that much!" was a phrase I heard often. Claire at four months old Now that we have Aerin, whose personality has really started to surface in the past month or so, I know that I was foolish to have worried with Claire — it was just her personality! She is a pensive, serious type who only truly shines in...

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Hibachi FAIL

Yesterday, J suggested that we take both girls and — with the help of his parents — go have lunch at a Hibachi Steakhouse. Before I go on, I should state that I do not particularly like taking my kids to "adult" places. If the locale is specifically marketed as a family-friendly establishment? Sure, let's go for it! But otherwise, I am a firm believer that most patrons of restaurants, theaters, and such pay the markup for the experience, and have the right to get annoyed when children are ill-behaved, or when babies won't stop crying. (And although I am a mother myself, I personally would pay more for a child-free cabin if I were flying without my kids.) But this time around,...

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T-Minus Two Weeks

One of my ex-boyfriends is just 15 months younger than his older sister. When we started dating, he told me how, shortly after he was born, his parents sent his sister to go live with the grandparents for a year because taking care of two very young kids — one of whom was extremely colicky — was just too difficult for his mother. I remember reacting to this story with judgement. "HOW can anyone send their own child away? That's just absurd!" Now, being a mother to two children just 13 months apart, I can understand why they did this. Not that I want to send Claire or Aerin away, but I can understand. In just a couple of weeks, J's parents will...

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