I knew a move would ultimately be inevitable, but we may actually break our lease early in an effort to pre-empt Gypsy's crawling and walking firsts, because our current apartment just isn't conducive to either.
Our current apartment, (which we've now been in for 3 1/2 years), has treated us well. It has a yard. A YARD! That is almost unheard of in New York City. In fact, that's predominantly why we took this apartment pretty much sight-unseen save for a few pics when we moved cross country from California. It also has a sizable kitchen for a New York apartment - and is located in Park Slope, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Brooklyn - rife with more puppies and babies than anyone really knows what to do with.
We have adored living here, but the cons are starting to outweigh the pros.
Notably:
- No room for Gypsy to walk or crawl.
- The only "room" available for Gypsy is a basement level space with no windows. (It's currently used to house tons of her things, including her Pack n' Play), but she rarely spends any time down there at all.
- Her crib is in our living room. (Adjacent to our bedroom which is separated by a couple of French doors that I'll be blacking out the windows of today as we progress with Night 2 of sleep training). Please reserve commentary naysayers. Thanks.
- Our living room is more or less, Gypsy's room. (See pics).
- Our living room isn't exactly baby safe. (See pics).
- We just purchased a new TV and ordered another cable box for our bedroom because we need the living room to serve as her bedroom for naps and of course, bedtime.
- We have shitty new upstairs neighbors. Pretty sure they're in their 20s and single. Might be trust funders because they don't seem to work... like ever. I'll let you do the math there.
- Our rent is obscene. OBSCENE. That is all you need to know.
- We're not a big fan of the uber-judge-y Park Slope parenting crowd. I was at a nearby bar recently and a woman overheard me discussing vaccines with another patron, (who happened to be wearing her baby) and offered unsolicited advice on the toxins in those vaccines and how to eliminate them homeopathically. (Don't get me wrong - it was well-intentioned and clearly she was trying to help), but the intense opinions and the my-way-is-best attitude here is enough to make any newbie mother feel like an inadequate disaster). I get the impression that a neighborhood we're currently eyeing wouldn't produce as many of these encounters.
- The neighborhood we're currently eyeing is cheaper - a LOT cheaper and apartments are more spacious - MUCH more spacious. Saving money and not feeling claustrophobic in our living room seem like very good things.
So that's where I'm at. Looks like we'll be moving sooner rather than later. Just need to get through my first trip away from my adorable little girl in March/April and then we get serious.
Hey - but look at Gypsy sleeping in her crib!!!
Unreal.
Leigh Hope Fountain
(Photo from AmericanPregnancy.org - Had to use it. The look on the kid's face is priceless).
I am pretty sure that a handful of people advised me to check out pediatricians before Gypsy is born. I heard them - I just didn't really listen. I figured that our options are probably somewhat limited anyway, seeing as how we don't have a car, shouldn't really take a newborn on a subway - and will probably need to see a pediatrician in the local vicinity that we are within walking distance of.
That said, I knew I had to find someone - but didn't really start exploring this until a few weeks ago. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?
Little did I know, you are technically supposed to have a pediatrician assigned to your child even prior to that child being born. Why? Because the hospital won't discharge you without one, your insurance provider needs to be informed accordingly and apparently, you have to see your pediatrician with your infant in tow a mere two days after being discharged from the hospital. (Still trying to wrap my head around how we're going to make that happen post-C-section, but whatevs).
Anyway, I got a referral for a pediatrician from an intelligent, trustworthy friend who just had a baby about 7 months ago herself. I ran with it. I figured that she's bound to know if this practice is any good or not - given that she used them for the first 1/2 year of her child's life prior to relocating to Michigan and because she, like me, is pretty damn down-to-earth.
Nevertheless, when I phoned the practice to inquire about new patients, they convinced me to attend a monthly Open House they offer for new parents. At first blush, I was like - OH NO. Here we go. Park Slope parent nonsense. Ugh. Then I thought about it more. I need to be a good mommy. I need to know whose hands I'm putting my brand new baby girl into - and if they're sane or not. Plus, I do have a few questions about a few things I'm not entirely sure I'm on board with. Okay, okay, I'll go.
I also conned John into accompanying me.
We got there at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. I had to be home for an 8 p.m. work call, so I was hoping it wouldn't be formatted in such a way that would prevent me from making a nearly undetectable escape. We showed up a few minutes early - and a relatively large seating area was already occupied by a handful of other couples. One of the first things I noticed was that a few of the other women, like me, were clearly already almost ready to pop. Whew I thought. I'm not the only one who waited until the absolute last minute to deal with this. Then I noticed a few who weren't even really showing or barely. Ha! I thought to myself. I'm glad I didn't subject us to this nonsense months and months before it was absolutely necessary.
Mind you, I was sort-of creating my own little justifications for stuff to a) eliminate guilt and b) cushion the blow if this wound up being the most pointless exercise ever and John demanded to know why on earth we had to waste our time in the first place. I could then retort by stating that at least we only had to experience it once - and better safe than sorry, right? John had asked me what they were going to do at this thing before we showed up - and the truth was - I had no fucking clue.
Anyway - much to my surprise - most of the couples there were very nice and had decent senses of humor - and we all exchanged niceties - due dates, complaints about being in the final stages of pregnancy, Kirk or Picard, etc. Then the last couple walked in - and the vibe of the room changed significantly. For lack of a better term - they were prissy. Because seating was now limited, every guy in the room offered their seat to her - despite the fact that a few were still available but she clearly wanted to sit right next to hubby and asked staff to bring out additional chairs, which they readily did. When she sat, I had to do everything in my power to stifle my laughter because this woman who looked every bit the Stepford Wife, was seated in just such a way that I got quite the upskirt view. It was hard NOT to notice.
Anyway, the pediatrician hosting the session started in - and I was pleasantly relieved. She was a cut-to-the-chase type, had a very prepared presentation of about 3 or 4 brief points she felt were of the utmost importance when choosing a pediatric practice for your child - and namely for first-time parents to consider - and breezed through the info within mere minutes. At the outset, I didn't know if we were going to be subjected to videos, powerpoint slides, condescending do's and don'ts and who knew what other types of fresh hell I had braced myself for just in case?
Again - relieved. It was actually quite informative.
Then the Q&A started.
Prissy had countless questions - many of which pertained to vaccines, which the pediatrician had specifically stated she wouldn't be addressing at the outset in group format due to the political and sensitive nature of the subject, but Prissy pushed her - and wound up getting her to present what I felt was a very level-headed and down-to-earth perspective. They recommend them and work with parents on a schedule they're comfortable with. Cool. I was more concerned about what to do with your child before they're vaccinated however - and that was my one pressing question.
Do we really need to be shut-ins until our little girl has been fully vaccinated?
And the answer was, "No" - which was what I was hoping for. In fact, they discourage it and think it's pointless. The doctor said something along the lines of, "Unless you're Beyoncé or Jay-Z, you're going grocery shopping and bringing all of that stuff back with you anyhow."
As anyone reading this blog already knows, I am a big believer in exposure to germs. I think it's a GOOD thing and this idea of over-sanitizing everything really irks me. I am convinced it's doing more harm than good. I want our baby girl to build up immunity to things. I'm not going to take her on a crowded subway or to Times Square just yet - but can we take her out and about to local family friendly restaurants and what-not?
Yes, yes we can.
And speaking of overly-sanitized, these docs don't over-prescribe antibiotics either.
Yay. Turns out my friend was right. These guys are perfect. Done and done, however last minute we were.
Oh - and in case anyone is wondering, we will have a baby girl in ONE MORE WEEK!!!
Leigh Hope Fountain
I knew a move would ultimately be inevitable, but we may actually break our lease early in an effort to pre-empt Gypsy's crawling and walking firsts, because our current apartment just isn't conducive to either. 
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