NEW YORK, USA: Guys and Dolls

Our son is turning three next week.  He wants a baby doll for his birthday so of course, that is what he’s getting.

I mentioned this to a friend last week and she asked what my husband thinks about it.  Surprisingly, I did not even consider that he might have an opinion on the subject.  In my view, our son has asked for an age-appropriate toy for his birthday so I was just going to hop online and order one that looked cute.

Turns out, I was right, and Andy just shrugged and asked if I needed him to pick it up at the toy store near his office.  But, my friend’s question got me thinking about boys and dolls.

Chase is a typical three-year old boy, he loves just about anything with wheels.  Right now, Thomas the Tank Engine toys maintain their ubiquitous presence in our lives but he also enjoys playing with generic race cars, taxis, buses, front end loaders, cement trucks . . .you get the idea.

But, in addition to all of the “right” kinds of interests, lately Chase is also extremely into everything involving babies.  (more…)

Allison Charleston (USA)

Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2! In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way! Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.

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NYC: Too Close for Comfort

As any Manhattan dweller will tell you, living in the Big Apple can’t be beat.  Culture, parks, restaurants, and all sorts of excitement are all right in our backyard. (Well, we don’t actually have backyards, but I digress).  The one big drawback?  The size of the living space!

After all, because 1.6 million of us have decided to inhabit this 22 square mile island, something’s gotta give!   I know, this is not the only place in the world where people cram themselves into a metropolitan area, but for me, the space issue can, at times, be a real issue!

We live in what is known in NY as a “junior four” apartment—basically, it’s a large one bedroom with a dining alcove that can be converted into a second *small* bedroom.  Before Chase was born it was a perfect set up. When we bought the apartment we had a different lifestyle–we actually had space for dinner parties and the occasional houseguest!  Now there is a train table where the bar cabinet once sat, so as we all know, things change!

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Allison Charleston (USA)

Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2! In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way! Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.

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The Quest for a Second Child

Was it Tom Petty who said it?  Waiting is the hardest part.   I am quite good at waiting.  Waiting to get pregnant, that is.

The first time around it was over 2 years.  All of the failed attempts were so difficult; living life in two-week increments became the norm—first, waiting to ovulate and then waiting and hoping to see that elusive second line on the home pregnancy test.  I lived this way for nearly a year with no luck, and then pursued fertility treatments with a reproductive endocrinologist (RE) for a little more than the next year.

My husband and I learned all about the alphabet soup of making a baby: IUI, IVF (with or without ICSI) and PGD were all things we had to consider.  I have no problem speaking in acronyms with my RE or ObGyn anymore (see what I did there!?).  It seemed the whole world was getting pregnant, I couldn’t walk to the subway station in the morning without seeing at least 8-10 baby bumps (yes, I counted). (more…)

Allison Charleston (USA)

Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2! In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way! Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.

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NYC Preschool Madness

At times, life for a family in Manhattan feels like it moves at a faster pace than the rest of the universe.  We enroll our kids in music classes at four months, movement and art classes at six months and vie to get accepted into  play groups and toddler classes that are deemed to be “feeders” to the best nursery schools in the neighborhood — the so-called “Baby Ivies”.

In Manhattan, preschool madness begins at 7am on the Tuesday after Labor Day every year.  Anxious parents flood the phone lines of these bastions of the ABC’s and some schools run out of applications by lunchtime.

To get admitted to a nursery program, you need to apply the September before you’d like to attend, and the admissions process takes nearly a full calendar year.  So, if it’s a 2’s program you want, you need to start the application process right after your baby blows out that first birthday candle! (more…)

Allison Charleston (USA)

Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2! In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way! Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.

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Here we go . . .

So, I’m really doing this . . . writing a blog post, I mean.  I’ve written thousands of things in my lifetime: grade school compositions, high school term papers, a college thesis, law review notes, legal briefs, and closing arguments to name a few.  More recently, however, my writing has been confined to grocery shopping lists and status updates.

When I was invited to take part in World Mom’s Blog, I was intrigued and also a little intimidated.  It has been almost two years since I’ve written much more than a text message arranging a play date or a meet-up with another stay at home mom for a cup of coffee and a trip to the swings.

I love reading all different types of blogs.  I’ve been a long time regular reader of blogs written by lawyers, parents, political pundits, women struggling with infertility, fashionistas and military wives.  I have often wondered what motivates someone to add their voice to the cacophony out there in cyberspace.  For me, I finally decided to contribute to the blog because, like so many of us stay at home mommies, I found I needed an outlet to express myself.

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Allison Charleston (USA)

Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2! In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way! Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.

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