Saturday, October 30, 2004
The Nanny Game
Choosing a childcare provider has got to be one of the most difficult decisions a parent can make. Although we would prefer to stay home and be full time parents, economic necessity forces us to work. With my WW's imenent return to work on Nov 2nd, the race was on to find a Nanny. Admittedly we probably should have been investigating from day 1, but this was primarily my WW's responsability and she is more of a last minute kind of girl. So after reading "The Nanny Diaries," reading nanny books, researching the internet and pimping everyone we knew with questions, we were ready to begin the interview process. Or we thought that we were ready.
The hands down best way to find a Nanny is word of mouth and this must be a primary source. Beg for prime nanny references, you wont be disappointed. If you have no concept of guilt, borrow or steal someone's excellent nanny and you will be happy parents. Friends of friends or sisters or cousins of an excellent nanny don't cut it unless they are Mary Poppins.
Being that we were not having much luck with the word of mouth, we decided to start with an agency search. We started with a popular, less expensive, Long Island agency and ended up interviewing mostly ill qualified, cookie cutter, unimpressive people. Of the people that we liked, one 23 year old "hurt her back" and was never heard from again despite multiple attempts to accomodate her. Another came away from our interviews with an opinion of the job that had us asking ourselves if we were in the same room.
Because of this experience, we decided to go with a tres chic Manhattan nanny agency that was featured in the Wall Street Journal and owned by the mother of one of our childhood friends. Although the quality of the candidates was better, none were flexible enough to meet our needs. Maybe when we move to Park Ave or Central Park West and have a gizillion dollar apartment with a maid and a butler will we be able to accomodate this breed of nanny.
In the end, we hired someone based on word of mouth. Is she Mary Poppins? No. Does she have a good grasp of the English Language? Not quite. Does she seem to adore Kayla? Yes. Is she willing to work with our flexible schedules? Yes.
I am extremely thankfull that we have two sets of amazing grandparents that live close by and who are willing to care for Kayla part time. I am also extremely thankfull that my WW only works 4 days a week. Finally, we are lucky that I make my call schedule.
All of these things put together make me think that this situation just might work. Stay tuned for more updates.
The hands down best way to find a Nanny is word of mouth and this must be a primary source. Beg for prime nanny references, you wont be disappointed. If you have no concept of guilt, borrow or steal someone's excellent nanny and you will be happy parents. Friends of friends or sisters or cousins of an excellent nanny don't cut it unless they are Mary Poppins.
Being that we were not having much luck with the word of mouth, we decided to start with an agency search. We started with a popular, less expensive, Long Island agency and ended up interviewing mostly ill qualified, cookie cutter, unimpressive people. Of the people that we liked, one 23 year old "hurt her back" and was never heard from again despite multiple attempts to accomodate her. Another came away from our interviews with an opinion of the job that had us asking ourselves if we were in the same room.
Because of this experience, we decided to go with a tres chic Manhattan nanny agency that was featured in the Wall Street Journal and owned by the mother of one of our childhood friends. Although the quality of the candidates was better, none were flexible enough to meet our needs. Maybe when we move to Park Ave or Central Park West and have a gizillion dollar apartment with a maid and a butler will we be able to accomodate this breed of nanny.
In the end, we hired someone based on word of mouth. Is she Mary Poppins? No. Does she have a good grasp of the English Language? Not quite. Does she seem to adore Kayla? Yes. Is she willing to work with our flexible schedules? Yes.
I am extremely thankfull that we have two sets of amazing grandparents that live close by and who are willing to care for Kayla part time. I am also extremely thankfull that my WW only works 4 days a week. Finally, we are lucky that I make my call schedule.
All of these things put together make me think that this situation just might work. Stay tuned for more updates.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Beanie takes Aruba, Part II: The Beach
Let me start off by stating, once again, that I have the best wife and daughter.
I would not have had as good a vacation as I did if it wasn't for them and my WW and I wouldn't have had a good vacation if it wasn't for Kayla.
Kayla was incredible and fell into a routine almost immediately. She spent most of the day lounging under our beachfront thatched canopy or sleeping in her bassinet. Kayla's Sunsie full sunsuit worked out great. Provided full coverage with high SPF and was huge on her, of course. She only needed a little facial sunscreen touch up. The Mustela baby sunscreen with Zinc Oxide worked great and was endorsed by our Pediatrician. Since Kayla loves her bath, we tried both the pool and the ocean. I don't think she was quite ready for the ocean and didn't seem to like it one bit. Besides a 6 inch swell would swamp her. The pool, however, was a different story. The kiddie side was about 4 inches deep and warm which was perfect for her.
By late afternoon, Kayla usually headed back to the room for a bath and a nap. She then dressed for dinner and usually slept through most of it. After a walk on the beach, she usually ended up snoozing for most of the night.
All in all, it was a great vacation. The fact that my WW let me Kiteboard almost every day probably contributed to my opinion. I'm sure it could have been much worse, but I'm not sure that it could have been much better.
Thanks to Kayla and my WW. You both are amazing.
I would not have had as good a vacation as I did if it wasn't for them and my WW and I wouldn't have had a good vacation if it wasn't for Kayla.
Kayla was incredible and fell into a routine almost immediately. She spent most of the day lounging under our beachfront thatched canopy or sleeping in her bassinet. Kayla's Sunsie full sunsuit worked out great. Provided full coverage with high SPF and was huge on her, of course. She only needed a little facial sunscreen touch up. The Mustela baby sunscreen with Zinc Oxide worked great and was endorsed by our Pediatrician. Since Kayla loves her bath, we tried both the pool and the ocean. I don't think she was quite ready for the ocean and didn't seem to like it one bit. Besides a 6 inch swell would swamp her. The pool, however, was a different story. The kiddie side was about 4 inches deep and warm which was perfect for her.
By late afternoon, Kayla usually headed back to the room for a bath and a nap. She then dressed for dinner and usually slept through most of it. After a walk on the beach, she usually ended up snoozing for most of the night.
All in all, it was a great vacation. The fact that my WW let me Kiteboard almost every day probably contributed to my opinion. I'm sure it could have been much worse, but I'm not sure that it could have been much better.
Thanks to Kayla and my WW. You both are amazing.
Beanie takes Aruba
Most people said we were crazy and maybe we were. Others envied our intrepidness and maybe they should. Still others expressed their shock and disbelief and probably should have kept it to themselves. In the end, my WW felt that she needed a little time away from errands and domestic obligations before going to work and wanted spend the time with me and Kayla.
After consulting with our amazing travel agent, interrogating our friends and family, scouring the internet and looking at weather forecasts, we finally decided on Aruba. The combination of direct flights, beachfront amenities, consistent weather and low probability of hurricanes made it the right place at the right time. Another added benefit was the consistent wind and solid kiteboarding instruction.
If I haven't said it before, I'll say it again, Kayla is amazing. I was terrified of the flight. I've spent 20 years being the guy who says "Oh sh*t, they put me next to the baby" and now I'm the guy with the baby. I had visions of Stewie from "The Family Guy" making the guy in the seat in front of him "his bitch" on a plane trip to California. Needless to say, she was great. She mostly played and napped both going and returning and only really cried when she was supposed to. The people around us were horrified initially at the sight of a 9 week old girl, but later complemented us on our well behaved child and our expert parenting skills.
Note that although we thought about it, no drugs or alcohol were consumed by either Kayla or her parents on either flight.
I could give lots of tips on traveling with an infant. Supposedly it only gets harder.
After consulting with our amazing travel agent, interrogating our friends and family, scouring the internet and looking at weather forecasts, we finally decided on Aruba. The combination of direct flights, beachfront amenities, consistent weather and low probability of hurricanes made it the right place at the right time. Another added benefit was the consistent wind and solid kiteboarding instruction.
If I haven't said it before, I'll say it again, Kayla is amazing. I was terrified of the flight. I've spent 20 years being the guy who says "Oh sh*t, they put me next to the baby" and now I'm the guy with the baby. I had visions of Stewie from "The Family Guy" making the guy in the seat in front of him "his bitch" on a plane trip to California. Needless to say, she was great. She mostly played and napped both going and returning and only really cried when she was supposed to. The people around us were horrified initially at the sight of a 9 week old girl, but later complemented us on our well behaved child and our expert parenting skills.
Note that although we thought about it, no drugs or alcohol were consumed by either Kayla or her parents on either flight.
I could give lots of tips on traveling with an infant. Supposedly it only gets harder.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Kayla's New Name
Traditionally, the birth of a Jewish boy is a big deal. Not only is it significant that the family name is carried on, there is also "the bris" to contend with. Not to be out done, modern Jews have come up with an "equivalent" ceremony for girls, the "Simchat Bat". This past weekend, Kayla officially got her name, made her covenant with G-d and provided her parents with an excuse to show her off.
Kayla (aka Kalila)= crown or laurel wreath.
Mairit= bright, light or lightning. Marit was chosen to represnet my grandmother Mildred, now deceased.
(Beanie or Bean= Kayla because when she was a newborn, she looked like a little bean when swaddled).
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony. More remarkably, Kayla was AMAZING!! There was a transition in her maturity between Sat and Sun. On Sat, when the official ceremony took place in Shul, Kayla was her normal fussy self. On Sunday, completely the polar opposite. Calm, composed, interactive and at ease when passed from person to person. She even slept for most of Sunday night.
I hope it lasts.
Kayla (aka Kalila)= crown or laurel wreath.
Mairit= bright, light or lightning. Marit was chosen to represnet my grandmother Mildred, now deceased.
(Beanie or Bean= Kayla because when she was a newborn, she looked like a little bean when swaddled).
It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony. More remarkably, Kayla was AMAZING!! There was a transition in her maturity between Sat and Sun. On Sat, when the official ceremony took place in Shul, Kayla was her normal fussy self. On Sunday, completely the polar opposite. Calm, composed, interactive and at ease when passed from person to person. She even slept for most of Sunday night.
I hope it lasts.
Monday, October 04, 2004
Beanie's first round of shots
The pictures are worth a thousand words. My WW felt that she couldn't endure them without me and after witnessing the spectacle, I can understand why.
