On Monday, I posted about Mazzy loving the outdoors at our summer rental and a few people made comments like, "I don't understand how you can bring up a child without a yard" in reference to my decision to raise my kids in the grass-less streets of New York City.
I wonder about that all the time, too.
THEN. I wrote yesterday's post about my morning routine and people were amazed by the fact that my husband and I leave for work at 9am. Something I never really gave much thought, but obviously this is a schedule made possible by raising kids in those same grass-less streets of NYC.
Every lifestyle has its advantages and disadvantages. I sacrifice a yard, I gain at least two hours a day with my kids. My commute is just 15 minutes door-to-door from my apartment to my office. Mike and I are able to do the entire morning routine together. I can also leave work at 5pm and get home by 5:15pm.
That being said, this time in the country has been an absolute dream and I feel a little sad knowing Mazzy will have to say goodbye to it this Monday.
SLEEP TRAINING UPDATE
Sleep training was thrown a little off by our vacation but it is still a huge success. On the second night here, Harlow actually put her head down on the side of her highchair during dinner, I think telling us she was tired and needed to go to bed. She then went down without a peep whatsoever at 6:15pm.
Since then, Harlow cries for maybe two seconds when we put her down for bed. By the time I exit the room, she has stopped.
Mazzy's bedtime has been less consistent and within the first half hour will often disrupt Harlow's sleep. My tornado of a child struggles to settle down. We've been putting Harlow to bed at 6:30 and Mazzy to bed about 15 minutes later. I am going to try to get them back on the same schedule when we get home.
Naptimes have also been a little rocky, although we have been very good at sticking to our schedule while away. Harlow goes down when she should but only sleeps for a half hour each nap. I'm hoping that this improves when we get home.
I'll do a full report after a week at home along with a giveaway of Erin's services. She has been invaluable throughout this whole process.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK:
Someone on facebook asked why I never post videos of the girls anymore. I do. On Instagram. Witness the cutest sneeze since the Baby Panda…
SAD STORY OF THE WEEK:
In response to my post about Mazzy killing my iPhone…
Did anybody try "ELMO"?
WINNER OF THE WEEK:
Congratulations to Mary Beth for winning this week's caption contest! Apparently, she was inspired by her numerous food allergies and digestive issues.
Mary Beth wins the title of "Caption Contest Queen" along with her very own AppCrayon— the iPad tool that taught Mazzy how to hold a crayon correctly. Please contact me at ilana@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize.
MIND-BLOWING PIN OF THE WEEK:
Follow my "Acts of Brilliance" board on Pinterest
PARENTAL TWEET OF THE WEEK:
Follow @Carrie_Rachel on Twitter
ONESIE(S) OF THE WEEK:
Follow my board "LOL Parenthood" on Pinterest
PRESS OF THE WEEK:
Believe it or not, people are still talking about Baby Mugging. I was given a shout-out in September's issue of Reader's Digest!
Now I have to go because Mazzy is hysterical. Apparently, Mike left the house to put stuff in the garbage without her. DEVASTATING.
Also? This would never happen IN THE CITY.
Have a fabulously long weekend and see you all Tuesday!
— Mommy Shorts
I am in the same boat with you nap wise. For about a month my baby will fall asleep easily and quickly for bedtime all by her self. For naptine there is a ton of drama and she struggles to fall asleep for as long or longer than she actually sleeps. I don’tknow if she just isn’t ready to sleep longer than 30 minutes at 6 months or what. We are doing nap time boot camp with the long weekend this weekend!
Congrats on sleeping babies!
As someone who has always had a yard, I cannot imagine city life. It is completely foreign. We’re lucky in that we can have both here, because we live close enough to where my husband works since they are not located downtown. Still the 15 minute commute, plenty of yard, a place to ride bikes, and a huge park still in walking distance.
That being said, the ability to walk to restaurants would be awesome.
The dustpan in the sink??? BRILLIANT.
Kids are adorable per usual.
And great shout out from the Digest, giving you the credit and spelling your name correctly. Compared to other (ahem) publications.
I was born and raised in the city (and still live here!) While there are definite negatives that are quite obvious, the positives far outweigh them. Riverside Park was my backyard. And being a teenager in NYC is beyond awesome. No need to be driven anywhere and the world is your oyster! I guess the only thing that will one day drive us out will be lack of space! I’m already feeling claustrophobic with a baby in a 2 bedroom!
I am lucky in that I work 7am-4pm, but I leave the house at 6:50am for my five minute commute and I get home at 4:05pm. I also get to come home for lunch and see my little guy and my SO since he works at night and stays home with the baby, then leaves for work when I get home. It’s not ideal in the little time we actually spend together, but it’s awesome for our son. He gets to spend all day with his daddy and all evening with his mommy…and I get home early enough to actually enjoy it.
Rule of thumb: Children are happy where their parents are happy.
Amen!
Want more grassy weekends? Visit grammy’s house.
Your kids will cherish your family visits to grassy areas that much more. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to raise your kids without a yard. Just make up for it in square footage.
Also, it will make them a lot less lazy. People that live where it’s required to drive even across the street (ahem. me) are more likely to be obese and nobody likes obese children. So bam. There’s your next argument.
Moms criticize for living with no yard; moms criticize for “unrealistic” to have only a 15 minute commute = moms being typical moms, in that they are judgy when it comes to decisions different than the ones THEY have made, because rather than embrace parenting differences they feel a need to ensure the world knows their choice was the Only Correct One for All Families Always.
Completely missing the fact that like the commentor above said – happy parents make happy kids. Period. You are happy in the city? Great! You are happy in the country? Great! Both have pros, both have cons. How nice that we live in a relatively well-educated, progressive country that allows most of us the option to choose whichever floats our boat. And either option – country parenting or city parenting done by happy parents – are better than the kids with no parents, or parents who don’t care, or parents who are abusive. Not to drag out #firstworldproblems but … c’mon. Let’s keep some perspective people!!
By me: a country bumpkin who followed her future husband to the big city, then relocated to a suburb (*gasp*) and who when she pictures which environment she would ideally want to raise her kids, can’t picture a location – only visualizes her husband and kids being there, no matter where “there” is …
(*note this is not directed at Ilana, who is sharing her parenting joy and struggles in both settings, but at the people who felt a need to critique where she chooses to raise her kids)
My husband and I both grew up in the country and our daughter was born in the country, which was great, but when we were given the opportunity to move to France for a few years we decided to try city living with our three year old. And guess what? We LOVE it! There are wonderful parks everywhere and our daughter gets to walk everywhere we go and not to mention all the extra time we spend with her because everything is so close that we don’t have to waste a whole day running errands or picking things up from the store. There are pros and cons to both and I am glad I’ve gotten to experience both! What works for one might not work for another so don’t judge!
Thanks for the shout out! Loved being a part of this blog and we will get the naps down now!
Yards are over rated… think of the time spent having to maintain it! We have a yard now that we are back in North America, but while living in Switzerland we did not…. and we did not miss having one! We lived in a city center and the park that was 2km away was our yard! LOVED IT!!! Come to think of it, I think we got out more then (no yard) than we do now (huge yard)!
Love your brief pro/con semi-explanation about there actually being positive trade-offs to living in an urban area. Having grown up in suburbia (which I loved) and now living in Hoboken/ working in Manhattan, I find it hard to translate to my friends from home the amazing work/life balance we enjoy here, not to mention the benefits of having NYC “in our back yard” and several major cities within driving distance for trips on long weekends. They seem to always fall back to “what about a yard and garage” bit, which I admittedly momentarily miss. But seriously, we love our life here! It is different, yes, but wonderfully so! Thanks for sharing that.
I always wished that I had lived in the city for at least a year before getting married and having kids. I read through your morning routine and looked at those pictures and wondered why I always limit myself to wanting to have lived there before kids. It looks lovely and I love the fact that your proximity to everything leaves you a bit more unharried. I can’t complain…I have a three minute commute, but I love the city and love city living and really enjoyed that post.
You said it so well. Why people feel the need to make others feel bad for choosing something different from them when they are not in the middle of that family setting is beyond me. Insecurity I guess. When at the end of the day we are all just trying to build a happy family in the way that works best for us…
I love living Upstate. But that is my decision and I do understand the lure of the city. It is just not for me. It is obvious you love it there and that is wonderful. I thought your morning pictures were beautiful and took them for what they were. I really wish moms could be less judgmental of the choices other moms make for their families.
I grew up sans yard in an apartment and I believe I’m fairly well-adjusted! Screw those who doubt parenting in any situation different from their own!
I love your blog and all your insights!