SuperOva

A cheap but charming NYC lesbian mom muses about muses about consumerism and wanting the good life, without having to pay top dollar for it. (Oh, and with some random ramblings about her own extended family, parenting toddlers, the NYC school system, fashion, Lindsay Lohan, and other fun stuff.)

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Mommy Drinks

I threw up this weekend. For the first time since Clyde was born. So embarrassing. I almost never do that anymore! I had dinner with these work people on Friday night. This woman I work with, her son is the executive chef at a new fancy steakhouse, Primehouse. She invited me and several of our coworkers to the soft opening of the restaurant, as "friends and family," for a meal on the house.

It was wonderful. I started with a Hendricks martini and had a couple variations of white and red wine, a whole lazy Susan worth of the raw bar, steak tartare, and a bone-in ribeye steak that was fantastic. I was excited, and Clyde was with Ingrid and it was my first time out without Clyde or Ingrid since I gave birth. I had so much fun, flirting with all the wait staff and just really enjoying my coworkers, that I overdid it on the wine a bit. And the middle of the night came, and I was throwing up. Ooops.

Friday afternoon I took Clyde for her 4-month doctor visit and got some new vaccinations. As usual, Dr. Berg from Pediatric Associates says she is growing "gorgeously," and is in the 75th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for height. But every baby I know is in those percentiles, so we don't believe the charts as much. She measures 25 inches and weighs 13 lbs, 11 oz. She can start eating solids any time from now on! She's eating more breast milk than I can pump, which means we might have to start supplementing formula for her. I am trying not to, though.

Today, Sunday, we had a great day. Took Clyde to the Atlantic Antic, a big street fair on Atlantic Avenue, and down to DUMBO arts fair. She looked at her first art in private studios, and smelled street-cooked meats for the first time, and we rode a vintage carousel with her in DUMBO. She's getting so much fun!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

It's been ages since I've blogged, and to be honest, I'm kind of overwhelmed. I've been invited to join these social networking sites, MySpace, and LinkedIn, and I have joined, even though I feel like I am 100 years old and can't see the use of these sites. Like, isn't sending someone an email enough? Can someone tell me, where can I post video from my digital camera so that people can see videos of Baby Clyde?

Clyde is almost four months and is an amazing, beautiful, alert baby. More and more changes every day. But this entry isn't about that.

This is a rant. To have Ingrid become Clyde's legal mother, we have to do a second-parent adoption proceeding. We have to apply to have Ingrid adopt Clyde, and to do so, we had to have a social worker visit our house and inspect our relationship with Clyde, and we have to put together all these documents---our address history for the last 20 years, our domestic partnership paperwork, our financial documents, our health records, a doctor's note saying we are both healthy, reference letters from nonfamily members, etc. etc. etc. And fingerprints.

We have to be fingerprinted to ensure we don't have a criminal record. Fingerprints are taken at the local police station. You have to make an appointment. We did that last Friday. The appointments are between 10 and 1 Monday through Friday. Not a great schedule for someone who works 9 to 5. Then you need a money order for $15.

Due to a misunderstanding between me and the woman who is new working at the front desk of the police station, I thought we needed a money order for $16. But it's $15. And they won't accept the MO for $16. So I have to go back to the bank and pay another $7 to get a money order for $15. It's something out of Kafka's descent into hell. Bureaucratic hell.

Additionally, once we got to the police station we discovered you need a valid ID, one that has your current address. Both our driver's licenses have our last address. This was our fault, not the police station's. But annoying nonetheless. So today we waited online at the DMV for an hour to get a change of address. $15. They accept cash, thank the Lord.

I ask, Straight people don't have to do this! But we do? Ingrid says, rightfully, "Some straight people do adopt." But still, it's annoying, when Ingrid has been part of the planning of Clyde's conception for two years plus now. I can rant, though, can't I?

Meanwhile, I'm back at work. For four weeks now. It's going amazingly well! Mostly because my schedule is awesome: I come in at 10 and leave at 5, and work from home on Fridays. A friend pointed out that this is, by NYC standards, a part-time job. With full-time pay. There's worse things, I guess. Like having to get fingerprinted....

Oh and one more rant: I can't pump enough breast milk during the day to keep up with the amount Clyde now eats in a day--15 to 18 oz while I am gone--This little Piggy is going to have to start eating formula and smashed peas soon, I am afraid... Unless someone else wants to donate some breast milk???

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

First Day Back at Work

Today was my first day back at work after 13 weeks off. Clare, the full time caregiver, showed up around 8:45 and told me she had a plan for the day: to take Clyde to Barnes & Noble in Park Slope and read some books, then meet a friend who has a 3-month-old for a playdate in Prospect Park. I felt so reassured that she had a plan. I told her that someone got shot in the housing project near us, and not to go to that park, and she assured me that she in fact didn't like that park for babies anyway, and not to worry. And she told me that she's looking for Music Together classes for her and Clyde to tell Ingrid and me about. I felt so much better leaving for work. I left around 9:20.

Work was actually great! It is Fashion Week and I got all of my show invites together and put them on my calendar, and I took my close coworkers out for sushi and sake and it was really fun to be with adults again. I got to wear one of my new cute fall outfits and that felt good. I unpacked my office and checked out the kitchen at work.

So, I came home around 5:40. Clare was feeding Clyde, and I was bummed because I had hoped to give her a breastfeeding, but then after Clare left Clyde wanted more, so I fed her a little supplemental breastmilk. After Clare left (and filled out her daily log that Ingrid created online for her), Clyde was kinda fussy and wouldn't burp and didn't seem satisfied. And she wouldn't look me in the eye. I was like, "You've forgotten me already!" My mom was like, "No, she's just resentful you left her." (Thanks Mom.) Anyway, so we got about an hour of playtime and then Ing came home and we made dinner, and then we gave her a bath and she passed out ten minutes later. So I guess she's doing OK. But she didn't seem as happy as when I left this morning. But I guess I'll have to get used to that.

Tomorrow night I have to do this work event for fashion week and Ing's gonna hang with Clyde by herself, which she's looking forward to. I'm kinda bummed though; as Ing says, "Is this just corporate life? You see your kid for an hour in the morning and an hour at night and then they go to bed, and you hang on the weekends." Oy.