At our childbirth prep class on Sunday I bravely asked the visiting pediatrician the question my husband wanted answered, but was too shy to articulate: When is it appropriate to pierce the baby’s ears? We had already covered how soon a baby can fly in an airplane, and spent 10 minutes on the pros and…
Parenting
Birth Control?
When my husband and I walked into the hospital-run birthing class last Sunday, carrying the yoga mat and two pillows we had been instructed to bring, there were lots of pregnant women in t-shirts and leggings. And then there was one pregnant lady in white short shorts, a full face of makeup, and nude patent…
On Tiger Wives, Rabbit Babies, and Shrinking Violets
My parents are on vacation in Greece, so the multiple daily phone calls my mother and I codependently engage in have been replaced via email. Yesterday she emailed, “last night we went to dinner with two other couples and they all agreed they want wives like Wendi Deng,” Rupert Murdoch’s spouse who punched a man…
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Oedipus Wrecks or Oh, How the Mighty Have Swollen
At almost nine months pregnant (I’m pushing 35 weeks), I’ve been thinking a lot about Oedipus. Not because I’m carrying a son whom we plan to abandon in the mountains shortly after birth in order to avoid a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. That’s what happened to Oedipus, and…
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The Dolphins Ate My Workout
I know, dolphins are a friend to mankind. But I’m a little achy today because I did not get my fabulous prenatal pilates Wednesday workout in yesterday. And it’s not because I was lying on the couch eating frozen custard (two of my favorite pregnancy pastimes). It’s because my great Pilates instructor, Kim, took off…
The Lost Summer
I never want to be one of those mothers who rails on and on about what she gave up for her kids (her career, say, or her 22-inch waistline). First, of all, because I think it’s not very nice to put that kind of responsibility on your children, who, let’s face it, didn’t ask to…