Mom post here. I’ve got a lot to say and that usually makes for a good post so here goes.
There are new struggles that come with raising a toddler. Many of which I rolled my eyes at as a childless young adult. From competitive preschools to screen time and diet, you all of sudden find yourself in a situation and think, “Ahhhh, so this is what they were all talking about.”
Pizza is a vegetable.
I used to think that my children would love healthy food. How could they not? Tommy does like broccoli but only every other week so yeah, we do the best we can.
I remember hearing a report that marinara sauce on pizza counted as a vegetable as part of the new health guidelines in school lunch programs. I laughed at how corrupt that was because kids need their broccoli, damnit!
Well, yesterday I gave my son pizza and felt proud that at least he ate some vegetables, in the form of tomato sauce. For those of you reading this with children, I need no explanation.
For those reading this without children, some kids are picky if you weren’t aware. Some go in phases of eating one food group only. Tommy last week was on a cheese diet. He wouldn’t eat anything but cheese or as he says, “chhhissss”. If the child doesn’t eat, especially at night, he’ll wake up early or even in the middle of the night so you see why I give him something, anything that I know he will eat even if that means it’s 2 slices of cheese for dinner.
I am sorry to any parent I every silently judged for serving animal crackers for dinner.
Which brings me to my next, “Why didn’t they tell me” issue…
Everyone tells you how hard nursing is. I told you how hard nursing was, but no one tells you how hard it is to stop either! I’m ready to be done but Tommy clearly is not. Some days I only do it in the morning and before bed but some days when we are home a lot, he wants it all. the. time. It’s hard not to give him what he wants, especially if I know he’ll be in a great mood after and hasn’t been eating a ton.
He tugs on my shirt and even lifts it up, sometimes in front of non family. Luckily this hasn’t happened outside of the home. YET. I’m banking on some travel in April to help me solve this problem.
And lastly private school politics…
For the first time since becoming a mom, I’ve witnessed first hand the struggles of being a city mom. Up until last week, I loved living in Boston and all it had to offer a young family.
There are many benefits to living in the city with an infant. You can walk everywhere which was great for us since Tommy hated his car seat. I could walk to the park and socialize with other adults. Many of my friends live close by and I could see them frequently. I could go to the gym quick since it was so close, now before Nick leaves for work even. There are tons of free activities for kids at the public libraries and playgrounds. There are museums and kid friendly restaurants.
Selfishly, I love the city because I like all the yummy healthy food places and fitness studios near by. I think I would miss those the most if we moved. I also love that Nick can be at work or come home in 20 minutes.
As I research schools, it is crazy how expensive and “competitive” they are.
Everyone always said the word “competitive” to describe preschool admission but I had no idea what that meant for a toddler. Sure, I get it, Harvard and MIT are competitive. You can compare students based on tests and essays but for preschool, it’s the parents that are being evaluated, right? I thought an early application, engaged loving parents and participating in school community events was enough but it’s not.
How do admissions people decided what toddlers get into programs? Is it luck? Is it who you know? Is it based on what toys my child put in his mouth? It’s a frustrating experience.
I wish I could just send Tommy to our neighborhood public school with all his friends like they do in the suburbs but we have to enter a public school lottery that isn’t a guarantee either. The public schools are not the best in Boston either and due to the random lottery system, Tommy could get in to a school nowhere near our home.
As of now, we are on a waiting list for Tommy to get into a Toddler program and my fingers are crossed we get in because it’s disheartening when you feel like your child is being rejected. It’s even worse when your child is being rejected and you feel like it’s your fault.
The school situation has made me start looking at the suburbs years before I thought I would begin. I don’t see us moving anytime soon but after this week, I realize why people often do.
So anyway, this past week I was a little down in the dumps. I’m not the veggie pushing mom I thought I’d be. I’m still unsuccessful trying to wean my toddler. I’m certainly not the no screen time mom I swore I would be and now I know what everyone was talking about.
