Hi!

Samara's favorite word to say is "Hi." In fact, "hi" was her first word. Ari's first words were "What's that?" He was, and is, a curious boy. Samara, it turns out is a social butterfly. I've compiled a few videos of her saying hello to other people, and to herself. Enjoy!

A Sad Day- The End of Nursing

Today is a sad day. Today is the last day I will nurse Samara.

I didn't want to wean her just yet, but I'm in a situation where I have to stop breastfeeding to preserve my own health. I have another MRSA infection, and it's on my face.

MRSA, for those of you that don't know, is an more aggressive form of staph bacteria. It is not responsive to typical antibiotics and requires the use of stronger medications.

The dermatologist has prescribed me a more potent antibiotic that will probably make me shit my brains out, but will also ward off MRSA. I'm taking probiotics so here's hoping they will combat the gastrointestinal war that is about to take place in my body.

Earlier today, the dermatologist laid it all out for me:

" The most effective treatment for an abscess is drainage. Since you're breastfeeding there are limited medications that we can give you." She said matter-of-factly.

"What would give me if wasn't nursing?" I wanted to know.

"A stronger set of antibiotics. We want to knock MRSA out."

"Okay..." I said, bewildered. I didn't know what to say, or what the right decision was. Should I go with drainage alone, or opt for the more aggressive antibiotic?"

As I was sitting there staring into florescent light, having my facial abscess drained, I started to cry.

"I don't want to do this again."

"Okay..." said the stoic dermatologist as she continued to cut my face open.

When she was done, and I was sitting there with a facial bandaid, trying to reconcile what just happened to my mandible, we continued our conversation:

"I want to take the antibiotics."

"That's what I would do if I were you," she said.

"She's been nursing for a year, she's had a lot of breast milk." I said trying to reassure myself more than my emotionless dermatologist.

"She'll be fine." She said without smiling.

I know she'll be fine. She's had a year of breast milk, but I'll miss the intimacy of nursing :(.

Playtime! How I Went to the Theater While Ari Made Art With an Artist

Today, my mom and I went to the theater. We saw a black comedy called Assistance about trying to stay sane while working for a crazy abusive boss.

While we went to see a show, Aunt Mimi and Uncle Mike watched Samara at their house. I'm told she had a great time playing with toys, eating a banana, and attempting to say the word "banana." Thanks guys!a

I cannot remember the last time I've been to the theater, which is bizarre since I'm an actor myself and come from an extensive performing arts background. I was a theater major at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art & Performing Arts and went on to study theater at Ithaca College and New York University.

This day would not have been possible if it hadn't been for an awesome organization called Playtime

I found out about Playtime on Twitter. Once my nemesis, now Twitter and I are becoming friends.

Leslie Marcus, Managing Director at Playwrights Horizons and mother of two, along with her co-workers, dreamt up Playtime.

Playwrights Horizons noticed that there was a lapse in theater goers who were parents. The reason for this was that it was too expensive for parents to hire a babysitter, and they felt guilty leaving their kids at home while they went off to enjoy a cultural experience.

Enter Playtime, a program that provides childcare for kids ages 4-12 while parents go to the theater. There is something very unique about the childcare provided by Playtime; the "babysitters" are also artists. They are musicians, photographers, actors, and writers from an organization called Sitters Studio. Here's how it works: you buy tickets to a Playwright's Horizon's show. For $15 you can purchase a slot in a Playtime for your child. While you attend the performance, your child is engaged in a artistic experience with real artists.

After my mom and I saw the show, I had a chance to sit down with Leslie to talk a bit about Playtime. Here's what she had to say:

My mom and I loved Assistance. It was very clever, dark, unique and entertaining. I'm thinking about dragging Wil to see it.

Ari had a blast with the Arts Sitters from Playtime.

I felt great knowing that while I was watching a play, he was involved in creative projects too!

o

For more information about Playtime visit their site here

Guest Post By Leah: The Medela Manual Breast Pump Kept Me Breastfeeding!

My amazing friend Leah recently gave birth to her daughter, Suri in January. I've known Leah since we were 18, we met at Ithaca College. I can't believe we've been friends for 13 years!

She was intent on nursing, but ran into some trouble in the begininnng. Thankfully she happened upon a manual breast pump that actually ended up helping her nursing experience. She talks about her experience with The Medela Manual Breat Pump here.

When I gave birth to my daughter, one of the first things the nurse said to me was "your baby is tongue-tied." Having no idea what this meant, I looked at my doula, Gail. She told me that my baby's frenulum (the one under the tongue) was too short and it might make breastfeeding difficult since her tongue can't extend far enough. The first couple of nights home from the hospital were tough, whether it was related tothe short frenulum or just getting the hang of things, I can't be sure.

I think she was having a hard time getting the colostrum. After being home for two days, she latched incorrectly on one breast; it was incredibly painful and impossible to nurse! Looking closely, I saw as mall red scab had formed and I started getting nervous that I wasn't going to be able to nurse on both sides. Was I going to have to giveup breastfeeding?

Consulting books and the internet was absolutely no help. All the books said to put Lansinoh on my nipple and to expose it to air. Theoretically these were nice suggestions, but they didn't help with the actual feeding of my baby. My nipple wasn't going to heal instantaneously and everytime she nursed, it felt like being poked with needles. I asked my doula what to do and she suggested getting a manual pump so that I would at least be producing milk on that side and I could feed it to my baby with a syringe.

My mom (thanks, Mom!) bought me the Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump. I wasreally wary of manual breast pumps (one author of a baby book likenedit to milking a cow on the farm), but it was one of the best purchases! I was able to pump without pain at my own pace and it gave me time to heal. After a couple of days the scab healed, fell off, and I was able to go back to nursing on both sides. I hope that a new breastfeeding mom having trouble with sore nipples gives a manual breast pump a try because it can be a lifesaver! The Medela Harmony Manual pump is extremely easy to use, clean, andvery affordable. On Amazon is priced at $30.49.

This wouldn't be a practical purchase for someone who is going back to work

and needs to pump quickly and every day, but it is great for occasional pumping.

Leah Greenwald lives in Monsey, NY, with her husband, six stepkids, and
new baby Suri!

Video Games are Better Than TV For Your Child

What I am about to write is based on some scientific research, but I am way too overwhelmed and lazy to come up with reliable statistics and research for you look at. If you're so inclined, please do the research yourself.

I have in my house a giant television.

In addition to a giant overwhelming looking thing known as a television, I also have a tiny human who is addicted to watching this structure. His name is Ari and he's 3 and 3/4 years old.

To my dismay, Ari's favorite sentence to utter is "I wanna watch something!" I've tried various things to combat his television addiction. The other day I was talking to my best friend and early childhood teacher, Mint. She suggested that instead of watching television, as an electronically based alternative, Ari might play video games.

Now, before you start judging this statement, hear me out. As it turns out, when a human being, adult or child, sits and watches television, their brain goes into a trance like state. Television has an effect on a person's alpha brain waves where they simply zone out.

Video games, on the other hand, are not entirely passive. If you, or your child, is engaged in a video game, preferably an educationally based one, he/she is critically thinking. He/she is considering her next move, processing the game, and most importantly interacting with the game. This is a better alternative than sitting on the couch, mindlessly staring at the television and consuming copious amounts of chips, popcorn, or cookies.

Ari likes to play games on Wil's Ipad.

He plays both educationally based games and fun ones. I've started to wean the TV time, and when he asks to watch something, I ask him if he'd like to do a puzzle on the Ipad. He gets just as excited about this as he does about watching Dino Dan, so I'll take it.

He's also particularly taken to the Wii, and is really good at Wii Tennis.

As for myself, I hardly watch TV anymore. I'm mostly addicted to the Internet and my Iphone. I wonder what those things are doing to my alpha brain waves.

Let me clarify something, I'm not advocating that you let your child sit there on the couch playing video games all day long. Ideally, I'd like my son to be playing with real toys, reading books, and interacting with other children all day long. But, this is not reality. Sometimes, we need a distractor as parents. Occasionally, I need a break to sit and not think, or to do the dishes, or to go to the bathroom for G-d's sake!

Video games serve as a helpful alternative to the mindless contraption that is the television.

So what's you take on video games? Would you use them with your kid as opposed to letting him or her watch the boob tube?

I Have Ideas And I Need Somewhere to Put Them

I have a lot of ideas!

Creative concepts run through my head throughout the day constantly. But I have nowhere to put them. I think I need to start walking around with a notebook. That way if I'm walking down the street and come up with something I think is neat, I can stop and write it in down in my notebook.

However, a notebook might not work. I have a hard time organizing my ideas. If I had a notebook, it would be scattered with so many different concepts and no familiar thread. I would need something like a binder.

A binder would be great because I could organize my ideas by sections and categories. The only trouble with a binder is that it would be heavy and bulky to carry around.

I need some place to put my ideas other than letting them sit in my brain.

Any suggestions?

Warning Pre-K Approaching

I can't believe it, but it's nearly been four years. On May 6th 2008, after three days of labor, I gave birth to a 6 lb 80z baby boy, who Wil and I named him Ari Wilhelm Fader-Van Luyn. In four months, he will be four years old. Next year he will be starting Pre-K at an undetermined universal Pre-K location here in Brooklyn, or possibly Manhattan, because the spots are so few and far between. I'm going to have a Pre-K kid.

I've started to explain to Ari that I won't be with him during the day at school, but that I'll see him at the end of the day, and he can tell me all about it. He doesn't quite seem to grasp the concept, or doesn't want to believe it.

"But, you're going to be there, right?" He says eyebrows raised. "You'll be with me at school?" He asks with wide eyes.

"No, baby. But I'll come pick you up at the end of the day. And you'l be with a teacher, who's an adult, like mommy, and there will be lots of kids there just like you to play with."

"Oh okay." I think he gets it. And I breathe a sigh of relief. Suddenly he asks:

"So, you'll be there right?"

Yeah...this is going to be tough. I know he does great with other kids when I'm not there. He goes to Hebrew school and art class at The Barking Cat, and he's fine without me. I'm just a little nervous about the adjustment period for Pre-K, because I've been home with him since he was born.

So, any advice for me? How do I break him in? What do I tell him to make him feel comfortable about going to school? What can I tell myself?