What I learned this week…

April 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

My firm belief is that I have learned more pediatrics, or at least more child wellness, from raising three- THREE- girls than I ever learned in my residency. So, despite my innate shyness, I have decided that the best way to reach out to YOU, you intelligent caring concerned educated and funny moms, you modern mums, is to start to “chat”- my 17 YEAR old defines chat as somewhat unintelligible code, - my 15 MONTH old defines chat as ‘digga digga MAMA” to which I reply “ I know, I feel the same way”. Here is my version of chat:

What I learned this week-

  • 1. Old versions of Sesame street are so very much better than new versions- not just for us “ elderly gravida types” (my OB/GYN designated me as that during my last delivery…) but also because they actually repeat the same theme over and over again, which is what most child development specialists would say is critical to learning- they are also so so so much funnier
  • 2. Rice cheese is a lot more tolerable than veggie cheese- for all of us- but the poops are also less stinky- and as a dairy critic, I am always looking for substitutes-
  • 3. Bubbles can be lethal- be sure that your child has shoes on- the ground gets slippery
  • 4. TOLO toys are the ultimate- I cant understand why they are so hard to find and I am going to complain to the powers that be…but check out www.kidsurplus.com for TOLO and other great deals
  • 5. HUMMUS- here I go being a pediatrician but frankly every kid should eat hummus because its their only palatable form of ZINC- which is such such an important nutrient but it makes most people- adults included- nauseated to take- so eat hummus!! But the best tasting ones are often full of corn starch so beware if your child has a corn allergy- be sure to get the YoRG0 brand- but…if they don’t have an allergy, SABRA (www.sabra.com) is creamy and fantastic-
  • 6. RECIPE: 2 tablespoons hummus, two tablespoons pureed carrots (organic- EARTHS BEST (www.earthsbest.com) and one quarter crumbled rice cake.

Having just given a lecture to women about their need to integrate wellness and preventive care, I will also say this: mothers take lousy lousy care of themselves while they are busy caring for their young (and their partners)- but if you are feeling down and fatigued and maybe even gaining weight or your skin is dry and your nails are brittle- call your doctor- and insist you get your thyroid properly and carefully evaluated-

Sleep well if not, send me an email-
Natalie

Posted by Dr. Natalie Geary MD | Filed Under Parents 

Mothers Musings

January 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Most days, I dream of being the quintessential urban mom.

I’d sport high-heeled suede boots and a coat that follows whatever trend has been featured lately in the Style section of the Sunday Times as I take my son to the playground. Or I’d show up for my daughter’s third-grade teacher conference perfectly coiffed and enter data about little Madison’s improved reading skills in my palm pilot. When I stop on the way home from an oh-so-busy day to meet a friend for a glass of Pinot Noir at some chic bistro, my driver would keep the engine of my black oversize Escalade idling out front. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I attend a hot yoga class, I’d barely sweat. The only problem with this dream is that it’s not me. And unless I go through some shape-shifting, life-altering transformation, it never will be. (Although my son, Harry, tells me there’s still hope if I became a Transformer.)Instead, I live about an hour outside a big City. My only child and object of all my affection is Harry, a second grader. He plays town soccer and throws a football in the back yard with his father when we can peel him off the couch. We live with five pets – two large Labs, a 26-pound cat with Nantucket paws, and Car and Truck - two very smelly rabbits. I even drive a Volvo, the backseat of which is filled with Goldfish cracker crumbs, Pokemon cards, and completed schoolwork that I have no place to store because my basement floods with relative regularity and yet I can’t bear to throw out because these papers mark various milestones - or pebbles - in Harry’s education. (My personal favorite is a math worksheet to solve the riddle: What did one eye say to the other? Answer: Something between us smells. Now there’s $25,000 of tuition dollars at work.)

When I had my son later in life (I was 35), I vowed I’d be the parent that gave him only pureed organic vegetables and wooden toys. There would be absolutely, positively no television or electronics of any kind. He certainly wouldn’t get a present every time we went to the Super Stop ‘n Shop, and under no circumstances would we be Family Bedsters. This fantasy – like my urban motherhood myth – lasted all of about two hours, when, during his first night on the planet, Harry screamed uncontrollably until he was curled up by my side in the hospital bed. Our house is now a repository for every conceivable piece of plastic. Harry got a Nintendo DS for Christmas; I went on eBay to find a Wii; and I’ve even been known to pay him to babysit himself by watching the Disney Channel.Why the switch? First of all, I quickly discovered that I was mortal. Motherhood presented challenges I never knew I’d face – like saying “No” for starters. And having come from a family of girls to now raise a son presents a particular array of challenges – most of which have to do with an overload of testosterone. These are what I’ll share in Nancy’s News. It’s a mother’s musings, which I hope you’ll find amusing.
Let me know what you think.
Nancy

Posted by Dr. Natalie Geary MD | Filed Under Mothers musings, Parents