Carnegie Hill Mom

Kids are natural scientists, constantly exploring the world. One of the greatest gifts a parent can give these budding brains is the vocabulary they need to make sense of their surroundings. Exposing children, babies included, to as many words as possible is a great way to boost their academic success later in life. But it’s easy to let the busyness of life get in the way. Thankfully, language exposure doesn’t have to be relegated to specific “learning time.” Learning, especially for these little sponges we call kids, happens 24/7. And so, it seems, does grocery shopping. (How are we already out of milk? Who finished that jar of peanut butter?) At least three times a week I walk a block to the corner store and load the stroller with supplies to feed my family of six. Sometimes I dash in without kids, but normally I have at least one of my four children tagging along. Instead of seeing this as a burden, I look for ways to use our shopping excursions as an avenue of learning...

I was among the first of my friends to have kids, which meant navigating the baby gear scene somewhat blindly. I walked through the aisles of Babies ‘R’ Us and Buy Buy Baby scanning whatever seemed useful, but not having much product advice beyond what my mom found useful 25 years ago. It wasn’t until I joined a playgroup of other new twin moms and took some parenting classes at the 92nd Street Y that I could chat about and see park blankets, pacifiers and push toys in action. Raising kids inevitably means acquiring stuff. When you live in a two-bedroom apartment, in New York City space is at a premium. If something is no longer useful, I happily toss it or pass it along to a friend. I’ve compiled a list of sanity-saving gear for the first five years. These 50 products are worth the precious square footage they take up. If only I knew about them when registering! Essentials for Sleep Summer Infant SwaddleMes and Halo SleepSacks : Velcro makes for a great “baby...

If you enter my apartment around 5 p.m., tread with care. You will likely find a city of blocks hiding under seemingly cushy piles of fairy tutus. The stroller will have turned into a puppet show theater with toddler chairs gathered around, unicorns and Shopkins having a tea party off to the side. You’ll wade through a sea of 8 ½ x 11” paper in more forms than you knew existed: crumpled, scribbled, doodled, chopped, painted, folded, taped, stapled, rolled, but thankfully not stuffed back into the printer. Those mystery globs on the carpet? Either marker tips my 1-yr-old chewed off, hardened Play-Doh , or partially digested puzzle pieces—your guess is as good as mine. Sometimes I wish I could wave my daughter’s princess wand to restore order to my home after the kid tornado hits. On good days, I rally the troops: the kids and I all pitch in to put away the forts, board games, books, stickers, snack containers, and train tracks that we trip over on our way to the bath. Whe...

Parenting while sick is no joke. My kids are pretty aware of how monstrous I can become at the end of a long day on my feet. Add to that my headache, congestion, and runny nose (We're on day four now!) and my patience for disobedience and dawdling at bedtime is stretched as thin as a thread. When my three-year-old pushed away her carrot, even though that's the vegetable she requested ("Mom, can you put carrots on my plate for dinner?), I told her she needed to take a bite and then she could be done. "Why are you not a good mom?" my five-year-old asked in response. I was stunned at her comment. "Do you even realize what you're saying?" I asked her. Clearly she didn't. She was probably trying to say something like, "Why are you being so strict?" or even, "Why are you being so mean?" Either of those wouldn't have stung so much. "I am a good mom," I replied, coming to my defense. "I feed my kids a healthy ...

On any moment of any day, I can either be in survival mode or fully thriving in my role as a mom. I've spent the past five years raising my four kids and feel the scales finally tipping in favor of thriving. I wouldn't say this is a battle I've won, but I can definitely appreciate how far I've come. Let's just say that starting off with twins was a wake-up call to all involved. We had all hands on deck with grandparents flying in and a husband who can thankfully function on a few hours of sleep. When family left and hubby went back to work, I hired a friend who was in-between jobs as a daily mother's helper. I had to get outside the apartment to survive, but that often didn't happened until late in the afternoon. Those first three months were such a blur. Here's what I do remember: Three sets of pump parts piled up in the kitchen sink. Mastering the double football hold in my glider for hour-long nursing sessions every 2-3 hours. Waking a baby to ...

Kristin Van de Water is a former journalist and teacher who relies on humor, faith, and her mom crew to get her through the day. Raising four kids in a two-bedroom NYC apartment, Kristin is always on the lookout for life hacks to save time, space, money, and her sanity.