NYC Holiday Advice
 

Sounds like a good choice; thanks. By "kid friendly," I really just mean someplace where we won't feel terribly out of place with kids.

NYC Holiday Advice
 

I'm unaware of any hotels in Manhattan that really fit that criteria, but the Gramercy is probably the best of the bunch in that regard.

Just realize that it's a bit rough aroung the edges. Perfectly acceptable, in my opinion. It's just no Hudson Hotel, but then again the same suite at the Hudson would be $1000 a night.

Nanny benefits Q
 

I'd guess it depends on the market,what end of the market you're at, and what you're asking the nanny to do.

I know that the top of the line for nannies in the D.C. area is in the ballpark of $35K - $45K per year salary, plus some benefits (health care, etc.). That seems to involve a roughly 45-50 hour work week. A friend of mine in the business gets that plus, IIRC, two weks of paid vacation and ceratin holidays off.

That said, I know a couple who are paying just over $40K per year plus benefits, for a _live-in_ nanny. But that nanny works about 60 hours per week, and cares for twin toddlers, one of whom has significant medical needs.

S_A_M

Nanny benefits Q
 

Live-ins generally get paid less than live-outs.

Nanny benefits Q
 

Yes. That is why, in my "live-in" example, I added the details about the longer work week and responsibilties involved to explain why the compensation is so comparatively high.

S_A_M

Nanny benefits Q
 

We're only asking her to look after the munchkin - no light housework, no cooking, no shopping, no plumbing (or whatever else people ask nannies to do), just babysitting duties. And apparently the baby is not much trouble. He has no med. or other difficulties and has a consistently pleasant disposition (I'm not sure how long that will last, but we're enjoying it while we can).

We're going with 2 weeks paid vacation to be scheduled at a time of mutual convenience (i.e.: when we have time off) and no set number of paid sick (or emergency, etc.) days, with the understanding that if it gets to be a lot we'll need to talk, and that she'll need to be somewhat flexibile, too, in terms of our getting home 15-30 minutes late on occasion.

eta: Thanks, everyone, for the input, it was very helpful. We really are pretty clueless, and we don't have many friends in the area who have kids and two working parents and no local family.

It's always interesting to see how super-mainstream media conveys international adoption. Click here for the new Cheerios commercial. http://www.cheerios.com/stories/default.aspx

No way is this scene representative of how the adoption occurs. The parents in the commercial are relaxed, well-dressed and very very reserved (they don't even hug the kids). The reality is that at the moment of adoption, parents are jet-lagged, harried, frazzled, being driven around in a crowded van with other parents. And even the most reserved person when they see the little person that has ended up as their child, practically clobbers the child in a sea of hugs and tears (and relief, the process having been long and emotional). Jeeze. The Mom doesn't even hug the kids in the commercial. Nor do the parents go into the orphanage. IRL, parents are all over the orphanage, bringing gifts and taking pictures.

I wonder why Cheerios wanted such a sterile scene. I look back on the video of my Mom and me entering into a dirty, crowded orphanage in the middle of nowhere, our hair matted and crazy, and collapsing in tears of happiness on a wooden bed with a bunch of caretakers and of course Vietbabe and other babies and I wonder why Cheerios thinks that type of stuff is not cool to show. Since China is still number one they might have also gone with a China adoption.

But that's just my opinion.

There was a commercial in baby mags last year - I cannot remember the product, Mastercard perhaps? Anyway, it was a mom (and dad?) and foreign baby returning from whatever country on a plane. It made me cry every single time I saw it, damnit.

I would think that the sight of an orphanage with bedraggled new adoptive parent(s) might be less appealing and not make me want to eat Cheerios, however, you would think that some hugging would be in order!

I saw a foreign adoption on A Baby Story (yes, I watched it my whole pregnancy!) - I think the babies were brought here by baby couriers - the babies were all in Baby Bjorn-like carriers and in (fancy) native dress clothing. It also made me cry!

Adoption Stories
 

I will check that one out. All these stories make me cry, including the one I criticized.

Oh, no way would the ad ever show the full reality...I'd never expect that. But at least show the orphanage, even if they display it as "shabby chic" and the parents could be "fake bedraggled." In other words, in my case I'd be portrayed not as a gaunt, exhausted from stomach ailments, wearing ill fitting dirty Vietnamese men's 2nd hand clothing from the army/navy store next to the hospital I'd been in, but instead with Western clothing with a "funky travel" edge to them, and freshly blown-dry hair that's been tossed about to make me look "frazzled." The parents in the Cheerios ad aren't even sitting next to eachother in the car. The ad misses the whole flurry of excitement.

Some countries like Korea and Guatemala still allow for "couriers" to bring the children to the U.S. This is very convenient if you already have children and you really can't take off to go oversees. I think it's also good b/c it allows you to rest and be prepared for receiving the child, rather than jetlagged and possibly ill. But I hope these parents eventually go to their child's home country.

Can we get some more smilies?
 

I am starting to think that 18 months is perfect baby spacing. Well, since about 12:00 today.

-TexLex :knockedup:

Congrats!

(and I'm sure a cottage in HPISD is starting to look better than private school...)

Can we get some more smilies?
 

Well, here's the old fashioned kind: :-)-O


:bounce:

Congratulations!

Can we get some more smilies?
 

Oh my god, you're insane.

But congratulations. And good luck.

Can we get some more smilies?
 

Congrats and good luck. We had thought maybe 3 years. But it took a little longer.

Siddette is due in February.

Can we get some more smilies?
 

Must be going around: I'm due around tax-time. First-tri exhaustion and the toll of buying a house in SF have kept me post-free of late. Congrats to the Lexes and Finches!

edited to fix atrocious punctuation.

Can we get some more smilies?
 

Um, does Bill know?

Congratulations!

Can we get some more smilies?
 

Thanks! Here's hoping this pregnancy works out better for me my avatar's did for her. If not, I will definitely need to brush up on my deadly-assassin skillz.

Can we get some more smilies? - Girl shopping question
 

My sister is due with her second in February, too. Definitely something in the water. Congratulations to all.

Since my sister is expecting the first girl in our extended family, does anyone have any suggestions for where I should shop to try to turn the kid into a Sex-and-the-City girl without spending $70-$500 on outfits on the upper east side? I am dying to find a pink velvet coat, ideally one with hilariously stylish details and a matching hat, in a newborn size. Online shopping is a plus, since I never seem to get out anymore.

Trepidation(yes, I've already gotten her a small stock of onsies and burp cloths in various shades of pink)Mom

PS: On our mother's suggestion, I went with a 1960s leopard print fake-fur swing coat for my sister's early Christmas present. My mother says my nephew, currently about 22 months, will love it and shout "Roar!!" whenever he sees it.

Can we get some more smilies? - Girl shopping question
 

Ok - you still have to go to the UES and drop a bundle (but not $500, definitely), but I would get something from Catimini. You are an aunt, after all, and can buy designer stuff that her mother otherwise wouldn't buy. And it is adorable and the detailing is great.

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/pages/details/249.htm

eta that www.oliebollen.com is great for cute kids clothes (and toys etc) if you want to shop online.

Can we get some more smilies? - Girl shopping question
 

Or...

Oilily -- totally awesome stuff (I'm sure it's on line),

Or...

Bu and the Duck (it has an online shop, but their store is delightful, and has the loveliest, handmade, original clothing). The store is on Franklin St. in Tribeca. Tell her I sent you (unless, of course, you don't want a prompt escort out the door...).

Can we get some more smilies? - Girl shopping question
 

Check eBay. There's a whole custom outfit thing going on there, ranging from the horribly fashionable to the simply horrible. You have to play around with the searches a little (no idea on the right terms - it's the baltspouse's obsession), but there's really interesting stuff, much of it new and handmade.

There are also all sorts of curiosities. When the baltspawn were infants, we bought a load of cute brand new stuff from Japan from a woman in SF whose Japanese MIL kept sending baby clothes as hints. Great stuff.

Can we get some more smilies? - Girl shopping question
 

Last time I was at the mall, Gymboree had these really cute zebra-print outfits. Dunno if they're still in stock, but it seems like they might be good hunting grounds. A quick look online turned up matching mommy-baby black fur-trimmed sweaters as well as a pink faux fur jacket (baby only, sorry). (All three on sale, to boot!)

eBay is great, though it definitely takes a little playing around to get a sense of how to search effectively.

Can we get some more smilies? - Girl shopping question
 

The baltspouse CLEARLY has it goin' on!

Ebay is awesome for this stuff. I have gotten some totally bitchin' kids' clothing on there.

ETA: Search hint if you're an Ebay virgin: use the search term (new, nwt, bnwt) if you want only new stuff. Then you can put in your brand names, etc. to winnow down the results.

A Sad Day in Podunkville.
 

Congratulations! (Alas. This probably means that the Bride will never be mine. Sniff.)

http://www.solidwastemag.com/common_...9465-58863.jpg

Baby Girl Clothes
 

Oh dear Lord. Did someone ask about baby girl clothes? I feel faint.

http://store1.yimg.com/I/oneofakindkids_1820_43736613 http://store1.yimg.com/I/oneofakindkids_1820_43787236 http://store1.yimg.com/I/oneofakindkids_1820_43835952 http://store1.yimg.com/I/instylekids_1818_40493937

More
 

http://store1.yimg.com/I/childrenscottage_1815_26015910 http://www.kids-nature.com/pictures/IMG_5948_www.jpg http://www.kids-nature.com/pictures/IMG_6115_www.jpghttp://www.oliebollen.com/images/ite...ils/OIL400.jpg

And More
 

http://www.oilily-world.com/photos/p...20_64_spat.jpg http://a1216.g.akamai.net/f/1216/955...ium/138626.jpg http://a1216.g.akamai.net/f/1216/955...ium/135759.jpghttp://www.neimanmarcus.com//products/mh/NM-08AE_mh.jpg

Last One I Promise
 

I couldn't not post April Cornell. So feminine.


http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.c...l_1816_5187636 http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.c...l_1816_3741678 http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.c...ll_1816_310331 http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.c...l_1816_5397986 http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.c...l_1816_1309794

And More
 

This child is so strikingly, stunningly Aryanly perfect I could choke.

Baby girl clothes
 

achildscloset.com -- huge assortment of designers specializing in baby/young kid clothing. Try Pineapple Kiss or Lipstik or even (if you can get past the name) Icky Baby.

And More
 

Ha! You haven't seen Magnus, have you?

tm

Something in the water?
 

Thank you and to you too! Turns out my SIL is due three days after me - freaky.

And to baltassoc - that girl looks like she could be the Lexling's (less robust) big sister.

Can we get some more smilies?
 

And to you too.

Good luck with the house purchase. (In SF? Cool.)

And More
 

I guess the automatic-disqualification-for-Nazi-reference rule doesn't apply on this board.

And More
 

I thought he meant that the child adhered to the heretical belief that Christ did not share homoousios with the Ingenerate Father. But I see how it could be read either way.

And More
 

Ummm, this is racist. Not all aryans were Nazis, and not all Nazis were aryans. I think the word you were looking for was aryanists.

Girl shopping question
 

Thanks for the tip! I found this coat, which is pretty much what I was looking for (an outrageous princess coat):

http://static.zoovy.com/img/duckling...20P_I1_250x333

But the smallest size is 6 months. Maybe I'll get one in the 12M size and save it for next winter ....

12 mos and 1 day old!
 

For anyone keeping track of future NFL draft pick stats, the Lexling weighed in at just over 29lbs and measured 32.25" long, off the chart and 99% respectively. I have been advised by my own doctor that if he gets much bigger, I won't be able to pick him up until July. Nice.

Trep Mom - that is an adorable coat.

And More
 

Sidd, I think this might be a Nazi reference. Can I get a ruling?

Can we get some more smilies? - Girl shopping question
 

Ebay is incredible. You can also set up a thing where it will send you emails if something comes up you are looking for. I'm always looking for "mother/daughter" outfits so I did that and bid on and won a really great April Cornell M/D outfit.

To search on Ebay for baby girl clothes, go to ebay and then "Buy" and then "Clothing" and click on it. Look for "Infants/Toddlers
, then under that, "Girls". Then you will see the following links to click on for size:

0-3 Months
3-6 Months
6-12 Months
12-24 Months
Toddlers (Sz 2T-4T)

Once you choose the size you can play around with words you want to see in either the title or description. But DTB is right - you may want to add abbreviations for new. I once ordered a "gently worn" colorful couduroy April Cornell dress and when it came, it was so faded it was useless. I didn't complain because the lady was so nice and clearly thought the dress was beautiful as is. I guess she lost perspective because it was her kid's dress. A lot of people sell new stuff with tags still on it because the child doesn't get a chance to wear it or it was a duplicate gift or what not.

Once you have your size picked, you can then reduce it to "outerwear" if you are looking for a coat. Then, you can hit "Price" and have the most expensive things listed first (or cheapest). Keep in mind that some people are so unrealistic in their pricing. Check out this person who wants to sell a used bunting (a one piece thick bubble) made of chenille for $180. Outrageous. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...146958897&rd=1

I think you are looking for a coat in 0-3 months? If so, I found this new set you might like too. I actually had this exact set when the Babe was a bitty thing. I had it in a light blue -- got it as a gift and it was really cute. http://members.sparedollar.com/resiz...t.jpg&size=600

Have fun.

VietMom
(VietCat, R.I.P. 10/30/04)