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Photo by Quinn Dombrowski

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your helpful advice on the topic of Nanny or Daycare. I did find a wonderful Nanny that we are really happy with although as many of you pointed it in your comments, there is never going to be a good enough substitute for Mom.

Every morning as I kiss my daughter ‘Chloe’ good day and head to the door, I have to fight my tears from rolling down as I watch her cheerful smile and happy cooing turn into an unhappy protest. She loves waving goodbye and is happily sharking her little hands until she sees me open the door and realizes what this particular bye bye actually means.  She then starts screaming and fighting her way out of the arms of her Nanny in an attempt to follow me and well you can pretty much picture my heart break as I head for the elevator. I guess as a Mom, you can never totally get over this guilt, but each of us finds her own ways of dealing with it.

For me, it is the comfort of knowing that I am still sharing the special ritual of breastfeeding. Ironically my biggest fear of motherhood was always breastfeeding as I had very sensitive breasts and had heard too many horrid stories from my friends who ended up with infections such as thrush, mastitis and staph.  (Lucky for me, everything went fine for me in this area!).

My daughter has gained a lot of independence since my return to work and she absolutely refuses to be fed solids and prefers to do it herself, but when it comes to breastfeeding, it is almost like she is a newborn. Although these moments are absolutely precious for me, I cannot help but start to wonder if I am overdoing the breastfeeding?  Swamped with too many meetings at work I eventually gave up pumping around 7 months and my body stopped producing milk during the day and now I only have a small amount in the mornings and evenings.  What do you think?

I did a search on Answers and came across this helpful conversation initiated by one of our community members, on how long should one breastfeed?

In my case I know there is little milk left and she is mostly doing it for the comfort—so the question is do I let her continue? I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic so please start typing those great suggestions.

Thanks for reading,

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Hey Guys,

If you want to insult somebody, call him or her a “hipster.” Over the past several years, the word has become the ultimate put-down, surpassing such mainstays as jerk, dork, and others not suitable for a general audience.

But what exactly is a hipster? It’s a little hard to define, but basically they are people who go out of their way to dress and act in a way that says, “I don’t care.” The irony is that nothing could be further from the truth. Everything from their too-tight t-shirt to their loafers (sans socks) is carefully planned. Of course, that’s a stereotype, and in fairness — there are positive sides. Generally speaking, they like art, embrace other cultures, and are eco-conscious.

Some other examples of hipster attire include large eyeglasses (without lenses), day-glo clothing, and the ironic moustache. Hipsters are easy enough to identify, but in my experience, no hipster will admit to being one. I’ve asked several suspected hipsters if they consider themselves part of that group and they look at me as if I just spit in their Pabst.

Now this is a different type of column, because I’m not really answering a question. Rather I’m just trying to figure out if there is anyone on the planet who would openly admit to being a hipster. I’m guessing not. Because to be a hipster, one must believe that he or she is 100% unique, and thus, could never fit in with any one sub-group. I’m not the only one with this theory.

But I was wrong. There are many hipsters who are loud and proud. New York Magazine profiled several who, with good humor, decided to see what it would be like to go from “hipster” to “mainstream” for a few weeks. Their harrowing experiences are detailed here. Also, the “hipsterati” has plenty of defenders. True, many of them are hipsters themselves, but still…

I’m still looking for a definitive hipster definition, so if anyone has one, please feel free to add it to the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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Photo by howies collective

Regular TV is so last decade. Now, it seems, reality TV has taken over our living room.

When the reality craze started, it seemed harmless at first. We were only rooting for the underdog to make it to super-stardom. Then, each season, there were more and more reality shows that got even more and more ridiculous.

They range from singing competitions, finding true love, surviving in the wilderness, losing weight, living with complete strangers, following celebs to watching a mother raise her 8 children.

Here’s a question: What WAS on TV before the reality-show era started? Back in the day, we watched movies, documentaries, and live or taped performances. MTV was still airing videos. Perhaps we’ll have a channel dedicated to reality shows just like news, music, and sports.

Even our community is curious about this trend asking why these shows keep taking over the networks. Apparently, there is even a reality show curse that causes relationships to break up. The Hogan family, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, and Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are just a few of its victims.

Why do you think reality shows are so popular?

Thanks for reading,

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Hey Guys,

When it comes to American presidents, no two are alike. But 97% of them share at least one common trait: They were married. Of the nation’s 44 presidents, only one of them never said “I do.”

James Buchanan was the 15th President of the United States and the only bachelor to ever hold the highest office in the land. He isn’t often remembered as one the country’s better leaders. In fact, surveys of historians regularly have him among America’s ten worst presidents. Chief among his faults: failing to prevent the Civil War. Yeah, I’d call that a pretty big blunder.

The fact the he was the only bachelor president has led to some speculation regarding his sexual orientation. Some have wondered if he had an intimate relationship with his vice president, William Rufus DeVane King. Those theories tend to originate from the fact that King and Buchanan shared a house. This may sound unusual, but this was a common practice at the time.

Buchanan was almost married at one point in his life. An excellent article from American Heritage explains the story of Buchanan’s one-time fiancée, Anne Coleman. Ms. Coleman died in 1819, shortly after Buchanan called off the engagement for an unspecified reason. According to biography.com, it isn’t known if her death was a suicide.

On a much lighter note, I’d love to hear your ideas on future columns. If you have a topic you’d like me to tackle or a question you’d really like answered, please leave a comment below. You guys always have great ideas, so please drop me a line.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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