Meet Jenny

Name: Jenny

Age: 34

Number of children: Henry (age 2)

Relationship status: Married

Who am I?  First and foremost, I am a woman.  That defines me before any other descriptor such as mother, wife, daughter, sister, cousin, friend. It is in holding on to my identity as a woman that I am better able to fulfil my role as mother, wife, daughter, sister, cousin, friend. When not on my soapbox, I am a deeply passionate, sometimes flighty, lover of new travels, who loves simple pleasures like a fresh baked peach pie, having my husband’s hands envelope my own, and seeing my child unfold and explore the world we live in.

Interests/Activities: Food—how to grow it, prepare it, eat it, share it; Photography—to capture physically what my mind creates; Writing what my physical self cannot capture; Reading non-fiction; Pilates; Kickboxing

Favorite bloggers/websites: Molly Wizenberg/Orangette, Food52, The Vanilla Bean Blog, Babble, Huffington Post

Employment status: Full-time, out-of-the-house

Parenting style: I make sure my son is in a supportive environment in which he feels loved and wanted.  I interact and try to keep our home as a learning environment but I also want him to play and be silly and to allow me to be silly with him (so, yes, we fly like planes down our hallway and moo like cows in our living room).  There is structure but there is ample room for him to be independent and to call the shots.  

Birth experience: The subject of a novel. And a post.

Infant feeding method: Breastfed for seven months until the little monster got teeth and decided that it was best to lock his tiny little jaws around my nipple.  We supplemented with formula, which was its own battle.  Solid foods were introduced as soon as he showed interest (Mommy’s breakfast bacon) but we skipped the cereal and moved straight to fruits and vegetables.  As with play, there is room for him to be independent and to make his own choices at the table.  This doesn’t mean he gets cereal for breakfast when he doesn’t care for my potato/chorizo hash.  But it does mean that I put out options that I want out there.  He has then the freedom to choose what he eats and  how much of it.  

“Mommy” Philosophy (this goes with sleeping, eating, nursing, everything): Go with the flow.  Try everything once.  Stick to what works and throw away what doesn’t (regardless of what the “experts” might say).  Remember that every child is different.

Childcare: Full-time day care.  Sometimes he’s there longer than the average day.   

Where I live: The Big Apple

Favorite kid activities: Conquering the slide at the park, staining my husband’s handmade dining table with paint, building tunnels with books or pillows and winding tracks through them; story time.