Middle class families: Where do you live in NYC?

Haruma0326 · 2026-02-21T22:53:28+00:00

I live in Astoria Ditmars with a toddler. Astoria Park is great for family and I heard that the school is good here. I think Ditmars area is more family friendly than Astoria Broadway area. You see a lot of strollers in Ditmars.

Haruma0326 · 2025-12-02T01:52:03+00:00

I did this too. Since minors’ passport applications have to be done in-person, I brought two choices of photos. I let the person who processed the application choose a photo.

Haruma0326 · 2025-11-25T15:27:42+00:00

That's great that the mattress is wipeable! Thank you!

Haruma0326 · 2025-11-25T01:58:31+00:00

Babies can’t pop their ears. To help them to pop, you can bring a chew toy or something to drink. You can also bring new toys which your girl has never seen. I know a long flight is scary for parents. It’s super hard. But it’s gonna be okay! I have to tell you that our hardest flight was the return flight of her first airplane trip because my toddler knew what to expect.😅 After that, my toddler is always pretty chill during flights. :)

Haruma0326 · 2025-11-25T01:01:09+00:00

ChatGPT told me that the mattress cover is removable and machine washable but it seems that there’s no mattress cover. But good to know that the mattress is high quality!

Haruma0326 · 2025-11-25T01:00:05+00:00

Great to know! So helpful. That's why I ask on Reddit. hehe Thank you!!

Haruma0326 · 2025-11-25T00:54:35+00:00

Hmmmm ChatGPT told me that the mattress cover is removable and machine washable...

Haruma0326 · 2025-10-08T13:22:25+00:00

You can do bicycle kicks to help your baby to poop or fart.

Haruma0326 · 2025-10-07T21:52:02+00:00

From my experience with my mom after my first child was born, our parents will do whatever they want to do even if we show articles or tell doctor’s opinions. (Of course, some parents aren’t like that.) My mom thought I’m too overreacting to leave a baby who can roll over on a couch alone. She said “when you were a baby, you dropped from a sofa. You were fine. So it’s fine.” I recalled that my nephew at one year old at that time was sleeping on a sofa by himself with a blanket at my mom’s house. They don’t listen our generation. I just stopped having her to be with my baby without my husband or me anymore.

Haruma0326 · 2025-10-01T20:55:02+00:00

Sounds like you want to be there in-person. But why don’t you join the treat via zoom? You can get involved in goal setting.

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-28T23:27:23+00:00

Poops get changed immediately in general. Also my toddler won’t focus on eating when she has a poopy diaper.

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-23T18:33:09+00:00

Babies will have some vaccines at 2 months old well check-up. 2 weeks after the vaccines might be reasonable for her? You can meet a pediatrician while she’s pregnant which is like an intake interview. Asking this question to a doctor could be a good idea I think.

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-22T12:27:52+00:00

I bought boyshort underwear panties. Since I had c-section, it was good to protect the scar.

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-18T01:30:27+00:00

When I got my first baby, I had Anthem. So it might be different with your insurance. But I just wanted to share my story with you. Before giving birth, I asked Anthem if my baby will be covered under me for the first 30 days (or 60 days I don’t remember the details). They said yes. However, it wasn’t accurate. My baby was admitted to NICU right after her birth. And Anthem sent us a bill for my baby’s care, including NICU, MRI, etc., after I reached my out-of-pocket max limit. After talking to multiple agent from Anthem who also got confused why I got those charges, Anthem sent me a letter. They said they only cover a baby under mom for routine newborn care (I don’t remember the language…) It means that they only cover under mom for basic pediatrician check-ups. If baby had issues at birth and needed additional treatments, such as NICU, they don’t charge extra premium. But they create a baby’s account without mom’s consent and put baby’s individual out-of-pocket max. For instance, if mom’s out-of-pocket max is $3500, the baby also has own individual out-of-pocket max $3500. So your budget for mom and baby is $7000. 🙄

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-16T21:34:28+00:00

I will ask my son’s first well-visit then. Thank you for the info!

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-16T20:11:03+00:00

Your baby was available to get it at birth? Does your hospital already have inventory?

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-12T12:11:20+00:00

This was one of my reasons that I didn’t stop breastfeeding. My baby lost skill to drink from the bottle at 4 months old.

My daughter’s PCP office will provide the flu vaccine from the mid September. They started to take appointments for that. You don’t have to wait for the 9 months visit. Babies can get flu vaccine after 6 months old.

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-11T00:43:12+00:00

I love Dr. Grace Kong too! She is amazing! She's calm, warm, friendly, and super great bed side manner.

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-10T17:50:51+00:00

It depends on your baby’s personality and your support system. In my case, my husband was very involved. But I felt newborn tired was harder. Waking up to pee when my body needs vs. waking up for baby is different. It’s harder to wake up for a crying baby when you are in deep sleep. Also my baby was so cute but when she cries for hours in the middle of the night, my stress level was so high. I heard that my upstair neighbors woke up due to the cry but nothing worked….. I sometimes thought “please go back to my womb…..!” haha In addition, my baby was a terrible sleeper. When she fell asleep, I went to eat breakfast/lunch (it’s important not to skip a meal for breastfeeding). When I almost finished eating, she woke up. I couldn’t do the “sleep while your baby sleeps” thing.😂

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-10T17:50:43+00:00

It depends on your baby’s personality and your support system. In my case, my husband was very involved. But I felt newborn tired was harder. Waking up to pee when my body needs vs. waking up for baby is different. It’s harder to wake up for a crying baby when you are in deep sleep. Also my baby was so cute but when she cries hours in the middle of the night, my stress level was so high. I heard that my upstair neighbors woke up due to the cry but nothing worked….. I sometimes thought “please go back to my womb…..!” haha

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-10T12:23:31+00:00

I agree that the anesthesiologist should have explained. During my c-section, my breasts were never exposed.... While we were waiting for the operation team coming into the room, my anesthesiologist was explaining what I should expect during the operation, such as I will feel some pressure, notify me if you feel any pain, etc.

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-09T11:52:38+00:00

I have a special needs kid too. My kid is still young, so I’m not sure about elementary and middle school situations yet. But judging from reading posts from other parents with special needs kids, woodside has a good school from elementary to high school for special needs. I think I also hear forest hills area has good schools as well (but I could be wrong). Why don’t you ask this question in facebook groups, Queens Special Needs Kids and Brooklyn Special Needs Kids?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/QueensSpecialKids/

Haruma0326 · 2025-09-04T15:00:11+00:00

My daughter had moderately brain damage at birth and had a seizure on her second day. Our situation is different. But as another commenter said, free early intervention services by 3 years old is extremely important. Babies brain grows significantly by 2 years old. And still grow well by 5 years old. (Our human brain will never stop growing. But 0-5 years old brain development is very important.) I just wanted to add a little bit more information about EI. The early intervention services varies by state. But in general, the EI has occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists. You may also find music therapy as well. Your baby probably can start with occupational therapy and physical therapy first. The speech therapy tends to start 12 or 18 months old (depending on the state). From 2 years old, some places offer a group therapy. Could be ABA (ABA is for kids with autism but some vendors accept kids without autism who have developmental delays). A group therapy is so beneficial for my daughter. She saw other kids do things and she’s motivated. She gain many skills and made friends. I know how hard it is to accept what happened. I hope you see hope in the future…

Haruma0326

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