Sarah Preston Gorenstein is a magazine writer, editor, journalist, and digital content producer…when she’s not navigating the rough terrain of Working Motherhood. A former nightlife columnist and dating blogger for Chicago magazine, Sarah reinvented herself when she became a mom in 2009 and began chronicling her new life for The Parenting Post, blogging about all the issues that plague working moms today. She was a new mom while simultaneously serving as the full-time managing editor of Playboy.com. She worked for Playboy for nearly a decade, which never ceases to provide her with colorful material for her writing.
Sarah’s the beaming mom of a happy two-year-old named Preston, and just as she finally felt settled into motherhood she took on her hardest project yet—trying to conceive baby no. 2. Tune in to the Fertility Files every other day to read about Sarah’s personal, and often painful, journey going through secondary infertility.
If you want to read more about Sarah and her adventures in parenthood, see an archive of Parenting Posts below. She also blogs regularly on her personal site here (www.thecosmomom.com), where she holds absolutely nothing back. Ever.
We just got back from an incredible trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. This was exactly the kind of vacation I needed right now—a rented house in the mountains overlooking the whole city and ocean that came with a house manager and cook, a beautiful outdoor pool/lounge, five bedrooms each with its own bathroom, an open-air living room and kitchen (plus flat-screen TV), and just the right amount of charm and quaintness you'd want in a massive Mexican villa (the owners are friends of my mother’s so we got a great deal on it). But the best part: The hardest decisions we had to make on this trip were what we wanted for breakfast, lunch and dinner; what, if anything, we wanted to do each day (we went sailing, see photo); and whether or not we needed more beer from the store (which we always did of course). I haven’t been that relaxed and pampered in…well…maybe ever.Read Full Post
Last week was a turning point in my life: I left my post as managing editor of Playboy.com. Wednesday was officially my last day at Playboy's headquarters in Chicago—a place I've considered my home away from home for nearly a decade. I essentially grew up at Playboy. When I started as the copy editor I was a 27-year-old single girl about town (I simultaneously wrote a nightlife column for Chicago magazine during seven of those years and lived the life I wrote about). Now, I'm a 37-year-old mom and wife; a career woman with a family. Saying goodbye was bittersweet: Those were life-changing years for me and my career—I worked with some of the most talented writers, editors, photographers, designers, producers and ad execs in the business, including Mr. Playboy himself. I feel lucky to have been a part of history. And I loved every second of it. So the obvious question now is: What's next?Read Full Post
Remember when I wrote about Preston’s epic tantrums back in April, when he was 19 months old? And then again in August right before he turned 2, I wrote about these inner demons that seemed to be taking over his mind and body, rendering him (and me) inconsolable and slightly crazy? Sounds pretty harsh now looking back at those blogs, but I’m happy to report that Preston seems to be past his terrible twos, or whatever we’re calling them now. It's been about two months now that I’ve noticed him maturing before my eyes. And it’s been the most amazing thing to watch…Read Full Post
This decision about where to send my son to preschool next year, when he turns three, is on my mind constantly. A lot of preschool programs are “play based” at his age, so in essence they’re not that different than the playgroups he has on a daily basis with our nanny and her circle of nanny friends in the neighborhood. I finally decided not to enroll him in a regular preschool program until next year for that reason. Our nanny takes care of Preston full time (four days a week/10 hours a day), and we usually have him enrolled in a class or two per season (he just finished an eight-week gymnastics class that my husband was taking him to on Thursdays; and I’m enrolling him in a preschool prep class starting in January—yes, preschool prep). So why do I feel guilty about waiting till he’s three to put him in preschool?Read Full Post
We’re the kind of parents that take our toddler everywhere, and we’ve always been that way. When Preston was just an infant we toted him to dinner all the time (he celebrated our first anniversary with us at the Cape Cod Room at The Drake Hotel, where we got married, when he was three weeks old), and we used to bring him to a popular neighborhood bar to watch football games on the weekends. Would we get dirty looks from other patrons? Sure. Did we care? Nope.Read Full Post
Halloween used to be my favorite time of year. I once postponed having back surgery (just a microdiscectomy) until after Halloween was over, because I didn’t want to miss out on all the parties and chances to dress up (serious dedication, I know). But ever since I had Preston 26 months ago, I haven’t dressed up or gone to any adult costume parties and—honestly?—something seems missing from my life. So to fill the void I put extra effort into thinking up the perfect Halloween costume for Preston, but it wasn't cheap.Read Full Post
So now that the cat’s out of the proverbial bag and I’ve revealed to the world that I’ve been going through IVF, I’ve had a little bit of blogger’s remorse I admit. But being a blogger means there’s a very thin line between your personal life and … well … your blog. After last week’s post went up, I experienced the requisite after-shock, but then I got a handful of sincere emails from friends and acquaintances, people who’ve taken the time to share their own fertility struggles with me, to reassure me that I’m not alone, that it’s all worth it in the end, and that I have people to turn to when the going gets tough. And that was all I needed to hear…Read Full Post
Along with the rest of my friends, I'd been looking for signs of her pregnancy since the season finale of "Giuliana and Bill" aired at the end of September; I've been tuning into E! every night just to look for any hint of a baby bump, to see if this third round of IVF was successful for Giuliana and Bill Rancic. I don't know a single mom, or Chicagoan, who hasn't been watching and sincerely pulling for her. Though I have some Chicago connections to Bill (and I interviewed him in 2004 after he won The Apprentice), I've only merely met him a few times. I don't know Giuliana either, but they both happen to be friends of good friends of ours, and being from Chicago and watching their show religiously, I feel like we're much more than that, especially because I've had my own struggles with infertility...Read Full Post
All parents think their kid is the funniest, cutest person on earth. How many times has your kid said or done something, and you wish you’d had a camera on him? After I saw that YouTube video with the twin babies talking to each other, I was convinced: If I can just catch Preston in a moment like that, the video would not only go viral, he’d be discovered by a talent scout looking for an adorable kid for their commercial or shoot, and we’d finally be able to cash in on his cuteness. I'm sitting on a goldmine here, people.Read Full Post
I just got back from a beautiful wedding in Folly Beach, South Carolina for my cousin Tara's wedding. It was magnificent, right down to the perfect 70-degree weather—and almost as magnificent as the happy couple. Nic and Tara have been together for six years, and my dad (who's a judge) officiated their wedding (see picture). It was the most beautiful and laid-back wedding I've ever attended—on a beach, the bride and groom walked barefoot down an aisle lit up by tiki torches right at dusk while the tide was low. We all stood around watching them exchange heartfelt vows about supporting each other's dreams, loving each other unconditionally, and promising to be each other's best friends while they grow old together. I cried, of course (I always cry). But I also cried because I couldn't help but think of my own wedding, three years, two businesses, new jobs, a house, a dog, a two-year-old, and about 200 sleepless nights ago...Read Full Post
