A Baby, A Business, a Blog

There's a popular view in the startup world that some of the best founders are contrarians. This idea was spearheaded by PayPal founder Peter Thiel, who was also an early investor in Facebook. For those unfamiliar with the term, it's someone who rejects popular opinion and in doing so, is able to create exceptionally successful products. If this opinion is truly the key factor to a strong entrpreneur, then I have a future Mark Zuckerberg on my hands. Maisie is the ultimate co

My past few weeks have been consumed with Ouchie. That's the giant mystery project. The one that was big enough for me to quit my comfortable job. The one that's big enough for us to seek out investors, advisors and even increase daycare hours. The one that's requiring me to soon cut back on revenue-generating work. It's the big one. The scary one. For the most past though, while it's been very busy, everything has been positive. I was getting more comfortable with my pitches

Maisie has named her shadow Owl My shadow's name is Maisie Everything I do, she does I brush my teeth, she wants to brush her teeth Every day I love her more and more And my shadow needs me less and less I take a sip of water She spills it all over her face I love her more and more She needs me less and less I walk a few feet She breaks out into a run -- and then a stumble I love her more and more She needs me less and less I ask her a question She eagerly screams a response

Yesterday the snow saved me. You see there comes a point in every man and woman's life where they reach a breaking point in terms of balancing everything. Wednesday was my breaking point. I was walking Nibbler in the hail with Maisie strapped in her carrier, even though Maisie is getting too big for the carrier, and I was close to missing some deadlines and I had an 8:30 p.m. conference call and I had to start dinner. And then it snowed the next morning. A lot of snow. Enough

This morning, Maisie was sitting in her high chair chomping down on blueberries, a distraction as I prepared her oatmeal. As the oatmeal cooled, I gave her a small piece of banana, knowing that like blueberries, it's among her favorite things. When the oatmeal was ready, the tantrum started. I tried to take her out of her highchair. That made it worse. Back into the highchair she went and I retreated to the kitchen. I returned with a banana in my hand. There was an audible so

A Year Ago... A year ago I was restless Now I sleep deeply, but awaken early A year ago I was anxious Now I'm surprisingly calm A year ago I was getting an epidural Now I'm making lunches A year ago I was a Brooklynite Now I'm a Jersey girl A year ago I was just Rachel Trobman Now I'm Momma #babystages #babygrowth #childdevelopment #change #mom #momblog #mommyblog #mommy #mommyhood #motherhood #mother #maisie #racheltrobman

Dearest Maisie, A year ago, I barely knew you. Even though you were inside of me, my knowledge of you was basic, and not in the Basic Bitch way. I knew you frequently had the hiccups, a trait we would call Maisie-ups when you were born. I knew you went crazy for Taste Nirvana coconut water. Besides that, I knew nothing. I didn’t even know your gender. When you were born, we were strangers. Your cries were hollow. Your smiles random. Merely 11 months later, I realized I know

A few years back, I was given the professional guidance to say "no" more. The thinking was that because I was taking too much on, I couldn't get everything accomplished. Or, in getting everything accomplished, I was burning myself out. With trepidation, and the support of my supervisors, I began to say no. While I wasn't thrilled with turning people down, I was eager to advance my career by taking on the advice of seasoned professionals. The response to my "nos" was nearly a

I used to watch TLC's show "What Not to Wear" and be perplexed by these beautiful women with ill-fitting, grossly- out-of-style clothes, raggedy hair and soft shapes. They must have never been stylish, ambitious or lived in a bustling metropolis, I so condescendingly thought. And then I became a mom. I should confess it took me years to be able to put together an outfit. I was a tomboy for most of my childhood, constantly rocking a backwards baseball hat. My sense of style w

I think I love Maisie most at 10.5 months. That isn't to say I haven't loved her in the past. It's just that now, I love her most of all. This stage of her life is simply amazing. Simply put: she's the most human she's ever been. Maisie now gets humor. She purposely tries to be funny. She imitates Nibbler by putting things in her mouth and then shaking her head back and forth. She pulls my hat over my face to play peekaboo. Her babbles have meaning. She insists on eating real