Archive for the ‘with child’ Category
May 8, 2012
Bigger every week, people. Whine whine whine whine. I feel like the most whiny pregnant lady this time. I can’t help it though. Things are just not as comfortable. But I am starting to get super excited about who will be coming to meet us soon.
We have our first appointment with our doula tonight, which is also exciting. It means we’re getting closer (and I won’t be pregnant for much longer!) and it means that we can start to put a little focus into the birth and our new baby and all of the things that I spent so much time on the first time… but that seem to have been largely over-looked this time around.
I’ve started to fall into the trap again. The trap where I start to fantasize about all the things I’m going to be able to do after the baby comes. Which, as we all know, is laughable. I want to cook and garden and stand on my feet for long periods of time. And since I can’t do that now, I seem to think that I will when I have a newborn. Help me.
Also I realized how amazing a water birth would be. And now I feel sad that I won’t be having one. When we were in Palm Springs, I was having a particularly uncomfortable afternoon, lots of pressure and achy-ness and things, and then I got in the pool and it went away. It was like a miracle. And all of a sudden it clicked. Hrrrmmpphff. Why do they not have tubs at UCLA?
Now I’m starting to think of crazy things like going to the public pool when I go into labor. Or at least a friend’s pool? We’ll see.
I think we’ve come pretty close to settling on names. Last time we had like 3 or 4 for each sex because we wanted to wait to meet our baby to decide. This time, I think we’ll have one for each. And that’s okay too.
How are the rest of you doing? Tick tock, tick tock.
Striped maxi dress by Aqua, from Bloomingdales. Shima teardrop earrings (which you can’t really see, but you should because they are cute) from Misa Jewelry.
labels: with child
April 18, 2012
30 weeks seems like a milestone, doesn’t it? In reality, I have a while to go yet but still. Judging by how quickly this pregnancy has gone by, I’m going to be staring June in the face very soon. Excited and kind of nervous. Definitely more nervous than last time… because this time I *know* what I’m getting myself into. Last time it was just ignorant, impatient bliss.
Spring skinny jeans! They are not necessarily sorbet, but they are bright and fun and they make me feel like less of a fashion slug. And guess what? NOT maternity! Just two sizes bigger. Even better, because if experience serves me I’ll be going up a number of sizes after this baby arrives.
I was agonizing over which pieces to buy from Hatch Collection, you guys. Agonizing. They all seemed perfect, but also silk (um, not the best fabric for carrying a 2 year old around), and expensive, and I couldn’t figure how to get the discount for liking them on FB, and I don’t GO anywhere fancy anyway, whine whinewhinewhine.
And then I happened in to Gap the other day and walked out with an entire new wardrobe for what I would have spent on one Hatch dress. None of it maternity. All of it bright and fun. My jeans are Gap 1969 always skinny. They’re stretchy and low enough that they actually work as perfectly comfortable maternity jeans. I wouldn’t recommend them for a day of travel or anything, but they are fine for regular pregnant activities. Also walked away with a handful of Gap Pure camisoles, which are perfect. A few bright tanks, and some loose long sleeves. I could have easily taken home 5 more things, but I restrained myself. Ahhhh. Never would have guessed that I’d be so excited about Gap!
In pregnancy news, I’ve discovered that my weight gain seems to be directly correlated to the amount of chocolate peanut butter ice cream I consume. Go figure! The weeks that I indulge myself I find at my appointments that I’ve gained double the amount of weight suggested. Um, oops. Maybe I will be slightly more careful. Of course I rewarded myself for my exceptional ability to put on weight with an almond croissant and warm baguette with butter and jam from Amandine yesterday morning after my appointment. So clearly I don’t care that much.
We’re narrowing in on names, which feels good. I was starting to fear that we’d be talking names while I was in labor. Hopefully not.
I’ve been swimming loads, which is amazing. It’s the only time I don’t feel incredible amounts of downward pressure, and also the only time I don’t have to pee every 10 minutes. I think it might be time for a new workout suit though. I’m still wearing the one I wore while I was pregnant with Dashiell. It’s looking a little obscene, I fear.
And it’s been really fun to start talking to Dashie about his new sibling. He’s known from the beginning that there’s a “baby” in mommy’s tummy, but that was probably more of an abstract concept. Now he can feel the baby kick and he gets super excited (and probably kind of confused) and his eyes get big and he smiles and laughs. He thinks we’re having a brother.
How are the rest of you pregnant ladies feeling!? My advice: hit up Gap while you can.
(Aqua skinny jeans and orange tank from Gap. Chalk art from Dashiell.)
labels: with child
April 2, 2012
You guys, I’m feeling desperate for something from Hatch Collection. DESPERATE. I’m actually feeling generally desperate for spring clothes that make me feel even the slightest bit stylish. Why do they not make sorbet-colored maternity skinny jeans? WHY? J. Crew is majorly missing out on a big market, if you ask me.
So, here’s how I’m trying to rationalize a Hatch purchase (or two). You can supposedly wear these pieces after you have the bebé. The models even show it! And models never lie!
What do we think? God, it’s all so cute I barely stand it. Also I will need new shoes and bags to go with these pieces. Probably jewelry too.
Please, someone, enable me.
(Also tempted by this Club Monaco skirt… could go under the belly now and on the waist after?)
labels: ready to wear, with child
March 28, 2012
Well! That weekly belly shot series has really taken off around here, hasn’t it! I think the last one I posted was 19 weeks? Oops. I’m sure none of you are surprised. Here’s where we stand at the moment:
You’ll notice the bangs are slowing growing. By June I’m hoping to be able to pull them back into a pony. Though I’ll miss them for sure. I think next summer they’ll be back.
I still find the idea that we’re having another child more of an abstract concept vs. a real reality. Probably because I’m having a hard time imagining a baby different than Dashiell. HE’S my baby. And I think when you don’t know the sex, maybe you tend to feel slightly more removed from who is inside? I could be wrong, but the unknown must play a part. I’ve always known that we would have more than one child, but I can also see why people choose to raise an only. I feel so fulfilled with just my little guy, but then I want him to have a sibling (or two!) so that they can all grow up together with the community and connection that a larger family can provide.
I feel prepared in ways I didn’t when I was pregnant the last time, but then I realize, who am I kidding!? I have no idea what it’s going to be like to have two! I figure the first year will be hard again, and then we’ll be settled into a new and comfortable normal.
In pregnancy land, I am…
Tired. Not sleepy, my body is tired. Like out of breath from the silliest things. Vacuuming, making dinner, etc.
Dry. OMG my skin is so dry. My face especially, which doesn’t make we want to put make-up on, or get dressed, or take pictures of myself.
In preparation, we’ve…
Ordered Dashie a new bed and rearranged his/their room. He won’t sleep on it for a good while, but we figured it would be better for him to start getting used to it earlier than later. I’m excited to have a snuggly place to read and play for the next few months.
Hired our doula again. I considered going it alone this time when I found out that my super dear friend Laura, who happens to be a midwife, would be in Europe and not available to be with me for this birth. But then I thought better of it because I feel like even though I kind of know what to expect, you never really know what to expect! Plus I asked Jora for her expert advice, being a mother of three babies who all came into this world with the help of a doula, and just hearing why she chose to have another woman with her each time helped me realize why I would want one too.
*Started* talking about names. Started being the key word. Last time we began that conversation upon receiving a positive pregnancy test. This time we have three months to go and are just getting around to thinking about it. We have a few in mind, but we’ll take any suggestions you might have. :)
I feel like there was more to report, but now that I’m trying to share, I can’t remember. Less than three months, people. I think June will be here very very soon.
Oh, and almost forgot! Here I am at 26 weeks in a little profile on the 31 Bits blog.
labels: with child
February 7, 2012
Pretty amazing, attending a birth. And laboring through the night with someone else. I’m going to resist telling my version of Jen’s birth story, since you know, it’s her’s to tell if she chooses. But a few bits of story to make sense of the photos…
The poor dear had to be induced on Thursday night after her non-stress test revealed that she had very seriously low amniotic fluid. She was 6 days overdue anyway, but induction means machines and monitors and lots of pitocin, which wasn’t the birth she was hoping for. But do you know what? She was a rockstar anyway. The woman had contractions that were one minute apart from 7pm until her baby was born at 9 the next morning. That’s a whole different kind of resilience, as those of you who have given birth know.
But it was a beautiful birth anyway, as they always are.
Awww, such a happy ending. Our friend Laura was there too and she’s a midwife, which was awesome. She’s the lady laboring with Jen in most of the photos. A pro is always nice to have on hand. By the time Jen had reached her limit and the anesthesiologist was giving her an epidural, she was 10 cm and ready to push (we found out after the fact). She dilated 5 cm in 1 hour. It was wild, but she did it. And her baby boy is perfect and all is right in the world.
I tell you, in the middle of the night, watching her contractions come one after the other, I had a long period where I was really kind of dreading going into labor again. It’s long, and slow, and unknown. But then once things picked up and she was really working, really laboring, and Laura and I were helping her through each wave, I realized that I CAN do it again. She completely inspired me. It’s amazing the kind of energy a birth brings. And the part I really can’t get over is that all night we were just watching a belly, and then in one second the belly turns into a baby. A baby! Who has been in there all this time! Words can’t really describe that transition.
I also realized that um, if you think you might want to have a natural birth, it’s pretty vital that you hire a doula or have some kind of labor support with you. You will probably reach a point when you are quite literally crawling the walls, and if you’ve never been there before it’s hard to understand that what you’re feeling is right and good.
Now I can’t wait to get down to their house to visit the new family at home. That’s where the magic really happens.
labels: baby + kids, with child
January 26, 2012
So, weekly belly shots might be a little ambitious. How about every so often belly shots?
Updates…
The bangs are being grown out. Thank you to the wise previously pregnant with bangs ladies who pointed out that NOW would be the time to grow them when my hair is growing approximately 1/4″ per day. (As evidenced by v. long hair above, that desperately needs to be cut.)
I can’t put my finger on it, except to say that I just feel it more this time. Last time I breezed through pregnancy with nary a twinge until the very end. This time it’s slightly more of a slog. But perhaps my expectations weren’t realistic and this is just normal.
Lots of tiny baby kickings already! It’s true! You really do feel the kicks much earlier the second time around. It’s pretty fun.
And Dashie is going through a particularly happy and excited phase right now. I mean, he’s always been a pretty happy guy, but he’s pushing even his limits. It’s adorable. And he loves his Ostheimer animals, btw. The giraffe makes a perfect tunnel for one of his little trains.
(Tee: Whetherly, Jeans: J Brand maternity jeggings in black… so you can’t really see them.)
labels: with child
January 11, 2012
Some of you have already figured me out, but here’s the official announcement… Baby #2 is on the way! It’s the great baby influx of 2012, if you live my life. So many women I know are pregnant, and all due within a few months of each other. I know it’s just my age and place in life, but it feels like there’s something in the water. Something very good and very amazing and very lucky, when it all comes down to it.
Last time I was pregnant I was reluctant to turn this space into a mommy blog. PWWAAAHHAHHAAHAA. Of course this is a mommy blog! I’m a mama. So many things you just don’t know the first time around (and probably the second too). So this time I’m going to be all up in the pregnancy business, including (I mean why not, right?) weekly belly shots. They’re sooo satisfying on other people’s blogs, after all. And it’s so fun dressing a growing belly. It is so NOT fun dressing a post-partum body. Oh lord, I’m not looking forward to being fat for a year again. But whatevs, I get a baby.
Hopefully this explains my complete lack of posting for the entire fall. This time around, I was sick for the first few months. Not crippled with nausea or anything, but feeling very not well at times and generally meh at others. Which does not for extra energy make. And certainly doesn’t lend itself to being creative or caring about much in general. Plus I couldn’t cook because all food was repulsive, particularly anything with “fall flavors”. Ughh those were were a tough few weeks. I spent the better part of October and November eating strictly grapefruit. Luckily I’ve come out of that and only have a few lingering aversions to manage.
When you consider that I did a total of 35 sit ups in between pregnancies it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that I seem to growing much faster this time around. Those muscles were just waiting for good old relaxin to give them the go ahead to hang out. Which in some ways was very weird… last time I had months and months of mental preparation before I had to start negotiating a belly, this time I immediately looked pregnant. As in strangers asking about due dates and family and friends guessing before I could tell them. But in other ways it’s been fabulous because I didn’t have to endure months of looking thicker and thicker before I actually started to look preggo.
I’m also so much more sensitive to the world around, which I don’t remember last time. Like tearing up when I’m listening to NPR, not because it’s sad… just because it’s interesting. Pregnancy is strange and marvelous and mysterious all at the same time.
Trying not to freak out about the reality of having two children. And not sleeping again. Oh I’m so scared for the tiredness.
So, here we go.
(PS. What do we think of the bangs? I’m considering growing them out again, even though I’ve only had them for like 4 months. They require so much maintenance!)
Shirt: J. Crew. Jeans: Paige maternity jeggings, baby! (I love them.) Scarf: oldie but goodie from Madrid, circa 1999.
labels: with child
August 18, 2011
A few photos Melanie and I took before and after little Luciana arrived, inspired by this photo we found on Pinterest.
And because I know there are plenty of pregnant ladies and mamas out there, might I recommend reading Melanie’s beautiful birth story too? Yes it’s marvelous when birth goes as planned, but it can be just as powerfully transformative and truly magnificent when it doesn’t.
And Melanie has taken to motherhood like no one I’ve ever met. The way her child did or didn’t enter this world can’t change that. Welcome to the littlest one, and to the newest member of the mama tribe!
I love this phase of life.
labels: baby + kids, with child
August 17, 2011
Just bought this maxi dress from Gap. I’m in the neither category, but the first thing I thought when I bought this dress is that it is the world’s most perfect non-nursing nursing dress. You know, cross top with plenty of room to pull it down and not completely rip the seams out? Highly recommend it for those of you who are nursing or soon to be nursing. And as a bonus it hides the postpartum tummy. AND would be a great maternity dress. But it’s currently working as an excellent non-special-needs-lady dress for me.
Totally should have bought two, because you know how Gap things fade in like 4 washes. I think it’s mostly sold out online, but they had it in lots of sizes in the store last time I checked. AND, wait one more thing. I like that it’s ankle length! So easy to walk in. I’m telling you, it’s perfect for the end of summer.
labels: ready to wear, with child
August 4, 2011
I’ve been reading The Baby Project on NPR for a few months. I find it endlessly fascinating to follow women through the last part of their pregnancy and to hear how and when their babies were born. Anyone else been reading along?
This gorgeous story about birth in rural Nepal popped up on Saturday and I thought some of you might enjoy it. Okay, the story isn’t gorgeous, it’s kind of sad, but the photos are just amazing. Particularly the last one. Women all over the world labor the same way. Isn’t that extraordinary? I mean it’s obvious I guess, but not really.
I’m not going to say I’m obsessed with pregnancy and labor and birth, but I’m severely into it. It’s just so BIG, you know?
labels: with child
