Little babies

Remember our anatomically correct boy baby doll?



Now we have two.

It's a boy!

Ready to go home. Can he be smiling already?


Hurray, the labor is over! I didn't have any pain medication this time. Even if I had wanted it, there wasn't any time for me to get it.


Junebug looks great. I'm tired and disheveled.

Born June 30 -- at long last! Thank you for all your good wishes. I'm disoriented and disorganized, but very happy.

Waiting

No baby yet.

Ain't nuthin' going on here.

Well, actually, I'm 2 cm dilated. My doctor and doula both said to get walking. So for the past three days, I have been walking and doing not much else except ... waiting. That's about all I have energy for.

I thought yesterday was my due date, but it's actually tomorrow. I really got that one mixed up. I know the baby will come when s/he comes, but I really felt the big day would be a couple weeks ago.

So I feel I'm in a holding pattern. I'm trying to do something fun with Fly every day. Writing thank-you notes. Tying up loose ends. Staring at my to-go bag. Discovering if I scratch my belly in just the right place, it seems to tickle the baby.

Just waiting.

Belly shots

Look at the photos my friend Guinevere took of me today! She's so talented.







Check out her photo blog here.

I didn't really want my picture taken much when I was pregnant with Fly. I don't know why I feel differently this time. I hope Fly doesn't care!

I Love You for Sentimental Reasons

Fly last fall; MissVivi quick page

When I started Growing A Life two and a half years ago, there was no way I could have imagined I would be where I am now -- that the blog would be where it is now. I didn't imagine the friends I would make, the tears of sadness or hysterics you would make me cry, the way I would feel like a better mother for spending time online consuming everything you've written about teething, breastfeeding, tantrums, making sacrifices, watching your babies sleep and falling in love with them every day in a million ways. Blogging -- mainly reading your blogs -- has been a lifesaver and something that keeps me going especially on days when nothing good seems to be happening or when nothing seems to please my high-energy, strong-willed but kind-hearted Fly.

As he grew more independent, last year I started another parenting blog more about our region of the world, as many of you know. (Hi, dual readers!) It has been great to have another place to write about being a mama, Fly's antics or just everyday life. That blog has surprisingly taken on a life of its own, earning me a "Blog of the Day" award from my local newspaper and especially the Nickelodeon Parent's Picks Awards nomination for our region.

Blogging here and there has been fun but also challenging. It's been hard to keep up with who knows me from which blog, how frequently have I posted where and what I said where. I know I've confused more than one of you with my split blog personality. With my baby coming less than a month from now, I know I will want to give him or her -- and JP and Fly -- my attention and not just sit at the computer. That wouldn't make for good blogging anyway.

So I decided Growing A Life will be my more personal blog -- which it already is. I probably won't post as often, but this is where I'll have baby pictures! And Fly photos! And more private news to share. So this blog isn't going anywhere. I'm too sentimental to banish my first love.

If you want to follow me to the other blog, though, I'd be so happy. Hope you'll stop by.

Overdue thanks

I feel bad that I don't think I ever mentioned a couple of bloggy contests I won earlier this year!

From Tracey at Just Another Mommy Blog, I won a coupon for a free meal at Sweet Tomatoes, a nice, casual salad bar-type restaurant that serves healthy, fresh food. Fly loves it, too.

And from Heather at Cool Zebras (through her Zoo Review blog), I won a MilkBank breast milk storage and feeding system. This will be handy if the little Junebug is as good a nurser as Fly was.

Just last week, I also won a Curly Hair Solutions kit from Stephanie at Metropolitan Mama. Every once in a while, I let my hair stay curly.

I feel so lucky!

Umm.... I didn't miss anyone, did I?

What I'd Wear Wednesday: Carolina Herrera Jr.

What I'd wear today if I could: a perfect outfit like the one Carolina Herrera Jr. is wearing in this photo from the holiday issue of defunct Domino magazine. This magazine was the only one worth flipping through on a recent OB/GYN appointment. (Yes, I said recent. The issue was five months old. My doctor's waiting room has replaced all the magazines with flat-screen TVs, apparently. Gah! I'm a magazine junkie, people! Where else am I going to have child-free time to flip through magazines I don't get at home? You're slowly killing me with an illiterate death!) I figured because the mag was so old, no one would care if I took it home. Then I scanned in this amazing photo of the famous designer's daughter.

What I think is so amazing about the photo is despite the grand home behind her, Carolina could be anybody's mom. That could be any woman in my town carrying a baby and holding the hand of her toddler, walking down the driveway to get the mail or paper.

Of course, for the purpose of WIWW, I love what she's wearing. Simple jeans. A basic white shirt. A necklace or maybe two. Undone hair. But she still looks put together. She could wear that outfit just about anywhere, for almost any regular-mom occasion. I imagine she even smells good. Maybe in a few years I will even make this my uniform, or at least my go-to outfit. Everyone needs something to aspire to.

Are there any outfits / looks / clothing or accessory items you aspire to?