My dears, I promise our birth story is coming soon. I have been writing a bit each day, but with a teeny baby, everything takes way longer than expected! Here's a photo from right after Toby was born, which still makes me feel little weepy.
My darlings! As you may have guessed from the radio silence, I went into labor on Monday night, and, on Tuesday at lunchtime, we welcomed Tobias Paul Goddard-Williams into the world! He weighed 5 pounds 15 ounces and has blue eyes and brown hair. He is tiny and wrinkly and just the sweetest thing in the world. We are beside ourselves and completely in love.
This weekend, Alex and I took a few belly shots at a picnic with friends. At 8.5 months, I'm feeling ready to POP! We're so excited, and Alex has been my hero during this whole pregnancy--cooking pastas and burgers for dinner, massaging my lower back every night, telling me I look beautiful on those days when I'm swollen and bloated and highly doubting it, practicing guitar so he can teach the baby, and being incredibly understanding every step (and bump) of the way. Most baby books bizarrely treat dads like they're babies themselves (giving them only the most basic tips and comparing everything to baseball, groan), but Alex has been such an insightful, gentle, funny, loving partner. A huge, huge thank you, Alexei, and a hat tip to all you dads and dads-to-be out there! xoxo
Our little dude is due on June 2nd -- three weeks from today! I'm so excited to meet him. Alex and I have been reading tons of books on newborn baby care and came across the cutest line last night: Apparently, very young babies can get easily overstimulated because they can't look away. They literally don't know how! How sweet is that?
The baby is due in less than four weeks (I'm so excited), and our doctor told us that labor can take ages. She suggested bringing a movie to the hospital, in case things move slowly. After brainstorming, Alex and I decided on When Harry Met Sally, one of our all-time faves. It's funny to think of watching it between contractions. Which movie would you have chosen? (My friend Leigh watched Say Anything!)
I stumbled across this ad campaign this morning and can't stop looking at it. I love it.
Now that I'm almost eight months pregnant, I've been thinking so much about what our baby will look like. It's so crazy to feel him kicking all the time and feel like I already know him, but still have no idea how to envision his little face. So, I've been looking through some of my and Alex's childhood photos, since he'll probably look like a combination of the two of us, right? (Blond hair with a big head, methinks?) Ahh, I CANNOT WAIT to finally see his teeny face and hold him in my arms!!!
My twin sister Lucy and me (I'm on the right side in all the photos)...
And Alex as a little dude. (Isn't he funny in that straw hat and red shorts?:)
Oh man, I just had my first (or third) pregnancy meltdown. I got super stressed over nothing and called Alex in tears, who was very sweet and thankfully did not write me off as crazy. Pregnancy hormones can really do a number on an otherwise regular person! On a happier note, here are two pretty things I've been thinking about lately...
Recently I've seen a few women wearing simple gold wedding rings by themselves (without engagement rings). I think it's such a chic, beautiful look, don't you?
Also, how pretty are these braids? Perfectly messy and lovely.
Last night, my brother and I went for a bike ride, and I roped him into taking a few belly shots. I'm just over 33 weeks (about 7 1/2 months), and I'm so excited to see our baby boy's teeny face in less than two months! I'm so curious about what he'll look like (and if he'll still resemble a Dr. Seuss character). I have to admit, though, I'm getting a little nervous about the actual birth. I alternate between being super calm and being slightly panicky. It makes me feel better that so many mothers have done it before. When I walk around New York, I catch myself staring at strangers and thinking, "You were born, and you were born, and you were born."
Today is really busy, and I barely got a wink of sleep last night because the sweet little guy was kicking like crazy. So I'll leave you with this pretty photo of Jane Birkin and see you tomorrow, with lots of fun posts to share. A big kiss to you, my darlings! xoxo
Have you told bedtime stories lately? Pregnancy has made me super sleepy, and I've been conking out really early. So a little tradition has started, where Alex will put me to bed. After I brush my teeth, he'll say, “Ready for bed, baby?” and then come into the bedroom, lie down next to me (and my maternity pillow) and tell me funny stories about his childhood, early days in New York or old friends. I don't know how he comes up with them all (every single night!), but it's so cozy falling asleep listening to his deep voice and trying to stay awake to hear the ending. I love you, Alex.
Now that we're so close to meeting our little guy, I've been gazing at babies on the street and looking up baby photos on flickr. I just can't get enough of babies! This flickr photo called "brushing our teeth" is so cute, it makes my heart hurt.
Since those Jenga photos a couple days ago mysteriously hid my giant belly, here's a shot that I took that same night to send to my mom. (I wasn't going to post it because I have a weird expression and the lighting is all yellow, but oh well, here you are!) I snapped it in our living-room mirror while Alex was cooking dinner.
I just bought the baby his very first toy! It's a wooden car from Finland. I know he isn't actually born yet, but I couldn't resist. :) It makes my heart hurt to picture him pushing this around our living room.
Now that I'm six months pregnant, I've been craving something pretty to wear, so I just ordered this striped maternity dress from British online shop ASOS (which has a fabulous and not-too-expensive collection). My fingers are crossed that it fits when it arrives in the mail! :)
My sweets, hope you all had wonderful long weekends! I flew down to Florida on Sunday to visit my mom and her husband, and we've been having a great time. It's colder than usual (we wore fleeces to the pool!), so we've been taking long walks and talking about babies. Last night, she and her husband made Spanish tapas for dinner, including Spanish tortilla, Manchego cheese, and garlic-stuffed olives in a beautiful long olive tray. Afterward, we ate berries and brownies and watched The Bachelor, which my mom got really into. (By the way, what was up with that crazy preview for the finale?) Moms are the best! xoxo
Love this birth announcement. The parents are so cool, and I love how the dad's hands are in his pockets. Very mellow of him. :)
As a pregnant lady, I wear a black long-sleeved shirt about five days a week (it's one of the few things that fits), so I've been wearing lipstick to dress it up. Abbey and I were thinking that this neon pink lipstick is really fun! I might try to hunt it down at Sephora this weekend.
Today I woke up before sunrise starving for a bowl of cereal. Pregnancy is funny like that sometimes. Now I'm soooo sleepy. I thought I'd share this lovely photo of a flower market to add some beauty to the morning. xoxo
We just got these organic cotton train pajamas for the baby, and they are so cute, my heart hurts every time I look at them. It's amazing to imagine a wriggly baby wearing them in just four months.
