a year

My what a difference a year makes. You can expect to see many, many more photos from our latest shoot with Gui in the coming days. Consider this the preview.

maternity photography: Ellen

This is only my second maternity shoot being on the other side of the camera, and I loved it. Ellen was right at the end of her pregnancy and it was a delight to shoot her and her belly. She was in such a good place, calm and happy and, of course, looking forward to meeting her baby boy. Exactly 2 days after these photos were taken, Ellen and Regan welcomed their second son into the world… Finn Manaia Arthur. Belinda was there to capture the birth, so hopefully she'll share some of those shots on her blog soon.

Congratulations again Ellen, Regan and Noah!

the next baby

Nursing newborn Clementine. This photo brings back so many memories… the flowers we were given following the birth, the heartfelt cards lining the shelves, and the never-ending breastfeeding. Photo taken by my friend Sonja.

Let me begin by saying that no, I am not pregnant. Or, more accurately, OH HELL NO!!

So now that that's cleared up... Ever since I was pregnant with Clementine, I found my thoughts drifting to the next pregnancy and the next baby. Part of it was practical; during my first trimester I napped every day and often slept for 12 hours a night. I knew I wouldn't be able to do that and take care of a toddler and I wondered how I would cope. I also felt sad that the first pregnancy, such a magical and special time, was so fleeting.

Now that I have a baby (and know just how much work is involved) I'm extra worried. When it takes me an hour to feed her or put her to sleep, I think, 'how on earth will I do this and parent another child?' Seriously, how do you mothers of two or more do it?

This also gets me pondering age gaps and what the ideal difference might be. My brother and I are exactly 4.5 years apart, which meant I was 5 grades ahead of him at school. While we get along well now and I think he's quite a cool person, we weren't exactly close growing up. I think the age difference was just too big. But it certainly would have been easier for my mom to take care of a newborn while her only other child was at school 6 hours a day. It seems to me that the most common age gap between siblings is two years, but I think that feels too rushed to me. Not least of all because I don't want to be changing diapers for two babies!

The other thing I have noticed is that I'm so happy right now with our little family of three, that part of me wants to keep it this way forever. It's hard to imagine changing that dynamic, but I know we will one day. When the time is right...

So tell me, how many kids do you have? How far apart are they? And how do you cope? I'd love to know!

p.s. my mom arrives on Monday so I'll be taking a few days off blogging, but I'll be back next Friday to share my fourth sling diaries post.

my blessingway

 

Before I post about Clementine's birth and first week, I have to rewind a bit to the week before she was born. During my pregnancy I knew I wanted to do something to mark my passage into motherhood and celebrate the journey of pregnancy and birth, but I just couldn't see myself having a baby shower. I can't remember how or where I first heard about blessingways, but when I did I knew instantly that was what I wanted. I ordered myself Mother Rising: The Most Complete Guide to Blessingways and got thinking about the day - who to invite, what we should do, the gift debate etc.

In the end, I chose two friends to help organise the day: one friend helped with all of the planning (making invites, taking RSVP's, buying flowers, cleaning my house and more) while the other would guide the blessingway. I gave each of them a copy of the book so they could plan it without me; the actual elements of the ritual should be a surprise to the mum to be on the day. I was also lucky enough to have the wonderful Belinda snap a few photos on the day. They were truly the perfect friends for the job.

On a Sunday afternoon, at 38 weeks pregnant, we gathered in my home. Friends from yoga, university, blogging, husband's school friends and even my doula came along. My friend Katie guided us through a beautiful ritual that I will always remember. Afterword, we ate some of my favourite foods and sat on the floor and talked about life, babies, pregnancy, and friends. It sounds lame, but my heart felt so full and I felt so supported by my Sydney community. One week later I went into labour and text messages were sent - everyone who had come went home with a candle that they were to light when they heard I was in labour. It made me smile to think of everyones' candles burning away while I worked so hard to have our baby.

All photos by Belinda from Billy & August
p.s. a great article that Jodi wrote on blessingways

bump: 37 weeks

On the weekend, my husband and I got to spend some time with Gui and Michaela of Gui Jorge Photography. We strolled through Parsley Bay while Michaela and Gui snapped photos all the while chatting about expat life, travel, family, weddings and babies. I even got to pick both of their brains for photography advice. They are a seriously awesome (and crazy good looking) couple. Not only did they take these photos for us, they gave us the sweetest baby gifts, perfect for bringing bub home in. Last night Gui emailed me the photos and I kind of wanted to cry. These are so special to me for so many reasons.

 

In so beautifully capturing this special time in our lives they remind me how blessed we are. We're on the threshold of such a big change that it can be hard to stay present and grounded. It's hard for us to imagine what it will be like to meet our baby for the first time, to see its face and hear its coos. And of course there are worries too... Will we be good parents? Will the birth go ok? How will we know what to do? The truth is that we don't know, but we'll be fine.

I also feel so grateful that Michaela and Gui snapped some sneaky photos of my husband and I. Other than our wedding photos, we have hardly any pictures of the two of us as one of us is usually behind the camera. My friend was looking through them today and she pointed one out as her favourite. I asked her why and she said it was because of the look of adoration on my husband's face, a look that cannot be faked.

 

The other thing I love about these photos is my dress. Like I said before, these photos are special for so many reasons! One of my favourite yoga students happens to be a talented designer with a label called Wonders Cease. She came to class one day with this beautiful dress wrapped in white tissue paper; a gift for me, just because.

 

These are some of my favourites (ok, lots of my favourites) but in case you want to see even more photos of my belly, you can check out Gui's blog. Michaela and Gui - I seriously cannot thank you enough. We can't wait to hang out again soon.

makeup by Liv Lundelius
dress by Wonders Cease
photography by Gui Jorge

bump: 36 weeks

 

 

This weekend we headed to the blue mountains hoping for cooler weather and a quiet day. But even at altitude, our indian summer continues and the mountains were not only hot, they were bustling with people. We had a wonderful time though (I'll blog the rest of our day later this week) and found a great spot to take this week's bump photos.

36 weeks. When I look at these shots I'm amazed at my bump - it's huge! It's hard to believe that the baby and the belly will be growing more, but I'm sure they will. On our drive home last night we were talking about how the baby seems like a real person now, with a personality. Bub reacts to loud noises, pushes back when you press its feet, has certain times of day when s/he wakes up and treats us to some acrobatics, and doesn't like to let me sleep on my right side. The closer we get to meeting the little one, the more excited we become. Next month, next month we'll be parents...

nesting: the beginnings

- Enjoying a hot drink with friends at the addison road markets chait tent.

- A baby project in progress. It will be a mobile with a moon in the middle.

- Beautiful, beautiful kale for our daily green smoothies.

- A yellow carrot! Made into a yummy juice that I'll blog about soon.

- This week's flowers; I love how they look like mini pom poms.

This weekend, at 35 weeks pregnant, the husband and I finally starting nesting. To be honest, I haven't felt the nesting urge kick in yet but I'm a procrastinator so I suppose that's hardly surprising. You'll probably find me at 40 weeks pregnant scrubbing the bathroom with a toothbrush. In the meantime, we decided we better get down to business, instinct or not.

Over the weekend we visited Bunnings, Target, the Bower and Woolworths. We bought cloth nappies and face cloths to use in labour, cozy flannel pyjamas to pack in the hospital bag, baby singlets and other bits and bobs for labour and birth.

At home, we took advantage of a council pickup and de-cluttered like crazy. Best feeling ever. I also cleared out our spare room - a task I'd been avoiding for months - and got it all ready for my mom to stay. Of course, there was also some sewing for baby. A sweet little project I'll hopefully be sharing here on Thursday. Right now we're waiting on a chest of drawers I ordered online to arrive; when it does all of the baby's things will be put away. This week I'll go to Ikea, pack the hospital bag, and write some more lists. Oh so many lists...

p.s. this is my 501st post, wow!

bump: 34 weeks

A late beach bump today. I'm actually 35 weeks now, but let's just rewind a bit shall we... The lovely Belinda and I took advantage of the glorious Easter weather to snap these at Dee Why last week. Now our days are finally cooling down, but I'm sure I'll still have a few opportunities to bare my white belly to the sun in these last few weeks.

So yes, we're in single digits now people. I could give birth in 2 weeks, or in 7. Let's hope it's somewhere in between the two because we are definitely not ready to bring a baby home in a fortnight, but another 7 weeks of gestating may actually break my back. These days by 4 pm I'm full on waddling. It's pretty hot.

The little one seems to grow stronger by the day. We can watch its little feet kicking from my belly button to my ribs, over and over again. Another favourite trick is to press both feet hard into my ribs and push its bottom up as high as possible. Though its sometimes just plain uncomfortable, its mostly endearing. A beautiful affirmation that baby is healthy and strong.

p.s. thanks again Belinda, I love them!