the first week

 

Two days after Clementine was born, the three of us came home and settled in. I don't think it's really sunk in yet that we're a family now, that we have a daughter. That first week my husband and I sat and stared at her for hours. Every twitch, sound and stretch completely captivating to us new parents. We also had many (many) moments of wondering, 'so, what do we do now?' Taking care of a newborn can be so scary, which is why I was extra glad when my mom arrived on Clementine's 6th day of life.

Between her and my husband, the shopping, cooking, cleaning and laundry have been taken care of. My goal has been to stay home as much as possible and let myself recover. Between endless feeds and long nights, I've had time to take a salt bath every day and usually have a nap as well. I am so grateful for all the support I'm getting; it really does take a village.

And our Clementine, sigh... She is just divine. A fairly chilled out little bub, she's happy as long as she's fed, changed and cuddled. When all else fails, a session of swiss ball bouncing with her dad usually does the trick.

Thank you so much for all of your messages of congratulations and well wishes here and on instagram. I'm planning to print them all out and put them in her baby book, beautiful wishes from all around the world. She's a lucky girl.

19/52

"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Clementine: The day after she was born, swaddled up like a little burrito and fast asleep.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and moms to be out there. I had the most wonderful day. My mom arrived yesterday, and today we had tea with both Clementine's grandmothers, her great grandparents and her great aunts. And all day long, my phone buzzed with the sweetest messages wishing me a happy Mother's Day.

I'm finally joining in on Jodi's 52 project, yay!

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

oh my darling

Our baby girl arrived on Sunday May 5 (cinco de mayo!) at 7:45 am weighing 6 pounds 13 ounces. Her name is Clementine and we sing her her lullaby at least five times a day.

She's the spitting image of her dad with a mop of dark brown hair and a pouty top lip. We've spent every day since her birth staring at her in wonder and enjoying getting to know her.

Birth story to come but for now I'm going to go snuggle my baby.

nesting: from summer to autumn

I know it's technically been autumn for a while now, but to this Vancouverite, it still feels very much like summer. That said, I have been finding myself slowly but surely nesting, autumn style. Knowing that the next few months will be spent mostly at home, I've tried to de-clutter and make little changes that make our space feel cozier.

This month I finally put a duvet on the bed, with a soft throw blanket and some bright pillowcases to break up all the white. I switched up my gallery wall with dropcloth artwork I won from Maze & Vale, a photo from our trip to New Zealand, and a photo Gui and Michaela took of us last week. In our little dining nook I changed up my plate wall. You can see what it used to look like here. These are a collection of plates from all over: Ikea, fancy kitchen stores, and the op shop, of course. Lastly, I traded my summery garland for one that screams winter. A cozy garland of teapots and teacups I crocheted a couple years ago.

And now I hope to spend these next few weeks reading good books, drinking tea and filling the freezer with nourishing foods and baked treats. While I still have time to read, do you have any book recommendations for me?

4 years

Yesterday was our 4 year wedding anniversary. The last year has brought us some high highs and some crushingly low lows, so hitting this anniversary really feels like a  milestone. We celebrated by going to our favourite special restaurant, Cafe Sydney, where we gave each other high fives, and toasted to this next year of marriage. I'm so happy this is the guy I get to spend my days with. He's pretty awesome.

photos by Gui and Michaela

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

voices of 2013

Lately, I've been reflecting on this little blog of mine and how grateful I am for all the wonderful opportunities it's bringing me right now. Nothing earth shattering, I've just had some great experiences lately that I would not have had if it weren't for this blog. On the weekend, for example, I got to hang out with the sweetest couple who took my 37 week bump photos. I never would have met them were it not for blogging, and I'm glad that I did. On the way there I popped into a makeup artist friend's place so she could disguise my baby-won't-let-me-sleep-under-eye-circles. I realized as we drove there that I met her through blogging as well. Internet friends becoming real life friends, it's pretty damn cool.

I'm also completely delighted and amazed to have been included as a finalist in the Voices of 2013 top 100 bloggers. It was a total surprise to me (and I still don't know who nominated me, so if it was anyone reading right now, thanks!) and I'm honoured to have been chosen amongst some of my very favourite blogs.

And finally, just to round out the awesome week I'm having, I heard from Leslie of Maze & Vale that I won her giveaway! I love her fabric so much and I'm a bit tickled that she posted 2 of my projects today on her blog.

I probably don't say it enough, but thank you for reading and for taking the time to leave such thoughtful and encouraging comments.

* Photo by Ellen Arthur. She actually took this at the nursery way back in august, which is amazing because all the photos that I took that first day of shooting manual are rubbish. P.s. it's quite funny to see myself in photos where I'm not pregnant, like "oh, so that's what I look like without a giant belly!"