I can't remember a time EVER when I failed to post for 5 weeks. I'm the WORST BLOGGER lately. But travel plus book deadline plus starting back full steam ahead with homeschooling has kept me more than busy. If you've sent me a message or an email checking in, I appreciate it so much! We are all fine--thriving, in fact. But we did have some excitement when we were traveling in late August: our … [Read more...]
That Time I Cut Gwen’s Hair (!)
So I did something this morning. Kind of on a whim. I cut my baby girl's hair. First hair cuts are always a pretty big deal but not everyone's barely 2-year-old has hair down to her hips. So it was a SUPER big deal. I've been pulling for a cute summer bob for awhile but Daniel wasn't ready to say goodbye to her baby curls. So I put him on hair washing/conditioning/detangling duty which he … [Read more...]
Welcome to the Family, Gwen! Newborn Photos by Sarah Gray
When Benjamin was a newborn, I would stare down at him, trying to carve every line of his tiny face in my memory. But by the next day he would look different and I couldn't recall exactly how he'd looked the night before. I am so grateful that we have beautiful photos of his first week taken by a photographer friend. But when Lucy arrived, I didn't book a newborn session and I deeply regret … [Read more...]
Gwen’s Birth Story: Part III
Catch up on Part I and II before diving into Part III :) It was almost 4am and it didn’t feel like we were anywhere close to meeting our baby... After 9 hours of active labor I was exhausted and discouraged. Since I had to get back in bed for my penicillin dose and to be monitored for a few minutes, I asked the nurse to examine me to see what kind of progress I’d made since I was 4.5 cm in … [Read more...]
Gwen’s Birth Story: Part II
As I shared in Part I, I was dilated 4.5 cm in triage, so they got us set up in a labor and delivery room with our wonderful nurse Christine just after 7pm. My mom (my unofficial doula) arrived and started heating up socks filled with rice to place against my lower back to relieve some of the pain from the back labor while I got my penicillin drip. Socks with uncooked rice, guys! Helps … [Read more...]
Gwen’s Birth Story: Part I
How Gwen Stellamaris came into the world. If the details of labor and birth gross you out, feel free to stop reading now (I can hear my brother clicking away from this post!). This pregnancy was by far the hardest of my three. The endless weeks of morning sickness, the exhaustion, the acid reflux. I was more than ready to put it behind me and meet my new little daughter. As with Lucy, … [Read more...]
Welcome, Gwen!
I've got someone pretty special to introduce you to. Meet our precious Gwen Stellamaris Stewart! Born after 13 hours of active labor at 7:41am on May 30, our little lass weighed 7lbs 4oz. She has grey eyes and plenty of jet black hair. She is healthy and sweet and we are so grateful for a safe delivery. Labor was very hard and exhausting and my recovery has been much slower than with Lucy, so … [Read more...]
Baby Carrots Has a Name!
Like I said, this whole “having another girl” situation completely threw me for a loop. I was so convinced we were having a boy! We picked out an awesome boy name that we both loved. (But no, I won’t tell you what it was in case you are sleuthing the internet for the world’s best baby boy name and try to snag it before (if) we’re blessed with another boy. Because that’s the sort of folks my … [Read more...]
