Dear Baby

Letters to Everly

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:08:00 -0500

Dear Everly,

You have always been a daddy’s girl. From the very start, really. I’ve had the great honor of protecting you, singing to you, loving on you and providing for you - but so often, when you feel sick or sad or just need some extra comforting, it’s daddy that you want. Your affections for me have been great, but it’s always been pretty obvious that daddy hangs the moon in your world.

I’ve tried hard not to let it get me down. The two of you have spent so much time together during your days while I’ve been at work. Since Arlo was born, I’ve been available even less as I’ve needed to nurse him and take care of some of his special needs. I feel guilty sometimes and worry that I’ve failed you in some way. But I try to remind myself that my experiences with you are always precious and there will be many stages in your preferences as you grow. I know my time with you will come. Mamas and daughters get to do special things together that no one else can do and there is a role that only we can fulfill in each other’s lives.

Recently, you’ve started to show me this. I am realizing just how much you observe and want to mimic me. You’ve been asking to wear a pony tail “like mommy’s” which is a first as you usually just rip out whatever I put in your hair. You like to sit at your desk and bang on your little laptop and say “I workin’” like mommy. You pick up your babies and rock them and say “Shhhh. Shhhh baby. I mommy” In the evenings after I put your brother to sleep, I will find you snuggled up with daddy on the couch in your jammies watching a little bit of Dora before bed. You’ve started to say “I want mommy” and Daddy and I will trade places. You snuggle your little body right into me and I play with your hair. We tell pretend secrets (you like to whisper gibberish in my ear and then laugh like you told me the best joke ever). We talk about your day and what we will do tomorrow.

It is overwhelming me with happiness, Everly. That you are seeking out one on one time with me even when daddy is there. That you are mimicking me when you play. That I am getting your undivided attention without you asking “Where’s daddy?” or saying “Daddy do it!” Last night I put you to bed and I laid down with you for a little while. You wrapped your small arms arms around my neck and just looked at me. I planted a kiss on your cheek and you giggled. You gave me one back and we went back and forth like this for a few minutes. I whispered I love you. you whispered “I you too”. and when I closed the door behind me on the way out, I marveled at the affectionate, joyful little girl you have become.

You will always be a daddy’s girl and that’s something to be proud of. You are so lucky to have a daddy that is so involved in your care and well being. But thank you, baby girl, for giving me a place on your pedestal too. I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit I’ve wanted it for so long. Thank you for reminding me that my role in your life is unique and lovely. And for making mama feel like even though daddy hung the moon, you still need me to hang your stars.

I wish for ten thousand nights with you.

I love you,

Mama

A Pep Talk

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:29:37 -0500

(Courtesy of Pinterest)

Sometimes I need a little pep talk. A brief reminder that I’m doing alright or at least, headed in the right direction. So here’s a visual one I gave myself recently:

(via)

Lately I’ve had the urge to put my whole life through a cheesecloth. To strain out the impurities and give more of myself to only the most authentic parts. More than anything, I’ve been feeling an overwhelming need to create something. I’ve spent the past three years growing and raising wonderous, magical, little children and now my soul is aching to create again. To grow and nourish something wholesome and good - like babies, but different. I’m in the process of wrapping my head around what exactly that means for me, but it’s coming, like a freight train.

Love,

Pepper's Paw: Quick update on donations! We have received $950 total via paypal and...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:36:00 -0500

Pepper's Paw: Quick update on donations! We have received $950 total via paypal and...:

I don’t typically reblog this sort of thing on Dear Baby, so I hope you’ll bare with me for a moment, but I am really hoping to help this ol fella out. What good is a blog following if you can’t use it to do good things for those in need? My friend Kelly has such a heart to pull this sweet dog out of a high kill shelter where he most certainly would have been put down.

Sweet old Tanner, who has experienced so much abuse, neglect, and abandonment by humans, still freely and readily offers up love and gentleness to anyone willing to receive it. His eyes just shoot straight to my soul. I hope so much that he finds someone who will make sure he spends the rest of his years being pampered beyond belief.

Kelly’s family is trying to raise the needed funds to cover all of his vet expenses (and they are many due to his severe neglect) They have already raised $950 of the $2000 needed. Halfway there!

If you live in the Fort Lauderdale, FL area - he will be available for adoption once he is in good health! More details on donating and Tanner’s back story are available at the link below.

Love,

Melissa

pepperspaws:

Quick update on donations! We have received $950 total via paypal and direct vet donations. Tanner’s (Ogden) heartworm treatment, ear surgery, teeth cleaning surgery care, neutering and medications are going to cost around $2,000-$2,500 according to the vets verbal quote. I am still awaiting…

Love and The Kitchen: Mimi Mary's Poundcake

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:22:34 -0500

This is for you Everly. The first in a series of six afternoons to be spent in the kitchens of your grandparents and great grandparents. Six afternoons helping to make recipes that have appeared again and again at our table as we have gathered together as a family. Food that tastes like memory, like my girlhood (and yours too…) I hope, my lovely daughter, when you are my age you will cherish these photos and these recipes and make them your own.

3 Sticks of Softened Butter

3 Cups of Sugar

8 Eggs

1 tsp of Vanilla

3 Cups of Plain Flour

(Mimi Mary says pound cake gets its name because you basically “put in a pound of everything!”)

With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.

Next, add all 8 eggs, one at a time (the one at a time part is important, she insists)

Sift the flour and fold it into the batter.

Grease & Flour a pound cake or bundt pan and pour in the batter. (Mimi likes to cut a round of parchment to fit in the top of the poundcake pan so the top comes out clean.)

Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until a test pick comes out clean. Allow to cool, run a butter knife along the edges, place cake pan against a plate & flip to release.

This recipe was shared with my mama by the landlord of the garage apartment she and my father lived in when they were first married. The recipe is so simple, but the cake is out of this world. The middle is dense and buttery. The outside has a chewy, crunchy crust (my favorite part!) I love it paired with fresh strawberries or peaches.

Love,

First Snow of the Season.

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:50:00 -0500

Oh, we had such high hopes for this winter. Just one, maybe two, snowfalls - enough for the kids to play in without shutting down the major roads or stores. At least one snow fall each winter used to be a guarantee for North Carolina when I was a kid, but with global warming, it’s becoming less common with each passing year.

Here in the south, where snow is a novelty, a snow day holds a specific form of anticipation. Everyone turns into a child and everything slows down and we all spend the day playing, outside with cold, red cheeks, eating warm things from big pots, utilizing every surface with any kind of slope for sledding and being together with our loved ones. It’s really lovely. An impromptu holiday of sorts.

I was so sad we weren’t going to get the chance to do that this year. It’s been so unseasonably warm - many days with highs in the 70s and mid 60s. So when we had the opportunity to head to the NC mountains this past weeked, I never even considered snow. I packed our coats and hats, knowing it is always colder there, but left the snow suits and gloves at home. Imagine my joy when upon arrival, we learned they were calling for 2 inches of white stuff the next day!

We spent the weekend at a beautiful Christian youth camp called Windy Gap (If you were involved in Young Life in the South East, you probably know it well!) Brent played with the worship band and it was really just a magical time for him and our family (More on that later).

It made me so happy that the children got to experience snow this year. Even if it was just for a day- it was such fun time to see Everly catching snowflakes and Arlo looking up at the sky in amazement.

For a little walk down memory lane, check out this post on Everly’s first snow fall.

Love,

P.S. HATS! We love crochet hats! My hat is from Zulily, Everly’s is c/o of Dear Baby sponsor Melondipity & Arlo’s is from Grammy Keeps Me in Stitches.

Q Handmade "Sweetheart Necklace" Winner

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:38:48 -0500

Do you know what was so beautiful about this giveaway? Having a front row seat to the amazing comments you left about people who have made a big difference in your life. Even if you didn’t win, I hope you will take a moment and share your words with the person you nominated, I guarantee you it will be more precious to them than all the sparkly necklaces in the world.

I threw all 167 nominations into a Random.org number generator and came back to my blog to find out who the lucky winner would be. For some reason, I don’t remember reading this entry over the weekend, but as I counted down and then read this lovely sentiment to a friend, I was overcome with tears. What a beautiful, beautiful story from reader TdMcG!

She writes:

I underwent fertility treatments for four years, and spent literally a fortune trying to get pregnant, unsuccessfully. After my doctor told me that I shouldn’t try anymore as I had reached the bottom, literally, and no longer had any eggs to try and stimulate I was devastated. One of my best friends stepped up and offered to donate eggs to me, not a moments hesitation - not a single doubt. Her words were “If you needed blood, I would give you blood. Please take these from me!”. Now, almost exactly one year later, I am the proud mother of beautiful twin babies born on January 24, 2012, a boy and a girl. She had to undergo three months of fertility medications to boost her eggs, which included dozens of appointments, ultrasounds, blood work, injections, medications that made her hormonal and yet never once did she hesitate or complain. The fertility clinic said she was too old, and that we shouldn’t risk the cost, but my friend was determined that she could do this and said if we were willing to take the risk, she was. In the end she was able to give me 9 eggs. NINE glorious eggs! More than I had ever produced in the four years of fertility treatments - and yet her first words were words of apology. See, she wished she had provided more eggs. That is exactly the type of person she is.

If not for her, we would have had to go to the States for treatment, and it would have added substantially more cost to an already huge debt. In Canada it is illegal to provide payment for eggs, so they are almost impossible to get. It can be construed as “buying” them, so I am unable to provide any substantial gift to thank her for making my dreams come true. I wouldn’t be a parent without her. I wouldn’t have had the chance to carry inside me the wonder and hope that being a mom brings. I would love to give her this necklace with the initials of our babies. The babies that love and friendship created, and that without her - wouldn’t exist. She is who I would give this necklace to, as a small token of appreciation for all of the joy she has brought to my life.

Whew, tears! Thank you so much for this story, TdMcG. I will be contacting you shortly so that you can pass this special necklace on. Congrats to both of you on your beautiful babies and amazing friendship.

Love,

I’ve heard from several of you that you’ve already...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:45:51 -0500

I’ve heard from several of you that you’ve already received your Lovely in Lace blouse for the Francesca’s Collections Style Off! I’m so very excited to see how you make it your own. If you are ready to submit your look and enter to win a $150 gift card to Francesca’s Collection & be featured on Dear Baby & the Francesca’s Behind the Seams blog, click the photo above to go to the contest microsite and upload your look. (And email if you have any issues - this is my first time hosting a contest with a third party vendor.)

Even if you didn’t grab the top when the promo code was available, it’s still not too late to participate! We’re taking submissions through, Saturday February 25th! Good luck beauties!

Love,

Then and now. Further proof that love multiplies over and over...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:28:00 -0500

Then and now.

Further proof that love multiplies over and over again.

Also, it makes me want to have like 15 children just to see Brent try to hold them all up from this sign.

A Giveaway for a Sweetheart in your life. Here’s a lovely...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:06:00 -0500

A Giveaway for a Sweetheart in your life.

Here’s a lovely little giveaway for Valentine’s Day with a special twist. Q Handmade is offering its Sweetheart Necklace to a Dear Baby reader - but instead of keeping it for yourself, we want you to tell us about a special person in your life who really deserves to win this necklace. Maybe it’s your mama, your best friend, someone you work with… someone who is the epitome of love (or really could just use a little!)

Leave a comment below with who you’d love to give this custom silver necklace to and why and we’ll draw a winner at random on Thursday.

(Find a sweet little something for yourself from Q Handmade? Use the promo code: DEARBABY15 for 15% off through friday.)

Good Luck!

Love,

Happy Valentine's Day

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:25:00 -0500

I know a lot of people loathe this holiday, but I’m a sucker for any and all reasons to make heart shaped food and eat chocolate and lay a few extra kisses on my little family. Everly has been working on pronouncing “Happy Valentine’s Day!” all morning and she’s almost nailed it.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a lunch date with the three loves of my life.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love,

Melissa

P.S. Did I actually go out and buy mini angel wings a month ago in anticipation of dressing my son up like cupid? You better believe it. When your baby boy already looks like a little cherub, you gotta take full advantage of the situation.

We have a little treat planned for our eyes, ears, hearts and...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:28:00 -0500

We have a little treat planned for our eyes, ears, hearts and spirits this weekend. In preparation, I’m washing insane amounts of laundry (it’s all backed up thanks to the countless blankets, bedsheets and towels I’ve had to wash when the tummy bug ran rampant through our house).

In lieu of a post today, I thought I’d leave you with a few little treats of your own:

For your eyes: This clever and funny online children’s book was written by a friend of a friend. A lawyer by day who has dreams of perhaps being the next Shel Silverstein one day. Those are big shoes to fill, but I think he’s really got the potential.

For your ears: Anna Vogelzang on SoundCloud. Oh, what a lovely voice and sweet, lilty lyrics!

For your heart: The sweetest way ever to announce a new baby is on the way.

For your spirit: A favorite Bible verse.

Love,

Enter the Francesca’s Collections Style Off & WIN a...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:44:00 -0500

Enter the Francesca’s Collections Style Off & WIN a $150 Gift Card to Shop!

I am really excited about this fun little contest I’m running with my friends at Francesca’s Collections. Recently, I styled up one of my recent Francesca’s finds, the Lovely in Lace top. Its soft peachy hue and delicate lace pattern make it a classic piece that can be worn so many different ways. I paired mine with a favorite pair of skinny jeans, a stretchy metal waist belt, and some fun sparkly oxfords.

But now I want to see how YOU would style this blouse to reflect your personal style! Starting today, Francesca’s Collections is offering this blouse to Dear Baby readers for 35% off with the promo code: STYLEOFF (good thru 2/11). Submit your photo (or a link to your own blog post) and Dear Baby readers can vote for 1 week on their favorite look. The winner will receive a $150 Francesca’s Collections gift card and be featured on both Dear Baby and the Francesca’s Collections Behind the Seams Blog.

A few things to note:

This top fits a bit loose, so if you want a more snug fit, order down a size.
I’ll post the link on where to submit your photo next Monday, Feb. 13th. All submissions must be in no later than 8pm, Feb. 25th. More details on voting to come!
The 35% off promo code (STYLEOFF) is only good for the Lovely in Lace top for a couple days, so be sure to take advantage of it by this Saturday, February 11th!
Open to US residents only since Francesca’s Collections is unable to ship internationally.

I’m really excited to see how you would wear this top - to work, to play, and everything in between! Ready, set, STYLE OFF!

Love,

Four Little Stories. Stomach Bugs Are No Bueno. Both my kids...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:05 -0500

Four Little Stories.

Stomach Bugs Are No Bueno.

Both my kids came down with a gnarly stomach bug this weekend (perhaps the norovirus that is all over the Raleigh area right now?). My poor babies. They’ve puked on everything including both parents, our bed, Everly’s bed, the hardwoods all the way from the living room to the bathroom, the new rug in the living room and I’m pretty sure the cat.

Avocados.

When Everly was a baby, she would eat anything… EXCEPT Avocado. It was the only food I ever gave her that made her lurch and gag. You would have thought I fed her a live slug by the way she reacted. I love avocados and they’re so good for you, so I kept trying to offer them - but they were always a no go. Around a year old, she decided that she like them in guacamole, but still refused them on their own. Well, guess who LOVES Avocados. Arlo boy inhales them. He can not get the little green cubes off his high chair tray fast enough. He’s eating half an avocado a day right now. The other day Everly asked what Arlo was eating. I told her it was an avocado. “I wanna taste” she said. I gave her a chunk, she took two bites, gagged and spit it out. Somethings never change.

Chuck Norris Style.

I heard the door slam to our bedroom yesterday morning. Arlo was asleep in our bed, so I got up to get Everly before she woke him up and discovered the door was locked! The previous owners had a keyed lock on the door and we were never given the key. I kept shaking the knob and saying “Everly, unlock the door baby. Turn that little button on the handle.” She just kept turning the handle but wasn’t unable to unlock it. I ran for Brent, worried that not only would Everly get freaked out when she realized we couldn’t get to her, but if Arlo awoke, he could crawl off our bed and hurt himself. Brent tried to get her to unlock it too but saw from under the door that she had run over to the side of the room where we couldn’t see her - so he said “Stand back” and kicked the door open! The door was completely unharmed except for the lock connection at the door frame. We rushed inside to find Everly completely unfazed and Arlo still asleep! I turned to Brent and said “That was really hot.” He grinned back and said “You gotta know exactly where to kick it to open it like that.”

The Money(s) Store.

Everly is really into playing pretend right now. Pretend doctor. Pretend mommy cooking dinner. Pretend store clerk. And very often “pretend shopping”. In this game, she puts her purse on one hand, gets a paper gift bag in the other and says “bye bye. I go shopping” Whenever I ask her what she is going to buy while out shopping she always says “Moneys”. “I go buy moneys” I don’t know where she got that from, but it makes me giggle every time.

Love,

I distinctly remember the days of running over and pouncing on...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:22:00 -0500

I distinctly remember the days of running over and pouncing on one of my parents to initiate a game of play wrestling when I was a kid. I remember how much fun it was to be lifted high above my mother, the balls of her feet balancing my small body. Or my dad, carrying me under one arm, my brother under the other as he growled and stomped through the house with both of us twisting and laughing in his arms.

There is a warm and familiar juxtaposition in layering those memories on top of the ones we are making as a family. Such deja vu to be on hands and knees, hair across my face, with a chorus of children’s laughter accompanying our play. Two little people flopped across my body, screeching with joy as I bounce one, then the other in the space above me.

Becoming a parent has made me realize how much thought and effort my parents put into ensuring my childhood was full of happy moments. It is the span of each those experiences that has built who I am.

What a gift that Brent and I get to build the foundations of our children as people- that we get to put shiney, gold penny moments in their memory banks. That we have the power to create the kind of moments they will recall one day as adults with great fondness.

One of my favorite things about parenting is that, in so many ways, we get our childhood back. We are handed the opportunity to relive and experience it all over again with a heightened awareness for what makes it precious. I’m absolutely certain that these moments with my children are the closest thing I’ll ever have to a fountain of youth.

Love,

Hello from the land of big girl achievements. We recently...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:39:00 -0500

Hello from the land of big girl achievements.

We recently transitioned Everly from a crib to a big girl bed, which she did with unexpected ease. We decided to cold turkey move her from her crib to a double bed and with a month of baby stepping from a mattress on the floor all the way up to the bed on the frame with safety rails in place , she is now going down awake in her own bed by herself.

The potty training thing, as I mentioned in my last monthly update on the kids hasn’t been as smooth. It really hasn’t been anything. We try very hard to keep everything about going to the bathroom and using the potty as very positive. It is the weirdest thing (and really comical) to watch your toddler pee on the floor in front of you and then say “Oh! You pee pee’d. Next time, let’s try to get it in the potty.” The first time it happened, I had to resist the urge to scoop her up and rush to the bathroom while yelling “AHHHHH!! PEE EVERYWHERE!”

We’ve tried all the usual tricks - promising a reward, promising she can wear big girl undies, reading the books, playing up the “big girls go on the potty” angle and she has taken interest in all of these things - but the minute you suggested she pee IN the potty - she wasn’t having it. I swear she actually sarcastically laughed at me when I suggested it. We have to remind ourselves all the time, she just turned two - she’s got time to figure this out.

So we haven’t been pushing it - just offering it as an option regularly and waiting for her to take interest. Two nights ago, she took off her diaper and was running around half naked. While I cooked dinner, Brent suggested they read the potty book while she sat on her teddy bear potty. She agreed and half way through she looked up at him and says “I did it!” She stood up and sure enough she peed in the potty!

He called me in and we all started celebrating and dancing and high fiving. Two chocolate covered pretzels were procured as a prize and we let her pick out a pair of big girl undies to put on. She immediately ran to the big mirror in our room to admire herself. She kept shaking her hips and singing “I did it! I did it! I pee peed!”

Of course, shortly thereafter, I found her with wet undies and discovered a puddle of pee in the corner of her room - but WHATEVER - she did it once and that was good enough for us. So this is a step in the right direction - the first flame of interest in starting potty training. We’re really curious to see if it was a fluke or the beginning of her journey towards official big girl status.

It’s so cool to see my girl growing more and more independent and self aware. It’s fascinating to watch her mind and body begin to work in sync and develop an understanding for these sorts of things. Our next (and most feared) task - getting rid of her pacifier for good. That one has me shaking in my mama boots.

Love,

Cute Babies in Animal Hats.

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:02:35 -0500

You’re welcome ;)

Love,

Work Clothes/Play Clothes

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:22:00 -0500

This is officially my favorite way to highlight fashion on my blog because there are no rules. There is no set deadline for getting them up and no must-dos about what to feature. As long as I remember to snap a shot of what I wore, it’s fair game (including a few outfits I’m not even crazy about). Without further adieu, here’s some stuff I threw on in the past month:

Play Clothes. Comfortable and easy - and I’ve said it before, but these little booties from BC Footwear feel like wearing bedroom slippers. Here’s a story unrelated to this outfit - I was on the BC Footwear website the other day admiring their pretty collection when, oh….who is that I see on their Hey Girl Hey section but my KATE! Pretty sure she’s on track to be the most famous farmer since Old McDonald.

Jacket: Forever21

Striped top: Target

Jeans: Big Star Denim

Booties: BC Footwear

Work Clothes. It was a hair in a ponytail day because the cold & rainy weather we’ve had lately was making it do something weird. I purposefully cropped my shoes out of this outfit shot because I decided about 5 minutes after leaving the house that I absolutely hated them. They were just regular black mary janes but I convinced myself I looked like a witch. A pink skirted witch. The only thing I love about this outfit is the dozen or more times that Dovie told me “Pretty pink tutu mommy!” Her compliments make me feel like a million bucks.

Top (It’s actually a dress I tucked in): H&M

Skirt: Asos

Tights: Target

Play clothes. Or should I say… work from home clothes! This outfit is the epitome of my style through and through. Comfy with a feminine vibe (the pretty lace top) and a teensy bit of sparkle (those fun oxfords!) Also, a little story about my sunglasses. I bought the first pair of these retro style raybans in the Castro right before I found out I was pregnant with Everly. I wore them EVERYWHERE - and then I lost them earlier this year. Brent bought me another pair for mother’s day (after some serious online searching- we found one little sunglass shop in the UK that sold them) and when we moved, we found the originals! Now I have two pairs, although some days I can’t locate either of them. This story is random and I’m not sure where it’s going but… yay! Two pairs of my favorite sunglasses ever.

Top: c/o Francesca’s Collections, Lovely in Lace

Metal stretch Belt: Vintage

Jeans: UO skinny

Sparkle Oxfords: c/o Francesca’s Collections, Glitz Oxfords

Work Clothes. Can I be honest - I hate this outfit. It’s equal parts matronly and safari tour guide plus 4 inch heels - so yeah, basically, it’s all over the place. But these shoes are great, aren’t they? They were my one splurge off Gilt a while back.

Blouse: c/o Francesca’s Collections

Crochet Vest: Forever21

Belt: Vintage

Jeans: Levi’s Skinny

Clog heels: Jeffrey Campbell

Work Clothes. OHHH! That chevron dress! A fun little package arrived from Francesca’s and inside was this dress and this cardigan. I had plans of pairing the dress with a different wrap, but when I saw them together I thought… hmmm.. I kind of like this. Chevron stripes and horizontal stripes is A LOT going on, but somehow, I think it works. It felt really fun and playful to wear. Also, I’ll let you borrow my second pair of sunglasses to shade your eyes from my pale legs.

Cardigan: c/o Francesca’s Collections Uptown Cardi

Dress: c/o Francesca’s Collections High Points Dress

Belt: Vintage

Clog heels: Jeffrey Campbell

One last thing - Today’s the last day to take advantage of the 30% off plus free shipping on any one, regularly priced item promo that Francesca’s Collections is offering to Dear Baby Readers - just use the promo code: JORDAN at checkout.

Love,

Baby Babble

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:02:06 -0500

Here’s what I’m talking about on Baby’s First Year this week:

1. How important is a father’s role in childbirth? Did your own partner help or hinder your labor? Mom’s weighed in with their personal experiences here.

2. I’ve shared before my struggle with losing too much weight since Arlo was born. I went to the doctor this week and learned I weigh 116 pounds (well below my normal weight). At 5’ 7” that is really concerning as I haven’t been that small since my sophomore year of highschool. They took blood samples to ensure it’s not a thyroid issue (common in women who have recently given birth) but most likely, I’m just not eating enough calories to sustain both my weight and Arlo’s breastmilk needs. I’ve started to try to eat a lot of healthy fats & proteins like avocados and eggs to up my calorie intake. I sharedmy concerns and hear from others who have experienced a similar occurance in this post.

3. One formula bottle a day, that’s all I need to stay on top of Arlo’s milk consumption. Even with the endless pumping, I’m just barely keeping up… the problem, Arlo refuses to drink formula! I asked for help and heard from lots of moms on what worked to introduce formula to their little ones.

4. Have you heard about this amazing IVF success story? A couple was able to have a healthy baby girl after only one viable sperm was found in the father’s biopsy sample. Talk about a miracle baby!

5. The low down on teething - the average age for baby’s first teeth, when to expect molars, and more.

6. Yesterday we were taken aback by some unexpected news from Arlo’s cardiologist. He is going to require a heart procedure to fix his heart much sooner than we anticipated. Details on what’s going on are here. We would really appreciate if you would lift our little boy (and his surgeon) up in prayer.

Love,

Melissa

Songs to be Alive To. Morningbird by Forest Sun. And this…...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:40:00 -0500

Songs to be Alive To.

Morningbird by Forest Sun.

And this… this is Arlo’s song. I put it on my birth playlist along with a couple dozen other beautiful songs, but when I met him, this one resonated most with me. It feels like it was written from my heart to his. We dance to this together around our living room. And I have every intention of taking that spin with him as often as I possibly can before he decides one day he’s too cool to do so. A song for Arlo. My darling boy. My Morningbird.

Love,

Songs to be Alive to. Sweetness by Pearl and The Beard. I...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:24:37 -0500

Songs to be Alive to.

Sweetness by Pearl and The Beard.

I thought tonight I’d share the two songs that represent my children best. One of the raddest girls out there, Kirby, sent us this record for Everly in the early spring of last year. Her darling little Georgiah liked rocking out to it, and she thought Everly might too. She was on to something because this song IS Everly. We put this album on and her little hips start to sway and she stops whatever she is doing to dance along. She knows all of the key changes and when the music stops or changes melody. It’s inside her, this song… and it may officially be called Sweetness, but in this house, this is the Everly song through and through. Sweetness, indeed.

Love,