by Ashley on October 4, 2011
Did you happen to see this post over on Odeedoh about Finland’s national gift to new moms? Can you imagine?
Hudson received all kinds of wonderful things celebrating his arrival: a ton of cute clothes, blankets knitted with love, and some toys that he is just now starting to notice. But there were also a few special gifts for me, and I couldn’t have been more grateful. Like the friend who showed up with cookies and sandwiches in the hospital, and who sent us a gift certificate for grocery delivery; or the one who helped us get our apartment professionally cleaned before Hudson arrived. And one girlfriend sent over a package with nipple salve for me and teething gel for Hudson–much appreciated so far!
What do you think are the best gifts for new parents? Do you have a gift you like to give?
by Ashley on October 3, 2011
I really love Maptote’s onesies, with city-specific designs.
But now I’ve got my eye on their bandanas, too. Besides camouflaging my messy hair, they’d make a rockin’ little drool-catcher!
[cute kiddo pic from Maebird via Hank and Lucy]
by Ashley on September 30, 2011
In my imaginary extra room for crafts and (eventually) playtime, I would love to have one of these. Just put away your work mid-project and–literally–pick it up where you left off. Can someone please get Ikea to start production?
In the meantime, one could work on breakfast trays and shelve them in a cupboard for a similar result. My family always worked on puzzles on a piece of plywood for quick clean-up.
[ABLE flat files by Elina Järvinen, via handmade charlotte]
by Ashley on September 28, 2011
Hudson is now occasionally sleeping in his crib, so I thought it might be a good time to share some photos of Aron’s closet-space-turned-nursery. There are really two doors inside our apartment: one to the bathroom, and one beside the bed leading to the walk-through closet that leads to the bathroom (you can see it behind Hudson in the monthly photos.). The rest of our apartment is an open studio. So we moved Aron out of his side of the closet (which was really just a nook with a dresser and a bar we installed) and into our front closet–after renting a storage space to make room for the shift.
With great anticipation, we wallpapered the little space with the Animal Farm pattern, hung a bright mobile, and set up the Alma mini crib (which fits perfectly)! I enjoy showing him the wallpaper and pointing out the animals. Most of them have sounds I can make (notable exceptions being the squirrel and rabbit), and he loves the high-contrast. And his crib is so close to my side of the bed that it’s practically a co-sleeper (we thought).
The first night Hudson was home, we realized we worried about the circulation and rolled the crib out into the main room with plans to buy a fan. And then we worried about just about everything else. He’d go to sleep on his back, promptly raise his little swaddled legs in the air like a gymnast on the parallel bars and flip onto his side. We were up constantly to check on our little side-sleeper, who suddenly seemed too far away. He must have thought he seemed too far, too; he much preferred falling asleep on our chests–which would have been fine if we weren’t then terrified we’d drop him or crush him in our sleep. (Basically a dominant theme of weeks one and two was a fear of accidentally killing this little baby they let us bring home.)
Since then, Hudson has been sleeping in a little co-sleeper in our bed, right between us. And even then, I tend to pull back the covers, pull him in next to me, and snuggle up for the last night-sleep cycle. Essentially, he made his way closer and closer every night. That is, until this week, when we decided to have the first sleep cycle happen in the crib. He has been going to bed much earlier lately, so the partially-closed door allows us to actually carry on dinner and conversation with a little less fear of waking him! We sort of miss him even though he’s just a few feet away, but in the early mornings, he still comes back into bed–so it seems like the best of both worlds (at least until we go to that world where he doesn’t wake up at 4 or 5 a.m.)
(P.S. Remember this book on where children sleep? )
by Ashley on September 27, 2011
And while we’re on the subject of animals and alphabets…
A gorgeous new book from Woop Studios, A Zeal of Zebras
, filled with collective nouns and beautiful illustrations.
by Ashley on September 27, 2011
Flash cards and a gorgeous floor puzzle–from the always incredible Charley Harper.
by Ashley on September 26, 2011
Watching Hudson’s eyes widen at the sight of grafitti had Aron and I talking about some of the funny realities we’ve encountered so far, having a baby in Manhattan. Believe it or not, and cost aside, New York seems like an amazing place for children. There are new playgrounds popping up all over the city and the parks are filled with young families (although the age of parents here skews high, so “young” is relative). Looking for culture? diversity? No problem. I watch kids riding the carousel under the Brooklyn bridge, doing gymnastics at Chelsea piers, ordering dim sum, or playing in AYSO games on the river and think: amazing! (And I look at all of the stylish moms here and feel inspired.) One other perk? I’ve always felt very comfortable breastfeeding in public. Now I know this isn’t necessarily inherent to the city, but I feel like the division between public and private space is so necessarily blurred by our small apartments and lack of backyards that no one bats an eye. And even if they did, there’s probably someone else clipping their toenails on the subway, so who cares about a discreetly nursing mother?
But on that note, I’ve had to tap my heel while nursing in the park to keep rats from running underfoot, and it’s not uncommon to have to let Hudson cry a few extra minutes so that I don’t have to sit on the park bench next to the guy who hasn’t showered in weeks. Scaffold construction and sirens routinely mess with my nap-on-the-go plans, and I’ve hid in our bathroom a couple of times because it’s the only place in our studio apartment with a door. Perhaps because we don’t use a car in the city (generally a big plus), Hudson has not gotten accustomed to his car seat and what could be a source of solace is a source of stress. And it’s a good thing I like using the carrier anyway: crowds and hip, tiny restaurants with vintage, handicap-inaccessible bathrooms make using the stroller unappealing most days.
We laughed about all of this as the guy in the construction hat (who is most definitely not a construction worker) asked me for the fifth time this week how old my baby is. He, like so many people here, smiles warmly and is nothing but welcoming of another baby to a city that seems more family-friendly every day.
by Ashley on September 23, 2011
I’ve always loved those magnetic letters and numbers for the fridge. These ones from Mudpuppy are made from recycled wood! (We took Hudson out to his first gallery show last night and I ran into Emily, who suggested I check out Mudpuppy–thanks, Emily!)
We’re sharing a few photos from our trip on Hither & Thither later today. I’m probably going to keep flipping through the cute ones on my iPhone this morning to distract myself from anticipating this afternoon’s pediatrician appointment… it’s vaccination time.
O-U-C-H! (Any last-minute tips?)
by Ashley on September 22, 2011
Did any of you get your silhouette cut by the artist on Disneyland’s Main Street when you were a child? What a treasure! Is the shop still there? Until we can go and see, on my wish list for Hudson: a custom-made silhouette by Love & Victory.
by Ashley on September 21, 2011
We were in California on the 17th, the actual two-month-mark, so this is Hudson a day shy. I find it so bittersweet to see him growing so much. When people point out what I already know–he’s not a newborn anymore, he’s a baby!–I find myself thinking: have I drunk in every little expression? Did I take enough videos or photos of those skinny little limbs? Will I be able to remember what he like just two weeks ago? Because it just reminds me how much he’s changing each day! And yet it’s so wonderful to see. He continues to love standing on our laps and tracking bright lights. Just a few days ago we watched him as he batted at his toys–discovering cause and effect. He’s getting more content to sit on his own and look around; he’ll even tolerate the car seat for a little while now. And he’s cooing and holding little pretend conversations. He’s very serious-looking most of the time, but his hard-earned smiles can make my eyes water, they’re so wide and lovely. His whole face transforms and he works on finding a place to put his tongue as his grin expands ear to ear. He also has a new pout, with an intense lower-lip: he tries it out when his feet hit the bath water, but then he looks at us for reassurance and we start singing “Rubber Ducky,” and the smile returns.
His second month included his first earthquake, a hurricane, and a cross-continental flight! And he was a superstar on the airplane, sleeping soundly through most of the trip. He didn’t even wake up when we went through security! His one huge bowel movement that leaked all over on the way there didn’t seem to bother him at all–even if it shocked us a bit! Luckily, so many had told us about this happening to them on planes that we were plenty prepared with a change of clothes. The only hiccup was that our plane didn’t have any running water (ewww!)–only hand sanitizer. Thank goodness for baby wipes. (And thanks, everyone, for the encouragement! We look forward to the next flight!)
[Month One]
