The deets: Sweet Thymes muslin cloth bag (5x7); Target thank you cards (love these); Plum Polka Dot customized hair scrunchies; Vaseline Lip Therapy; blue sparkly silicone key ring; Blueberry LARA BAR; Ghirardelli sea salt caramel chocolates.

When prepping for baby to come, as I did last time around (see the gifts I made for Isla's nurses here), I include nurse thank yous on my list of things to pack for my hospital bag. I know not everyone does them or maybe brings in some donuts or treats for the staff once they are there, which is also great! The only issue I heard about that is sometimes the staff rotates and then the people who were actually helping you don't end up getting them. I was really happy I had these bags on hand last time and loved knowing each of those angels that guided me through this huge scary painful (and kind of gross) life event walked away knowing I was so thankful for them! I wish I had stuffed MORE into them after seeing what they actually have to do for you. Nurses are the STARS OF THE SHOW. Your Dr. pops in literally to like catch the baby and then is out five minutes later. The nurses are there calming you down, easing your pain, checking your dilation, bringing you all the things, then cleaning you and your baby up, coming back hourly to make sure everything is going well, and in my case - saving your child's life multiple times from coughing up meconium swallowed in the womb. These little gestures are the absolute least I can do in return. I think it's a sweet surprise for the staff as well since it's not totally common to have individual bags.

GIFT CONTENTS

Silicone Key Ring: these are all the rage right now since you can just slide on your wrist like a bracelet and go while you hold your books, baby, groceries, whatever! I saw these sparkly baby blue ones with gold rings and had to have them!

Silky Hair Scrunchies: I mean scrunchies are having a major moment. I did hair ties last time but I see these everywhere I go now and I am pretty sure one of the bachelorette's has even started her own line of them. We had them personalized so recipients would know who they were from too.

Vaseline Lip Therapy: Okay Vaseline is my ONE AND ONLY for rough skin. ALWAYS (see this post). I have tried all the things and its just the best hands down. I love their Rosy Lips and included them in Isla's bags but as pink was not going to go with my "theme" I went with the original. 

Card: This came as a suggestion from someone who is a nurse! They really appreciate a thank you note more than you know.

Blueberry Larabars: I picked blueberry for the color but also it's my favorite flavor of them. Larabars are great because they are gluten free, vegan, and dairy free so you hit a lot of food restrictions. I heard that breakfast or meal bars are good for medical professionals working crazy hours.

Ghirardelli Chocolate: This one is a just for fun. Who doesn't love sea salt caramel gourmet chocolates? Last time I made homemade chocolate chip cookies for them but figured that with everything going on COVID-wise, it might not be as well received and would be best to make sure everything came individually wrapped.

SIDE NOTE! I would definitely call your hospital to make sure you can bring gifts in before assembling them. My hospital had just lifted their restrictions when I asked about a month ago. I also am extremely over prepared when it comes to packing/life events and I was worried about shipping times on Etsy with this pandemic going on, so these were finished up pretty early but I am not mad about it! I like to have my entire bag packed and ready to roll out the door by roughly 36 weeks just in case. 

I also personally just enjoy putting these together, it's one of my favorite parts of preparing for baby's arrival. I can't resist a good theme anything so of course I went floral and pink with Isla and now full blue/navy for baby brother. I am who I am, folks. I'm just embracing it! Also how cute is my litter helper?

The deets: Gal Meets Glam Dress on me; Isla's jellies + sweater (dress is old); photos by Rebecca Honeycutt Photography.

I am thrilled to announce that we'll be welcoming a new baby BOY into our family this October (see Isla's pregnancy announcement here)! We always planned to have another baby pretty close to Isla turning two for a multitude of reasons and got really lucky (we used this same tool). They will be almost exactly two years and one month apart. I am happy I get to reuse all my same maternity clothes and we can also use some of Isla's neutral stuff for him since we'll be in the same seasons for size.  

My morning sickness kicked off literally week 5-6 which is SO early but since I had been through this before I didn't have to wait until 10 weeks to chat with a Dr. and get some help. I have a lot of feelings about being pregnant/possibly giving birth during a pandemic but also found the one silver lining which is that I was spared my 50+ minute bus commute during much of my most sick weeks. Did I still vomit most days between 6-15 weeks? Yup, but at least I got to do it from the comforts of my own home and sweatpants, right? 

While this pregnancy was pretty similar in how nauseous I felt (started to let up right around week 17 - same as last time) it was/is still so much different than my first in a lot of ways. With Isla, my sickness was steady all day. With baby boy, I would wake up feeling okay and then slowly decline throughout the day, peak vomit time being around dinner. I am also SO MUCH more tired. The Dr. says it's because I also have a toddler this time around but it really feels like much more than that. I physically can't keep my eyes open at some point in the afternoon no matter how much or little I do that day. I literally feel like I took NyQuil and need at least 45 mins to function (another COVID-19 silver lining - I usually can while Isla naps). My cravings are also so different! With Isla I couldn't get enough dairy, bread, and sweets. This time, while I still WANT those things, they make me feel so weird after I eat them. I crave brine-y/salty/spicy things. I actually wanted to DRINK the salty vinegar juice that a jar of hot peppers came in (WHAT, WHY?). I also was so grossed out by meat last time that I would wear a mask around the house when Mike cooked it, while this time I was into meat the whole time. Strange, right? I guess some of the old wives tales are true.

I am currently in my 20th week and can't believe baby boy is HALF WAY BAKED! It's going by so fast and I feel like I am not able to cherish this special time like I did before. Going to try to slow down a bit and enjoy it this summer since it's likely my last baby. 

The deets: Pashmina Collection set; Sam Edelman booties (similar, similar under $100); Something Navy headband; ASOS teddy coat (low stock, similar here); MAC cherry lip pencil; Rebecca Minkoff crossbody (similar under $25).

Let me start by saying I have owned this set for less than a month see all the pieces in the most recent collection here) and I have already worn it on three separate occasions. It's just the perfect comfortable and chic little black set that can be dressed up or down! Pair it with a wide brim hat for a more casual look, I have it paired here with some fun booties and a red lip & fancy headband for a holiday look (I wore this and took these photos right before our family Hanukkah dinner with my in-laws), and I totally plan on throwing on some black pumps with it for work. It does everything.

A couple reasons I love and support Pashmina Collection are because the pieces are locally sourced and produced right in the garment district of NYC (yay for small business), and Connie the owner and designer is a mom herself and all the pieces in the collection are specifically designed to be comfortable AND chic. Parent or not we all know how difficult it can sometimes be to be both of those things at once. 

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The deets: ASOS nursing dress; (sold out but this one is almost the same) Rag & Bone booties (similar, similar on sale for $60); Coach backpack (similar under $20); Gigi Pip hat (similar under $20); James Michelle necklace; Mejuri necklace.

I know, I know. Another maternity/nursing dress but hey, such is my life right now! Gotta have access to the milk makers and this dress does just that. I've worn it so many times and it's so nice to have in my closet for those days I want to feel fall-y but also comfortable enough to chill on the couch in because it feels like a t-shirt (let's be honest that's mostly what I do these days since I'm still on my maternity leave). Now let me talk about these booties...you probably clicked the link and were like WTF homegirl I would not pay $550 for black suede booties even if I were tripping on acid. I get it. They were a Poshmark score! I nabbed them for under $150! Love that app almost as much as I love my child, definitely as much as I love my husband.

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The deets: Zara dress; FernWeh Boheme hat; Aerosoles boots; Rebecca Minkoff bag; Mejuri zodiak necklace.

Hello again from my terrace! It's the easiest place for me to snap pics of my outfits so I hope you don't get too bored of this view. I purchased this dress back in August thinking it would be a good post baby dress because the front is flowy and forgiving and there are buttons down the front for easy boob access. Guess what? I was right! I throw on this lovely little piece all the time and it makes life easy. I wore it to my husbands birthday dinner in September and countless times since. I love that it has transitioned with me from the hotter end of summer days into fall with the addition of a felt hat and some boots.

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