A New Day

A few weeks ago, I lamented the lack of hummingbirds on the porch. 

The day after I arrived home from the hospital with the Peanut... I sat outside unabashedly in my bathrobe while the apartment complex tested their fire alarms. The maintenance men were good enough to give us a warning, so we waited outside to avoid the noise. 

The Sailor made me coffee... the first I'd had since about December. I had gone off of coffee early on in pregnancy and then just never really craved it after that. After a few sleepless nights with the Peanut, I caved in and got back on the juice.

While sitting outside with that perfect cup of coffee, the sun streaming on the porch, I held my wee babe in my arms and pondered the enormity of how my life had just changed. When I looked up, a hummingbird fluttered past and onto the red flowers. 

At certain times in all of our lives we all need a little sign... for years I felt a sense of calm and relief whenever I saw a rainbow, especially if life had been difficult or I'd been through some tumultuous event. A rainbow symbolized to me that all would be well within my soul. 

I haven't seen a rainbow for a very long time. And after a night wrestling with my own hormonal tears, trying to decipher the Peanut's cries and to figure out whether I was fit to be a mother, I saw that lone hummingbird. 

And just like that... I knew that all would be well.  

Later that same day, the hummingbird returned so that both the Sailor and I could both see him. And he's been back several times since. 

Sometimes we all need a little daily reminder -- even if it's just a fleeting one.

Announcing...

The Peanut has arrived!

And he's a perfect little BIG boy!

{As I mentioned in the last post, I will be taking some time off from blogging while I figure out this whole new mama role. Please note that I won't be posting much in the near future, but rest assured, I'll be back once I get into a routine...} 

Photo by Bella Baby Photography; used with permission.

Ready for the Peanut...

{* The Peanut's arrival is imminent! Understandably, I will be taking some time off while I figure out this whole new mama role once the Peanut actually arrives!  Please note that I won't be posting much in the near future, but rest assured, I'll be back on the blog, once I get into a routine. In the meantime, wish me luck on this new adventure and enjoy one last pregnancy post!}

****

Soon after I announced my pregnancy to friends far and near, I started getting questions about whether or not I've started on the nursery. 

Nursery?! 

What nursery?! 

While the Sailor and I joked that I'd probably get pregnant right after converting our second bedroom into the Princess Pad (AKA my office/craft room), I knew even if we did have a baby, I didn't want kid stuff taking over an entire room, let alone the whole apartment.

From the start, we agreed on baby minimalism. My theory was that everything had to serve at least a dual purpose. No crib or changing table for this Mama... I bought a Pack 'n Play instead that serves as both. Bottles for when the Sailor wants to feed the baby? I purchased glass lifefactory ones that can be converted to sippy cups later.

I had the sense to at least pick some sort of theme, since I knew people would want to buy us gifts... and after seeing this crochet pattern, I knew that the safari theme would work perfectly for the Peanut whether or not we had a boy or girl. Who doesn't like safari animals?

But the nursery.... surely the nursery is something that is for the parents more than the baby, right? I mean, the baby can't even see that far in front of his or her face for a few weeks.

I have discovered that here in America, baby stuff truly is a racket. 

Throughout my pregnancy I've been remembering a young gal I met in Ukraine nearly a decade ago. I stayed with her family one night since my train was due to leave super early in the morning and conveniently they lived right around the corner from the station. 

She was due with her first baby literally any minute... and she asked if I wanted to see 'the room'. 

Of course I said yes, so she led me up the staircase to her and her husband's bedroom. She then proceeded to show me a small bassinet next to the bed, along with the smallest shelf possible with only a few diapers (I'm assuming cloth, because I don't ever remember seeing disposables sold anywhere in the country) and one small bottle of baby powder. 

I vaguely remember seeing a small pile of clothes -- the key word being small. 

Photos by my fabulous friend, Angie, taken about four weeks ago.
(I am a LOT bigger now!)

That was IT.

And this Ukrainian gal was so proud of it all, she actually exclaimed: 'We're all ready for the baby's arrival!'

I will never forget that evening, or the look on her face. She was totally serious. They didn't need anything else. They had a place for the baby to sleep... a few diapers and clothing items that they would probably need to wash by hand, and a little luxury in the form of baby powder. Most of all, they already loved this baby growing inside of her and were prepared to offer him or her their version of the world.

I haven't been back to Ukraine since that trip... I have no idea whether she had a boy or girl and by now the baby would be about 9 years old. I would love to return though to find out how she fared with such a tiny amount of 'stuff'. I suspect she did just fine. It's amazing that women around the world give birth in far less ideal circumstances, with far less 'stuff' and less fanfare than here in the States. 

I know that I don't live in Ukraine. But I also know that I'm not planning on being a 'typical' textbook American mother. I have already gotten the hairy eyeball from more than one person by stating that the Sailor won't be anywhere near me in the delivery room, or that we'll be using cloth diapers from the start. I feel like people are continually watching us to see how much we're going to change as parents. 

I'm sure we'll eat some words. Toys and 'stuff' will creep into our lives and I guarantee you that disposable diapers will find a way into our life on things like road trips. But overall, I want to continue to remember that Ukrainian gal... and when I look at the clothes, diapers and the few things we have for the Peanut, I have also exclaimed to people, 'We're all ready for the baby's arrival!' 

Missing Loch Lomond

Summer camp has started on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond... and even though it has been four years since I've made it to that part of the world (and let's face it -- I have one of the most legitimate reasons on the planet for missing it this year) I'm still a little nostalgic for that field and the view. 

Last year, I wrote about what brings me back there year after year, here.  

Many of my foreign friends have converged on the field by now and are giving a slew of young people the summer of their lives by introducing them to new skills, new friends and a new environment. Someday, I hope to take the Peanut there to show him or her the place where I first fell in love with travel and foreign experiences.

To my friends there now, may the rain be sparse, the midgies* be few, and may you take the time to enjoy every single stunning sunset Loch Lomond has to offer you in the next few weeks. 

{*The most awful little bugs on the planet... 10,000x worse than mosquitoes in my book. They are so tiny you can't see them coming until one bites you on the face. They will not be missed...} 

Cloth Diapers

I always knew if I had a baby, I'd use cloth diapers. Perhaps it's because I wore them as a babe and my mom swore by them (and I still have one of the old-fashioned pins in my sewing kit) or maybe it has to do with the fact that I was a bit of an environmental freak back in high school. 

Then I discovered that cloth diapered babies generally get less rashes, are exposed to less chemicals and on average seem to potty train quicker than those in disposables. Even more reasons to go with them! 

I'm betting though the real reason I set my mind on it though was once I saw the monetary savings. A few hundred bucks versus thousands over the years? You bet I'm going to cloth diaper the Peanut. And, having lived overseas and witnessed the lack of disposables in many of those places... I perhaps have an easier time than others imagining that cloth diapering is totally plausible, especially in this world of convenient washing machines. 

Over the months, I've gathered enough supplies from online vendors and even Walmart and when people ask if we're ready for the baby to arrive I tell them we have a place for the wee one to sleep and we have diapers. I'm pretty sure those are two things that are high on the list of necessities. 

The convenience of washing machines aside, for the first few weeks, the Sailor and I decided to cash in on my winning streak and use my coupon for a free diaper service. We'll still be cloth diapering, but we'll simply be letting someone else wash the dirties for us for a few weeks. 

(Even if you're convinced that disposables are the way to go instead for convenience, who can resist the cute owl pattern on the cloth diaper cover above?)