Motherhood Mondays: Would you find out if you were having a boy or a girl, or keep it a surprise?

My darlings, if you were pregnant, would you want to find out if you were having a boy or a girl, or would you keep it a surprise?When I was pregnant with Toby, I was on pins and needles; I would never have had the willpower to wait to find out the baby's sex. I'm a huge gossip by nature (never tell me a secret!), and I wouldn't have been able to wait patiently for nine whole months for the

Motherhood Mondays: The sweetest book

Have you seen My Quotable Kid? The book gives you a place to write down the funny, sweet things your child says and save them forever. What a brilliant idea.P.S. I just bought one for Toby and am excited for him to get talking :)(Via Unruly Little Things)

My balance of work/baby/life

My lovelies, last week, seven amazing mothers shared how they juggle work/life, including the ups and downs. It's so wonderful to be honest and normalize what that all mothers are going through. Thank you again to those brave and lovely bloggers!Now I'd love to share my own juggle post. I have to admit, it feels strange to be sharing my own routine because I didn't have a decent schedule figured

Back from England

Hi, my darlings! We got back from England last night, after a wonderful, dreamy, windy, sunshiny week visiting our relatives in Cornwall. I keep gazing at this photo, which my cousin took while we were on a boat to the beach. I wish I could beam myself right back there. :) How was your week?P.S. My own work/baby juggle post is coming up today. Thanks to the amazing mothers last week, and love to

New series: Balancing work/life/motherhood

When Toby was a couple months old, and I started to work again, I was shocked to discover how hard it was to juggle everything....We found a beloved babysitter, but when she would leave in the afternoons and Toby would cuddle up in my arms, my mind would still be whirring with tasks left undone. Instead of nabbing a few hours in the evenings to finish up work, Alex and I spent all our extra hours

Motherhood Mondays: 8 confessions of a new dad

For today's second Motherhood Monday post, I'd love to talk about new fatherhood. On the three-hour drive home from the beach this weekend, Alex and I started talking about parenthood, and he revealed a few funny and surprising thoughts on our first year with a baby. Here were his eight revelations, in his own words...1. "I didn't bond with the baby right away."The experience of fatherhood is

Salt-Water sandals

My darlings, another Motherhood Monday post is coming up (about husbands!), but in the meantime, I wanted to share these sandals for little dudes. Every child in our neighborhood wears Salt-Water sandals, which are adorable, comfy and tough enough for city streets, grass parks, sandy beaches, and, of course, salty water. Toby just got his first little pair, and we're loving them already.Mamas,

Motherhood Mondays: Has your style changed since having a baby?

My lovelies, for today's Motherhood Monday post, let's talk about style. I've always had a pretty low-key look (cardigans, flats), but after Toby arrived, my style became even more relaxed (read: worse!). I didn't have time to do much for my own look, and I sort of forgot about myself in that way. My focus was so much on sweet Toby. But now that Toby's a year old--and we feel much more

Toby's birthday party

For today's Motherhood Monday post, I'd love to share a few photos of Toby's first birthday party. The party was not only a special occasion for sweet Toby, but also for Alex and me, as first-time parents. It was a life-changing, whirlwind, chaotic, rollercoaster first year...and we survived!We decided to have a picnic in downtown Manhattan with the theme "New York City kid." Everyone arrived at

Motherhood Mondays: A funny tip about sex...

My darlings, for this Motherhood Monday post, let's talk about...sex! Recently I heard a genius tip about how to have a sexy date night with your husband. Want to hear?Esther Perel, the author of the fascinating book Mating in Captivity, says that when you get home from a romantic night out, the key to having a sexy rest-of-the-night is simple: Let your husband pay the babysitter.Why?When the

Motherhood Mondays: Ten tips for traveling with a baby

For today's Motherhood Monday post, I'd love to talk about traveling with a baby (and hear your tips). We just got back from a week in San Francisco, and we also took Toby to California last Christmas. During those long trips, we learned a few things (on the fly!) that helped us travel more smoothly and with fewer freak-outs. :) Here are 10 things that we discovered make traveling with a baby

Motherhood Mondays: Do you kiss your babies on the mouth? Or your parents?

On this Motherhood Monday, I'd love to talk about kissing babies.First, here's a little story: When I was sixteen, we went to visit my grandparents in England. One night, I was saying good night to my grandfather. "Good night, Dilly," I said, standing next to his armchair, and then I leaned over and gave him a peck on the mouth. We had always kissed my parents on the lips, and I figured that was

Motherhood Mondays: On babysitters

My lovelies, for this Motherhood Monday, let's talk about babysitters.Our very first babysitter was Naudia, who is still with us. (In the photo above, she's reading Toby his favorite story--he was only 3 months old.)One thing that really surprised me was how hard it was to leave Toby with a babysitter for the first time. (How old were your babies when you first got a babysitter?) For us, Toby was

Motherhood Mondays: What baby names do you like?

My darlings, on this Motherhood Monday, I'd love to talk about baby names! Do you have favorites? When Alex and I first found out that we were expecting a child, we were so giddy (and, um, surprised:) that we couldn't sleep. So we found ourselves in our dark living room at 2 a.m. brainstorming names. Our top boy's names were Toby, Julian, Charlie, and Elliot (ahh, I still love Elliot). For girl's

Motherhood Mondays: On having a boy

My darlings, sorry for the late post today! I've been thinking about this one all day, and finally had a chance to write it out.So, I'd love to ask: When you think of having children, do you ever secretly hope for a boy or a girl? Even though people don't really talk about it, I actually think it's really common to wish for one or the other.When you're pregnant, the most important thing on your

Motherhood

It's amazing how much you love your own child. Although motherhood can be hard sometimes, and the juggle of work vs. life vs. baby can feel impossible to get right, Toby and his little bald head and his powdery/milky scent and his drooly smile and his throaty laugh make me so moony every time.They say that when you have a baby, your heart lives outside you, and that phrase has come to mind so

Breastfeeding love

I'm totally in love with this nursing photo and can't stop looking at it.Moms, how long did you breastfeed your babies? And moms-to-be, how long do you imagine you will? Three months? Six months? A year? Toddler-age? Or not at all? I'd love to hear your thoughts!(Photo by Michal Rubin)

Saturday morning

Toby had a bit of a tummy ache on Saturday, so we spent the morning lounging around. It was really fun to lie around doing nothing except playing with his bird toy and giving raspberries.P.S. You know when you were a little kid and your parents were your safe haven? It's strange/amazing to be that for someone now. Sometime I think, wait, I can't be a mom, I'm just a random person, I don't know

Breastfeeding in public

Yesterday, Alex, Toby and I went on a leisurely walk around the West Village. (It was such a pretty fall day!) Toby breastfed a couple times while we were out, and Alex took a few photos, which I figured I'd share.Since Toby was born, I've met so many wonderful moms who are nervous about breastfeeding in public--they worry that people will give them weird looks or say something negative, or they

10 things to wear as a nursing mother

A few readers have requested a post about nursing wear, so I thought I'd share my ten favorite things from the past five months, in hopes that it might be helpful...Clockwise from top left:1. Not to sound like a broken record, but I am in love with Gap skinny jeans. They're flattering, not-too-expensive and perfect for new moms. (And if you don't believe me, take it from Jenny and Abbey, too!)2.