Moments of Musing

To My Second-Born

Filed Under: baby #2, Baby L, motherhood, second-born //


R,

I always knew I wanted you. Being a mom was always my ultimate life goal. Being a mom to more than one baby was always my dream. Thank you for making my dream a reality. 

I must admit, however, that I was anxious for much of my pregnancy with you. 

I was scared I wouldn’t know how to love you — not because I didn’t want to but because I was not yet aware of how much love my heart could hold.


But then with just one cry, you showed me. It just happens. Just like that. My heart instantly made room for you, as if it had that special place for you all along. 


I also grieved for much of my pregnancy with you. A special person you didn’t get a chance to meet passed just a little over a month shy of your birth. You helped me (and everyone, really) during those moments so much. You gave me hope. You gave me happiness. You taught me that life is a precious gift and you gave us all something to almost immediately look forward to. 

Despite my worries, I also felt a sense of peace that I hadn’t during my first pregnancy. 

And oh, meeting you was pure bliss. You showed me it was possible to love you just as fiercely and without bounds, as I love your big brother (oh how he adores you! We are excited to watch you two grow alongside one another.). You have also shown me that our bond would be unique to us—just as is the bond between your brother and I. And you’ve made me a much more confident mom. 

So, thank you. Thank you for being ours. Thank you for being adorable, cuddly, smiley you and making our transition to two under two easier. 

Thank you making me a better mommy and more well-rounded me. 

Thank you for making our world more complete. 

You have been a blessing and a joy. To be your mom has been a blessing and a joy. Simply put, I couldn’t imagine a life without you. 

I love you beyond time, measure and words, baby boy, and look forward to watching you grow… but feel free to take your time. Because I now know just how fast time goes and I want to cherish your baby years as much as I can. 

With a love (so much) greater than love,
Mama

Newborn + Family Photos (Spring 2018)

Filed Under: baby #2, family photos //

This post is sponsored. All opinions are my own.

As I mentioned before, we did things a little different with our firstborn. One of those things was professional photos. We opted for professional maternity photos and took our own newborn photos. This time around, I took my own maternity photos and we decided to get professional newborn + family photos. I couldn’t be happier with our decision!

My day started with a blowout at the local blow dry bar Luxe & Co. As was my first blowout there, the service was wonderful from start to finish, and my blowout had me feeling brand new. All in all, it took about 45 minutes for a wash and blow. Pretty amazing, especially with my thick and curly hair, if you ask me!

I then went home to finish getting ready for our photo shoot. Faryl of Faryl Loew Photography was such a pleasure to work with. She was efficient and oh so patient. We still had some things to get together when she arrived. Then, our toddler was not really into the photos so it took him some warming up to the idea of sitting still and posing. And our newborn was hungry, despite me feeding him right before Faryl arrived. Luckily, we got all the shots we wanted and some—she offered to photograph my nursing session both just R and me and with S and my husband. They’re photos I’ll treasure forever. Be sure to book Farly if you’re in the NYC area!

Without further ado, here are some of our photos:

Baby #2 is Here!

Filed Under: baby #2, Baby L //

Our hearts grew on 4/22 when we welcomed our newest and most perfect addition, baby Rafael, into the world. As you can tell, big brother Sebastian is over-the-moon (for the most part haha), and my husband and I are on cloud nine in love with our little family. 


It’s Baby Month!

Filed Under: baby #2, pregnancy //

This post contains affiliate links, purchases from which I may benefit.

 

It is so surreal to me that we will be adding another little family member to our tribe this month. My husband is excited and pretty cool as a cucumber… I, on the other hand, am torn between wanting to meet him already and not have this big bump versus loving his kicks and needing the next few weeks to prepare for his arrival.

Admittedly, grieving while in my last weeks of pregnancy has been tough but it has also pushed me to try to think more positively. I know that’s what Abby would want me to do. She loved kids, loved S and was excited for Baby #2. I was/am so sad that they won’t meet here on earth but people have reminded me that they will cross paths above and she’ll send him down with extra love.

As far as preparation goes, we have been so busy the last few weeks-months so it’s been a bit difficult to truly prepare for his arrival. I am hoping this weekend we will hopefully begin getting things in order. By that I mean washing a lot of newborn and 0-3 month clothes and organizing.

We are in desperate need of shelving for the boys’ closets and in the boys’ bedroom and playroom so hopefully we can around to that, too. I found a really nice website with an overview of Montessori shelves. I also plan to pack our hospital bags, or at least start so I know what else is needed. The baby is pretty set but his dad and I, on the other hand… not so much.

We also have to order S’s big brother present(s). He’ll be getting a new baby brother and some cool new toys (we’re thinking something like this). Lucky him!

What are some things you did the last weeks of pregnancy to prepare for your new addition?

Currently (30+5 Weeks)

Filed Under: baby #2, currently, pregnancy //

This post is sponsored by PinkBlush but all opinions are my own. 

This weekend was spent at home reading and hosting brunches thanks to all the rain. So, in lieu of a weekend update or something of the sort, I figured I’d do an update on other things:

reading James Patterson and Maxine Paetro’s Swimsuit + baby books about becoming a big brother to my little guy (#momlife)!
writing blog posts, collaboration pitches galore, and work projects that I want to have done by the time I go on maternity leave.
listening to Z100’s morning show with my husband during our commute. 
thinking about what we should do to prepare for Baby #2’s arrival. 

smelling my husband’s cologne. 
wishing for good health for everyone in my family, and for a healthy delivery of Baby #2. 
hoping for more sun + warmer weather. This weekend was rainy boooo! 
wearing this beautiful robe. It’s delicate and comfortable (see: big enough) to feel covered in it while pregnant so I know it’ll be a good fit postpartum at the hospital. It’s actually the only thing that I know I am packing in my hospital bag so far. 


loving one-on-one time with S while he’s our only kiddo + nonstop baby kicks. 
wanting to practice presence and patience more–I don’t think there could ever be enough of either. 
needing to budget because it helps my financial anxiety (if that’s not a thing, I’m making it one lol) a ton. 
feeling (relatively) energized and excited for our family to grow in just about 8 weeks!