Belly shots

This morning, Alex snapped a couple belly shots. It looks small in these photos, but I swear it's bigger in person!

A few observations about this pregnancy: I'm hungry like the wolf. And I go from zero to sixty—not at all hungry to suddenly in a blind panic to shovel food into my mouth. I don't remember that from last time! It's getting harder to sleep now, and I'm thinking of ordering one of these hilarious body pillows. My boobs are bigger! I'm more anxious than usual. Sometimes I know I’m being neurotic, but I can’t stop. And I discovered these chewable prenatal vitamins, which are awesome since the regular ones are like horse pills. Most of all, we cannot wait to meet this little one in July.

(And my belly was a little bigger after our Indian dinner on my birthday...:)
P.S. My belly shot last month, and my growing belly during Toby's pregnancy.

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Very happy nine-month news...

After holding my tongue for months, I'm really excited to announce that Alex and I are expecting our second child! We are completely over the moon. I'm three months along, so the baby should arrive around July 3rd. Toby has requested that we have a "glurl" and name her "Thomas," after this friendly guy.

Pregnancy and new motherhood felt both wonderful and disorienting the first time around, so I'm curious how different it will feel the second time. Funnily enough, this pregnancy already feels much more real. With Toby, my pregnancy felt surreal and was hard to wrap my head around, but now we know more about what to expect. My friend Sari and I were talking about the experience of expecting a second child, and she said, "Because I knew what it felt like to love Jude, I was able to tap into this deep, true kind of love for Teddy from the very instant I knew I was pregnant with her." I loved that.

How mindblowing to think we're going to experience a newborn again along with all those sweet steps: growing a belly, finding out the gender, giving birth, choosing a name, cuddling a newborn, breastfeeding, doing tummy time, acting a little crazy, waking up early, swapping drool-y kisses, trying to figure out a good work-life balance, standing up, taking first steps, saying first words....

I can't wait. :)

(Photo kindly taken by our friend Shannen Norman. Thank you again, Shannen!)

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Motherhood Mondays: Sculpture

Many people probably turned off their computers for Labor Day, but I can't help sharing a couple things! First up, isn't this sculpture gorgeous? The sculpture, called Survival of Serena, has been installed in downtown Manhattan for the summer. It portrays a swimmer taking a break, and passersby have been wowed by its hyper-realism—so much so that one day when it rained, people didn't know which drops were real.

But, to me, this sculpture looks strikingly similar to a woman having a home birth and laboring in a tub. (Like this photo of my friend Leigh!) The same athleticism, the same quiet concentration. It's sort of amazing that the artist didn't intend that!

(Photos by Jenna Fain and Andrea Swalec)

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Have you had that baby yet?

This website makes me laugh. Wouldn't it be great to send it to everyone you know (especially in-laws) as soon as you hit your ninth month of pregnancy?

(Old photo of me)

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