Blessing

On November 25, 2012 Sweet Caroline was blessed by her daddy in Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

 

Gramy Jodi made her pretty dress.

 

 

Great-Grandma Doris Maybelle made her litte bonnet.

 

 

 

Caroline got to meet some of her cousins for the first time.

11 out of 23 (!) nieces and nephews from the Baldwin side were there.

 

 

Caroline's cousin Kat is only 4 months older.

They had fun staring at each other all weekend and I think they will be best friends someday : )

Month Two

Since Caroine is almost three months old I figure I'd better write about her hitting the two month mark.

 

The biggest milestone she reached during the second month was that she began to smile for reals.

I don't know why but it feels like we've won an olympic gold medal every time we get her to look us in the eye and give us a big grin.

On that note, it's funny how much your interests change when you become parents.

We used to find enjoyment in eating at new fun restaurants and seeing old friends.

Starting when we brought her home from the hospital we have found pure delight in this girl's dirty diapers.

Sick, right?

The first few days she was home we would literally cheer when she had gone #2.

That has faded, but only slightly.

I still tell her 'good job' every time she goes.

Just think of our pride when she graduates from college...

 

 

She is still pretty needy and wants to be held for the majority of the day.

It's ok though because I'd rather be inside snuggling with my babe than doing pretty much anything else I can think of!

 

 

When we went to her two month check up she was a whopping 12 pounds 1 ounce. That puts her in the 85% for weight.

She is a healthy, happy, beast of a baby and she is awesome.

 

 

 

I hope her eyes stay blue like her dad's!

 

hibernation

I have kind of been in hibernation for the past 6 weeks.

When Caroline was born it still felt like summer and now that I'm starting to get out of the cave more I realize I pretty much missed fall and now winter is well on its' way.

Today I had to whip out the trusty old puffer coat...it is THAT cold outside!

 

 

Since baby picks and chooses which days she will sleep in her stroller, this is how I end up doing my grocery shopping.

I basically feel like I'm pregnant all over again, carrying her around on my torso like this.

I decided I'm having my groceries delivered from now on bc my arms were about to fall off when I got home from this particlar excursion. 

 

Caroline went to church for the first time yesterday.

When she woke up and wasn't in her familiar environment she was looking around like crazy, overwhelmed with all the people.

It was funny/cute.

 

I love her little baby feet, especially when they have little baby mary-jane socks on them.

 

Babies nom nom nom

 

SANDY

Crazy this is the SECOND hurricane we've experienced since moving to NYC.

The first one didn't affect the city much despite subway closures and lots of freaking out.

Sandy has been another story!

On Sunday we were basically kicked out of our apartment because we live in the 'Evacuation A Zone.' 

Have you ever thought about what you would pack if you had to leave your home with only your most precious belongings?

THAT HAPPENED.

 

But all we really took was our toothbrushes, baby stuff, and clean underwear. 

(Actually Ty forgot his clean underwear but that's a story for another day...)

I guess we don't have that many precious things.

We walked to the subway before it shut down for Caroline's first public transportation experience.

 

 

I was really nervous she'd be scared of all the people and loud sounds but of course she slept peacefully the entire time : )

 

 

Caroline also had her first experience in Times Square and despite all the noise and crazies walking around...still asleep!

It was fun to be in our hotel room and see the view...Caroline liked it too once she finally woke up.

 

 

We are still safe and sound hanging out in our hotel feeling pretty blessed to not have lost power or had any other problems. Our apartment building is in an area that was flooded pretty badly but there was no damage done to our actual apartment.

Thoughts/prayers/good vibes going out to all of those who are in distress because of this crazy disaster of a storm!

 

Month One

A MONTH?!?!?!

I have a one month old???

How did this happen?

 

 

My tiny little newborn is...well...still a little newborn just not quite as tiny.

She now weighs 10 lbs 7 oz up from 7 lbs 15 oz when she was born.

She basically gained 30% of her body weight in 4 weeks which would be like me gaining more than 40 lbs...crazy.

I would consider her a "good" baby.

People always ask me that...apparently babies are either "good" or "not good."

Anyway, she sleeps a lot, eats a lot, poops a lot, cries sometimes, screams sometimes, and is really really fun to just sit and look at.

 

 

Even though she is still too young to focus on my face or even crack a real smile, she does some pretty cute things. I love it when I'm nursing her and she crosses her legs like a little lady. I also love how when she wakes up she stretches out as long as she can. I'm always surprised with how long she is because she is usually curled up in a little ball in the froggy position. I also love how she grunts and snores when she's in a deep sleep. And how her fists do this shaky thing when she gets restless.

 

The difficult thing about this stage she is in is that she always has to be held. I can only put her down when she's in a deep deep sleep. She can only fall asleep if I am holding her on my chest and rocking her. Emphasis on the "I" part... She won't even let her dad put her down. I have a moby wrap which has been heavenly because I can at least have both of my hands free and walk around during the day to get stuff done. Even though her attachment issues are hard and I sometimes feel like I have a tumor, I am doing my best to enjoy it because I know it will end soon and she'll probably want nothing to do with me : )

We love our sweet Caroline.

 

P.S. I never posted about my birth story partly because I feel weird about having it out there on the www and partly because I don't want to scare any childless readers out of giving birth : ) If anyone reading this is extremely bored and is interested in hearing it I will gladly email you a copy of a version I have written for my personal records.

Introducing...

Caroline Maybelle Baldwin

Born September 18, 2012 at 11:33 PM

7 lbs 15 oz

20.5 inches long

 

I wish someone could explain to me why the last few weeks of pregnany feel so long, like years almost, but the first week of this little girl's life has flown by like a second.

 

This has been the best week ever.

We love you, sweet Caroline!

NYC Shower

Three of my wonderful friends threw me the most adorable baby shower last week.

It has been fun to look forward to this shower throughout my pregnancy and now that it's over I feel like baby could really come at any time.

(Even though I technically have 2 weeks left...)

Mary Martha, Erica, and Whitney spent so much time and effort putting together this amazing party which had a 'Mommy to Bee' theme.

Whitney even bussed all the way up to NY from MD to help out.

Whit=good friend.

My mom also made the trek from Utah to join in on the fun.

They did such a good job and I was thrilled with how it turned out and how many people came bearing gifts for Baby Baldwin : )

Yes that is a beehive made of donut holes!!! I thought this was a nice touch considering Baby's Utah roots : )



The food was all honey themed...honey butter, honeycomb, and honey parfaits!



 

My mom with two of the party-throwers Erica and Whitney



The whole gang



5 preggos at one party! Quite the sight to see!
 

Thanks friends!

Baby--You can come now!

 

Gotta give photo cred to Mary martha...I was having so much fun I didn't snap one pic. Thanks MM!

32 Weeks

I am now 32 weeks pregnant (32 out of 40 for all my childless friends out there : )

I'm at the stage where people are saying things like "Wow you still have 2 months to go?!" (referring to my large belly).

Other people say "It's going by fast!  She'll be here before you know it!"

BUT

To me time is going by SOOO SLOWLY!!!!!!!!

No matter how busy I am, every day seems like a week.

It is like looking forward to the biggest Christmas/birthday/wedding/vacation ever.

This baby is the only thing on my mind all day every day.

22 weeks, 32 weeks

26 weeks, 32 weeks

32 weeks

It's funny because I remember when I was 22 weeks I felt HUGE.

It's weird to be fat.

No offense to you if you are fat.

It's just strange to have to worry about squeezing into a booth at a restaurant.

Or sweating profusely after going up 1/2 flight of stairs.

Or having my belly knock things over without me knowing.

I am doing my best to enjoy this time being pregnant because I know my life is going to change dramatically in approximately 7 weeks and 3 days.

If you need me I'll be inside somewhere, sitting on an air conditioning unit.

Utah Shower

My mom and sister started planning this baby shower for me just about as soon as they found out I was pregnant. 

I have been so excited to come home to Utah to celebrate with my friends and fam.

The theme was "Ready to Pop"  and they had the place decked out with cake pops, soda pop, popcorn, and balloons.

I wonder what Baby Baldwin thinks of all this attention she is already getting...

Photos taken by the lovely Cate Williams

"Running"

I've been doing my best to stay active whilst pregnant.

I notice I feel entirely better for the rest of the day if I've done some kind of exercise in the morning.

My doctors gave me the go-ahead so now I feel like I have to, since I have no medical reason not to.

Even though it is sometimes hard to get out of bed and do it, I generally do every day.

I have been "running" outside now that the weather is shaping up here.

Well, I used to call it running.

I guess I've been officially demoted to jogging.

As I get bigger this is becoming more complicated.

I used to never have to stop for bathroom breaks...now I stop twice each time I'm out thanks to my new peanut-sized bladder.

I've never been an amazing runner but I used to be able to hold a pretty good pace.

I enjoyed getting outside on the trail with the hoards of New York runners and seeing how I matched up against them...secretely trying to pass and beat people along my way.

It was a little game I liked to play.

Now those games are but a distant memory.

When I run I feel like a contestant on 'The Biggest Loser' trying to finish the marathon at the end of the season.

A few days ago a grandma wearing Ked's and khaki shorts passed me with her poodle.

Ty was nice enough to come out with me once last week when we were in Florida.

He hasn't run one step for more than two years.

He was maybe a little surprised at my slowness, and didn't quite understand what about "running" was still enjoyable to me, since he was basically walking along side me.

I told him I was determined to keep this up until I can't anymore, and he was supportive.

He even threw in a few "Good job babe!"s and "We're almost there!"s just to twist the knife.

But hey, I'm not complaining.

Well kind of I am.

husband and baby

Remember this guy?

He hasn't made an appearance on the blog in quite some time.

So in case you were wondering -- yes, we are still married : )

On Mother's Day we went on a walk along the Hudson River Parkway and snapped a photo.

It was a nice evening in the city now that the weather is getting warmer.

Also, I found this "Project Baby" shirt through a friend of a friend's blog...

Good idea right?

Maybe you can't tell but the numbers represent every week of pregnancy and it comes with a red fabric pen to cross the weeks off as you go.

I wish I had started at the very beginning of my pregnancy!

The shirt itself is really comfy and I've been tempted to wear it out but that would be super weird.

My favorite part is that after you have the baby you can send the shirt back to the girl who makes them and she'll turn it into a lil onsie for your babe.

PRESH!!!

Home Part 2

Being home made me realize that Salt Lake City, Utah's coolness level has risen dramatically since I moved away a year ago.

Not sure if it got cooler BECAUSE I moved away or what...

But this new mall they have downtown is pretty amazing.

Even though I live in NYC (best shopping, duh) I think I prefer the mall/food court/restaurant set up, and this new mall does not disappoint in any of those areas.

I guess I will always be a mall rat at heart.

During my stay at home the baby bump at least doubled in size! (Perhaps it's just the box of Krispy Cremes I devoured?)

Ty could hardly believe his eyes when I walked in the door after not seeing me for almost 3 weeks.

I can feel baby girl moving around a lot and it definitely makes this whole thing more real (and alien-like).

I was able to spend a lot of time with family during my stay in Utah and even got some baby-holding practice with new baby Carter. My nephew Tanner is adorable, btw. 

It was sad to leave Utah but I am happy to be back in the big city : )

Heaven Is Here

 

Have you ever read a book that is so good you wanted everyone you know to read it and feel what you felt?

That's how I was reading this book, Heaven Is Here by Stephanie Nielson.

So I would like to tell you about it.

Sorry to my friends family members who have already heard me rave about it : )

I was immediately interested when I heard about this book because I have read the Nie Nie Dialogues for years and have also heard Stephanie speak at an event. 

When I learned it was available I downloaded it and read it in like, 36 hours. 

Which is saying a lot because I am most likely the slowest reader ever.

She describes in detail her life before, during, and after a devastating plane crash that left her body 80% burned. 

Her descriptions of the accident and recovery are heavy...hard to read but I could not stop.

My favorite thing about the book is that it is a real life love story.

Stephanie and Mr. Nielson (as she calls him) met, fell in love, and were married by the time she was like 19 years old.
Something I can relate to being somewhat of a child-bride myself   : )
All she wanted her entire life was to have a family of her own.

Stephanie and Mr. Nielson went through an unimaginable nightmare together.
Can you imagine literally being burned alive?
One of my biggest fears.

Instead of harvesting blame and anger their love and respect for each other grew and they came out of their trial even more in love than before, despite their majorly changed and disfigured physical appearances.

Being LDS I also enjoyed reading her words about the Church. 

She didn't come off preachy at all, she simply stated what she believed in a 'take it or leave it' kind of way.

I was constantly wondering what people who aren't LDS thought of it all.

The only thing that I didn't like about the book is that I was sad when it was over.
Make sure you have a tissue handy with this one.

For realsies.