ANNND We're Back...

I'm not going to attempt to play catch up...That would just be too overwhelming for everyone involved.

But I would like to get back into the swing of things.

Now that Caroline is 6 (!) months old, I feel like I am back to my old human self and can now perform normal adult-like tasks such as showering on a regular basis and maybe even throwing in a blog post here and there.

Can't hurt, right?

Something else that made me feel human lately was when my mom and sister came into town this past weekend.

It was my birthday and to celebrate we decided to run a half marathon???

Not much of celebration-- more like birthday torture but it was actually fun and was a great way to get back into shape after being pregnant for 9 months.

 

Note to self: don't try to act like a champ and blow past all 12 water stops without a drink bc you will get dehydtrated and feel like dying for the next 24 hours.

 

On my birthday we went to eat at a yummy restaurant called Bar Pitti in the West Village.

 Bar Pitti has amazing authentic Italian food and was the perfect place for a pre-race carbo load/birthday dinner.

 

Tip: get the burrata for an appetizer. Oh and talk to the waiters as much as possible bc they are all straight up Italian and have legit accents.

 

We also went to check out the Macy's Flower Show and I took ONE awesome pic to capture the beauty of it all:

 

 

Sigh.

I need to work on that.

We went inside to Macy's shoe department and stayed for like 2 hours on just that floor alone.

Caroline enjoyed it all too.

 

She's a pretty good shopping companion.

 

Mom, Maren....COME BACK!!!

 

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