our love for hyland's

yes...we really do love hyland's teething tablets. a lot.

steady as she grows {seventeen months}

this weekend, we went to a playdate for a waldorf charter school that is scheduled to open in 2013.  the idea of getting an waldorf education through the public school system is really appealing.  i love the idea of a waldorf education, but a private education is so expensive...there are even two different waldorf schools in our area, but i'm really looking forward to the progress of this charter.  this was our first playdate with this group and we are really excited to participate more!

this was beatrice's first time with painting...we bought her crayons the weekend before, but i was really inspired to get her painting...the set up was great, there were lots of cardboard boxes laid out on the ground and around in a circle.  at first, bea just watched all the other kids...but by the end, she was literally laying inside a cardboard box painting it!

at seventeen months, she's got more control over her body and really loves exploration...so the painting was an amazing experience.  i've been researching non toxic and homemade paints and now i have a use for all those cardboard boxes i've been inexplicably hoarding...

she is still signing and she knows more signs than words she can say, but she's really using her voice a lot more lately.  she also knows that i'm "mama" and patty is "mom."  we went through a million different names to call patty, but just sort of landed on mom.  it's still confusing, but mostly for us...she seems to know the difference!  yesterday, she saw a picture of patty and said "mom!"

i'm loving this age and the amazing growth spurts...she's also definitely demonstrating her toddler determination.  we are working really hard on not taking things from her (unless it's dangerous!), which is tough.  i want to respect her and not grab things from her, plus i ask her not to grab things from other kids, so "do as i say, not as i do?"...not so much.  but this morning i accidentally left my phone within her reach, and usually if i ask for it back she'll give it to me.  but this time, she pulled it away and said "nah!" so i've been trying to offer her alternatives and give her choices, so she is empowered...something like: "i'm not offering you the phone, but you can have this book or this toy..."

she's developing her own personality and it's such an exciting journey!

{photo credit: bug from mostly granola}

scary santa...

this year, patty really wanted to get a picture of beatrice with santa claus.  saturday at the farmers market, a preschool that is on our list of favorites called cottage enrichment, was doing a fundraiser by taking santa pictures.  win-win!  we get to donate to a great preschool, support our community and avoid the mall!  hooray....well, not so much.  beatrice was not having it.  since we hang out at the farmers market, we let her watch a few other kids get their picture taken, so she could see what it was all about...she just watched, wide-eyed as kids eagerly bounded up to santa to tell him their wishes.  there was a set of sisters, maybe five and three, and the three year old was a little scared.  her big sister held her hand and the photographer and her parents made her laugh.  crisis averted...no tears...

when it was our turn, we went up to santa and beatrice held on to me for dear life, so we decided to sit with her to see if she was ok with it.  before we even sat down, the photographers played with her for a little bit and got a few smiles out of her...so we thought let's try it!  well, sure enough, she started crying...lots of folks were trying to make her smile, including us {hence the silly, happy faces we are making...}.  but in the end, it was just too much.

usually, beatrice isn't afraid of anything.  in fact, she really doesn't have "stranger danger," and it almost concerns me, as i would like for her to have a healthy weariness of strangers.  she's also been in the presence of yo gabba gabba characters twice and it didn't faze her at all...so we were a little surprised that santa was what scared her...

and although this is one of those holiday traditions we hope our kids enjoy, i want to respect beatrice and not force things on her.  she's her own person and i respect her cues.  did i cross the line with the santa pictures?  did i ignore her cues and disrespect her by trying to get the picture for us and the grandparents?  maybe, yes...

patty has been taking beatrice to a RIE playgroup, and while i don't subscribe to every tenant of that philosophy, i love their emphasis on respecting the child and having patience with them and respecting their learning path. so while we got the picture, maybe this isn't one of my shining parenting moments...and that's ok. live and learn...i know i'm bound to make many mistakes...

but this has definitely got me thinking about the whole notion of santa.  i feel very strongly about not lying to beatrice, but i also really want her to cultivate a sense of wonder, imagination and magic.  and these holiday traditions can do that...obviously, beatrice is too young now to understand the magic of santa... but stories like santa and other fairy tales allow for that.  but if santa is not something she buys into, i want to respect that and allow her to find magic in her own way.

so...will our family celebrate santa?  we'll see, only time will tell...but, honestly, i would really love to avoid the dark side that santa inspires: the consumerism, the frantic feelings and the "gimme" attitude...in fact, usually over the holidays i tell family and friends to donate to my favorite charity rather than buying me a gift...and every year, we usually donate toys to children's hospital and try to give back in other ways, like making lunches for the homeless on christmas day.  does it have to be either/or?  no, i think we can have fun with santa but also cultivate a sense of helping and giving back, too...

maybe we'll create our own holiday family tradition that is fun and magical and inspires beatrice to donate her time to others and be grateful for what she has...something involving fairies?!

we got the {off}beat...

clearly, beatrice will have music in her life and will be able to keep a beat...but is her family {offbeat} because she has two moms? of course it is...but of course it is perfectly normal too.  we are the new normal...

yes, admittedly, beatrice's beginnings are a little different {offbeat?} than most...and i'm thrilled to have a guest post over at offbeat mama today, where you can read all about it.  thank goodness for offbeat mama, where stories like ours can be heard!  hurrah!

recipe {baby nuggets}

beatrice loves feeding herself.  she never really took to purees, even early on.  so i started out with baby led weaning...giving her chunks of food that she can handle and letting her eat it with her hands.  that said, she didn't really "get into solids" until about 10 months or so...and it wasn't really until her first birthday that the solid food eating really took off...

so most food i feed her is finger food, or something that she can pick up.  lots of pasta, steamed veggies, etc.  however, her favorite food is what we call "baby nuggets."  basically, i find any good veggie patty recipe and instead of making patties, i roll into small little balls that are perfect for her small grip...she LOVES them.  {mamas and papas love them too, so it's a nice food for everyone on the go!}

this is her favorite recipe, by far, adapted from my favorite non-dairy, calcium rich collection of recipes called calci-yum!

{sweet potato mini nuggets}

preheat oven to 350 degrees

makes about 50 nuggets

cookie sheet, lightly oiled

{i bake half the dough and freeze the other half for later}

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cups finely chopped chinese lettuce {i use bok choy, spinach or kale as a substitute if i can't find chinese lettuce}

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced {optional, depending on baby's tolerance, but bea loves it}

2 tsp salt

1/4 dried oregano

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/3 cup whole wheat flour {i also use oat flour instead sometimes}

3/4 cup bread crumbs {sometimes i mix in flax or dehydrated kale too}

1.  in a bowl using potato masher or food processor, mash chickpeas to a rough paste.  set aside.

2.  pierce sweet potatoes with a fork; wrap in foil and bake in preheated oven for 1-1/2 hours or until soft.  remove skin and mash together with cooked chickpeas.

3.  in a non-stick skillet with lid, heat oil over medium.  add onion and chinese lettuce {or kale or spinach, whatever you have on hand!}; saute for 3 minutes.  add pepper, garlic, salt and oregano.  cover and cook until vegetables are soft, about 3 minutes.  transfer to sweet potato/chickpea mixture, along with rolled oats, wheat germ and flour.  mix until well combined.  let cool.

4.  with slightly wet hands, roll into 1 inch balls, roll in breadcrumb mixture and place on oiled cookie sheet.

5.  bake for about 15-20 minutes.

{photo by patty}

steady as she grows {one year}...a little late!

so this post is about a week late...beatrice turned one year on sept thirteenth...we had a picnic birthday party for her in the park at the silver lake rec center...lots of her little friends came and my aunt, who is a children's librarian read stories & lead us all in rhymes and songs.  we made cute bee puppets as party favors and i made her a bee birthday crown...it was a really sweet day!

beatrice is really coming into her own...she is walking, babbling and developing her own preferences. she's picked up a few signs: milk, dog, more and all done. she definitely has a sweet tooth like her mama...those crumbs you see on one of the pictures are from the banana muffin "cupcakes" i made for her party.  she still hasn't had any sugar other than fruit and molasses {iron rich!}...so those muffins were sweetened with molasses, applesauce and bananas, all of which she loves.  fruit is definitely her favorite...i'm working on making sure she gets the vitamins she needs from her food and making lots of things like small balls out of sweet potatoes with veggies and other goodies inside.  she loves to hold them and eat them herself.  she doesn't like me feeding her, but isn't quite able to feed herself with a spoon or fork, so the little balls she can hold work great.  {i'll post some recipes soon.}

she is fast...she loves running about and exploring!  she's also getting more cuddly and likes to sit in our laps for a book.  but not for long, she's off and running after a few pages usually!  she loves music and has started dancing!  she also loves going to drum and music circles...she loves shoes {yeah, like mother like daughter} and often insists on putting her shoes on when she's playing at home.  her laugh is contagious and she is quick to smile, flashing her two teeth on top and two teeth on the bottom.  she's very social and at play groups rarely looks for mama...she is off and exploring and socializing!

now...the big reason for the delay in posting:  i went back to work.  i while back, i posted about staying home with beatrice and my struggle with that.  again, i chose to stay home with beatrice, and to me feminism is all about choice.  unfortunately, going back to work wasn't entirely by choice...it was definitely out of financial necessity.  now, here's to say there aren't many positives to going back to work.  my main concern was beatrice, obviously.  since we try to adhere to the attachment parenting {ap}philosophy, i really thought it was important that her main caregiver was one of her parents.  i know that ap is possible with a working parent, but i felt very strongly about having a parent with her at least until she goes to pre-school.  so we decided to swap: i'm going back to work and patty is staying at home with beatrice.

this was a huge struggle for me.  i mean, i *live* for being a mom.  i love staying home with her, taking her to play dates, cooking for  her, washing her diapers, all of it.  so the thought of going back to work and leaving her for a significant part of the day was heart wrenching.  on top of it, i'm still breastfeeding. obviously, since she's one, it's not her main source of nutrition, but she loves it...and i do, too.  so i'm working out a schedule where i can work from home a few days a week, and on the days i go to the office, patty brings bea out during the day so we can have a mid-day nursing session.  thankfully where a work is a beautiful ranch in the santa monica mountains {even though it's a long drive}, it's a nice place for beatrice to play and frolic among the wildlife...

here's the one thing that made this decision easier: patty wanted to stay home with beatrice and have a chance to bond with her.  only good things can come from that!  she can go to all the parenting classes that i got to go to, she can meet beatrice's play mates, she can learn to wear beatrice on her back and take her on walks, she can bond with beatrice and she can see what being a stay-at-home mom is all about.  a friend said to me: "you are demonstrating to beatrice that your relationship is a true partnership and cooperative family."  i love that idea that because we are both primary care-givers, beatrice will understand the idea of cooperation and partnership.

so...it's still hard...only been a week...and there are definitely going to be hiccups!  but just these few days have taught me to focus on the positive and let go and let things happen the way they are meant to happen...beatrice will be fine...she'll be better than fine, in fact, because she is loved.  we are providing her with consistent and loving care and maximizing the her bond with both her parents.

steady as she grows {eleven months}

ok...so i wasn't able to feature a mama this week...like i said, mamas are busy!!  i have some lined up, though so don't fret...your mama inspiration is coming!

i haven't done a steady as she grows post in a while...well frankly, because she was growing!  i have a really hard time sitting down at the computer while she is awake and when she's napping, i feel like i have one million other things i need to do like pay bills {er, and check twitter}...

but beatrice turned eleven months on the thirteenth...almost a year!  i can't believe it.  she's walking...she's been really leading up to it for a while, on her eleven month birthday, she just started favoring walking over crawling.  sometimes if she's *really* impatient, she'll crawl because she can get to what she's after so much faster!  she's also super talkative...blah blah blah...do do do...ma ma ma...all day long.  it's really sweet.

she's beginning to like solids a bit more, after a pretty slow start.  but she still nurses like a champ.  to make sure she gets enough iron, i basically put blackstrap molasses in anything sweet {like her morning oatmeal} and spinach in anything savory {today she had beans & brown rice mixed with pureed spinach}.  speaking of sweet, i still haven't given her any sugar, per se.  she has molasses, like i mentioned, but that has nutritional value as far as i'm concerned...but i'm holding out on the sugar or sweeteners as long as possible.  she loves fruit, and enjoys that {strawberries and plums are her favorite}, but no juice...the juice just seems too sweet without any benefit {like fiber in the whole fruits}...

for her first birthday, i'm thinking i'll just make some banana bread or something similar that i can sweeten with just applesauce or bananas...

we've been going to a fun music class called family song, that's where the first couple of pics were taken...of course while she was sporting her rock'n'roll camp for girls onesie!!  and we also just went to a friend's one year birthday!  many of her friends are starting to turn one...it's so wild!  she's coming up on one so soon...

so we're about to start another amazing weekend...farmer's market and maybe a trip to a farm where our tomatoes come from...any weekend spent with beatrice is sure to be amazing...i'll report back!

happy friday, lovelies!

if it's ok for sesame street, it's ok for any street...

i came across this in another post about a woman who was ousted from a woman's gym to "spare the children." so frustrating...if anyone should see mamas feeding their babies, it's other children...

how awesome is sesame street? 

oh the people you'll meet...

this week is world breastfeeding week....so why do i have a picture of beatrice and patty with yo gabba gabba you might ask?  well, rather than post about the benefits of breastfeeding and how much it has bonded me with beatrice, i'm going to take a lighter approach...since there are numerous beautiful posts about breastfeeding {i'll share some links at the end}, i thought i'd relay my favorite funny breastfeeding story...

a few months back, we volunteered at the pablove valentines day event for kids.  this organization is near and dear to our hearts, so we really wanted to participate.  since beatrice was only five months old, i wore her in my moby wrap and was able to work the silent auction.  at the time, i hadn't quite mastered feeding her while carrying her, so when i needed to breastfeed, i would just pull up a chair or sit on the floor, but it wasn't really comfortable.  our friend jeff, the president and founder of pablove said: "this is a kid's event!  we should have a breastfeeding area for mamas...next time, we'll set up an area with comfy couches...but in the meantime, would you like to sit in the dressing room on the couch?"  he wasn't trying to "hide" a nursing mother...he was just trying to make me more comfortable...

so back to the dressing room i went...and guess who was getting dressed?!? the characters from yo gabba gabba! now, beatrice doesn't even watch tv, but patty & i are huge fans {well, especially patty!}...when we took care of our friend jorjee's daughter, maude, she really got us hooked!  so, when beatrice does finally watch some tv, i'm sure it will be yo gabba gabba!

now i'm not going to tell you what went on in that dressing room, as i'm sure that would violate some trade secrets!  let's just say it was fun, fun, fun!  but the point i'm really trying to make here is...breastfeeding can take you places, open doors, provide a great topic of conversation, etc...

one more fun reason to breastfeed your baby:  you never know where it will take you!

here are some great links and organizations that promote breastfeeding:

• la leche league is a great resource for breastfeeding moms...look up a local chapter for great support meetings!
• live in the los angeles area?  the pump station has great support groups and classes! the support classes were a lifesaver for me.  they really helped us get our breastfeeding off to a great start.
• great online community of breastfeeding mamas, check out the leaky boob and like them on facebook.
• best for babes provides valuable resources and studies about breastfeeding benefits for mama and baby.
• unfortunately mothering magazine is no more, but their website and forums are a great place for information and support.

do you have a breastfeeding story or resource to share?

{photo by jennifer hamilton}

eco friendly wood toys...

of course, before i had beatrice, i had visions that she would only be clothed in pure organic clothing and play with eco friendly safe toys....well, that's not really a reality.  most of her clothes are organic, and most of her toys are eco-friendly and safe...but i've been so fortunate to receive many hand-me-downs {which of course are green since they are being re-used and re-loved!}, but many of those items have been plastic or made with other materials...and guess what, beatrice *loves* plastic toys...what's an eco friendly mama to do?  honestly, let it go...

but, when i do buy her toys, i do try to stick to wood, made in the usa, non-toxic paint and the like...i know i can't protect her from all toxins, but i do the best i can.  so i was really excited to see one of my favorite eco toy makers, wonderworld, on a zulily sale!  i've wanted to get her a cute stacker and a little push toy...our ped isn't thrilled about walkers, but i thought this little push toy she might enjoy...

the sale is only on for a couple more days, but go check it out!

music mondays...well sort of...

hmmm...will bea follow in patty's footsteps??  this was taken a few weekends ago at a friend's two year birthday party...

music mondays {sia sings hole}

ok...so this is a terrible video and the guy singing along is kind of funny, but i had to post a video from the LA premiere of our movie, hit so hard.  after the screening, some amazing & talented friends performed with patty...this is a video of sia covering miss world!  patty & eric are playing with her...linda perry also covered violet!

it was a really fun night and i managed to go, wearing a sleeping beatrice with noise reduction headphones!  i stressed out for weeks about whether i should go or not...and honestly didn't decide for sure that i was going until 15 minutes before the event...beatrice never took the bottle, so i haven't really been away from her for very long.  which, honestly has really not been a problem.  i'm perfectly happy staying at home with her!  we have lots of fun outings during the day, so we're both pretty tired at night.  so i never felt like i was "missing out" on anything...until this event.  since it was the LA premiere of the movie, i really wanted to try to attend...hometown screening an all!  and we also announced that the film was picked up for distribution...and on top of all that, the amazing performance.  so i really felt like i'd like to attend.  

i was really concerned that i was "being a bad mom" by keeping beatrice out so late...i posted on a few of my favorite attachment parenting mom groups and a few of them suggested to just bring her...wear her so i can nurse her to sleep...i also thought about having her sleep in the car with a sitter so i could just run out and nurse her if she woke up, but honestly that seemed crazy to me...i figured bea would much rather just be with me, nursing or asleep in the ergo...

but really it couldn't have worked out better.  she ended up napping from 6-8pm, we left for the movie around 8:30pm and then hung out in patty's dressing room with toys...a few friends who also have kids were there visiting with us.  then she fell asleep in the ergo {while i was nursing her} at about 9:30pm...i then put on her headphones and watched the performance from the side stage backstage.  usually it's not as loud backstage as the speakers are facing the crowd.  she slept through the whole thing!  didn't even flinch...

this was a pretty big event, it takes *a lot* to get me out, so i don't think we'll try it again anytime soon...um, let's just say never...but i'm glad i went...and i guess when she's older i can tell her that she was there!  

happy {hot} friday...

since we live in los angeles, i accept the following truths:

1.  there will always be traffic

2.  it will be hot sometimes

but wow, i've been in a lot of traffic and really hot this week!!  because of the heat, we've been going places with pools to cool off {annenberg community beach house, friends' houses in san gabriel valley and in san fernando valley...}, but oh! the traffic we sit in to get there and home!!  but it's worth it...beatrice has had a great time in the pool...her first two pool trips weren't so successful, but by the third one at the annenberg community beach house, she was doing great!  so now i really want to start swimming lessons for her...

so, have a wonderful weekend...and if you are in los angeles, stay cool!

{photo credit: brett gurewitz}

bea's garden vintage nursery...

 

finally after nine months i'm sharing bea's little nursery with you.  i've shared some of my inspiration {here & here}, and i think it came together really well, considering most everything in beatrice's nursery was a hand-me-down...i had to work with what i was given...

 we inherited this dresser from a friend of patty's...it's beautiful and everytime i open one of the drawers beatrice crawls over like flash lightening and starts to pull all of her clothes out!  we've been collecting little cards that i keep meaning to frame...someday...

both the dresser and the changing table top were hand-me-downs, from two different people, but they work great for our changing station.  i use cloth diapers for beatrice, so i had to get some new shelves to hold them all...all her colorful diaper covers are in the drawers...i'll do a cloth diapering post soon...

 we've been co-sleeping with beatrice, but in the bed in her room.  this room used to be the guest room, so we just kept the bed.  it was easier to co-sleep with her in her own room in the beginning, and now we just stay here....we'll probably move back to our bed soon.  the cute wall decals are fabric...not vinyl...so sweet!

 since we call beatrice "bea," and pronounce it "bee," we've had some really cute bee gifts...so that's become another theme in her nursery.  how cute is this vintage bee costume from the 50's?  i can't wait until she can wear it...

i painted the walls a super pale pink, but really wanted to bring more color and pattern in...i found these cute buntings on etsy {triangles here and liberty here}.

the beginning of the reading nook...she *loves* the piano, though.  and she loves to pull all the books off the shelves...next step: actually sitting down and reading them!  we read together everyday, but she's really into eating the books right now {teething baby}...

 beatrice had a mobile over her changing table and for some reason she really got excited by the elephant, so we've started a little elephant collection...{both were handmade gifts}...

the crib was the first "baby" item we inherited...i wasn't thrilled about black, but now i love it.  she's never slept in it though!

 it's really just a resting spot for her toys and cute animals from blabla kids...organic sheets from plover organic...

 sweet mobile from blabla kids as well.  this mobile was one of my big splurges for the nursery...love, love, love it...

we inherited the rocker as well...i really wanted to re-cover it, but i didn't really have the money...so i just covered it with some of the many, many blankets that beatrice received.  i don't use it much anymore, so i'm thinking of handing it down to someone else...sweet custom rag doll from warm sugar.  this was one of my favorite purchases.  she made it completely custom for me...i gave her colors and picked socks, etc. and she made the cutest doll...it's hard to see but there are even bees are the fabric!  just for bea...

 some details from her dresser and bookshelves...cute wooden teether from little sapling toys...the vintage planters are from a friend...i still need to put plants in them!

and finally, her "uncle" dj lance gave her a sweet picture...she's still never seen yo gabba gabba {no screens until she is two}, but she's met all the characters!  patty & i are big fans and lance is a good friend of beatrice's uncle {her donor}...and remember my original nursery inspiration? well, of course he had to make it into her room...

next up: beatrice's vintage closet!

hooray!

we went to frameline film festival last weekend in san francisco!  it was so fun to be home in the gay mecca...and we showed at the castro...what an honor.  to top it off, we got an honorable mention from the frameline jury for best doc.  so beatrice says hooray!

{amazing photo by ana grillo.  see more here.}

screens are everywhere...

i've been trying to keep beatrice from seeing screens, any screens. so that means no tv, computer or iphone. and that means since i'm with beatrice most of my day, no tv, computer or iphone for me. not so easy. giving up tv was pretty easy, the only tv i've watched since beatrice was born was "mildred pierce." {omg so good...} but the computer and iphone have been much more difficult.

there are several reasons i'm trying to shield beatrice from media. the american academy of pediatrics recommends no tv before the age of 2, and no more than 2 hours of daily media exposure for ages 2 and older. exposure to television in children has been linked to sleep, attention and aggressive behavior problems, and externalizing of problem behaviors. the problem seems to be with interaction. when a child is in front of a television, they are not interacting with their parents. additionally, tv can impair the speech development of young children. under age 2, talking, singing, reading, listening to music or playing are far more important to a child's development.

so i've been really trying to avoid screens and stay engaged and interactive with beatrice. it's tough sometimes. honestly, there are days i just want to check out and read twitter all day. but if i'm going to make huge life changes in order to stay home longer with beatrice, i'd like to stay present and involved.

it's amazing how many screens are in our daily lives. at home, easy enough, we have 1 tv and 1 computer--i just switch them off. but out in the world, screens are everywhere. tv's on the bus, people looking at their laptops in the airport, etc. it's wild if you really stop to think about it, our world is dominated by screens!

the other concern for me is the cell phones and radiation. the environmental working group published a report about cell phone radiation, citing recent studies find significantly higher risks of brain and salivary gland cancers. it's tempting to use the iphone as a baby tool, there are so many applications that could be helpful....i've also tried to avoid using the phone when i'm carrying beatrice. it's not worth the risk as far as i'm concerned.

although it's early, i really love the idea of a school with no media, such as a waldorf school. i already have a lot of waldorf toys for beatrice, as i love how simple and imaginative they are. most are handmade with natural materials, such as felt and wood. so i spend my days playing with beautiful, simple toys with beatrice, going for walks in the park, attending mama & me yoga, meeting up with other mamas for playdates and wearing her while i do things around the house.

which all means i've been in a bit of a media black hole myself. after beatrice goes to sleep, i try to go online, catch up with emails, blog {ha!}, and see what's going on in the world. but honestly, 9 times out of 10, i fall asleep with beatrice and never get on the computer! so a blogging mama, not so much...

i want to spend these formative years with beatrice and encourage in her...a wild imagination, a love of nature, a spirit of gratitude, a healthy curiosity, a zest for learning and a love of life. so if limiting her exposure to media and therefore my own, will help me achieve that, then so be it...

{photo credit: waldorf rotating pictures (waldorf tv?!) from waldorf toys}

what to wear...the baby!

since beatrice was about 2 weeks old, i've been wearing her...it has been one of the most amazing experiences of motherhood...i wear her when i do the laundry, shop, go for a walk, etc. it allows me to have freedom to get things done around the house while being close to her. everyday, i put beatrice in a sling and go for a walk. it's a win-win, i get exercise to work off the pregnancy weight and bea gets a nap. in fact, that's most often how beatrice naps, when she's in the carrier. here's a round-up of my baby-wearing gear:

{the moby}

my aunt gave me a moby wrap for a shower gift and i have to admit, i was a bit intimidated. it's basically a long piece of stretchy fabric. luckily, there are sling clinics at the pump station, which is a nearby baby store. once i went to a clinic to learn how to wrap it, i never looked back...it was amazing! the first time i put bea in it, she fell right to sleep. for the moby and any of the wraps, if you don't have a store nearby to help you use it, there are lots of tutorials on you tube. so don't be intimidated! it's so worth it...

i would just wrap it on myself in the morning, then take bea in and out all day. that way, if we drove somewhere, i didn't have to lug the carseat around when we ran errands! brilliant!

{woven wrap from lovey duds on etsy}

{woven wrap from lil peeper keepers on etsy}

woven wraps are similar to the moby except they have no stretch. they are still essentially a long piece of fabric to wrap your baby on your body. when beatrice got to about 16 pounds, someone at a babywearing clinic recommended i try a woven wrap as there is a little more support for a heavier baby. i love the woven wraps, very simple to put on, but i can't just put in on and wear it all day, taking the baby in and out. i have to wrap beatrice into the wrap. so, i don't use these wraps as often. they are beautiful, so i've mainly used them for "special" occasions. i purchased the black one for the new york premiere of our movie and it was great! i got tons of compliments on it, and beatrice slept like a dream. unfortunately, i didn't get any photos of me wearing it! oh well, next time there's a fancy premiere...

they are still relatively simple to use and again, thank god for you tube tutorials...

{the ergo}

this is my everyday, go-to carrier now that beatrice is a little heavier. it's great because it's simple to put on and there are still lots of options. i primarily wear beatrice on the front or on the back with this carrier, although you can wear baby on your hip and other positions. i love to put beatrice on my back to do things around the house. i can put her on my back and vacuum, do the laundry, clean out the kitchen cupboards {!}...anything, really, and beatrice will sleep soundly!

this carrier was great to travel with, as well. i could just pop it off and on and easily get her in and out when going through airport security, for example. i took it with me to austin when we went to sxsw. this is also the carrier that patty uses when she carries beatrice. super easy, but not the most fashionable...that's why i like to have a few different options.

if you are new to babywearing, definitely give it a go!

don't worry...it's friday!

don't worry be happy...

why worry if you pray, why pray if you worry...

worry is interest on a debt you may never have to pay...

worry is meditation on a bad outcome...

being a new mom and not working has created a whole new level of worry for me. will we have enough money to cover the bills? is beatrice getting everything she needs? what if the car breaks down? what if, what if, what if...

people have said all the above sayings about "worry" to me before, but today someone said to me worry is meditation on a bad outcome, right before i was about to go to yoga. to meditate...and it really made perfect sense...i spend time meditating not necessarily to control the outcome, i know i can't do that, but to let go of worry and to invite love & light into our lives. so why do i go home and sit up at night worrying, meditating on a bad outcome? of course worry will creep into my thoughts now and again, but i have tools to keep it at bay--prayer, meditation, and the knowledge that the universe will take care of us. i just have to remember to use them.

it's patty's birthday this weekend, so we're having a potluck brunch at the house. it will be the first "event" we're having at the house since beatrice was born...

so have a wonderful, safe, happy weekend and don't worry!

{photo credit: spread the love on etsy. i bought this print for beatrice's nursery!}

reading nook for beatrice

{bean bag chair by paniolo on etsy}

{shabby chic pillow by kenilworth place}

{shh i'm reading by shelby healey on etsy}

{imagination by dazeychic on etsy}

{the constant reader by matou en peluche on etsy}

{today a reader tomorrow a leader by parada creations}

{love is a book by nan lawson on etsy}

{reading is dear to my heart by boopsie daisy on etsy}

{green, i love to read by la portraitiste on etsy}

i just framed a print for bea's nursery & it's finally "done." i'm going to post pictures soon! but there is one little area i'm still working on: the reading nook {will i ever really be "done" with the nursery?!}...i know i have time, i'm certainly not one of those moms that is expecting beatrice to read as a baby, but i want reading and books to be important to her from a very early age....

so there's a little area in her room that's perfect for a reading nook...i wanted to get some artwork and comfy pillows and bean bags...what do you think?