Let All Things Now Living

Happy Thanksgiving! 

In order to show that The Christmas Card photo we ended up with is only 1/120th of the whole picture. It took two separate photo shoots with a feeding session in between and the futile efforts of the parental units to get a particular little lady to make a face that wasn't noticeably angry and the ones that meet the mark are complete trickery because it's actually the perfect moment between screams that is her catching her breath but all fake. But, it's all the same to me... clearly as I made friends take 120 pictures of us in search of the perfect that will always allude me. And so to document the efforts to attempt the impossible.

 And now for the important question: which of the not completely terrible pictures should we keep?

We had a completely lovely day yesterday. Gemma turned 2 months old (a post on that is forthcoming). We celebrated with friends in beautiful Dover, MA and delicious foods. We started the day by walking the Res (avoiding a trot for me thanks) and ended the day with wine and TV with Abby. It's hard for me to not be with family on this day but it's a lesson in what family means for us now. And I am so grateful for my crying baby and my husband who never complains of the bouncing she requires.

Of Nursing and Nurture

If a pregnant woman were to ask me for advice on surviving the first two months, I think I would preface with, "please ignore everything I'm about to tell you..." They always say that every pregnancy and every baby is different and then they go on to give expectations, milestones, norms, etc.
They said I would have a long labor because I was a first time mom.
They said contractions would come gradually and get worse over time.
They said skin-to-skin would help baby latch on easily.
They said breastfeeding would get better over time.
They said my period wouldn't come back for quite some time if I was exclusively breastfeeding.
They said a pacifier would ruin the babies latch.
They said you would feel more and more comfortable nursing on the go.
They said baby would take a bottle easier because of the shield.
They said eight weeks of maternity leave was long and I was lucky.
They said it would be simple to find a pumping schedule.
They said the hand swelling would go down after 6 weeks.
They said a lot of things.
But the reality is that the majority of these did't hold true. What was the norm for the majority of women wasn't true of me and it made my hormonal postpartum self feel abnormal in various times, stages, and events. So my advice, ignore every piece of advice I give if you need to because you are perfectly normal to not be part of the majority. 

Pictures from the most beautiful place I've ever fed Gemma and if only I had a video of her, the most angry in public that she has ever been.

People to Meet

You don't know how many friends you have until you have a baby. All of a sudden people are dropping everything to walk a few miles to meet her at the hospital. Friends are cooking meals and sneaking instagram pictures. Family are taking off work and taking many flights just to hold her while she is teeny-tiny. We have been blown away by all the loved ones who have been so excited to meet her. The post that follows is my attempt to document these moments, a failure in many ways as there are many missing from this post and more are posed rather than candid but some day Gemma will look back in wonder at this post that she was ever so tiny, that so many people would do so much just to meet her, and that yes, I did pick out that outfit.

Gemma's Baptism

Our sweet Gemma Brigid was baptized into the Catholic Church on the Feast of All Saints. A date so special for the feast it celebrates and as it was the date we were engaged. We were so lucky to have most of her Aunts and Uncles as well as her grandparents and plenty of friends there to be a prayerful presence on that beautiful day.

 She woke up a grumpy girl amidst all her company and the bath only continued to freak her out.

 But the post-bath cuddles made it all worth it and a squeaky clean girl before she became squeaky clean of all that original sin.

 Her godmother to teach her important life lessons, one of which being that a special occasion warrants a new pair of shoes.

 This goofy photography crew.

 Gemma is blessed beyond words to have these two as her godparents. Ryan and Katie are each inspirations to us of what is means to live a virtuous and faith-filled life and we have joyful confidence that they will impart their lived witness to our daughter.

 She was baptized at our home parish of Saint Columbkille in Brighton with 9 other babies by Fr. Fitz and Deacon Tom, and she didn't even cry, in fact, she slept through the whole thing; water, chrism, everything.

 

 We couldn't stop smiling and starring and smelling her.

 

 Our daughter is so lucky to grow up with so many strong, confident, and virtuous women as role models.

 Our post Baptism party in our apartment called for an outfit change.

 The dress is handmade from my mothers wedding gown and she was adorably swimming in it.

It was such a special day that brings tears to my eyes even as I type this which is still a new experience for me... having babies changes everything.