By: Family O'Abé

Welcome Trailing Baby!

The trailing baby has arrived!  She was born earlier this week and we are at home now and doing well.  She weighed in at 7 lb. 3 oz. and was 21 inches long.  She also had an inch of hair, which was exciting for me to see, since I was bald until I was 2.

I’m completely exhausted, but so happy she is here!

The blog will continue running without me for a few weeks; it’s one of the few nesting things I took care of before her arrival.  :)   So check back in here for posts 2-3 times a week.

And once I’m back on my feet, stay tuned for posts on which items I actually used for labor and delivery, and whether or not she got the med-free birth I was aiming for.

Photo By: Family O’Abé

By: cakersandco

The Crazy Pregnant Lady’s Guide to Packing a Hospital Bag

There are tons of blog posts about what you should pack to bring to the hospital for giving birth.  Many of the suggestions make a lot of sense.  You should pack things like your toothbrush, and clothes for the baby to wear home, and clothes for you to wear home.  Since that blog post has already been written by someone else, I thought now would be a good time to show you the things that I am packing in addition to the normal recommendations.  Now that I’m in full-on crazy pregnant lady mode, my hospital bag is full of all sorts of fun stuff. Read more »

My collection of baby books.  I'd like to draw your attention to my husband's contribution on the far left:  The Cremation of Sam McGee.  Because cremation is obviously a topic you should broach early on with your child.  Better yet if your own last name is mentioned in the conversation.

Surviving the Onslaught of Parenting Advice

I met up with a new-mom friend for tea the other night, and at some point in our conversation, I complained about how I was tired of getting random advice about my pregnancy from strangers.

“Oh my gosh, Emily,” she said, “It gets so much worse once you have the baby.”  Then she told me about all of the COMPLETELY CRAZY strangers out in the world who have made her feel horrible about the way she takes care of her daughter.

Welcome to modern parenting.  Or maybe I should just say, Welcome to parenting. Read more »

pregnancy photo

Things I’ll Miss About Being Pregnant (and Things I Won’t Miss)

This baby could arrive any time now, so I’m getting all thoughtful about the highlights and lowlights of pregnancy.  (And I won’t lie, this last month seems to have a lot more lowlights than highlights!)  Despite the challenges, here are the things I’ll miss about being pregnant, and what I’m looking forward to post-pregnancy. Read more »

A Career in Your Suitcase

Book Review: A Career in Your Suitcase

As I discovered last year, it can be tough to leave your job and follow someone you love across the country or across the ocean as they pursue their own career.  Work plays a central role in many people’s identities, and not having work can make a person feel isolated, depressed and purposeless.  Enter my new favorite resource:  A Career in Your Suitcase.

One of the book’s authors contacted me and sent me a free Kindle copy of the book.  I read it cover to cover and thought it had tons of practical advice and exercises in it.  In fact, I will probably buy the paper copy of this book, just to have as a reference.

Here’s what I love about the book: Read more »