Motherhood Mondays: Pregnancy Survival Guide

Are any of you pregnant right now, or hoping to be soon? Inspired by my friend Abbey's pregnancy guide, I figured I'd share a few things that I found helpful during my own pregnancy, and please share your tips, as well! Here goes...
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Motherhood Mondays: Would you throw a gender reveal party?

Celine and Jin, above, told their midwife to write their baby's gender on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. Then their photographer friend Gabe came over to capture the moment that they discovered they were having...a girl! How adorable is that?!

Alex just wrote a New York Times article about the increasing popularity gender reveal parties, where expectant couples invite friends and family over to witness the moment of finding out the baby's gender. You could cut a cake to reveal either pink or blue cake inside, or you could open a wrapped present and pull out either pink or blue baby pajamas. Or here's another idea: Brooke's friend took her family to a baseball game and bought either blue or pink cotton candy!

Would you have a gender reveal party? Have you ever been to one? Do you secretly hope for either a boy or a girl? (I did!)

P.S. The day we discovered Toby's gender, and his teeny sonogram.

(Photos by Gabe for Celine)

Motherhood Mondays: Maternity clothes

The maternity line HATCH just launched their spring collection, and it's absolutely beautiful, don't you think? While looking through their site, I found myself daydreaming about walking around New York rocking a bump in these gorgeous clothes. They're so much prettier than the black T-shirt I wore everyday when I was expecting Toby! I also love the styling with glasses and sandals.

Bonus: Cup of Jo readers get a 10% discount off any order just by "liking" Hatch on Facebook.

(HATCH is one of my beloved sponsors, but this isn't a sponsored post. Thanks!)

Motherhood Mondays: One woman asks: "I'm not sure if I want kids or not. How do you decide?"

My good friend Corrie Pikul, a 36-year-old magazine writer and blogger living in Brooklyn, has never been sure if she should have a child. She doesn't for sure want one, but she also doesn't not want one. She's completely 50/50. So, as she gets older, how will she make the decision? Here, Corrie shares her fascinating story...
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Motherhood Mondays: The best book for mothers-to-be

When I was pregnant, I noticed a funny phenomenon...
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Motherhood Mondays: French-inspired maternity clothes

My jaw dropped when I first saw HATCH, the new maternity line. The clothes are chic and feminine, and the best part is that the fourteen easy pieces adapt to your body, so you can wear them before, during and after pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Toby, I felt blah wearing baggy jeans and black T-shirts, so I hope to wear these next time around and feel beautiful! Don't you love them?

P.S. Are any of you expecting babies at the moment? :)
P.P.S. HATCH's Facebook page.

Motherhood Mondays: A dad's hilarious birth story

I'd love to share more stories of dads' sides of the birth story. First up is Rob Beesley, husband of my friend Sharon; his adorable and touching story will make you laugh out loud...xoxo
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Motherhood Mondays: 8 gift ideas for new parents

My lovelies, one of the questions readers most often ask is what to give friends who just had a baby. So, I'd like to share eight gifts for new parents. These ideas aren't wacky or offbeat, but they are gifts that parents will adore. (And I'd love to hear your thoughts, too!) Here goes...

Gifts you can mail:

1. A cuddly robe. As a new parent, when you get up (multiple times) in the middle of the night, or at the crack of dawn, it's wonderful to have a cozy robe to wrap around yourself.
2. Massages. Alex and I went for a couples massage (at a cheap walk-in massage place near our house) three weeks after Toby was born. It was honestly the best massage of my life; I still remember how incredibly good it felt. You're so sleepy and your muscles are sore, and it was just wonderful. I remember half falling asleep, which felt dreamy and peaceful. (TMI: My boobs leaked milk on the massage table. After we left, the massage therapist must have been like, What the...? :)
3. Your favorite children's book. New babies are soooooo sleepy, and, to an (impatient) new mama, any sort of playful interaction can seem like a thousand years away. So, I loved one evening when a friend came over with his favorite children's books. It made me so excited for the years ahead with Toby! (Growing up, I loved Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Roald Dahl and Amelia Bedelia, and here are Toby's favorites.)
4. Chocolate-covered strawberries! It sounds kind of random, but chocolate-covered strawberries make a surprisingly wonderful new-mom gift. When Toby was born, my friend Lina sent me a dozen, and I just about died and went to heaven. They were rich and decadent, but also fresh and healthy. She told me they were her favorite gift when she was a new mom, and once I mentioned them in conversation to other new moms, they would all pipe up. ("Euphoric," said Abbey. "The best," said Megan. "Perfect," said Samantha.)
5. An adorable outfit. We had stocked up with cheap basic onesies for Toby, so when friends would bring over adorable outfits for him (that we wouldn't have splurged on ourselves), we were over the moon! I especially love Winter Water Factory.
6. Baby notepads. Many new moms (myself included) find it helpful to record when your baby eats and naps and all of those sweet things, so you can keep track of your emerging schedule. A personalized notepad with her baby's adorable photo would be an endearing and useful gift for a new mama.
Gifts to give in person:

7. Cooking. Food of any kind. When Toby was a newborn, Alex and I were so, so grateful when friends would come over with soups, fresh salads, sandwiches, homemade cookies...It felt delicious and nourishing. (A handy tip: If your friend is breastfeeding, leave out garlic and raw onions, since those ingredients can make newborn babies fussy.)

8. Cleaning up the house. I literally teared up when a friend came over and, without asking, went into the kitchen and did all our dishes. It's so wonderful for people to help around the house when you're a new parent! You just never get to those things. If a friend came over and swept the kitchen floor, did a load of laundry, changed the bedsheets, replaced the toilet paper, and did the dishes, it would be such a joy and gift to the overwhelmed new parents.

A final tip: The gift of no pressure. When Toby was brand new, my good friend in California wrote a lovely congratulatory email to me, and at the end, she said, "Don't respond, go and be with your baby." And it felt SO good to know that I didn't have to do anything but read her lovely words and then turn off the computer. So, consider, at the end of any emails or with gifts that you send, including the words, "No need to respond" or "Don't write a thank-you note. Congratulations again!"

What would you recommend as a gift for friends with new babies? New moms and dads, what gifts do you remember really adoring? I would love to hear your thoughts!

P.S. A beautiful ring for mamas.
P.P.S. Speaking of books, the fantastic non-profit Milk + Bookies provides books to underprivileged children. Read more here.

(Top photo credit unknown; dishes photo by Liv Dueck)

Gift for new mothers

Now and again, I’ll get a sweet email from a dad asking for gift ideas for his pregnant wife. I can't imagine a new mama who wouldn't adore this beautiful ring. It brings tears to my eyes!

P.S. 8 best gifts for new parents.

Who would you want in the room when you're giving birth?

Who would you want in the room when you're giving birth? Alex and I wanted to be alone because I like complete quiet when concentrating. In college, I was one of those people who couldn't study with music playing; and I felt the same way about keeping our hospital room mellow during labor.

Who would you want in the room with you? Your mom? Your dad? Your best friend? Everyone? Just your spouse? Is there anyone you really wouldn't want there? I'd love to hear...

P.S. How to make a baby.

(Photo by Thierry Bouët of brand new babies)

Pregnant belly and fruit

Photographer Carolee Beckham is expecting a baby and is doing a fun photo series: She takes a snapshot of her growing belly and the piece of fruit that corresponds to the size of her baby that week. Huge congratulations, Carolee!

P.S. Crazy to think that in the final photo she'll be holding a watermelon!

(Via Marvelous Kiddo)

Babies in Paris

My darlings, my mom also sent us some photos of our family in Paris, right after my sister and I were born. I totally adore this breastfeeding photo, it looks so tender and made me a little teary.
And I'm also amazed that her clothes look so current!
You can see Versailles in the background...
My mom delivered us by C-section at the American Hospital of Paris and stayed for a whopping ten days afterwards to rest. My mom also said the hospital food was amazing, including slices of Camembert.
The view from the Eiffel Tower...
I really loved looking through these; thank you so much, Mama! It was the best birthday present.

Pregnant in Paris

This weekend, my mom dug out a bunch of old photos from when she was pregnant with Lucy and me. They were so much fun to see. My parents had just moved from the U.S. to France, and they thought they were having just one baby (they didn't expect twins!). My mom described what the experience was like...

"When we moved to Paris, I was already pregnant and very excited," my mom told me. "We went to French restaurants every night and explored Paris and surrounding towns on the weekends. During the day while Dad worked, I would walk through Le Vésinet, a beautiful residential district, to St. Germain en Laye, where I would have tea and a croissant and write letters home. Some days I would go swimming at a public indoor pool on the way back. I had a fitted black maternity suit--very sexy and French! Once on the way home, I was craving a hamburger, so I stopped for lunch. It was delicious. As I left the cafe, I saw a poster with an outline of a horse, saying that the special of the day was hamburger a la cheval!"

"During my pregnancy, Daddy and I called the baby 'Freddie' and whenever we visited a gorgeous French cathedral--Notre Dame, Chartres--we would always light a candle for 'Freddie.' "

"In early January, I was eight months pregnant. My belly was quite big, and my doctor was worried that something might be wrong. Dad was on a business trip, so I went alone to the Hôpital Américain de Paris for a sonogram...

"I was lying on my back with the cold jelly on my belly and the technician said, 'Je vois un bébé.' I smiled, and he kept working. Then he said, 'Ooh la la! Je vois deux bébés.' I was stunned! Twins! He kept working and then he exclaimed, 'Mon dieu, je vois trois bébés!' Triplets! He was a bit flustered and wanted a second opinion so said he was going to get a doctor and left the room. I lay there thinking, 'Hmm. I only have two arms, but I am going to have three babies!' When the two doctors came back, they took another look and finally said, 'Madame, you are definitely having two babies only!' I thought, 'Only two! That'll be a cinch!' Later I wondered if they had worked some clever psychology on me..."

"When I left the hospital that afternoon, I was so excited. I passed a little shop and spotted this cute mouse doll with two mouse babies! I bought it, and when I met Dad at the airport the next day, I gave it to him. He was perplexed and just looked at it (Why was I giving him a stuffed mouse?). Then it dawned on him, 'Oh my gosh! Are you serious?' He was shocked but thrilled. The next week we lit candles at a church for 'the Freddies!' "

(Next I'd love to share a few from after we were born, if you'd like to see...:)