Author Archives: The Bump Life

Many of you shared in my long, wondrous trip through pregnancy. I am filled with joy as I introduce the miraculous result: my baby boy, Hudson Wells!

Hudson came into the world a week late, with long fingers and enormous feet stretching out to greet me. At 21.5 inches long, he seemed impossibly big and robust. All along I was expecting a tiny, fragile baby girl, but instead found myself gazing down at a sturdy boy sprouting a head full of blonde hair — blonde!

I will never forget the moment when my husband proclaimed, “it’s a boy!” What I really heard in that moment was, “it’s a baby!” Those words meant the journey that seemed interminable at times had come to an end, and the fetus growing inside me all those months was now a human being, living and breathing on his own. A real baby, finally on the outside, blinking up at me with his whole life ahead of him.

Out he came, just at the moment when I didn’t think I could push any longer, when I didn’t think I had anything left. Amidst a rush of emotion and activity, my baby was suddenly in my arms. I could only say a single phrase over and over, with tears running down my cheeks: “He’s perfect. He’s perfect.”

Weeks after his birth, I still can’t believe this is the little baby who kicked and hiccuped inside me all those months. I am awestruck by his tiny fingernails, his perfect little nose, his bright blue eyes (just like his father’s). He looks up at me with such an intense, alert gaze as if I am the only thing that matters in the entire world. He makes my heart ache.

Now that the delivery is behind me, I feel so thankful for such a healthy pregnancy, for the love and support from our families, for the life this precious boy has ahead of him. The first weeks have flown by in a blur of diapers, laundry and hours upon hours of breastfeeding, but each day there’s a moment when he looks up at me with such serenity and peace. In that instant, I know I’m doing the most important thing I’ve ever done.

Since we left the hospital, things haven’t always been easy. And yet, each day there are moments that shine through the exhaustion and frustration like shafts of brilliant light. Some days I feel like I’m floundering, especially when my dogs look at me with sad eyes that tell me how neglected they feel. But even on the toughest days, I feel like I’m finally doing something meaningful with my life.

Today, I feel truly blessed: for my little family, for my home, for my life that suddenly has a new purpose. It’s already been a grand adventure. And yet, there are so many more moments and milestones to come.

Hudson’s Room

I’m also proud to unveil Hudson’s nursery, which I worked on for the entirety of my pregnancy. It was truly a labor of love, filled with items I made by hand in anticipation of the baby who would one sleep and play here.

The bedding was made by repurposing a twin-size quilt from Anthropologie. I used other pieces of the material inside frames and to make pillows.

This mobile is one of my favorite touches in the room, with birds I sewed by hand in the last few weeks of my pregnancy.

In one of my crazier moments, I hung these shelves and painted the chair at nine months pregnant, just a few days before I gave birth.

The mural is a nod to one of my favorite books, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

This beautiful piece of furniture, a gift from my parents, got a little more personality with updated hardware from World Market.

A strand of battery-operated LED lights inside the paper lantern provides just enough light for a late-night diaper change. 

I’ve already spent many hours in this wonderful Little Castle chair, and the pouf from CB2 provides a touch of color and a great place to rest my feet.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me — it’s been amazing.

The Pee-Pee Teepee, an apparent necessity for any prepared mom (courtesy of Beba Bean Designs Inc.)

Last weekend, I was introduced as my husband’s “very pregnant wife” (lots of emphasis on “very”). That was a new one. The next comment directed my way, however, was far from unusual: “Are you having a boy or a girl?”

This is, by far, the most common question I’m asked. I couldn’t begin to guess how many times I’ve said, “I don’t know. We’re trying to wait.” I say, “trying” because, for me, waiting is not easy. I feel like I could crack at any moment and call my doctor on the sly to beg for some information.

My husband has no such temptation. While I’m consulting ancient Chinese gender predictors (girl) and trying to figure out if my belly looks like a basketball or a watermelon (boy, maybe?), he seems perfectly content to wait for the big day (but does refer to the baby constantly as, “he”).

I’ve had so many people say to me that they couldn’t possibly wait to find out their baby’s gender. “I could never do that,” these people say to me, “I’m way too much of a planner.” In a way I understand this, but I’m also a little baffled by it. Is there some special equipment I need to have on hand for a boy? Will I be deemed a bad parent if I don’t have a pink onesie ready to slap onto a baby girl?

Naturally, there’s a part of me that’s dying to deck the nursery in bright pink and orange, and hang little white butterflies from every inch of ceiling space. Instead, I’ve had to stretch my creative muscles and force myself to go beyond my initial instincts. Decorating a nursery to suit a boy or a girl is definitely a challenge, but it’s been interesting and fun too.

One frustration I’ve come up against several times is how limited the options are when shopping for gender-neutral items. Apparently, so few people wait for the news anymore that companies don’t bother offering options that aren’t tailored specifically to a boy or a girl. But this too has encouraged me to take the road less traveled, resulting in an eclectic blend of apple green, ocean blue, orange and fuchsia. (If this baby is a boy, I hope the fuchsia is his favorite part.)

Saving the big gender reveal for the delivery room just feels right to me. I find it strangely comforting to relinquish control over an issue I have no control over anyway. There are so many things to do during a pregnancy, and so many things I should be doing better. I should be exercising more; I should be eating less sugar. I should have made more progress on the nursery by now and done some research on how I’m supposed to get this baby out. I should have skipped that milkshake I had at lunchtime. I should know more about how to be a mom.

To have one thing I can just throw my hands in the air over is oddly freeing.

When you’re pregnant, there’s no shortage of things to worry about. I may not have a perfect stockpile of baby gear. I may not have all the answers I need. I may not be able to plan for every little detail. But can anyone?

I’ll make sure I have a couple Pee-pee Teepees™ on hand, just in case.

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One final note: you’ve been wonderful company throughout my journey, but there’s one person who has had to listen to all my complaining, worrying and angst over developing cankles. Happy Father’s Day to my husband, scheduled to be the world’s newest dad in late September.