handmade for baby /  by jen geigley

So, it's probably about time that I shared some tiny newborn knits that my new baby boy has been wearing. Some of them were made by me, but lots of them were super sweet (and gorgeous) gifts from family and friends. Anyone knows that a knitter truly appreciates something handmade, and everything you see here is extra special.
First up is this adorable tiny button-down sweater that my good friend Sarah made for little Bowen.
To make it even more fantastic, she used hand-dyed yarn made by our pal Diane. And she started knitting this at our winter knitting retreat ... right in front of me! Sneaky friend. I had no idea this cute sweater would be for my little guy.
If you're interested in making one of these, the pattern she used is the Puerperium Cardigan by Kelly Brooker. (So so so cute!)
Next up is a gift from Grandma. My mom is a talented crocheter, and she made this awesome turquoise blanket for Bowie's room. I don't think she used a specific pattern, because her stitching knowledge is all stored in her brain, but I do know it's a shell pattern with a shell edge.
While I was pregnant last winter, I spent a couple of evenings knitting up some quick and tiny chunky hats. I made up the pattern for these, since the yarn was chunky (making the math easy) and just made a couple of modifications to two of them so they weren't all exactly the same. These are so incredibly small!
(I'm pretty sure he's saying "Noooooo, mom. Don't make me wear the one with the pom-pom!")
I also made a quick organic cotton newborn hat for this spring. The pattern I used is Welcome to the World Newborn Hat by Nona.
It's a little thinner than the chunky winter hats and I think it will be perfect for our walks and outings this spring. And even though the pattern is for a newborn, I think this hat will fit for awhile. It was definitely too big at first (and still is) and has a good bit of stretch to it, so I think we'll be good for awhile.
And oh my, check these out! My awesome friend Amy knitted Bowie these super rad striped knit pants! They are too cool. I couldn't have him model them quite yet because they're a little bit too big, but they'll be a perfect fit this fall. I can't wait for him to wear these!
Finally, this sweater (which is the same sweater shown in the very first pic above) is the one I was working on while I was pregnant. The pattern is New Babeh by Kayla Dyches. I love love love this sweater, which was knit with Rowan Amy Butler Belle Organic Aran cotton. It's super soft and basic. If you're looking for a simple unisex newborn sweater to knit up for someone special, give this one a try. 

That's about it for now! Do you have any go-to knitting or crochet patterns for newborns?

up all night ... sleep all day /  by jen geigley

'So, how are things going?' people ask. And I would probably answer 'up all night, sleep all day.' It's not just a Slaughter song. And it's not describing my life, let's be clear, because my life would be more like up all night, up all day. (I have a five-year-old who is not about to take a nap.) Now, before you get all worried, let me tell you ... it's okay! I'm having all kinds of fun in new baby dreamland. I love this. I adore having a tiny baby in this house. You have no idea. Okay, you probably have some idea.
But there are a few things about newborns that I had forgotten about. Everyone seems to need me all at once, causing me to do things like burn grilled cheese sandwiches and such. And let's say that you have a few nights of no sleep? Like in college? Cake. But night after night of waking up and nursing for an hour, sleeping for 45 minutes, changing a super poopy diaper that has leaked through the onesie (only to get peed on while doing so) and then feeding, sleeping for an hour and doing it all over again? I had forgotten that the all-nighters are the toughest part of new-momma life. Sleeping for an hour at a time can mess with you. I have all of the current 3:00 am infomercials memorized. (Ask me about Cindy Crawford's anti-aging line or the 'Insanity' workout program. Or anything Guthy Renker-related.) Zzzzzzzz.
You can give me all of the advice you want, and in my brain, I know what to do about our sleeping situation. I keep him up as much as I can during the day, giving him baths and talking to him and singing and playing but that doesn't always work. I follow the advice of books that promote putting babies on schedules, but he might be a bit too young for that. It's just the whole newborn thing – this little guy has day and night a tiny bit mixed up and this too shall pass. It's okay. I can roll with that.
Because, really, our days and nights are sweet. I smile at him. A lot. And I know it's all worth it and someday I can tell him about the days when he was a tiny baby and I stayed up and stared at his little face. All. Night. Long.

timestamp /  by jen geigley

If you've been reading here awhile, you might remember our calendar page project that we started five years ago to document Lo's first twelve months. (Or you may have seen our project before on iVillage or Rookie Moms.) After she was born, I photographed her holding a calendar page once a month (on her birth date, the 2nd) until she was a year old to record how much she was growing and changing.
As everyone knows, babies change so incredibly fast and monthly photos are an increasingly popular way to record that crazy first year. People use chalkboards, screen-printed t-shirts ... you name it. I ended up creating a calendar page in Adobe Illustrator so I could update and print it out each month. At the end of the year, I had all of the photos printed and put them into an accordian-fold album.
Looking back, I have to smile. I remember getting our first 'nice' camera the year Lo was born, but I didn't really know how to use it. I propped her up against an enormous black backdrop every month and she'd try to eat the calendar page, crumple it up, spit up all over the place or crawl away. But we ended up with a pretty fantastic record of her first year. Totally worth it.
So, now it's little Bowen's turn. I was thinking about abandoning the calendar page idea and trying something different this time, but I think looking at siblings in side-by-side photos (that were shot the same way) someday might be interesting. Plus, I'm trying hard to keep it fair and do the same things for my second kid as I did for the first. So we're sticking to the format. I can't wait to watch him grow. Did you document your baby's first year in photographs? Tell me how you did it!

room tour: the kids' quarters /  by jen geigley

Since our new addition to the fam arrived, we have settled each kid into their own room. Lo moved to a new bedroom and we converted her old room into the baby's nursery. Which has been fun. We're still doing a little rearranging as we all get situated but I wanted to share how things turned out. First up! Bowen's room.
Bo and I decided to hang up some skateboard decks above our Eames rocking chair, and our new little guy is already pretty intrigued by the bold patterns. Seriously. He likes to stare at those decks!
Typical necessities: a crib, a laundry basket and lots of books.
These shelves hold metal bins that are perfect for storing bath towels, burp cloths and hats/mittens. Below that is a Vespa print (from OrignauxMoose,) a Parker Jacobs (of Yo Gabba Gabba/Paul Frank fame) banana print, and some of Bo's old wooden toys. I scored the skateboard hook/rack on clearance at Target several years ago. Below that is a pull-out toy box from the STUVA storage system from IKEA.
And that's our baby boy's room. I'm sure we'll change it up as he grows but I think we're off to a good start.
Next up is our girly-girl's room. Which is also home to several My Little Ponies, Yo Gabba Gabba characters and LaLaLoopsy dolls. Lo's new bedroom was an interesting project, as this space actually used to be part of our living room.
Bo and his dad transformed what was formerly a lounge area with couches into Lo's new big-girl bedroom with a little bit of drywall, a closet and some lighting. We hardly ever used our old seating area so we were happy that we were able to convert it into much-needed bedroom space so that each of the kids could have their own room.
We knew that our little clothes horse of a daughter would need a dresser, but we didn't have a ton of room for a wide piece of furniture. This vertical dresser was the perfect solution and is part of the STUVA storage system from IKEA. The deer print and metal L are from Urban Outfitters.
Lo has tons of tiny toys with tiny parts that need a home, so this modular bookshelf with storage boxes works well to keep little things in their place. Above the bookshelf, we hung a metal magnet board to display her artwork. It's the perfect way to allow her to change up whatever she feels like displaying whenever she wants. Without gobs of tape stuck to the walls.  :)

Here are the bright contents of this little girl's closet. She has some super fun stuff in there.  :)
And that's pretty much it! The spaces where they will live, play and pretend. I remember loving my childhood bedroom; I would happily spend hours in there drawing and reading and playing with toys. I hope my kids end up enjoying their rooms just as much.

baby pictures /  by jen geigley

One week ago, I was here. With my one-day-old baby boy. It's only been a week but what a week it's been. Here are some of our favorite photos of how the baby life has been going.
Here's how it all started – with a crazy fast delivery and a healthy little guy.

This is Allie, our labor and delivery nurse (who is also Bo's cousin.) We loved having her there with us and she was seriously amazing. 
 Little Bowie, one day old.
Lo's first visit was the sweetest thing ever.

She's a natural. 
My sleepy boys. 
One last hospital room service meal.
Time to pack up.
And go home. 
Where we've settled in quite nicely. It's pretty much snuggles all day.
  And little conversations with our new one.
I love the tiny white t-shirts. The tiny socks and diapers. The tiny hands that already have such a strong grip. The tiny cries and hiccups. I'm drinking it all in because I know too well how fast he'll change and grow. So I'm enjoying the tininess. Enjoying my babe.

Bowen Zephyr /  by jen geigley

He's here! Meet the newest, tiniest member of our family, Bowen Zephyr. We chose to name him after his daddy; Bo's middle name is actually Bowen. And Zephyr is a nod to the great Tony Alva, who we met last year while I was pregnant.

Little Bowie was born last week on February 16th at three in the morning. The story is short and sweet; my water broke at home at exactly midnight. Not long after, I was having contractions that were three minutes apart. And Bo was at work, finishing up a big project. I texted him to let him know that this was it and he'd better get home fast! We bundled up Lo in sweatpants and bunny slippers and I told her we were going on a midnight sleepover adventure at her grandparents' house. A quick car ride downtown to the hospital and we were on the fast track to baby town! Bo's sweet cousin, Allie, is a labor and delivery nurse (who I had been texting to confirm if my water had actually broken ... or if I was merely peeing my pants) and she met us there. She was amazing and it was really special to share the experience with her.

Just two hours and four pushes later, we were holding our brand new sweet baby boy. He is beautiful and we can't believe he's really here. I couldn't have asked for an easier or faster (!!) delivery. Especially since I was scheduled to be induced earlier this week. We're back home and life is so good. I am over the moon in love with having a family of four. Lo adores her baby brother and is a huge help to us. Seeing Bo hold little Bowie is pretty much the coolest thing ever. The smell of his hair is intoxicating. I want to (and luckily, get to) snuggle him all day long. We are so very lucky ... so very blessed.

A huge thank you to everyone who has wished us well along the way! I'm preparing a big photo dump that I'll post very soon so you can see what we've been up to with this little guy.

no worries /  by jen geigley

My mother-in-law gave me this rad little pregnant worry doll to keep under my pillow until baby time comes. And the time is here. We're on our way to meeting our newest little family member. Wish us luck!

40 weeks /  by jen geigley

40 weeks. Hey, little dude. Happy Valentine's Day. Today is the day that we made it to exactly 40 weeks. It's due-date day. And kind of a cool one at that. It is a weird and miraculous thing to think back to last May, when this all began. When February seemed so very far away.
Here we are, and yes, I'm trying my best not to get too impatient but I can't lie. I really want to see this little guy's face and hold a tiny wriggling newborn body in my arms. I've had about four days (and four long nights) of contractions. The big ones. Sometimes they will be ten minutes apart for a few hours, but I'm not quite there yet. So here's hoping ... wishing ... praying ... for a speedy delivery of a healthy little baby boy. We can't wait to meet him.