unruly things

during my maternity leave, I asked a few of my favorite mamas and mamas-to-be to kindly step in with some fun guest posts to keep you company

Hi, this is Abby with Abby Try Again.  I’m so happy to be guest posting here today. I hope Alyson and her family are doing well. I’ve loved following their journey into parenthood.

during my maternity leave, I asked a few of my favorite mamas and mamas-to-be to kindly step in with some fun guest posts to keep you company

Hello, Unruly Things readers!  This is Celia from Life According to Celia.  When Alyson asked me to contribute a guest post while she was taking some time off to spend with her new little man, I hesitated writing anything mom/baby related because sometimes I feel I get a little carried away with all the mom/baby talk. However, seeing as my baby was born just about a month ago, and new babies consume every single aspect of your life (including your thought process), I simply couldn’t resist. I thought long and hard about any sort of advice I could offer her as a recent mom myself. Besides basic logistics (changing diapers, figuring out which snap goes where on a onesie, etc.), you really don’t learn that much in the first four weeks. Most of the time, you and your baby are just getting to know each other in that first month. In a weird way, it’s kind of like dating… but with your baby. But there is one lesson I have learned, and I remind myself of it every day.

So here goes, Alyson (and all new moms out there)…

Treasure every moment. EVERY MOMENT. A few days ago, I was up with Lucia for her nightly 3 AM snack when I noticed her little hands start to reach for her bottle. I suddenly couldn’t wait for her to be able to hold her own bottle. I’d have the luxury of going back to bed, taking the time to brush my teeth, or even make myself a snack. The first few weeks are so difficult in a multitude of ways, that I think it’s only natural to long for a self sufficient baby that can restore your once-convenient lifestyle. But suddenly, I stopped myself. Joe and I are only planning on being a family of three, so this is it. She’s THE ONE. Every extraordinary moment with her will be gone before I know it.

When we were planning our wedding, the one thing every married couple would tell us was that your wedding day goes by in such a flash that chances are, you won’t remember most of it. We did not want that to be the case for us. Getting married is a pretty big deal, after all. So, we made it a point to really savor the day, to take the time to relish in every little detail. Now, I can happily say that our wedding is still so vivid in my mind. I want to have that exact experience with Lucia. I want to remember, REALLY remember, how it feels to watch her fall asleep on her dad’s chest, how she nuzzles her face into my neck when I hold her upright, all the funny noises she makes while she eats, and how right now, she depends on us for EVERYTHING. I know she won’t be doing these things forever, and if I consider the span of her entire life, she won’t be doing them for very long.

Good luck, Alyson, and don’t forget to love it *all*.

during my maternity leave, I asked a few of my favorite mamas and mamas-to-be to kindly step in with some fun guest posts to keep you company

Hello Unruly Things! This is Kristina with Lovely Morning.  A huge huge congrats to Alyson and Levi and their new baby boy. It really is the most extraordinary thing in the whole wide world, making and birthing a baby.

I thought I’d share a very important accessory for a new mom (second only to your baby, of course)… the most beautiful baby carriers I’ve ever seen. Baby carriers are such an essential element of a new parent’s arsenal, and there are sooo many out there to choose from. I own the Ergo and the Moby Wrap, both of which I love. But looks-wise they have nothing on the Didymos.

Siiiigghhhh. If only I’d discovered these before my son was born! The patterns and textures are truly beautiful. They’re much more expensive than many of the other wraps out there, but I think they’re worth it considering you’ll be wearing it every day for, like, a really really long time.

I’m fairly certain that even though I already own the aforementioned baby carriers, I’ll be forced to reward myself with a Didymos when we decide to have another child. Totally worth it, yes?

Photos from Maverick Baby, but you can find Didymos wraps lots of places, including Amazon.

during my maternity leave, I asked a few of my favorite mamas and mamas-to-be to kindly step in with some fun guest posts to keep you company

Hi everyone! My name is Casey, and you can find me regularly over at My Life as a Sugar Lander, where I post about days with my little boy, my shop, PAPER+TWINE, other crafts, and pretty things. I am so happy for Alyson and her new baby boy! What an exciting time. If you are anything like me, you have a steady (and ever growing) list of friends expecting. Some months there seem to be baby showers on every weekend! I love making a special gift for my soon-to-be-mom friends, and I try and change it up from time to time, to keep my friends on their toes. Although I love to Gocco print, I have recently gotten into stamps. Carving stamps, and printing to be exact! I love the handprinted/imperfect quality they bring to paper, and fabric. I wanted to share with you a project on how to make a fabric gift wrap, which I made for a recent baby shower. (You can wrap any gift in fabric, I am wrapping up some books for a little baby boy!) It just so happens that Alyson loves whales, so this project is perfect to share.

All supplies can be found at your local craft store. And if you don’t feel like carving your own stamp, any stamp will do! You will need: rubber blocks, a carving tool, fabric, (size is up to you, mine is 29″ squared) a brayer, and block printing ink. Carving is pretty easy, and makes for a nice craft to do at night while watching TV. Draw out your desired image, and with a pencil, lightly press on your image, that is laying on the rubber block, to make the imprint. Next, use your carving tool to carve away excess rubber, leaving your image raised. Also, make sure your fabric is washed, dried, and ironed before printing.

Squeeze some ink onto a paper plate. You don’t need much. Take your brayer, and using a little force, roll it into the ink, coating the whole brayer. There should be a nice, coated, yet thin layer of ink on the whole roll. Lightly apply the ink onto your stamp. It is always good to test print before you start printing on your final fabric piece! Press down on the stamp with your palm, for a more even application. Don’t be worried if the stamped image isn’t solid, this is what makes it beautiful, the imperfections, and slight differences of each individual print.

Once you are done printing, leave your fabric to dry for a few hours. When it is dry to the touch, iron to set the ink. I decided to sew my edges of the fabric, but it would be just as nice to leave the edges raw! When it comes to wrapping your gift, have fun with it! There is no wrong way. Place your gift in the middle of the fabric, and take opposite corners, and tie them, then take the other two corners, and do the same. And there you have it, a unique gift for the mom to be. The printing part of this project took less than an hour, and clean up is easy.  Just rinse everything, (rubber stamp included) under water and pat dry.  What a unique, thoughtful gift for a friend…a job whale done!

during my maternity leave, I asked a few of my favorite mamas and mamas-to-be to kindly step in with some fun guest posts to keep you company

Bonjour,

I’m Claudia and I enjoy writing about motherhood on a blog called Aux Petits Oiseaux (a French expression that stands for a sentiment of great joy). I recently gave birth to a baby girl named Alice. As a new mom, I have my load of insecurities that I overcome by asking a lot of questions.

So, Unruly Things readers, I have one for you! Do you think that it is inappropriate to impose “adult style and taste” to our kids?

Over the past few months, I carefully selected each items (a little selection above) that would go in Alice’s nursery. I spent numerous hours looking at online shops for the best handmade and/or eco-friendly and/or locally made products that would make my baby happy.

Then, we received the Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium! Over my dead body I told myself as I looked at the aquatic 3D scene with “mesmerizing” water effects. Oh, I forgot to mention the classical musak.

Maybe it is the lack of sleep from night breastfeeding but I started to wonder if Alice would actually love to stare at the little moving crab while bubbles are rising to the surface of the aquarium.

So, do you think that should I install the crib attaching infant soother (retailed at $75…oh, dear!) or let it gather dust in the closet?

{organic cozy bundler, wall hanging clock, fox teether, muslin baby wraps}

during my maternity leave, I asked a few of my favorite mamas and mamas-to-be to kindly step in with some fun guest posts to keep you company

Hey! I’m Jen of the Haystack Needle and Cabin 7. It’s super awesome to be here, since Unruly Things has been a favorite daily read of mine for a long time. And being just a few weeks behind Alyson’s guess date (our baby girl or boy is due early June!), I’ve been hooked on following Alyson’s finds at Unruly Little Things. For me, the last few weeks have definitely brought on the nesting gene. I find myself wanting to organize or style every space in our apartment.

We lucked into a free changing table, as my friend + shop partner Chris was redecorating her bedroom and bestowed this antique dresser on us. It’s a beauty and it’s the perfect height for a changing table so we’re using it in the nursery (still need the changing pad.) I’ve always liked to line my dresser drawers with gift wrap papers. Sure, your stuff inevitably hides most of the paper’s pattern, but I love seeing the snips of color. And it provides a nice clean surface underneath (bonus, considering our dressers are secondhand.) Here’s a peek inside the drawers of our soon-to-be changing table. I used some favorite gift wraps I had lying around (including papers by Rifle Paper, eieio, and Snow & Graham), Mod Podge, and a foam brush to adhere the papers inside the wooden drawers. It helps to use a wallpaper brush to smooth the paper down as you position the paper in the drawer. And I used a little exacto knife to snip excess paper.