Belly shots

This weekend, Alex and I took a few belly shots at a picnic with friends. At 8.5 months, I'm feeling ready to POP! We're so excited, and Alex has been my hero during this whole pregnancy--cooking pastas and burgers for dinner, massaging my lower back every night, telling me I look beautiful on those days when I'm swollen and bloated and highly doubting it, practicing guitar so he can teach the baby, and being incredibly understanding every step (and bump) of the way. Most baby books bizarrely treat dads like they're babies themselves (giving them only the most basic tips and comparing everything to baseball, groan), but Alex has been such an insightful, gentle, funny, loving partner. A huge, huge thank you, Alexei, and a hat tip to all you dads and dads-to-be out there! xoxo

(Thanks for taking the photos, Abbey:)

Belly shots

Last night, my brother and I went for a bike ride, and I roped him into taking a few belly shots. I'm just over 33 weeks (about 7 1/2 months), and I'm so excited to see our baby boy's teeny face in less than two months! I'm so curious about what he'll look like (and if he'll still resemble a Dr. Seuss character). I have to admit, though, I'm getting a little nervous about the actual birth. I alternate between being super calm and being slightly panicky. It makes me feel better that so many mothers have done it before. When I walk around New York, I catch myself staring at strangers and thinking, "You were born, and you were born, and you were born."

Anyway, thank you, as always, for following along! It's such a pleasure to share everything with you. xo

P.S. Past belly shots.

(Big thanks to Nick for taking the photos. The navy shirt is from Gap Maternity.)

Baby belly

Since those Jenga photos a couple days ago mysteriously hid my giant belly, here's a shot that I took that same night to send to my mom. (I wasn't going to post it because I have a weird expression and the lighting is all yellow, but oh well, here you are!) I snapped it in our living-room mirror while Alex was cooking dinner.

Recently the baby has been kicking SO much, and it is ridiculously cute. He's so kicky that if I lean back while watching TV, my tummy will actually ripple, like waves in the ocean. It's really sci-fi and awesome to watch him bumping around, and, needless to say Alex and I find it endlessly endearing.

Thank you so much for being so sweet, as always; it's such a treat to share everything with you. xo

One belly, four ways

My sweets, hope you all had wonderful long weekends! I flew down to Florida on Sunday to visit my mom and her husband, and we've been having a great time. It's colder than usual (we wore fleeces to the pool!), so we've been taking long walks and talking about babies. Last night, she and her husband made Spanish tapas for dinner, including Spanish tortilla, Manchego cheese, and garlic-stuffed olives in a beautiful long olive tray. Afterward, we ate berries and brownies and watched The Bachelor, which my mom got really into. (By the way, what was up with that crazy preview for the finale?) Moms are the best! xoxo

Pregnant and fabulous

Yesterday, I was feeling shy about possibly wearing a bikini while pregnant, but then my friend sent me these gorgeous photos of Anna, who is rocking the sexy-mama look in Australia. She shows off her bump proudly, and I love that! I'm so inspired!

Growing belly

A few readers asked for a belly shot, so Alex snapped one last night. As my friend Caroline says, I'm finally starting to look pregnant, not just like I ate too much mac n' cheese. At 19 weeks along, I'm still squeezing my large self into Old Navy's perfect fit tees, but soon it will be time for some honest-to-goodness maternity shirts. (My button-downs are bursting at the seams.) Now I'm heading uptown to my doctor's appointment to find out if this sweet little baby is a girl or boy! We're so excited. Thank you so much for all your sweet comments yesterday. xoxo

P.S. The belly grew so much in the past two weeks!

Very Happy Nine-Month News...

My sweet darling readers, it's with great excitement that I announce that Alex and I are expecting our first child! It's our little honeymoon miracle (a very welcome surprise) and we are absolutely over the moon. I'm four months along (it's been almost impossible to keep quiet; I have been dying to tell you!), and my belly is slowly but surely expanding. Our babe is growing fast and furiously and is now the size of an avocado! We can't wait to welcome this little person into the world and give him or her lots of hugs, smooches and tummy rubs. xoxo

P.S. Thank you so much for putting up with my many, many baby fever posts over the past two years!