FROM: STELLA

TO: LAURA

1. My little guy turned one month old this week! We are trying not to post too many photos online of him but naturally all of our friends and family have been asking for them so we stole Laura’s idea of doing a shared Google Photos album for family and a private Instagram account for friends. It’s been a nice way to update just those folks that want pictures without filling our own feeds with a stream of baby pictures.
2. So far I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding and luckily it’s come fairly quickly to the two of us but it’s so much harder than I ever imagined it would be to do. I really enjoyed this timeline article that outlines what to expect and when while breastfeeding your baby. While every baby is different and you can’t expect to follow any article specifically, it was nice to have something to follow so I’d know what was coming up.
3. My husband will be off work for about 10 days over the holidays and we are hoping to plan a short over night trip within a few hours drive of Los Angeles. This will be the first Christmas that we don’t fly back to the east coast for the holiday so I want to try to find a destination with some snow!
4. I took my first solo trip out of the house this week. Prior to this my husband drove and I rode in the back with the baby. It felt very freeing to set out on my own and I was very pleased to have bought and installed this car mirror so I could keep an eye on Colby during the drive.

FROM: LAURA

TO: STELLA

1. This week and weekend truly got away from me. (Hence the lateness on this normally-published-on-a-Friday post!) I think this every year around this time, but I wish the holidays would stretch time out rather than squish it all together. It’s fun, but a bananas schedule of holiday gatherings, potlucks, end-of-year work assignments, and, this year, wanting to squeeze as much family time in as possible. Trying to channel my mother’s mindfulness practice and be as in the moment as possible lately.
2. I was traveling for work this week for the first time since having a baby. I’m still breastfeeding him, so this trip was quite the adventure in pumping on the go. I flew with this cooler and four of these ice packs in addition to my standard bottle bag and ice pack, and it ended up working out pretty well. These wet/dry bags are my favorite! I did learn that 70 ounces of breastmilk is… quite heavy to lug through an airport.
3. I learned quite a few things from this I’d Rather Be Meryl post on champagne. I love, LOVED having them guest post for us, and continue to enjoy all of their drool-inducing content.
4. We’re gearing up for Ernie’s third flight (and first flight since he was three months old!) this coming weekend. Referring back to my traveling with a baby post and putting together all of the to do and to pack lists!