Maeve was born four years ago today. Just as the world around us felt like it was crashing down amid a global pandemic. And yet her birth happened in a halo of safety and peace and she brought us overwhelming joy, she still does. For Maeve's fourth birthday I've finally finished writing her birth story. Birth stories, at least my three birth stories, are so much more than recounting a day. This one especially so. Each has been a culmination of anticipating, dreaming, and planning for so much longer than my pregnancies. When I think of the births of each... Read more →

In honor of Dashiell's eighth birthday today I'm re-sharing the story of his birth here and as an episode of my RISING*SHINING audioblog. I had not revisited the full story of Dash's birth in some time and I love being reminded of when we first met. Happy, happy eighth birthday to my radiant boy. I'm so excited to celebrate him today. The morning of April 9th was crisp and grey and the air felt fresh; a perfect spring morning. When Chris and I took a walk that morning with Drew I said, “This would be a great day to have... Read more →

After making us wait for so long... Maeve Elizabeth finally joined us Sunday morning. She was so sweet to let us get a full night of sleep and then arrived quickly, in just three hours, and was born at 9 a.m. She weighed 8 lb and 10 oz and was 20.75 inches long. Her birth was so quick after we waited so long for her – it was really surreal to be holding her! Our birth at the birth center was an incredible and peaceful experience. Compared to my previous two births I felt even more present and empowered by... Read more →

For three weeks now we've had a bag packed and ready to take the birth center at a moment's notice. I get a little thrill seeing the bag waiting in the corner of our room, especially when I think about the tiny baby clothes that are tucked inside for our daughter. As we've waited (and waited) it also helps remind me that our baby IS coming. I loved thinking about what to pack in our bag so let me show you what we've included: Clothing for me One of my late pregnancy obsessions has been researching and deciding on the... Read more →

photos by Darby Simon Although my labor and delivery with Cedric was only four hours there's so much to say. I thought about breaking this into a few posts but I'm keeping it all together as I did with Dashiell's birth story, which I'm so happy to have written down. + + + Looking back, my pregnancy with Cedric felt really long. I knew that at the end of December-ish I would be giving birth but life was already so full that the event didn't seem quite real. As the heat of the summer and fall stretched on (and on... Read more →

I'm thrilled to introduce our baby BOY: Cedric Mack Cedric was born in the wee hours Sunday, December 28 at 3:45 am. He was the exact weight and nearly the same length as Dashiell at 9.5 lbs and 21.25 inches, another big healthy boy. Apparently I only make babies in size large. My labor was fast and intense, just four hours. Whoa. I hope to write up and share my birth story soon. Everything went great, just very fast. Having a newborn again has been familiar and surreal all at the same time. Everything is going well. Really well. Cedric... Read more →

The morning of April 9th was crisp and grey and the air felt fresh; a perfect spring morning. When Chris and I took a walk that morning with Drew I said, “This would be a great day to have a baby” although I knew that it wouldn’t be that day. Who gives birth on their due date?! I felt so big and uncomfortable that day I decided to treat myself to homemade chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Delicious. That ended up being the only real meal I ate that day! Throughout the morning and early afternoon I received “happy due... Read more →

Our son is here!! Dashiell Mack Wharton Born on his due date (of course!), April 9, at 11 PM and was a hefty fellow at 9 lbs 8 oz and 22 inches of perfection. Words cannot describe the euphoria I felt at seeing Dashiell and holding him for the first time. Chris and I are so completely in love with him. Obviously we think he is the most beautiful, perfect baby ever to be born. Labor and birth was intense and hardest thing I've ever done. But I was able to have the natural birth Chris and I had planned... Read more →

Other than growing a belly it looks like I went through a grey/white to pink/red color-change in my wardrobe during the second trimester! As I've been writing in my bump picture updates, the second trimester has been glorious. The nausea and exhaustion that were my constant companions in the first trimester completely went away and I've been enjoying food again as well as staying awake past 7:30 PM. I've enjoyed my growing belly and people being able to see that I'm pregnant and I've had lots of energy. Probably best part of the second trimester has been feeling the baby... Read more →

Chris and I had decided what type of birth and care provider we wanted before getting pregnant. I'd read a lot on the subject and felt that working with a midwife and doula and having a medication-free birth at a hospital were the right choices for me. Chris is on the same page. When I was researching pregnancy and birth I found it so helpful to read about the experience of other women and what they were going through so I wanted to share a bit more about our decisions for care providers during my pregnancy. Our midwives and hospital.... Read more →