Father and son.

I woke up yesterday morning to really beautiful light coming in our bedroom window. Zach was giving Maxime a cuddle. I've never seen him so smitten.

A gift from loved ones.

Yesterday we received a courier parcel all the way from London, from Maxime's uncle & aunt. Inside were the most beautiful muslin squares with hand embroidered animals and fruit. Emma-Jayne must know my taste to a tee, as I couldn't have chosen something better myself. They are almost too gorgeous to use - but be reassured, they will be put to good use. Look how peaceful Maxime was when I took the photos, he is the calmest, easiest and most beautiful little boy - hard to believe we made him.

Thanks Emma-Jayne & Toby! Can't wait to see you later this year.

Maxime.

I can't describe in full how incredible it is to meet your child for the first time. Our little boy arrived safely into this world at 6.28pm on August 23rd. We are simply over the moon, and continually surprised that we managed to create something so seemingly perfect.

We want to say a huge thank you to Sylvia our obstetrician. We couldn't have wished for better care, or reassurance throughout the whole process.

We've been in babyland bliss ever since. Here are a few of our favourite moments.

Sans Rings.

Yay! I am being induced next week if the baby doesn't come naturally - hard to believe that by Friday, I will be a mum.

My normally thin hands are now incredibly puffy - so I've had to remove my engagement and wedding rings. I can't wait to put these back on again, I feel very naked without them.

In other news, look how beautiful this little knitted cardigan is, knitted by one of Zach's aunties - it's made its way into the hospital bag for our little one.

Remember how I said I packed leopard print leggings in case the baby is a girl (or let's face it, gay boy), these are them - aren't they amazing! My girlfriend Lauren bought them from Seed Heritage.

In other news, I have discovered a really cheap alternative to my Diptyque & Jo Malone room spray addictions. The Aromatherapy Company New Zealand makes a Lavender & Rosemary room spray from pure essential oils, and it smells incredible. The best part is, it only costs $18 for 125ml and I think it easily rivals my Diptyque Gardenia spray.

For someone that is not normally addicted to sugar, I am now completely obsessed. Perhaps the sign it could be a girl? As such, I am eating strawberry jam on toast like nobody's business.

Common Baby.

 

It's looking less and less likely that the baby is going to come on the 16th of August like my plan. If only the baby could appreciate how pretty the number is!

Today I went to Takapuna to have lunch with Alex - it was so nice to catch up with her, before popping into Dimples and Nature Baby. At Dimples I picked up a present for Katie's Isabel, it's from a new range of Aden & Anais wraps, isn't the pink gorgeous?

Afterwards I went to Nature Baby to pick up some raspberry leaf tea in the hope that it will bring on my labour...only time will tell. I am boiling the kettle right now.

It's also hard to believe that if the baby, like its mum, is born with a head full of hair, it will need this soft bristle brush that I picked up today from Nature Baby - it's so soft, it's hard to believe it actually works.

If the raspberry leaf tea fails, I have a hot taco planned with my girlfriend Mel on Saturday morning at Mexican Specialties - surely that will do the trick. For both of us.

An over-the-moon week.

This week two extraordinary things have happened: firstly, I was asked to be a Godmother to little Freddie, born August 3rd on the other side of the world. Yesterday, August 15th at some ungodly hour in the morning, I became an aunty to little Isabel - the prettiest little girl (it's hard to believe newborns can look this good?) after she was born a healthy 8 pounds. Naturally my husband and I are over the moon (he is Godfather to Freddie too).

I am hoping to go into labour today - August 16. Sixteen is such a pretty number. Plus, I feel absolutely enormous, and until you've experienced what I call 'the waiting game', it's hard to explain how at every moment you have a false contraction (or as my hypnobirthing teacher likes to say 'practice contraction') you're left wondering, is this it? Equally matched by the disappointment of another false alarm. I would say I also receive upwards of 10 txt messages/emails a day asking if the baby has been born - I should probably just set a Facebook status. I am also feeling enormous, my husband very affectionately finds this quite amusing, he reassures me I will at some point look normal again. He is taking great pleasure in resting all manor of objects on my belly, including sunglasses.

Speaking of sunglasses, I'm looking forward to summer (hence the hat), I'll be taking the baby to the beach, where it will be read lots of books (courtesy of friends, family and my husband - who loves reading to the baby even now).

The red quilt has famous nursery rhymes on it, made by my very clever and gifted friend Gina. It will be the perfect thing to lie the baby down on - so precious.

Que Sera, Sera.

  







Que Sera, Sera (whatever will be, will be) was first published in 1956 by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. It made its first appearance in Hitchcock's film 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'. On this occasion, it was gifted to me by Lauren, on the back of a card she wrote me when we found out I was having a baby. It's well adjusted advice for anybody I think.

In addition, I have now finally (and very tardily) packed the baby's bag for hospital. I couldn't decide on which clothes to pack, so I ended up putting in lots of options (after all, I wanted leopard print tights incase it is a girl, and the cute patch blue pants, in case it is a boy).

My cousin Elspeth gifted us one of our favourite presents - a beautiful hand knitted cream merino blanket, which has a crochet type detailing around the edges. It is absolutely breathtaking, and really special because it was purchased from the Utiku wool shop which has been an Easter tradition of my family for years for purchasing merino socks, scarves and warm jerseys while in the country.

Here are the three toys that will make an appearance at the hospital. Don't you just love the teddy and cat rattle on the left? They're from this gorgeous online store called Maisy & Grace, and the chew teddy on the right is from Nature Baby.

The little things.

Yesterday Anna invited me over for homemade muffins and a hot chocolate - how could I resist? I took my heavily pregnant self over to hers, and gave her an early birthday pressie (the Ecoya French Pear candle) because I am unsure if I will be able to attend her birthday party this Saturday! While buying her gift, I thought I'd try out the Ecoya drawer liners in Sweet Pea & Jasmine, and have lined the baby's drawers with them. They smell quite sweet, and have a little message inscribed on them which you can see above. Perhaps another new sensory addiction in the lead up? I also liked the above photo of Diptyque which I didn't upload the other day.

Aden & Anais

I first came across Aden & Anais when a friend came to visit with her newborn. They're made from pure muslin and they get softer after every wash. You can use these muslin wraps for swaddling, as a way to shade the baby when in the pram/capsule, or just as a general spill cloth. I think they are absolutely beautiful. My friend had one with pink stars, but since I don't know if we are having a boy or a girl, I made a special order for the Mela Bamboo range - the prints feel reminiscent of the 70s to me. I also bought an additional grey starred one (very neutral). Definitely worth the investment. I ordered the Mela Bamboo Aden & Anais wraps from Hatch and bought the grey star one from Dimples.

The other night I ironed all of my baby's clean linen with the lavender linen spray my friend Anna bought me. The linen is so crisp! I deliberated for a long time on whether I needed to buy a separate Moses basket in addition to my sleigh cot, and decided it was necessary. The one in the photo is from Nature Baby and it has a futon mattress with 100% pure cotton brushed sheets. I paired the Moses basket and the sheets with a grey woolen blanket from Bobux. It will be perfect for carrying about the house with me from room to room, so that the baby can always be near me.

Also, take a look at our blossom tree! It makes for a very nice view from our kitchen and living room, if only it was in bloom all year around.

Not long to go now.

Lolita & Diptyque.

This morning I woke up early and decided I wanted to create a piece of art for the baby's room from what I think is the best opening of any book I have ever read. Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita's syntax is faultless. I'm going to get the opening printed on parchment and then framed in a white frame. I understand it's probably (context wise) not the best opener (given the book is highly controversial for its nymphette obsession) for my baby - however, if our child is to grow up with a passion for literature like its mother, then there really is no better time to instill this.

After playing with fonts, I went to the obstetrician, where everything is looking perfect - so we can expect to meet the little one within the next week or so.

I did splurge on one item from Mecca Cosmetica after my appointment, Diptyque Gardenia (the room spray) is so beautiful, it literally makes each and every room smell like a meadow. I'd highly recommend it.

Fresh Linen.

Anybody that knows me well, knows that I am a sensory person. I love fragrances, candles, soy melts, room diffusers, room sprays - basically anything that keeps my home in good stead. I admit it is a bit frivolous (one girlfriend said to me, you know you're getting old when you buy such things)  - but in my opinion it is well worth the investment. I am having a slight minor meltdown that my husband now that I am sans job, may not view my idea of investment as altogether worthwhile, but hopefully he will remember that a happy wife is a happy life.

The other night my very dear friend Anna came over to cook me dinner (she is so good to me) and introduced me to an altogether new type of sensory sensation! Linen spray. How had this passed me by before? You can use it while ironing (now that I am a housewife, I'm doing plenty of this) and also just lightly spray it onto your linen, pillows, furniture and more. Each morning I strip the bed, and spray every single layer of my linen with it, the bottom sheet, duvet, every pillow. The result? Literally a bed you never want to leave.

She gave me 'Luxury Lavender Finishing Water' 1000ml from Household Linens. This is one gift, I will definitely be re purchasing, but I suspect in this size it will last a while. Thanks Anna!

Here is a list of some of my favourite sensory indulgences.

1/ Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir (cologne, room diffusers and body range)
2/ Herve Gambs Essence de Figuier room spray from Siena
3/ Ecoya French Pear candle
4/ Diptyque Philosykos cologne from Mecca

Gifts for the baby.

On my last day of work I was given this beautiful soft woolen blanket from Gucci (48 Queen Street, Auckland) from my boss (thank you Claire) for the baby. It's so incredible, the box came wrapped with gorgeous ribbons in the bag you can see above. It's pale grey on one side with cream logos, with the other side inverted in cream with grey logos. I love that it is really subtle. It's the perfect size for taking out with me in the pram. The baby really has no idea how lucky he or she is.

Footloose.

The baby is going to have some pretty cute kicks - from knitted booties to moccasins; some handmade, some store bought. The first ones we received (and a favourite) are the dark blue knitted booties, knitted by Lauren's mum, that come equipped with a delicate cabling stitch, and room to thread a bow to keep them on securely. Thanks Velda! Also can't help but love the cowhide booties (thanks Lauren), or the softest to touch, the lambskin booties from Nature Baby (bottom right hand corner), thanks Gina. They are all so adorable, if you like them, you can find many of them at Nature Baby, Peppin, Magnolia (or you can wrangle an aunt/mother/grandmother into knitting them for you).

So adorable.

The final details.

I'm in the final few days (the waiting game) before meeting our beautiful first baby. I'm nesting, as they say, and putting in place the small luxuries that will keep me sane over the coming months. I'm loving neutrals and white for the baby (partly because I don't know whether it is a boy or girl) and have lots of fresh flowers around the home. A few obsessions I have acquired throughout my pregnancy are as follows.

1/ Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir (particularly the room diffuser - $155) from the Britomart Jo Malone Store. (Atrium on Takutai, 37 Te Ara Tahuhu, Britomart.)

2/ Chloe Love Parfum $247 nationwide for 75ml. (This fragrance has a floral and heady overtone, which actually reminds me of babies - and I plan to wear it when I'm in delivery). I suggest you buy it duty free like I did from here and save yourself a pretty penny.

3/ Costume jewellery (well just lots of jewellery) that keep me feeling groomed and polished as my tummy expands.

4/ Organic cotton baby clothes from Nature Baby, Dimples, Hatch & Peppin Boutique.

5/ Flowers for around the home, with vanilla & cinnamon sticks that add just a touch of gentle fragrance to the baby's nursery on entrance.