The First ER Visit

Last night we took Baby G to the ER for the first time.

After several hours of vomiting & not being able to keep even milk in her tummy, we decided to head to the hospital. I was so worried that she would be dehydrated.

We arrived in the ER around midnight, and were home by 5am. Definitely a long & sluggish night, but our little girl is doing just fine. (Thankfully I brought our ring sling & wore Gretchen as she napped against my chest in the waiting room.) They figure she just had a bit of a tummy virus, but eventually she was able to keep milk down & has been feeling fine all day.

Thanks to everyone who sent supportive tweets & messages! We truly appreciate all the love.

Dollface

Photo snapped by my lovely neighbour, Caren & edited by yours truly. I do love a good collaboration.

(Hat, by Heart Felt -- merci!)

Ten Months

Happy 10 months, Gretchen Fawn!

♥ She scoots on the hardwood floors. She does know how to crawl, but will only do this on carpet, which we have none of at home. I figured this out when we were at the bookstore about a week ago & she crawled across the floor to pull some books off the shelf. I assume scooting just happens to be the faster mode of transportation for smooth floors.

♥ She recently figured out how to sit up on her own. She can get from laying down to a seated position VERY quickly, which means that when she wakes up from her naps I find her sitting in the middle of our bed, all groggy eyed and completely adorable.
♥ Two days ago she pulled up for the very first time. I wonder how close to walking we are?? She's only pulled up two or three times & seems to be a little nervous about how to get back to the floor. She's not a big fan of plopping down on her little butt.
♥ She can say "mama", "dada" and makes a sort of "kuhhhh" sound when she sees the cats. She's completely in love with all of the animals and they are starting to get used to her pummeling petting them.
♥ She loves her book collection and will actually sit with a book on her lap, turning each page individually. (I'll try to get a video of this someday soon -- it's adorable.)
♥ She LOVES the Chariot (which I found on Kijiji) and though I still carry her in the Ergo a lot, it's been nice having a stroller that she's happy to sit in. It's also proven to be a wonderful aide in getting her to sleep.
♥ She's copying us like crazy. Sticks out her tongue, screams if we make little screamy sounds at her, she points at EVERYTHING and if I say "Yay!!" she'll clap her hands together.
♥ Her third tooth (top right) FINALLY came through this week and the one next to it isn't far behind. She's starting to look less like a baby & more like a little girl.

These past two weeks have been absolutely INSANE. She's learning SO much, SO fast & I can barely keep up. Everyday she learns something new and amazes me. I can barely wrap my head around the fact that she'll be a year old soon.

I will have to admit, however, that nap time/bedtime has been a little harder lately. I've read that when babes are learning and figuring out new skills, their sleep can suffer because they want to practice, practice, practice. I think that's what is happening over here. She's been sleeping in fairly late, which is throwing off our previous nap schedule, and sometimes it takes nearly an hour to convince her to nap at all. A few days this past week she refused to nap even a little and then wanted to stay up til 11pm. I have no idea where she found all that energy! I'll take comfort in the fact that this is probably just a phase.

Speaking of phases, I had mentioned before that we were having some separation anxiety issues, and while this is still a bit of a worry these days, we're making some progress. I have recently decided to "hire" a friend as a "mother's helper" and potential future babysitting. I'm still not comfortable leaving Gretchen, but once a week, Miranda comes and watches Gretchen at home for a couple hours while I get some work done around the house, do some writing, or shower. This has been FANTASTIC. The first time Miranda came, Gretchen screamed and cried, but since then she's been nothing but happy to see her. I'm so grateful for that time -- it's all about balance, ladies & gents.

Overall, I have to say that this age is a ton of fun, but that it's going by so quickly.

Slow down, little babe!

Happy 10 months!

...

As I was typing this I realized it was at this very time, 10 months ago, that my water broke and my incredible childbirth adventure began. If you've never read my birth story, you can find it here. Peace.

Chickpeas, Breast & All The Rest

Gretchen eats most of her meals like this -- in the Bumbo, on the coffee table (even though the warning on the side of the contraption specifically says 'not for use on a raised surfaces' -- we're rebels, what can I say). At this particular dinner she was chasing a rogue chickpea across the table and working on her cute little pincer grasp. She's getting really fantastic and picking up tiny little objects.

Chickpeas have been a hit these days, along with: bananas, applesauce, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots & she's even tried little bits of firm tofu.

She is breastfeeding quite a bit less these days, though we are definitely nowhere close to weaning.

Most days we nurse:

01. When we wake up

02. Midmorning/nap time

03. Around lunch

04. Afternoonish/nap time

05. Around dinner

06. Bedtime

Sometimes she nurses less & sometimes more, with little snacklings throughout the day when all she wants is a couple sips. We always nurse at nap time/bedtime, however.

Tomorrow Gretchen will be 10 months old which means I'll have been nursing her for 10 whole months. My initial goal was to make to it a year, and now I know we'll be going much further than that. For those of you who are newer to the blog, I had quite a bit of trouble with breastfeeding to begin (which you can read about here, here & here) and to know how far I've come makes me burst with pride. I'm so happy that I stuck it out & I'm so happy for the time that I get to spend nursing my daughter. It's still hard, sometimes -- breastfeeding is a lifestyle and not for the faint of heart. It is, however, worth every single little moment.

On that note, I just wanted to thank you all again for your support over these last 10 months -- your kind comments & words of encouragement got me through some rather rough patches & I love you all for that.

Merci.

Guaranteed To Make You Smile

This is by far the hardest she's ever laughed. If you're not at least smiling by the end of this, you might not have a soul.

(I'm SO glad that I had the camera close by!)

My Favourite Time Of Year

It's starting to feel like Christmas in the house of the Fawn.

Fawned Friday

Friday again?? My word!

The weeks are just flying by.

01. French interior inspiration.

02. Doily webs.

03. One bowl apple cake.

04. Creative spaces.

05. Ballerinas.

06. Outfit inspiration.

07. Wedding photo love.

08. Mellow yellow.

09. Bullet potatoes.

10. Couples pillow cases (especially these).

11. Marmalade.

12. Craft show love.

13. Sweet handmade dolls.

Peace & love!

Brown Paper Packages

Oh my word! The Christmas spirit is coming in waves & my mailbox has been very happy these past few days!

Thank you to everyone who has sent little trinkets & gifts -- you're all just so sweet!

One of these packages was sent by my new friend Johanna over at Birds On A Wire. She sent a sweet little owl print all wrapped up in festive brown paper, and yes, it was tied up with string.

She is such an incredibly talented artist. I'm so in love with this print & I can't wait to frame it and hang it in Gretchen's room (which is still such a work in progress).

Atop my package was a little felt ornament, which is now hanging in our archway between the kitchen and living room, but will soon make his way to our Christmas tree.

Another package arrived earlier this week all the way from New Zealand c/o Janelle at Heart Felt. Thank you so much for the beautiful little hat for Baby G, as well as the sweetest button down fawn shirt!

I should also add that Janelle has just welcomed her third child -- a little baby boy called Oscar. Congrats on your newest little family member, Janelle -- he's such a button!

So yes, thank you, dear friends, for getting me into the holiday spirit -- I can't wait to send out some packages of my own!

Peace.

Beautiful Baby Spaces

It would seem that I have a serious addiction to home tours and especially nursery tours. Lately, Ohdeedoh has been feeding my love for interior design & beautifully functional, child friendly spaces.

I was first drawn to this nursery because the little boy who occupies it is named Ezra, which, as some of you may know, is the name of my best friend's son.

Upon closer inspection I saw this fabric on their glider and nearly fainted -- look how amazing it is! Those colours! The zebra & the deer? Brilliant. I'm completely smitten.

Here's what Ezra's mother, Sarah, said about the chair: "My mother and I had been shopping for gliders and not crazy about the style of most of them. On a whim we stopped at Salvation Army, and found a glider in the parking lot that someone had just dropped off. We picked it up for $30. We splurged (well, my mom splurged) on fun Echino fabric and professional reupholstery to make the chair look amazing."

I'm also a huge fan of these storage boxes. The boy & I have been hunting down boxes like this in order to fashion a large bookshelf (by stacking them all together securing them somehow).

I love the rustic, old world feeling that they bring the room.

Another nursery that I fell in love with was Norah's. I love the embroidery hoop wall hanging, and the paint colour is especially stunning.

The chandelier (from IKEA & painted pink) is a really nice touch.

Norah's mom, Caroline, on her favourite aspect of the nursery: "I just love the bright and cheery colors of the room! Each time I walk by it puts a smile on my face! My favorite element has to be the yellow crib! It really brings something unique and is the main centerpiece of the nursery."

Beautiful!

...

Do you have any favourite nursery tours? Tips for decorating? Please feel free to share in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving

Source.

To those who celebrate, I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving. My partner, who lived in the states for a few years, suggested that this year we do a little Thanksgiving dinner of our own, in addition to the Canadian Thanksgiving that we took part in last month. I'm currently in the process of cooking my very first pork roast & we're spending the day together, with Gretchen, watching Christmassy movies, drinking egg nog & enjoying time as a family.

Happy day, friends. I wish you and all of your families the very best, now and always.

The Little Mimic

I'm telling you, this kid cracks me up.

Wordless Wednesday (Baby Face)

Chantilly & Jesse

Yesterday I did a photo shoot with my friends Chantilly & Jesse, whose baby shower I attended last weekend.

Their first baby girl is due next month.

This couple was so much fun to work with -- they played off each other were so effortlessly photogenic. I can't wait to photograph their babe.

A Babe In Stripes

Portraiture

When Roxanne emailed these photos over to show how her painting of Gretchen had turned out I was instantly in tears.

I am still in shock over how fabulous & talented this woman is.

...

If anyone is interested, she takes commissions:

Roxanne (roxannem3 at gmail.com)

Time To Regroup

My goodness.

Life has been busy in the house of the Fawn. This week we're trying to s l o w things down a notch & regroup, if you will.

Do you ever have that feeling? Like you need to just take a moment, step back, observe & start fresh? Well, we're starting fresh over here & it's feeling great.

Cleaning.

Planning.

Organizing.

Cooking.

Baking.

Making.

Enjoying.

Hugging.

Napping.

Snuggling.

Reading.

Watching.

Playing.

Being.

I feel a welcome change in the air.

The Miss & Her Mama

Fawned Friday

Good morning & welcome to the 44th edition of Fawned Friday!

Enjoy!

01. Pretty little home in Berlin.

02. Gorgeous ring sling.

03. Photo collage love.

04. Pom-pom lamp DIY.

05. Staircase inspiration.

06. Cute little smittens.

07. Peacock feather hoops.

08. Felted ball DIY.

09. Notebook pouch.

10. Words to live by.

11. Passing time.

12. Tea & crumpets.

13. Wood slices.

14. Road rage reduction project.

Have a lovely weekend, mes amis!

Au revoir!