It’s been quiet over here as we’ve been busy the last month or so preparing for the arrival of our son Gideon Sean, who joined us on Wednesday evening. Sophie is already an amazing big sister and we are all so happy to be together at home, tired and slightly overwhelmed but healthy and full of so much joy.

Wishing you a peaceful and safe Memorial Day weekend, friends.

As a pretty firm anti-stuff person, I feel good about the baby gear we acquired for Sophie and am excited to reuse pretty much all of it. We have plenty of clothes because a lot of the brand-new-baby stuff I got for Sophie was pretty gender neutral, and I recently did a hand-me-down swap with one of my best friends who had a boy first and just had a baby girl in December. There are a few other things, however, that we want to add that we either would have preferred last time or would like to try now that we’ll have two kids.

• This one is more of a wish list than have to have, but I love these little woven bassinets. We used to have a Rock-N-Play in our living room for Sophie to sleep in while one of us watched her from around 9PM until midnight, but now that they have been recalled we need a safer sleep situation for her when one parent sneaks off to get some uninterrupted rest.

• Before we left California we sold our changing table—I never really loved it but we did get it used with our crib and it was nice that they matched. I don’t like the idea of buying a piece of furniture like a changing table that really only has one use, and I always loved these changing pads that you just put on your dresser. Since the baby will be in our room for a while, I plan to get one and put it on our dresser, then move it to the dresser in his room after that.

• This bassinet stand is probably what we’re going to end up using in the living room since we already have a bassinet that came with our stroller. I think I’d rather buy this than another bassinet when we already have a perfectly good one that we really didn’t use enough the first time.

• I thought about getting a new rocking chair for the baby’s room, but I think we may move Sophie’s to his room and then move a loveseat in the playroom to her room for bedtime stories and quiet time (although I don’t think I’m ready for her to give up her nap yet). This particular chair is a little out of the budget but I loved the look of it. Either way we are most likely going to need more seating somewhere upstairs—we still have a lot of space that we haven’t really “finished” yet.

• This may be the thing I’m most excited about—I think Sophie will love riding on the stroller board while her brother is in the seat or bassinet. We have a stroller that converts to a double, but to be honest she doesn’t really ride in it very much anymore. Hopefully she’ll enjoy hopping on and standing, because we really relied on our stroller when she was a baby and I don’t think that’ll change with #2.

• This one is silly but I need it. I used to hand Sophie a snack in the stroller and it would always end up in her lap or smashed into the seat behind her. Snack tray to the rescue.

If you had a second baby, was there anything you felt like you absolutely needed that you didn’t have the first time? Or did you actually get rid of things from round one that you didn’t use as much as you thought you would? I’d love to hear any advice!

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Dear Baby,

Here we are, well over halfway to meeting you, and I’m realizing I haven’t done so many of the things I did when I was pregnant with your sister (these letters, for example). I know that every pregnancy is different just like every baby and child is different, but boy is that the case with the two of you.

Having a toddler and living in a pandemic while pregnant is certainly a different experience, but knowing you’re always with me, safely tucked away until you’re ready has definitely been a comfort. You are a beacon of hope, a promise of even more wonderful things to come, a reason to push through and persevere for better days ahead.

Your dad felt you kick for the first time on New Year’s Day, shortly after midnight as we lay in bed together after trying so hard to stay awake to see a new year. We gladly bid farewell to the mess that was 2020 but also felt so grateful for all the things that it brought us: a new home in a city we have missed for years, your sister growing up so happy and healthy, and you.

Sometimes I wake up in the morning to your kicks and feel like I already know you so well, and then there are other times when you are such a mystery. What will you look like? What funny things will you do as you grow? What will your name even be? I have a list in my phone but we haven’t even come close to settling on one yet.

We can’t wait to meet you, our little spring baby. The weather is getting warmer and next weekend the clocks will change and it will be lighter so much later and I can’t help but daydream about warm evenings on the back patio with you in my arms, watching your dad and your sister run around in the yard, Ender sprawled across the soft grass.

How wonderful life is when you’re in the world.

xoxo Mama