Happy Friday, friends! I’ve been thinking a lot about the things that I want to devote my time to as the school year rolls around. I know that many people make resolutions around the first of the year, but I really appreciate back-to-school goal setting and planning. Something about the school year starting feels like a great time for a re-set. All that to say, I’m hoping to spend more time here at Espresso & Cream. I love this little … Read More
Thoughtful {Unique} Baby Gifts
Let’s talk baby gifts, shall we? I want to be a better gift giver, and slowly but surely I’m learning how to be thanks to my mom friends who are great gift-givers themselves. A few of my close friends come to mind, the ones who always have the most unique, pretty and fun gift ideas. Not necessarily extravagant, per se, just spot-on and thoughtful. After having a second baby, and having a ton of friends and family having babies, gift … Read More
Postpartum Vitamin & Supplement Routine
Hi, friends! We are back from family vacation and I’m busy digging into a new week and a new month. It seems almost weekly that I get questions from readers and friends about my favorite supplements and vitamins, and while I’m certainly not an expert, I have done my research and found products that work well for me and my body. The postpartum period is a time when nutrition is extremely important. The postpartum body has gone through a LOT … Read More
Breastfeeding, Bottle Feeding and Supplementing :: The Second Time Around
A few weeks ago on Instagram I promised that I would write this post. And yet here I am, two weeks later, still kicking the can down the road and avoiding writing about the topic of breastfeeding, bottle feeding, supplementing. Not because I’m afraid to write about the topic, but because it’s a complicated subject – one that I feel different about daily. Chances are, if you’re a mom, you understand what I’m talking about. Because in the long run, … Read More
Favorite Workout Gear
This summer I did a little wardrobe refresh in the workout gear department. Both because my body was a little different postpartum than it was before getting pregnant and because some of my workout gear was looking a little sad and worn out. I do dress up some days in the summer, but many days I’m running around after a toddler and need my clothes to be comfortable, functional and able to handle a little sweat. Almost all of my … Read More
Favorite Baby Products :: Newborn (second time around)
I wanted to take a minute (while it’s still fresh in my mind) to do a little post about my favorite baby products for newborns the second time around. Because let’s be honest, my list of must-have products is really scaled back the second time around and only includes the best of the best. No frills! 1. Milk Snob Nursing Cover/Car Seat Cover/Blanket/Etc. This cover is great! I LOVE multi-function baby products like this one. It functions as a nursing … Read More
Collins Elizabeth Jane Hofmeyer // A Birth Story
This has been on my to-do list since the week we came home with Collins. I LOVE reading birth stories (something that I only started to like and appreciate after having my own baby) and more than anything, I really like having the birth stories of my girls written down and documented so I can go back and read them/remember what their births were really like since it’s so easy to forget! Having Ainsley’s birth story written down on the … Read More
Baby Collins’ Animal-Themed Nursery
Collins Elizabeth is here! Okay, while writing this post she actually isn’t here yet, but by the time I post she will be, and I am so excited to share her nursery with you all. I figured I should get this post put together before her arrival since I can’t imagine I’ll be back to blogging very quickly after she makes her arrival. I’ve posted a list of resources at the bottom of this post if you are curious as to … Read More
the years are short, of that I’m painfully aware
Anyone who has prepared for parenthood has heard the adage: “The days are long, but the years are short!” When I was in the trenches of life with a newborn the days did, indeed, feel long. And while I knew that the years would fly by, I don’t think I really believed it. These days, I find myself feeling every ounce of the shortness of life with little children. My baby, I swear she was just a baby. How can she … Read More
A letter to my second-born
When I was pregnant with Ainsley, I wrote A Letter to my Firstborn a few weeks before she was due. All jokes about middle or second children aside, I didn’t want to let this precious time before I meet our second daughter go by without writing a letter to her. To my second daughter, my sweet baby girl, a child I don’t yet know and yet love more than I could have imagined; we’re ready for you. If you anyone asked … Read More
thoughts on a (nearly) vegetarian pregnancy
A vegetarian pregnancy. It was something I had hoped to have the first time around with Ainsley’s pregnancy, but for a number of reasons it never really happened. While I still ate a lot of my favorite vegetarian foods during my first pregnancy, I at a fair amount of meat as well. So many people told me that I couldn’t have a healthy, balanced pregnancy if I wasn’t eating meat, and because I didn’t know any better I decided they … Read More
March Mom Edit :: What I’m Loving Now
At nearly 34 weeks pregnant, is it safe to say that I’m in the home stretch? I’m certainly embracing that mentality, and the products I’m sharing about below have been making my life a little more glamorous and bearable during the last month and a half of pregnancy. Here’s what I’ve been loving lately… I took a break from regular fixes for a while, but scheduling a maternity Stitch Fix at 30 weeks was a fantastic way to get excited about … Read More