Baby Blog | Sarah Fortune

Baby Blog: The first weeks

Sarah Fortune
November 3, 2011
13 Comments

How do mommy bloggers do it?

Despite being home almost 24/7 (and awake for the majority of it), I have zero time to blog. The times that I do have, I’m busy trying to catch a nap or scarfing down food while I can. All other moments are spent with my sweet baby girl and away from my laptop. I’m so behind on everything (why didn’t someone tell me that Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard broke up?!) and I’m lucky if I ever get dressed for the day.

I wouldn’t change a single moment of it though. Iris’ first weeks have been incredible and are already going by way too fast. Here are a few noteworthy things and my favorite moments…

● She’s been to the doctor twice, for a 1 week & 2 week check up.

At the first visit, she had only lost 3 ounces, which we were told is excellent for a newborn since she could lose up to 10% of her body weight in the first week. By her next visit she was past her birth weight at 10 pounds, 2 ounces. Baby girl likes to eat. She’s in the 97th percentile for body weight, 90th percentile for height, and 75th percentile for head circumference.

● She loves her hands. Her favorite is to touch her face and she already twirls her hair (can you blame her?). It’s funny because when we did our 3D ultrasound, she had her hands on her face almost the entire time.

● She makes the sweetest sounds when she’s sleeping.

● Her first public appearance was to, where else? Target.

● She had a lovely weekend visit with my dad, her Grandpa Don.

● She had a play date with Seger (while I had a play date with Taylor)

● We get the morning started with music. This time it was Al Green.

● And we play dress up all day.

● She doesn’t mind baths, but hates having her hair washed.

● But I love washing her hair because it turns into CURLS!

● During tummy time she tries her hardest to crawl away.

● She loves her Aunt Katie.

● She popped her first wheelie on our family walk.

● She’s made it through two Razorback football wins.

● I had my own win: my first beer since January!

● For her first Halloween, she was a banana with her dad.

● Rosalyn, her new BFF, was born just two weeks after Iris. How perfect is that?

● Mostly though, she made us smile. Over and over.

Baby Blog, Photos

Baby Blog: Meet Iris Adella

Sarah Fortune
October 26, 2011
5 Comments

Well, she’s here and more amazing than anything we could have ever imagined. In this week and a half since she was born, all I’ve wanted to do is hold her, snuggle her, and kiss her, which leaves very little time to blog. But while she’s snoozing away in her swing, I thought I’d try to get a quick update in. When I have a little bit more time, I’ll write about her birth and how things have been going, but for now here are some photos of our sweet, sweet Iris.

You can also visit her official birth announcement at irisadella.com
(yes, our baby already has a website).

Baby Blog, Photos, Pregnancy Blog

Baby Blog: She’s here!

Sarah Fortune
October 19, 2011
7 Comments

Iris Adella Gill

was born
at 9:12 pm Saturday, October 15th, 2011

9 pounds, 14 ounces
20 3/4 inches long
and an absurd amount of beautiful hair

My motherly instinct was right – she’s a biggie!
And we are so in love with every tiny chunk of her.

More pictures and details of the birth will come,
but for now we’re resting happy and healthy at home.

Thank you for following our journey…
It’s just begun.

Baby Blog, Photos

Baby Blog: Blankets for Iris

Sarah Fortune
September 25, 2011
4 Comments

As mentioned in the nursery post, we’ve received some really special handmade blankets for Iris. So special that they deserve their very own blog post.

Rainbows & Zig-zags

This hand stitched cozy was a gift from Leslie and Dustin at my baby shower. It received lots of “oohs & ahhs” from the ladies as I unwrapped it and then a collective “what?” when it was discovered that it wasn’t made by Leslie… but by her husband, Dustin. One of my most favorite shower moments (and gifts).

Pink Hearts

This sweet one is made by one of my oldest friends, Julia. We became like sisters back in kindergarten thanks to our parents. She now lives in Maryland, so she wasn’t able to make the shower, but sent this heart filled blanket for Miss Iris. I love knowing that my child will have something made by one of my childhood friends.

Snow White

Sweet, simple, and the softest blanket ever. Made by Todd’s great aunt Bobbie, we’re keeping this one on our nursery rocking chair for easy reach since I can already tell it’s good for cuddles.

Vintage Memories

This blanket here is extra, extra special and for several reasons. If you know me at all, you know that to this day I still sleep with a blanket of some sort with satin trim. It all started before I was born when my late great aunt Martha made me a blanket, identical to the one above. I was obsessed with it from the beginning, and then a little too late in life as well (here I am in fourth grade with it):

Sadly, I lost it long ago but one day I was antique shopping with Todd’s mom and found the exact same vintage fabric that my “blankey” was made of. I held on to it for the last five years and as soon as I knew we were having a baby, I enlisted my best pal Kerri to recreate it. I love that this blanket already holds memories of my own childhood, my great aunt, Todd’s mom, my best friend, and with many to come from Iris.

By Dorothy Delle

Last, but never least is a blanket given to us from my dad and made by one of my most favorite people in the entire world – my grandma. Actually, it was made years ago, way before Iris was even a thought in anyone’s mind. My grandma passed away shortly after we found out I was pregnant and played a part in choosing the name Iris Adella. Even though the blanket was made at least a decade ago, I just know she would be over the moon about it going to her great granddaughter.

Baby Blog, Photos, Pregnancy Blog

Baby Blog: The Nursery

Sarah Fortune
August 29, 2011
13 Comments

With about six more weeks to go, the nursery is done! Well, about as done as it’s going to be. I’m sure there are little things here and there that we’ll need, but it feels good to have the basics taken care of.

So here’s a little tour of our nursery, with my notes along the way…

● The room before. For a few years it was my Bittersweet Styles office (which I wisely painted light pink back in the day), but as you can see, its last purpose was to house all of our junk. It was bad. Really bad.

● But with a lot of organizing, some construction on the ceiling, and a little paint, we started the transformation to a nursery…

Tah-dah! Here she is…

● Vintage floral rocking arm-chair found on Craigslist.
● Vintage fabric pennants made by Kerri.
● I decided to forgo the traditional bedding. I actually have a matching set, but have it neatly packed away for when she’s older. I like the simplicity of it how it is now, plus infants aren’t supposed to sleep with anything but a flat sheet at first anyway.

● The three big pieces of nursery furniture are from Todd’s dad & step mom. It’s a ‘lifetime set’, so the crib turns into a toddler bed and then a full size bed, while the changing station dresser turns into a desk and bedside table. So thankful to have something so nice that Iris can use as she grows.
● Our wedding invitation is framed and hung over the tall dresser.
● Stuffed vintage Razorback for good measure.
● Pink & white poms I made from tissue paper.
● A bassinet that we’ll actually keep in our bedroom at first.
● Pink vintage lamp that once belonged to Todd’s mom.

● Gifts from friends & family in the dresser cubbies.
● The stack of blankets are all handmade. They’re so special that I’m working on a separate blog post just for them.

Changing station…
● The vintage cats are actually a night light that also belonged to Todd’s mom.
● We’re using the vintage Iris/Tennessee bowl that Erin gave us to hold all the booty cleaning supplies.

The crib…
● Filled with cuddly friends for now.
● Yes, that is a llama.
● And a Blabla bunny.

● Framed baby shower art from Jill, who designed the invitations.
● Diaper bag from Mini Boden & a couple favorite dresses.

Shelf treasures…
● Framed Skateland photo from my mom. I used to roller skate there in Memphis growing up & it has since burned down.
● Paper flowers made by me.
● Vintage Fisher Price toy found in Mississippi by Kerri.
● Vintage doll case I’ve had forever.
● The tiniest (and cutest) Hog hat ever.
● Little lambs I found in Berryville, Arkansas. As I bought them, I was asked for the first time when I was due.
● House made by Tim. The story is here.

Now for some of Iris’ loot…

● The best books from the best friends.

● Her heap of clothes (I should do a whole separate post on all of the adorable outfits she received at the shower). There’s one whole drawer dedicated to onesies. One dedicated to pajamas. One dedicated to outfits. And a closet just for dresses. My favorite part about these photos is that Todd is actually the one that did the baby laundry & arranged all of the drawers. Hee!

● Burp cloths & blankets.

● Bath drawer.

● Bibs, socks, hats, & bows.

● Storage bin/hamper.

● More shower gifts (!!!)

Sweet Sadie Pup decided to try out the nursery and see how she likes it.
Thankfully, it’s pup approved.
Now all we need is a real baby!