The Bugaboo stroller refresh

Hello everyone! What is the one essential item that you bought when your children were born?

Without hesitation, I would say that for us it was the stroller. Before my older son's birth, we bought a Bugaboo Frog, which we used inside the house as a bassinette for the first months of my son's life during the winter, took on endless strolls when the weather warmed up and for two more years afterwards, and turned into a portable high chair during our summer holidays. Considering how much we ended up using it, we were happy we had spared no expense when we bought it -- although getting a cheap stroller had been our first instinct considering how much other stuff we had to buy. I am even happier now that we got our Bugaboo stroller, because it is still in impeccable shape in spite of the heavy usage, and it has already become my essential item for my baby boy as well.

The additional reason why I am still so satisfied with our stroller is that I was able to refresh its appearance in occasion of my baby boy's arrival. Originally, we had chosen a red stroller. It was a great colour that did not get stained easily. Nonetheless, I was a bit bored with it, and I wanted a little change for our new one. As far as I know, Bugaboo strollers are the only ones that allow changing the fabric of  every single part. Even if our stroller has been discontinued, I was able to order everything I needed from BBBuggy (in the United States, you can have replacement fabric and parts directly from Bugaboo or, if you own a Bugaboo Chameleon, from a number of department stores such as Neiman Marcus). Voila! My stroller is now updated to navy blue and black. Very Yves Saint Laurent, don't you think?

P.S. This post is the first of a few that I am planning on writing about essential baby gear for the fashionable mom. I hope you find them useful!

My baby shower

Hello again everyone! Did you have a baby shower when you were pregnant?

The long list of posts I am catching up with begins with this one because my baby shower was the highlight of the few days preceding my baby boy's arrival. The thing is that I always cut it close with baby showers. In fact, the first time around the shower had to be canceled because I ended up giving birth on that day. This time, I barely made it, and I had a wonderful celebration just two days before the delivery.

Although the latest trend seems to be that of online baby showers, my best friend in Montreal organized a small brunch for my closest friends at her house. It was just perfect, as if she had been able to read my mind. I am so grateful she organized this event for me, even though she just welcomed her third baby herself a few months ago!

P.S. If you need ideas for a baby shower, Martha has some great suggestions as usual!


Photo: Martha Stewart.

The blur

Hello everyone! Are you having a good week?

My baby boy turned three weeks on Monday. This time has been filled with all around love and happiness in our family. My husband cannot get enough of him. My older son cannot stop giving him kisses. My parents arrived to meet our bundle of joy when he was just two days old, and their visit went surprisingly smoothly (thank you, hubby dearest). In fact, for the first time in a while I could not help back the tears as I waved them goodbye yesterday, although I was looking forward to fall back in our usual routine.

I have been enjoying the past three weeks to an extent I could have never anticipated. After my older son's birth I had had a lot of health problems related to breastfeeding, which had made it impossible for me to have some quiet time to bond with him. This time around, on the contrary, breastfeeding has been going quite smoothly so far, which has given me the opportunity to fully enjoy every moment of my baby boy's life. The past three weeks have been a content blur of feeding and sleeping according to my baby boy's schedule -- thank to my husband and parents who have kept me well fed while holding the house running.

There are ups and downs as it is always the case with a newborn. I smile as I am finishing this post because I had started writing it on Monday, when the baby had been surprisingly "on schedule" and I had felt rested for the first time. Yet yesterday was one of those days when the baby just wanted to be held, and I had to wait for my husband to come home from work in order to take a shower. Nonetheless I am now gradually getting back into normal things -- the first on top of my list being blogging. I have so many posts to finish and catch up with, so stay tuned!

Love, Love, Love

Hello everyone and happy President's Day! How did you celebrate Valentine's Day last week?

There has been a lot of love around our house lately. As you may know if you follow me on Twitter and Instagram, our baby boy has arrived a little earlier than expected exactly two weeks ago. He was born on February 4, 2013, at 7:34 am after a whopping three hours labor that caught everyone (including the hospital staff!) by surprise.

I am now adjusting to sleep deprivation and nursing every two hours, but especially to the overwhelming happiness that our baby boy has brought us. I will try to be in touch as much as possible, so bear with me for the next few weeks!

P.S. In Italy is it custom to hang a wreath in occasion of a baby's birth. My mom brought us this beautiful heart-shaped one from Italy that reads: "I am here" (Eccomi). Do you have any similar tradition?