Early on in this pandemic when we were all struggling to adapt and adjust Randall came home from a grocery trip lit up with an idea. He said to me that he wanted to commit to doing one good thing for someone every single day. He made good on that deal and I’ve watched him find new ways to show kindness, support and offer a helping hand.

When Marigold was a newborn she was (and still is) such a dream of a baby. Super easy going, happy, not fussy at all and loved to snooze. I googled incessantly about newborn sleep worried she was getting too much. I called her doctor to ask if this much sleep was “normal” and for the first little while, I had to wake her every few hours to feed her. That’s how often she was out cold.

I started to write this post when Marigold was an actual newborn, hoping to share it with you when we were actually living that new baby life. Then, a pandemic + 2 kids at home + husband working from home + distance learning + no outside support and here I am with a baby that is half a year old sharing my newborn essentials!

If my brain activity were illustrated in a pie chart about 80% of it would be consumed by thoughts of milk production and breastfeeding. It would look like Pacman. Is she getting enough? Is my supply low? Is that a clogged duct I feel?

Marigold James Graham, January 5, 2020. 7lbs of magic. I knew this was her name the second we found out we were having another girl. We continued to play what Randall called “The Name Game” because it’s fun, but we always came back to Marigold. I have long loved it and it has special meaning.

After we had Bea, Randall had to make two trips to the car before coming back for the baby and I. That is how much stuff we brought with us – about 50lbs worth. We packed for one night in the hospital like we were going on a weeklong trip overseas, in various climates, under every possible circumstance. 

It.  Was.  Absurd.

RANDALL: My earliest memory is driving a car through a pitch-black forest as a 1 year old. You might doubt that on many levels, fore-mostly that my tiny baby arms would be strong enough to operate a steering wheel but also you would question my ability to recall such an early memory. But I know for certainty that it was true.  And here’s how.  

It’s really starting to hit me that not only is this baby coming soon, but that I’m going to be leaving my job (a job I love, with people I love working with) for a while.  We take a 2-week break at the holidays, so as of Monday the 4 weeks left of work countdown is on, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling anxious about it.  Not about leaving my job for a while, but about being at home.

I’ve said it before, but you guys are just THE BEST!  When I posted that we’d had an especially barfy week, you dropped some great tips for dealing with sickness.  Because you’re such experts at this parenting thing, asked you to share any other parenting-pro tips you had so I could post them here and help the masses and you delivered!  Maybe bookmark this page for future reference ;)

It’s been 5 months since my first B&B and with all the changes going on in her little life along with so many of you kindly reaching out to see how she’s adjusting, I thought it was time for an update! If you’ve followed my insta stories, you know that Bea started pre-school last month.  She’s been at home until now and we would have kept her home until Jr. Kindergarten next year, but with her amazing Nanny (The Bea Keeper) going back to school in B.C. and with the new baby coming, we thought now would be a good time to get Bea assimilated to school life.