Pregnancy Month 5 / Sheltering at Home Month 9
As we close out November, I’m in month 5 of my pregnancy, and we’re nearly at month 9 of sheltering at home.
We’ve embraced the earlier nights, filling them with glittering lights and fragrant garlands and greenery throughout the Cottage.
Above: A curtain of twinkling lights. (Click here to shop the strands.)
We’ve slowly started decorating for the season. This year, it’s more for something joyful and different to do than anything else, I think…
Above: West wearing his new “Grow With Me” clothes (which last for years and through growth spurts) from Caribou Kids Clothing.
West has picked some of his own ornaments, like a little bird’s nest made of vines, and a bundle of acorns he keeps in an repurposed box on the vintage coffee table.
Our neighbors are still sharing their amazing food with us, while Adam bakes us all sourdough bread to share a few times per month.
This miraculous bump is growing, which is heartening and helps calm my nerves about my “high-risk” pregnancy.
Above: Much-appreciated maternity leggings from Boob Design.
I’m living almost entirely in leggings (pictured above), a loungewear set (pictured below), and a stretchy “Nap Dress” that I suspect will be particularly helpful when nursing in the months to come.
The baby’s first present arrived via a socially-distanced drop-off: a vintage set of handmade crochet booties. Holding them made me process the pregnancy in a way I realized I’d not yet permitted myself to experience.
Our son has grown substantially in recent months, so we ordered him a batch of long-lasting, “grow with me” bamboo clothes, including a holiday set that he’ll undoubtedly wear year-round. (His current grow with me clothes still fit, as they have for years. It’s everything else that he’s outgrown.)
Above: West’s height progression since COVID.
We’ve been attempting our first gingerbread man (borderline inedible) and gingerbread houses (which collapsed within minutes) with West. The excitement of the activity itself is what our four year old clearly relishes the most.
We’re still attempting to be as low waste as possible, using items such as our water carbonator 5-6 times per day, and relying exclusively on things like our bidet attachment. (We’ve bought just one 4-pack of toilet paper in 2020.) I
It’s admittedly more challenging to stay low waste at the grocery store since reusables aren’t permitted in Los Angeles during the pandemic. But we’re still sticking to all the reusables we can, such as our washable face masks and washable un-paper towels, cotton wipes, and so forth.
Above: A face mask made with deadstock fabric from SUAY. This mask is a buy-1-donate-1, with the donations going directly from the maker to Indigenous youth, and the leftover dollars going Seeding Sovereignty.
It’s still a rocky season of life for us, as it is for most. But I’m filled with gratitude for our health and home, and for all the medical and essential workers out there who’ve been working relentlessly in order to keep us all safer.
