FRIDAY Q&A: INTRODUCING SOLIDS, POSTPARTUM HAIR LOSS, MOTHER OF THE BRIDE DRESSES, AND MORE

Happy Friday! We’re happy to be home this weekend after flying with Teddy for the first time last weekend and before gearing up to travel with him again next week! We had lots of progress this week on the renovation front (read my first update here!) and should have a lot more to share on the blog next week. This weekend we get to visit our friends Shelly and James and their adorable new baby boy! I feel so incredibly lucky that so many of my girlfriends (five I think?!) welcomed baby boys in the past few months so Teddy will have a built-in group of friends in the years to come. I hope you all have a great one!

1. My hubby and I are in the process of buying our first home. Yay! I’m curious about your thoughts on a housewarming party?

Congratulations! I love the idea of having a housewarming party. It’s not something I was up for as we moved into our house when I was eight months pregnant, but I’d love to host a little get-together once our current renovations are complete!  

2. How did you find your pediatrician?

I asked a few friends for recommendations and two of them actually recommended the pediatric practice that my siblings and I went to growing up. We didn’t have a chance to meet any of the doctors before Teddy was born but luckily we fell in love with the first doctor who saw him and have scheduled all our appointments with her ever since. She’s such a valuable resource and I feel really fortunate that we found her on the first try as I would have kept searching until we found one who was a good fit! I’ve actually been brainstorming about creating a resource on my blog similar to my Nantucket guide but more like my little black book for Fairfield County with recommendations for contractors, doctors, painters, realtors, etc. Is that something you guys might be interested in?!

3. I’m looking to update my Cult Gaia ark bag for spring/summer. Splurge/save options?

Some of my favorite summer bags have come from J.McLaughlin! Both this and this are under $200. If you’re looking to splurge, I have a suede Hunting Season bag for fall/winter and am obsessed with their raffia styles for spring/summer!

4. How are you planning for the transition to solids?

Our pedatrician encouraged us to start him on solids at his four-month appointment a few weeks ago and we gave Teddy his first few spoonfuls of sweet potato purée the weekend before last! It was so cute to watch and thankfully he loved it and happily made a huge mess licking it off his fingers. Per usual I spent a probably excessive amount of time researching and polling mom friends about the best gear and ordered this high chair, these bowls, these spoons, and these silicone bibs. We started him with the sweet potato purée from this brand as it’s available at our local Whole Foods, but I’m sure we’ll experiment with different brands as we introduce new foods over the coming months. One of you commented to remind me that “solids before one are just for fun” and that’s been a really helpful reminder that the vast majority of his nutrition will continue to come from breastmilk and that there’s no pressure for him to eat a certain quantity of solids on a given day. I’m sure I’ll have more insights as we get further into the process! 

5. Recommendations for beach hats?

My favorite straw hat is this one from Cuyana — I’ve worn it everywhere from Nantucket to Tanzania and it’s just a classic style that doesn’t look ridiculous when you wear it anywhere besides the beach. If you’re looking for something easy to travel with (that you won’t have to wear on the plane or pack delicately in your luggage), I also highly recommend these packable hats from Tuckernuck. You can see mine in this post!

6. Any postpartum hair loss yet? If so, any tips? The regrowth is awful!

Oh my gosh, YES. I feel like I lose a handful of hair everytime I shower and I have a halo of baby hairs around my face and it’s just the worst. I have absolutely zero advice and I’m selfishly including this question anyway in the hopes that one of you will have some wisdom to impart in the comments! 

7. Where did your mom find her mother-of-the-bride dress for your wedding? Any other MOB dress recommendations?

I got so many questions about her dress after posting this news! It’s by Carolina Herrera and you can see more pictures of it in this post. I wish her exact one were still available but I love this, this, this, this, this, and this as well!

8. Engagement party decor ideas? Your wedding events were goals!

Thank you and congrats! We kept our decor pretty simple and didn’t really have themes for anything outside of having everyone wear white to our welcome party. For instance, our wedding reception was at the beach, so we did more casual navy and white striped tablecloths and simple hydrangea arrangements on each table. I live for a personal detail like the custom napkins with fun facts about our relationship, monogrammed cups with the crest from our invitations, and custom krazy straws that made for fun photo opps. I guess I would just decide whatever will be most meaningful to you, whether that’s having fun with flowers or custom koozies or an over-the-top cake!