He's here and, as expected, has changed every ounce of my life! Three months ago, I became the shocked, proud, and grateful mother of this little gift:

ISLO (EYE-loh) WILLIAM SLOVACEK made his debut on April 9th, 2016. Both my doula and laboring nurse said they had never seen a natural labor so calm and cheerful.

I don't know what it was but the day was (mostly) peaceful and just felt right.

Toward the very end, things got a little scary and stressful but he was out in three pushes and spitting up and peeing on me seconds later ;)

From his first breath, and to this day, I have been stunned and working to stay present.

It's so easy to jump ahead and imagine the future (hoping for more sleep at night ;) or dwell on the past (remembering how tiny he was). So everyday I stop myself, try to take it all in and gaze at him, amazed that this little human is my son.

The days have also become a constant exercise in surrender. I remember crying in the middle of the night early on (I didn't really sleep for two weeks but that's another story), so concerned that I would never get a day off for the rest of my life :D It took me a while to adjust to what it means to be a mother and what it means to have a tiny infant be so dependent on me and only me. I still have moments of frustration but the quicker I can understand my expectations and accept where I am and how lucky I am to be here, the better my days go. This is my life for now and I wouldn't have it any other way. <3

Islo and I are starting to get into a bit of a groove and so I see myself returning to blogging and starting to work a little bit soon. Having a baby is a new challenge to Essentialism. We have adjusting to do and adventures ahead of us and I'm excited to share them with you.

Thank you for reading!! xo