Claire Bidwell Smith

It’s Thursday morning and I’m alone in the house with Juliette who is fussing away in her swing as I try to tap this out. It’s a cloudy, cool day in Santa Monica and I keep forgetting what day it is, what month it is. Having a newborn is such a unique experience. Everything blurs Read more…

It’s Monday morning and I’m sleep-deprived. Juliette was up ALL night long and the only thing that would satisfy her were endless nursing sessions. It was one of the most sleepless nights I’ve had with her yet, but although I grew frustrated and exhausted, it was nice to know that these stages don’t last forever. Read more…

Juliette Marie Boose Born June 17, 2012 at 9:02pm, 7lbs and 13oz I’ll write lots more about her birth, her name, her sister’s reaction…as soon as I can. For now here are some photos! First photo with mom & dad… Greg cutting the umbilical cord… Little snug… Greg and his mom admire the 9th grandchild Read more…

I’m back to feeling nervous about giving birth. Yesterday marked three weeks until my due date, and last night Greg and I lay in bed watching a show on his laptop and observing my belly jump and pulse with the baby’s movements. “In like a month we’re going to be watching the finale of this Read more…

Being a mother is never something I imagined for myself. Inside all the things I’ve dreamed of becoming in my life (a veterinarian, a marine biologist, a poet, a nurse, a therapist, an author), mother was never among them. When I made the decision a few years ago that I did, in fact, want a baby Read more…

Dear Baby, You’re almost here and I’m not sure I’ve written you even one letter yet. When I was pregnant with your sister I wrote to her weekly, reporting on the pregnancy, speculating on our future together, and describing the little life she was about to be part of with me and your father. But Read more…

My aunt and uncle were in town from Cape Cod over the weekend (hence the lack of posting — I went straight from the SF trip into out-of-town guests) and my aunt brought me a bunch of old photos. There was a whole little album with pictures of my mother pregnant and bringing me home. Read more…

It’s Monday morning in Santa Monica, and somehow certifiably colder than all the other parts of the country that I usually don’t envy. The washing machine is humming and sputtering, I’ve had my one allotted cup of coffee for the day, Vera is at preschool, and I have a lengthy list of things to get Read more…

Yesterday I chased Vera around the back yard, taking pictures of her. Sometimes this feeling wells up in me and I am suddenly desperate to capture how beautiful she is in this moment. Her looks are ever-shifting these days and I know that each day will differ from the last. She laughed and ran all Read more…

Dear Vera, You are 21 months now, almost 2 years old! You are definitely a little girl all of a sudden, running and talking and giggling and wearing sunglasses. I can hardly believe it. Funnily enough though, your favorite game is to pretend you are a little baby. Your dad or I cradle and rock Read more…