He’s here!
It seems surreal, but I am now officially a mom! Anthony Gino was born on May 31st in the afternoon and weighed 7 lbs 4 oz, measured 19 inches long. All of the waiting, planning and anticipation seemed to freeze in time as he was placed on my chest moments after entering the world. It was a very emotional and beautiful experience, although I did not think of it that way during the 18 hours of labor haha. After not sleeping for over 24 hours, we were whisked away to our hospital room where doctors, nurses, lactation consultants and all kinds of medical professionals would come in at any and all hours of the day and serve up knowledge about this new little human who we were just realizing we have no idea what to do with. Mind you, these pertinent pieces of information were delivered while we were in a euphoric zombie mode, so it almost seems like I’m on a hidden camera show with an audience of people laughing at me trying to figure out how to swaddle at 4am.
Our experience was one we will never forget, yet I already completely forgot how we managed to make it through. You all know I’m very unconventional when it comes to jewelry, so it might not come as a surprise that I bought my husband a “push present” — it’s more of a gift to commemorate the birth of our son. I got him this vintage onyx & diamond ring and had it engraved “Gino’s Dad” on the inside shank. ♥️
A perfect example of why dads deserve props too: Matt filed Gino’s teeny tiny nails since I was too afraid to do it 😩😭
Speaking of little gifts, I wanted to share a very personal ring that my husband gave me. I would confidently say that I had a pretty easy pregnancy. Every appointment was short and sweet, ending with my doctor saying “everything looks great” every single time. For some reason, I would leave in disbelief–like how could this be? I always thought my petite size, asthma and scoliosis would cause so many problems…I imagined seeing my first born through the glass of a NICU…and I honestly don’t know why I had this doom-like thinking. I felt great while pregnant besides the minor heartburn, uncomfortable sleep on occasion…I traveled to NYC, Miami, Tucson, and Atlanta all while pregnant! I also worked out 2-3 times a week while pregnant with my trainer Jen. Then the 3rd trimester hit me like a ton of bricks and I was no longer feeling amazing. I could hardly walk toward the end, I didn’t do much nesting because all I wanted to do was just sit.
One night, I was completely exhausted and almost in tears. Matt told me to look under the bed, he had something for me taped underneath. I had no idea where he was going with this, but it ended up being this little moonstone and diamond ring! He said he read that moonstone is a great gem to help with labor and delivery. Moonstone is said to be a feminine stone, and ideal for before, during and after pregnancy. This ring was the only piece of jewelry I wore during labor!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned that has stuck out most from this pregnancy and first few days of parenthood, it’s that I married an amazing man. As if the moonstone ring didn’t already pull at my heartstrings, Matt gave me this major amethyst and diamond ring the day we got back from the hospital. I was not expecting this. It was a true “push present” because I had no idea…he picked it out himself…and he was really proud me. Yes, I did buy myself a push present (which I talk about here) but this was truly a gift from husband to wife, new dad to new mom.
Thanks for coming along on this journey with me and I’m sure now that being a mother is my new reality, I’ll have a new and unique perspective on jewelry which I am excited to share with you all!
