Anton at eight weeks

Oh, that little face. Since I have to juggle Toby and other responsibilities, I haven't had as much quality one-on-one time with Anton as I had with Toby (aww, the fate of a second child). But yesterday, Anton and I walked over to the water by ourselves and just lay around on blankets together. It was such a sweet hour and just what we needed. I can't tell you how much I love this little man.
(He's really starting to develop a look!)

P.S. We're also trying to figure out how to encourage him to sleep for longer stretches at night. His longest stretch is about three hours. Any tips would be so appreciated! :)

Ergobaby's new swaddler

When we were brand new parents, one of the best tips we got (from nurses, friends and this brilliant book) was that babies love to be swaddled. Wrapping them up tightly makes them feel safe and helps them sleep longer. We swaddled Toby as a newborn, and now we swaddle Anton. And it works like a charm. He sleeps much, much better when swaddled, since his wriggly arms don't startle him as a newborn.

Since Ergobaby makes one of our favorite baby carriers, I was psyched to discover that they now have a swaddler. It's ergonomic for newborns, and keeps their legs loose and arms tight. It's easy to do (I always found the basic blankets tricky) and Anton has been so happy in it (and doesn't bust out in the middle of the night, hurray). And during the day, as soon as he gets fussy, I bundle him up like a burrito and he calms right down.

Ergobaby is giving away two swaddlers, if you're a new or expectant parent or have a friend with a little one. For a chance to win, please visit Ergobaby and leave a comment below. Two winners will be chosen at random tomorrow. Good luck! Thanks, Ergobaby! Update: The winners have been emailed. Thanks for playing.
P.S. What to register for your baby.

(Photos by Julia Robbs for Cup of Jo)

12 Surprising Things About Parenting in Abu Dhabi

For our Motherhood Around the World series, our sixth interview features Kera Thompson, who lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband, McSean, and three kids, Owen, 6, Asher, 4, and Elena, 1. Here are 12 things that have surprised her about being a mom in Abu Dhabi...
Read More >

Tina Fey is always hilarious.

Since I'm still in a newborn baby haze, I'm not sure what's old news versus new news to people. But! Have you heard that Tina Fey sold TWO new sitcoms this week?! The first will be a Cheers-like comedy set on Fire Island, and the second is about a women’s college that begins accepting men.

Above is a clip of Tina on Letterman this week describing how her two-year-old is a psychopath. And a fun fact you might not know: Liz Lemon's catchphrase "I want to go to there" was originally said by her then-three-year-old daughter Alice.

P.S. Four more hilarious Tina Fey moments.

(Via Jezebel)

10 Surprising Things About Parenting in Mexico

For our Motherhood Around the World series, our fifth interview features Naomi Smith, who lives in Mexico City with her husband and three children—Malachai, 10, Josu, 7, and Selma, 5. Here are 10 things that have surprised her about being a mom in Mexico City...Read More >

Family photos

Now that we're a family of four, our friend Julia Robbs came over to take a few photos. She shot us at our apartment, just hanging out, as usual.
Amazing to think these two will be brothers and friends all their lives.
Alex and Toby have been spending so much time together these days, and I'm so grateful to watch their relationship grow even sweeter and deeper.
Lucky Toby has also gotten 8 million new "big brother" presents from friends! You've never seen so many toy cars and taxis:)
Remember this photo of Toby? Such a flashback!
Thank you so much, Julia! What a gift to have photos capturing these dreamy, hazy, chaotic, wonderful early days. xoxo

11 Surprising Things About Parenting in Northern Ireland

For our Motherhood Around the World series, our fourth interview features Tiffany Wyse-Fisher, who, for the past two years, has lived in a village in Northern Ireland with her husband and three sons. Here are 11 things that have surprised her about being a mom in Northern Ireland...
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Daddy's boys

How is your week going? To be honest, we've had a few ups and downs. Overall things are good, but sweet little Anton has started grunting (!) in his sleep, and since we share a room, I'm basically averaging 3.5 hours of sleep a night, broken up into half hour chunks. Consider me totally exhausted. Did your babies ever grunt in their sleep? Our pediatrician reassures us that it's normal, but holy smokes, it's not ideal.

But during waking hours, things are great. One sweet thing I've loved watching: Our two little boys are totally enamored with Alex. Anton gazes at him, awestruck, like in the sweet photo above. And Toby thinks he's a total hero. Toby's favorite thing of all time is when Daddy takes him to an Indian restaurant in the East Village. They sit quietly together at a table and watch two men play Indian instruments, and it has become a Sunday ritual. In the video below, Toby tells my sister (whose husband's family is from India) about their dinners...

P.S. I just have to remember: Babies be babies. :) Also, 8 confessions of a new dad, and what marriage means.

13 Surprising Things About Parenting in Congo

For our Motherhood Around the World series, our third interview features Sarah (top) and Jill (bottom), two American friends who live in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa with their husbands and kids. Here are 13 things that have surprised them about motherhood in Congo...
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The Royal Baby

Last night, I was breastfeeding Anton and reading articles on my iPhone, when I came across this fascinating post about the dress Kate wore when the couple presented their baby to the world. "Kate’s unabashed baby belly busts the last taboo of pregnancy," wrote the Daily Beast.
When I saw the photo of her beautiful high-waisted dress, which unapologetically highlighted her postpartum belly, I was actually surprised to find myself flooded with relief. As a new mom, I found it enormously refreshing that she wasn't trying to hide her shape. You definitely still look pregnant for the first couple weeks after having a baby, and that's normal and healthy. Obviously, this shouldn't really be a big deal, but these days so many celebrities try to show how quickly they bounce back, and, here, Kate was more honest. The dress was definitely a thoughtful choice she made (versus wearing baggy clothes or holding the baby in front of her), since she's so careful about what she wears, and she knows how much scrutiny she's under, and I love her for that. What do you think?
P.S. On a lighter note, George Costanza's response to the baby's name... :)

(Photos by Scott Heavey and Peter Macdiarmid for Getty)

10 Surprising Things about Parenting in Japan

For our Motherhood Around the World series, our second interview features photographer Yoko Inoue, who moved from Brooklyn to the Japanese countryside with her husband and son. Here are 10 things that have surprised her about being a mom in Japan...
Read More >

10 Surprising Things About Parenting in Norway

For our Motherhood Around the World series, our first interview is with American photographer Rebecca Zeller, who lives in Oslo with her husband and three children. Here, she shares 10 things that have surprised her about raising kids in Norway...
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American mothers around the world

Since I’ll be spending the next few weeks focusing on Anton and Toby, I’ve prepared some posts ahead of time. I’m especially excited about a new weekly series called Motherhood Around the World. Every Monday, we’ll feature an American mother living abroad in a different country around the world with her family. (First up today: Norway!) Honestly, the interviews have been FASCINATING. While working on them, I kept running into the living room to tell Alex the surprising things these mothers were revealing. Thank you so much to all the incredible mothers who shared their stories.

We spoke to American mothers abroad–versus mothers who were born and bred in those countries—because we wanted to hear how motherhood around the world compared and contrasted with motherhood in America. It can be surprisingly hard to realize what's unique about your own country ("don't all kids eat snails?"), and it's much easier to identify differences as an outsider.

A disclaimer: We wanted to hear from these individual mothers about their particular experiences, but of course everyone’s impressions, circumstances, social-economic levels and lifestyles are different, so these interviews are in no way meant to explain, describe or reduce entire cultures. (I can’t imagine if someone tried to explain America as a whole!) These interviews are more about women’s personal stories and observations. That’s probably a no-brainer, but I wanted to point that out regardless. We also chose women who were more or less from the same demographic so we could see what it was like within that similar demographic around the world. I'm curious to hear from people born and bred in each country as well, in terms of what you think rings true and what surprises you; and also from people from other countries who are living in the United States.

Anyway, I'm so excited to share these interviews every Monday and discuss parenting customs with you, and a huge thank you to my brilliant writer friend Lina Perl for helping put it together. Hope you enjoy it! xoxo

A few other Cup of Jo series, if you’re in the mood:
* Mothers talk about trying to find work/life/baby balance
* Guide to NYC
* Funny Dos and Don’ts
* 15 Hair Tutorials
* Delicious Recipes
* Home Tours
* More about Careers
* More about Weddings
* More about Motherhood
And, of course, please feel free to check out the archives at the top of the blog anytime.

Thank you so much!
(Top photos of my parents with us in France; bottom photo of a sweet boy in Madrid by The Sartorialist)

Toby meets Anton for the first time

Thank you again for all the sweet notes about the new baby! I'd love to share a few photos of Toby meeting his brother for the first time...Read More >

The baby is here!

We are so thrilled to introduce our sweet sweet little boy, Anton James Goddard-Williams. He was born on Friday morning at 4:30am after an exciting and quick labor. Can't wait to share more over the next week or two. He has the loveliest demeanor and looks like an 80-year-old man. We are over the moon and exhausted, as to be expected:) Lots of love and thank you again for all the well wishes! xoxo