Natacha de los Angeles

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Isn't it great to have a few days off to enjoy your friends and family? Our plan for today is to meet our friends Ivette and Manolo and their incredibly gorgeous son Max for a Thanksgiving dinner at their appartment here in Brooklyn. They've invited more married-with-young-kids couples so it will be fun to see what happens on our first big gathering out with Valeria and the other babies. I can't wait to tell you all about it! BTW, what are YOU doint for Thanksgivng?

I've never been a fan of any holiday except for New Year's Eve. Maybe it's because I grew up in Cuba and there, we don't celebrate any of these holidays. Maybe it's because I'm just not into decorating the house... who knows. But, today I'm looking forward to celebrating and giving thanks to God for giving me the coolest baby on earth so I can bring her up my way. Isn't it great to know that at last you'll have someone who will be a product of your doing?  

Be safe my friends and enjoy your Thanksgiving! And don't forget to give thanks for all the great things you have. Today, it's about the possitive things in your life. For me, it's a festival of happiness where we will cook something to take with us and share with other friends.

Here are all the pieces I used to get inspired today, I love the "Mommy's Little Turkey" outfit for Valeria. I wished I would have gotten this before but oh well... it's cute.

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I really thought I was going to have more time to write and do things around the house, but, oh boy... was I wrong. I have zero experience as a mother and I'm breastfeeding (which takes longer than bottle feeding,) so, how did I think I was going to have time to do anything? Well, I'm an optimist and I always think I am going to do what I set my mind to do. 

One thing is for sure, I will try to write as much as I can. I taped a video about breastfeeding with Valeria and have no time to edit that either, maybe one day I will post that one too, but, for now, I will continue writing whenever I have time.

Tomorrow, Valeria has her 2 month appointment and she should have gained two pounds so we'll see about that. I think she should be fine given that she is eatting a lot more now but who knows. It took her four weeks to gain one pound she lost at birth and I'm looking back in time and can't believe my pregnancy is over and my baby is two month old already. My pregnant days seam so long ago! But at the time, it felt like they were never going to end and everyday was a challenge to get dress. 

Every week your body changes and with that your size and choices in clothes. I think I managed to pull it off and look semi decent most of the time. In my case, I had a belly since the second month but I only gained about 10 pounds during my pregnancy. I gained gradually and lost a few pounds during the middle of my pregnancy, which is crazy given how much I eat but I think what saved me was drinking lots of smoothies prepared by moi (just milk, 1 banana and 3-5 strawberries.)

My tips? Here we go, my must haves during pregnancy:

- Long empire waist dress, the longer the better so you look thinner

- Def invest in a pair of maternity jeans (I got mine from a collegue and loved it, thank you Begonia)

- Harem pants and/or yoga pants, because they are very comfortable and you will use them after you're done with the maternity

- One versatile dress that streches in the belly and you can wear to go out and dress down with sandals (in my case, I bought this Michael Kors zebra print dress that I can wear now... love it!)

- Cardigans or long sweaters because they fix your overall look, it's like instant magic you guys

- And last but not least, leggings.

Whatever you decide to buy, make sure it is comfortable for that is the most important quality of a great maternity outfit.

I leave you with some of my favorite maternity must haves under $25, and please, if you have any tips to share or questions for me, feel free to leave me a comment below. Now that I've experience what it is like to be a mother, I can't wait to have the second one.

xoxo, until my next baby brake my fab friends

More Asos...

So... How is everyone doing these days? Are you fab creatures keeping up with the latest fashion trends? I am sure you are. I've finally decided to write again. Reason? Well, I now have something to talk about, my new obsession: being a mother to an uber cool little girl that just just born on July 24th...

Before I tell you the story of my little angel, let me give you a quick summary of my life from the last time I wrote on this blog.

Remember I was planning my wedding in Cuba? Yeap, that never happened. I didn't really have a big wedding, but, I did get married and had lots lots lots of fun at my family home wedding in Miami; and, I did go to Cuba on a honeymoon/husband-needs-to-meet-the-family type of trip. Which, BTW, was super cool. My now husband enjoyed it a lot, had lots of mojitos (I coudn't because I was super pregnant) and got to meet his new family, a.k.a. my crazy cuban family (except my mom everyone else fits this description.)

Now, about the wedding dress... didn't buy it either. But, did wear white at my house wedding party. I wore a grey dress I had purchased at H&M for a new year's eve party a few years ago, but, never got to wear it because I went skying and was too tired to wear a dress that year. At my wedding celebration, I wore a white dress, also from H&M, that I had purchased for the honeymoon. Uff, thank God I wore it because by the time I got to the honeymoon I did not fit in it. So, when did I find out I was pregnant? In true Natacha fashion, the weekend after I got married. Yeap! Like one of my friends said, "OMG then you were pregnant when you got married?." Yes, I was. Thank God I didn't know it, because, that was the last time I was able to drink. And, boy, we drank a lot. My handsome husband doesn't even remember half of the party. This is how it all went down:

 Thursday: we got married at the City Hall in NYC, groom wore an older than life but classic black suit and bride... well I just told you. We celebrated at a small neighborhood restaurant in the East Village with a bottle of wine, then headed to the Village Underground where a good friend got us a great table to watch the show, which is my favorite in NYC. Then, John Mayer showed up and sang many many songs from his new album that was not even released yet. So, didn't have a wedding in Cuba, but, got John Mayer to sing at my NYC wedding for free... pretty cool, right?

- Saturday: celebrated our wedding at my family home in Miami with food from Publix and lots of alcohol. Small, intimate but fantastic wedding celebration. Husband wore a light blue Italian jacket that I love love love and had to buy for him in Rome, uber cool jeans from Diesel and a blue shirt from the same Italian store (soooo Miami Vice meets Italian glamour) and the wife... again, I just told you.

- Sunday: husband said "I think you're late with your period" and I said "really?ok"

- Monday: husband woke me up with a test, I did two of them and ta taaaan, so prego was not even funny baby. And, that's how everything started.

At the beginning, I was always looking forward to my sonograms, because, I felt close to the baby. I liked seeing her developed month after month. Until about a little bit over 3 months when all of the sudden they tell me she has "something" in her feet. Something? What does something means? Something means anything to an expecting mom. Literally, anything. So, they tell us that they noticed something in her right feet, but, because the baby was too little and underdeveloped they were not sure if it was nothing or an extra finger ooor something else. We were asked to wait 20 days and go back for another ultrasound. Those have been the longest 20 days of my life.

Finally, they confirmed she had an extra finger in each feet, a hereditary condition called Polydactyly. I cried, I felt helpless and betrayed by God. I couldn't understand why this was happening to us. Specially, because we didn't know anyone in our families with Polydactyly. But, this was real. My precious little girl had two extra tows and there was nothing I could do but learn how to cope with it. It wasn't easy, but, I did it for her.

Everything happened a few days before we went to Cuba, where my uncle was expecting us to do more sonograms and I was happy about that. I was very distressed by the whole situation until he put things in simple words: Polydactyly is NOT a problem for a baby, it's something very simple to get rid of with a simple surgery; however, if you stress over it, you could do real damage to the baby's developing body and system, he said. Say no more! I stopped stressing over it and enjoyed my vacation with my family and husband.

Not only did I have a wonderful time, but, it also brought me back to a time when I had very little material things and lots of hope and dreams. That's another story, but, I love Havana. It's a magical city where dreams and reality interject. A tough city for sure, but, a wonderful one. Back in the US, I started making plans for my baby. The usual baby buys and since I am not working I decided to try making something special for her. And, so I made a blanket, then a dress, then a sleeping gown, and I found that my new addiction was very therapeutic. I had found something new that kept me focus on the positive side of things. And, I began feeling very happy about the whole thing. I've since added more creations to her closet, including an uber chic fitted cloth diaper that I made specially for her to wear during the first week when her umbilical stump is sensitive.

She was born with more than one extra finger and toe, many many more, but through this journey, I have discovered what loving someone really is. I'm stronger and healthier, not for me, but for my family. I'm determined to help her, protect her and make a strong individual out of her. Sometimes you want to give your life for your kids, but, that's not the solution. Instead, they come into this world to make you better individuals and give you strength to fight for them. And, you either take it or leave it. In my case, I took this challenge, and I am now ready for anything that comes with my fab polydactylitious baby girl. Oh, by the way, her name is Valeria Valentina Ginocchio and I plan to call her Valeria or V.V. and keep her full name reserved for times when I need to punish her... well, educate her. I wanted to share my story because I remember how horrible it felt when I first learn about this. I did lots of research and not much came up from real people. Hopefully, if you're in my situation, you'll feel that you're not alone and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. In the next few posts, I will share a few baby buys and lifestyle changes I've made as a consequence of this eye opening experience, including my decision to cloth diaper Valeria and the many fab cloth diapers I've gotten for her. I'm also planning to share my favorite outfits from my maternity and some other cute little fashionable things that come with being pregnant. Honestly, I've never felt sexier in my entire life. I'm actually a bit sad that my belly is gone. I kind of like my pregnant body. At least the belly can be justified. But I have a new accessory, my most precious accessory, one that money can not buy: my beautiful baby girl. 

My dear readers, I don't even know what to say to all of you for not posting in such a long time. I've been going through some adjustments in my life, including buying a new apartment and moving a lot. I love writing for all of you, but, a girl's gotta feel comfortable and inspired to do that. I hope to start updating the blog as frequent as I did before now that I'm back into my apartment.

Anywho, I was surfing the internet and found this D&G winter look for a fraction of the cost at www.victoriassecret.com. I normally don't like fur boots, but, these are just so very cute I couldn't resist posting. I don't particularly loooove wearing sweaterdresses if I'm going to be indoors because they are way to warm, but, this cute strapless dress brings the perfect balance of comfort and coolness.

Take a look at these boots and sweaterdresses I found for you. If you're not comfortable wearing such tight dress, but you like this look, try a looser version of this dress. The key is to buy a dress that is loose in the top but keep a tight bottom. If you're not tall, don't wear the flat version of these boots. Rather buy the high heel ones to balance your look.

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