I know it’s been quite a while since I’ve had a chance to update KimonoAsobi.com, but, I’ve had a very good excuse for my absence!

After 23 hours of an all natural, drug free labour, Lily Isobel made her grand entrance into the world and into my arms and heart on my birthday. That’s right - Lily and I share our birthdays! I’ll never receive a more perfect gift for the rest of my life. Lily trumps them all.
Motherhood has been a little challenging - life as you knew it changes completely and utterly. People are not kidding when they say the first couple of months are the hardest, however, hard as they are, they are so rewarding. Watching Lily become more aware of her surroundings, become stronger each day and to see her personality emerge is nothing short of amazing. She already has a coy little smile going that is completely irresistible (she started at 2 weeks!) and eyes that will break hearts at a glance. Every morning when we wake up, Lily is so full of smiles and giggles that it makes our hearts swell and overflow with love. We forget, instantly, just how tired we are. Lily loves to be read to, and we are currently finishing up The Little Prince. Alice in Wonderland is likely to be the next story. Her current favourite activity is sleeping froggy style on daddy’s chest and she is already very opinionated, telling us what is on her mind with various “coos” and “oooos”. Of course, we listen and respond in kind.
“So, will we see baby kitsuke?” you ask. Of course! The only problem though is that:
a) Lily is still to small for any kimono I have for her or can find; and
b) I haven’t been able to find the time to make a kimono for her in itty bitty size yet!
Hopefully I’ll be able to put something together for her by the time Cherry Blossom Festival rolls around!
As for myself - kitsuke is going to be interesting. I’ve already returned to my pre-pregnancy shape, however, because I’m nursing my bust is, well, for the lack of better words, huge! It presents two challenges for me:
1. Getting the smaller, vintage kimono wrapped correctly around my chest; and
2. Nursing!
I’m not quite sure what to do about kimono and nursing. Obviously, it is completely doable, as many generations of Japanese women have done so, but for myself - I’m faced with a slight dilemma. Most of my kimono are already considerably smaller than they should be for my height due to their antique/vintage nature, so I don’t have much fabric to play around with to try and wear them looser around the bust for easy access. Does anyone out there have experience with wearing kimono and nursing at the same time? If you do - please share your tips!
It is looking more likely that the alternative will be for me to pump right before dressing and to feed Lily expressed milk from a bottle while I’m wearing kimono. We are currently working on slowly introducing a bottle to her for those times when I’m not available (work, etc) but of course, already being strongly opinionated at such a young age, Lily very clearly prefers the REAL thing! I’ll be sure to update with how it works out either way.
Well, Lily is demanding my attention, so I’ll leave you with my current favourite picture from last Wednesday!

Yes, it is already obvious that we will be great mischief makers together!