Amber Hinds

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Amber’s Blog

  • Photos From the Road

    Photos From the Road

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    Today was the longest day on the road – just about twelve hours from the minuscule town in Minnesota where we had stopped the night before, exhausted from a late, snow-delayed start.  There were a few (not unexpected) moments of complaints from Nora and more than one potty break just 10 or 15 minutes after getting back on the…

  • Fun Along The Way

    Fun Along The Way

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    If you have to move across country, the only way to do it is with a little fun along the way. We took Saturday off from driving and spent the day playing around Pittsburgh with my friend Laura.I hadn’t been to Pittsburgh during cross-country car trips as a kid with my family, so it was…

  • Moving, Part I

    Moving, Part I

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    In case you missed it, we moved on Wednesday.  We are no longer Nantucketers and no longer live 30 miles out to sea.  Instead, we are on our way more than halfway across the country in a car stuffed inside and out,  to make a new home in the prairie grasses of the cowboy state.No more joking…

  • The State of the Union

    The State of the Union

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    Or at least the state of the Hinds family. 🙂 I’ve thought about and written nearly a blog post a day in my head, but life, as it likes to do, has gotten in the way of me turning those imagined blog posts into reality.  For nearly two weeks, I was battling a super nasty bug which…

  • Count Down

    Count Down

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    It’s February, Zara is four weeks old today. She’s still sleeping like a champ and we are just 10 days away from our big, big move.  Our house looks like a war zone as we try to get everything packed in time all while managing two (super cute!) sisters and, on top of everything this…

  • Some January Thankfulness

    Some January Thankfulness

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    Today was Nora’s first dentist appointment. She was a rock star: super brave and happy to let him do everything he needed for a brief tooth counting and cleaning session.  Being able to truly communicate with her does wonders; whereas a year ago an unknown man talking to her or a strange place with new…

  • The End of Denial

    The End of Denial

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    It’s official and there is no more pretending it isn’t happening:  Our house is beginning to resemble a warehouse more than a home.  We are packing. We are moving…away from my favorite place, 30 miles out to sea, where I thought we would live forever. I want to cry — except I have the perfect,…

  • Managing Pain in Labor

    Managing Pain in Labor

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    One of the best things about having a photographer take pictures at Zara’s birth is that through the photographs, I’m able to see parts of the birth that I was oblivious to at the time.  I’m able to see things that went on in other rooms and, what was most interesting to me, is seeing…

  • Zara’s (Peach’s) Birth Story

    Zara’s (Peach’s) Birth Story

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    First a note:  This is a birth story.  While there are no direct pictures of nudity, there are, of course, some in which I am not clothed and all that is blocking nudity is a baby or camera angle.  In addition, this describes Zara’s birth and talks about things in my labor experience that might…

  • Planning A Home Birth, Safety And Supplies

    Planning A Home Birth, Safety And Supplies

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    I am excited to be sharing Zara’s birth story later this week, but first I wanted to write a little about the preparations we  took to get ready for her birth, most especially the supplies that we gathered and that were brought by our midwife.  Several of our family members were uneasy with our plans to birth…

  • Two Weeks

    Two Weeks

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    Apparently, time files when you’re loving on delicious baby toes and teeny-tiny fingers, because we blinked and our little bundle is two weeks old. Despite having to get back to work on websites much sooner than originally intended, I’ve been trying my hardest to have a little time that is just for Zara.  There are…

  • Snow Day

    Snow Day

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    Today, Nantucket awoke to a blanket of white.  We only get about one or two snows each year and generally not much more than a dusting, so when we get more than an inch or two and it is enough for sledding most of the island gets excited.  All day, photos of sweet little faces…

  • Preparing a Sibling to Participate in a Birth

    Preparing a Sibling to Participate in a Birth

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    One of the biggest reasons we chose to have a home birth is because we wanted to make the transition into a family of four as easy as possible on Nora.  I didn’t want to just disappear for two days to the hospital and then bring a baby home.   I wanted Nora to have…

  • Report Card, One Week Out

    Report Card, One Week Out

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    I remember being amazed after Nora’s birth by just how little time it took for me to feel like she had always been there and by how quickly I forgot what life was like before Nora.  Really, what did I do with myself before I had kids?  It seems so much less than what I…