27 Neighborhoods

I'm really going to miss the distinct neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Brooklyn, broadly speaking, is ethnically and culturally diverse. But on a micro-level, people tend to move near people who are just like them, which is great because that facilitates the flourishing of cultural distinctives, such as the Catholic statutory in Carroll Gardens, a largely Italian neighborhood near the burrow; the trim Brooklyn Heights moms with their Bugaboo strollers, nanny, and 1.5 kids; or, the Williamsburg phenomenon of hipers in tight pants and scarves living alongside Hasidic Jews dressed in black coats and top hats.

26 Libraries

In one sense, this post isn't fair because I won't miss the Brooklyn and NYC libraries any more than the other libraries I've loved and lost. But I'm going to miss the New York and Brooklyn libraries because libraries are like dear friends; their quirks and uniqueness get under your skin and make them unforgettably wonderful.

The lion pictured here guards the NYC Humanities and Social Sciences Library, where I spent long hours last Spring writing papers for law school. It's the first library I've used where I couldn't access the stacks, but rather had to order books at one window, and pick them up several minutes later at the next window. Kinda like Burger King. The library also has the happy luck to be neighbors with Bryant Park, where I escaped from time-to-time to clear my head.

25 My midwife

Joan Bryson. She's a nurse as well as a midwife. She's delivered thousands of babies through her business, Community Midwifery, which she runs out of her Park Slope brownstone. I met her last November when Mr. Miller and I decided--to our own surprise--to have E at home. I had scoped out numerous midwife options. At the meeting with Joan, it was clear that she was the right fit for us. I immediately felt at home with her. And in the time leading up to E's birth, she became more than just my midwife; she became my New York "mother", mentor, and friend.

E at four months

Our girl is growing like a weed. Her four month stats (% compared to girls her age):

Height: 25 in (74%)
Weight: 16 lb (90%)
Head Circumference: 43 cm (91%)

*UPDATE* E's also sleeping at night and taking naps without being swaddled, at long last.