Tuesday, September 9, 2014

36 Weeks of Essley (+ Some Thoughts On What I Share Here)



Earlier this year (first in March, then in May), I posted about a little project that I've been doing. Once a week, every week since her birth, I've been taking a picture of my daughter Essley, and will continue to do so until she's one year old. Babies change so much from week to week, but because I'm with her everyday, it's almost impossible for me to notice the subtle changes of her growth. In a few weeks she'll be 3/4 of the way through this first year, and it's amazing - and slightly baffling - for me to look back at these images and see the transformation. I barely recognize that squishy little newborn from those early weeks! In many ways I feel like I just had her, yet she looks more like a little girl than a baby to me these days. It's pretty crazy.


It's been a long time since I shared this project, and several of you have left comments over the past few months asking when/if I'd be doing one of these posts again. At the very beginning of the summer, there was an incident where it was brought to my attention by a reader that one of these weekly photos had been taken from my Instagram account and used on another blog as an example of annoying things that people do on Instagram. And although I agree that people can go overboard with kid pictures on social media, and I certainly understand that not everyone is going to care what my kid looks like week to week, and I wholeheartedly feel that people have the right to vocalize whether or not they like certain blogs or IG accounts, mine or otherwise - because it was a picture of my daughter being used in a negative way, I felt instantly hurt and protective. Maybe it was mama instinct kicking in, or maybe I was feeling sensitive that day, but I was actually a little shocked at how awful it made me feel. If it had been a picture of me, I would have let it roll off my back. But because it was a photo of Essley, I felt gutted. I'm glad it happened though, because it caused me to become much more aware of just how easy (and common) it is for photos of people's children to be used by others on the internet - in ways that can be unfavorable, and sometimes even harmful. I continued to post the weekly pictures on Instagram and on my personal Facebook page, but because my blog has a much larger readership than my IG has followers, I felt a little guarded about sharing the project here - or sharing Essley here at all.

As I was taking her 36 week picture over the weekend, and feeling almost winded at how big she's getting, I decided that I'd finally do another 'Weekly Essley' update here. I don't post a ton of personal content on this blog, but I do want it to be genuine, and not just read like a magazine without a face or real life behind the round-up posts or outfits or DIY projects or pretty pictures of food or whatever. And the thing is, Essley is the biggest part of my life now, and it would be impossible to post even the most subtle of personal updates here without mentioning her. I will admit that the step back I've taken in terms of how much I share about her here will likely remain. That means that I'm going to continue to be cautious. I am not, however, going to pretend that she isn't a massive part of absolutely everything I do. My plan is simply to continue to share some bits and pieces on occasion as I've been doing, and maybe down the road, when she's older and can decide for herself what kind of presence she wants to have here (if I still have Bubby & Bean, of course), she'll make more regular appearances.


For now, for those of you who enjoy seeing this bean grow into a little lady, here you go. I honestly get a little teary seeing all of these images together in one place. Sheesh. The first few weeks are just nutty to look at, you guys. She was such a tiny little creature, one who just slept and nursed and pooped and cried. Now she's crawling all over the house, standing up, feeding herself finger foods, laughing incessantly, and babbling words that regardless of the fact that they make no sense sound much too close to "mama" and "dada" not to feel excited. Man do I love this person. It's a beautifully aching kind of love and as cheesy as it sounds, it has changed everything for the better for me.

Thanks for letting me share. And for those who'd rather not see the kid updates, thanks for putting up with this one. I'll be back tomorrow with another post about home improvement, with little to no gushing about my daughter. Promise.

Bubby and Bean on Bloglovin

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35 comments:

  1. As you know I just love seeing these updates on Facebook and Instagram and I think Essley will appreciate them greatly when she's older too. I think you're just the right amount of careful. The internet can be a scary place for sure. I think that latest pic of her is my favorite so far. xoxoxoxox

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  2. I think it's wonderful that you are doing this every week. She will love to look back at these (as I know you will too) when she is older!
    And I'm glad you're sharing them again. What happened with the other blog was such a terrible and unnecessary thing! But I'm glad you're sharing Essley with us again :)

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  3. I love that you do this every week. I really want to do this with Zander when he makes his arrival. It will be a great project to look back on when shes grown. :) Some people can just be mean for no reason at all. I'm glad that you will be continuing to share!

    -Lara @ Methodical Living
    http://methodicalliving.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks Lara! You should definitely do it with your little one when he arrives. It's seriously so fun to look back over them, and I think it will be even mores when she's older.

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  4. I'm so glad you felt ready to share the weekly pictures again. It really is mind-boggling how tiny she is in the first ones! I'm used to seeing the newer weekly updates, and I kind of forgot how small she was!

    My personal philosophy is that if somebody isn't a fan of X content for whatever reason, then they should just skip it and come back later. Or don't come back at all, if it's really so offensive. What happened to you and Essley was so sad, but I'm glad you aren't letting it stop you from sharing her with us. This is your space and you should be able to do whatever makes you feel best. :-)

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  5. Melissa, the majority of people viewing photos of Essley growing week-by-week have simply fallen in love with her! I know I have, and not just because I had baby fever being pregnant when I discovered your posts! What's the most beautiful thing is seeing how much you love your precious little lady bug and how proud you are to be her mama!! Children are the most amazing gift that truly changes us for the better, and create such a depth of love that is hard to describe in words. Essley's a part of you. Your blog can't be genuine without things that make you, you. I personally think that your B&B blog is pretty awesome and as a mom and wife and woman who wants to learn more about fashion, art, and creative living- I am so grateful that you are sharing your creative gifts with all of us! And, in such an authentic, genuine way. Keep your blog alive, and just ignore those mean people out there! You will forever be protecting your precious daughter and there will be many more incidences that may break your heart. I can't even tell you how my husband & I felt when our son was physically bullied in 9th grade, all recorded on an iPhone and posted on Facebook! We did press charges and the bully and his family went through counseling b/c the father had bullied & physically hurt his own son. It was an amazing life lesson for all of us and our son forgave the bully and felt compassion for him. Anyways, you're amazing Missy, and thank you for sharing Essley on B&B! Xo Veronica

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    1. I'm so sorry to hear that your son was bullied, Veronica, especially physically. That is one of my worst fears for Essley as she gets older. We didn't have to deal with the internet or Facebook (!) as kids, and I can only imagine how much more difficult it is for them. Thank you for your kind words too! I love that you love Essley as well. :) xo

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  6. I don't understand people who complain about what other people are posting online, whether it's social media or blogs. If you don't like it, don't look at it. It's as simple as scrolling past it, unfollowing, or closing a tab/browser. If you want DIY, fashion, etc without the babies, find another blog instead of launching a targeted attack. I just started my blog recently and at first I was debating whether to launch a blog at all because I was horrified by the GOMI site and all the venomous comments left about some blogs I admired. But then I realized that I don't really care about the opinion of those playground bullies anyway. I am protective of my son, though: I only post pictures of my son where his face isn't clearly visible, so I won't be hurt if someone takes his picture from my site. And I still haven't mentioned his name for the same privacy reasons, but I haven't come up with a pseudonym yet.

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    1. I agree that people have a choice to scroll past or unfollow. And honestly, if people want to complain about bloggers, I feel that they have the right - I just wish it could all be done in ways that are constructive and not hurtful, *especially* to kids. I'm glad that you're able to find ways to share your son at a limited level that works for you. :)

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  7. This is such a fun idea and it's so cute to see the steps of her growing!! I understand why you want to careful and that so terrible that someone used her picture but I think your readers appreciate the glimpses into your real life and especially when they include your beautiful baby girl.

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  8. Essley gets cuter every week! It's amazing how she's grown :) She'll love looking at these when she's older! I feel that you have a right to write about what you're passionate about, regardless of other blogger's opinions. Nobody is forcing them to read these posts.

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  9. I don't have any kids nor do I plan to but it makes me crazy when people complain about other people sharing pictures of their kids, or pets, or houses when they get new homes or anything from their personal lives. It's the internet and the great thing about it is that we can share whatever we want and we also have the freedom not to look at or read stuff we don't want to. I'm also all for constructive criticism and freedom of speech but making examples out of people's kids is just not cool. I think seeing these pictures of your daughter growing is fun and interesting, for what it's worth. I hope you'll post them all when she reaches a year.

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    1. Thanks Meredith! I will most likely post them all when she's a year.

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  10. What a horrible and unnecessarily thing to do! To each their own, the internet is a big place, so if you don't like something, why not go somewhere else? I'm glad you did one of these posts again. Essley has the most wonderful wardrobe a little lady could ask for, I love the outfits of weeks 23 and 28 :-)

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    1. Thanks Marieken! 23 and 28 are two of my favorites too. :)

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  11. I love this project and I actually suggested it to my bestie who is doing the same thing for her little one now! I think you share just the perfect amount of her daughter, it's by no means overwhelming or excessive and youre obviously careful and protective. I hope you continue to share pieces because she's a beautiful little girl with an obviously loving mother. =)

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  12. Oh P.S. Do you use your phone or a nice camera to take these because they look much more professional than the ones we've taken of my friend's son LOL

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    1. I use a DSLR for these shots. I'd say 99% of the pictures I have of Essley are taken with my iPhone though!

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  13. Amazingly fun idea and kudos to stick to it! Essley so adorable and happy on photos! Good job on putting all those interesting dresses for lovely lady!

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  14. Stories like this make me lose faith in society. I am so very sorry!

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    1. It's okay, really! It was a good wake up call. I thought I was being cautious in my sharing of her but it forced me to step things up a notch.

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  15. Week 23! That outfit gets me every time. and no repeat outfits throughout the weeks... can't wait to see this little lady's future shoe collection! If/when we take the plunge, we definitely will do some version of the weekly photo too.. I love it, especially how you can see their personality developing from week to week.

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  16. She is so vibrant and lovely. As a new mom myself these posts are very inspiring to me, especially in the cute outfits you dress her in! I hope you'll continue to share.

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  17. Maybe it's because I'm also a mom of an infant, but I truly enjoy your Essley posts and watching her grow, and I can relate with so much of what you write about being a mom and balancing that with running a business. Being a mom is infused now into everything we do, and it would feel strange to continue blogging and pretend as if they aren't.

    I'm so sorry you had to go through this! As you said, it's one thing to use photos of an adult to say something negative (which is still completely uncool, but that's a whole other issue), and something entirely else to use a picture of our children to say something negative. I hear you on that mama bear instincts coming out!

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  18. I love the Essley Week by Week posts! Such a treat to watch this sweet bean grow. Her smile is priceless. <3

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  19. Where in the world did you get all her adorable headbands???

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  20. i really enjoyed seeing essley grow! melissa, i'm sorry some people are hurtful. i'd like to believe most people in the world are good, but some days it's tough to share your heart & soul with the world. says the girl who hasn't blogged since last dec. i've been reading your blog for what? over 4 years or more now? i adore your honesty & kind soul! whatever you do stay true to you, & what makes you feel safe too.

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  21. Maybe it's because I'm about to give birth to my own little one, but I personally love posts like this and actually prefer them over more impersonal stuff like outfits and DIYs. Not that I don't enjoy those things too, but my favorite posts are ones that give a glimpse into the blogger's "real life". I'm sorry that person affected you so much, but at the same time I'm glad you learned something from it. I think it's a good idea to find a balance between what we want to share or not. I'm still not sure if I want to reveal my son's full name online because I've heard too many horror stories and I don't want to post any photos of him without clothes on. It may sound silly to even worry about these things but at the same time there are evil people in this world and we need to keep our families safe. I'm rambling now but what I'm trying to say is that I understand how you feel and I'm glad that you're bringing these updates back even if it's not as often. Hang in there and just focus on what's right for YOU and try to ignore the haters! (They will always be there, unfortunately we can't please anyone. I've gotten my fair share of non-constructive criticism as well.)

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