5 Qs with Erika

Name: Erika Spring

Neighborhood: Sunnyside

Occupation:Musician and Reiki practitioner

Baby’s Sex: Boy

How would you describe your pregnant style?

Vintage and playful. I was lucky to be adjusting to my pregnant body mostly in the warmer months, so a lot of my dresses have worked well throughout. And as I got bigger and the skirts became too short, the weather got colder. So I could wear leggings underneath and still be “covered.” I also love to layer jackets and dusters, so I’ve still been able to wear those and feel like I have an outfit on.

Have you had any challenges learning to dress your body during this pregnancy?

I was so used to certain shapes working for my body. During pregnancy, everything changed. I used to wear a lot of drapey tops, and they started to look less cute. I also was wearing mostly pants, so it was an adjustment for sure not wanting to have anything around my waist. But it’s also been a fun challenge to dig through my closet and find stuff that I had forgotten about and use in a new way.

So far, what has surprised you most during your pregnancy?

The incredible bonding between me and my husband. We were already very entwined, but these past 9 months have been such a fun journey of learning how to love and support each other even more. The childbirth education and hypnobirthing classes we took were really great at fostering closeness and bonding as well. It’s been a unique opportunity to pause and take some time out of busy schedules — to connect more deeply with each other, ourselves and our growing baby.

What are you most looking forward to sharing with your baby?

I’m excited to introduce our baby to our amazing community of friends who are living their dreams, fighting for human rights, kindness and peace, making art, and also to share our favorite music with him and find out what he’s into. I think he likes disco and Bowie, but time will tell.

What’s your top 5 registry essentials?

1. cloth diaper service. We’re planning to try out diaperkind
2. beco gemini carrier came highly recommended from a bunch of friends and our doula.
3. ocean themed playmat from Land of Nod
4. baby Minnetonkas
5. books! A friend gifted us Children of the Forest and My First Root Children , and they’re so sweet.

Erika is wearing:

stretchy knit dress from Reformation (similar here )

vintage Kimono

Photography by Belle Savransky.