The Urban Darling

Staycation At Mountain Shadows In Scottsdale

By Esperanza on May 3, 2024

Mountain Shadows Resort, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Hearth 61, Scottsdale resort, Phoenix, Phoenix resort, resort hotel, boutique hotel, hotel review, hotel stay, girls trip, staycation, The Urban Darling, cute hotels, hotel reviews, chic aesthetic, chic hotel, aesthetic hotel stays, travel blogger, fashion blogger, lifestyle blog, travel blog, hotel lobby, hotel interiors, pool, outdoor pool, luxury pool.

My oldest friend, Elle, came to visit me in Phoenix recently so that she could meet baby Sage! We have been friends for over 15 years but it had been a few years since we were together in person. I wanted us to have a really special time so I planned a girls staycation for us at the beautiful Mountain Shadows resort. It’s a chic, high end resort (4.5 stars) with modern mid century vibes. This hotel has everything from a historic golf course to a luxurious outdoor swimming pool. We had such a fabulous stay and enjoyed some much needed girl time! In this blog post, I’m sharing a review of our stay which I hope will be helpful for those planning a trip to Scottsdale.

Sage Wylder’s One & Two Month Baby Update

By Esperanza on April 22, 2024

I thought it would be fun to share updates for Sage Wylder’s first year of life! I got a little behind so I’m sharing month one and two together. The first month was a little tough as a new mom, but as the weeks went by, it got better and easier! It’s a little rough being thrown into taking care of a baby for the first time and I definitely had to learn a lot, especially because all babies are so different! Sage has always been very good at communicating his needs (lol!) and I feel like I know him so well now. We have a really good routine down now which is so essential for me as a work from home, single mom. I can’t believe how quickly he is growing and developing, it’s very bittersweet. I am a very proud mama!

Baby | My Life

Three Generations In The Arizona Desert

By Esperanza on April 12, 2024

Generations, family, family photography, Phoenix, desert, desert photography, Arizona, Arizona desert, Superstition Mountain, baby, baby boy, baby photography, mama, new mom, first time mom, fashion photography, creative photography, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

My younger sister Rocio was finally able to come down from Los Angeles to meet my son Sage Wylder, who is now 2 months old! While she was visiting, my mom drove us to Superstition Mountain, where Rocio took my full term maternity photos so that we could shoot some family photos together. My mom, sister, and I have never taken photos together for my blog, so it was really special to be able to capture these, especially with baby Sage! There are three generations of my family in these photos that I know we will cherish forever.

Baby | Baby Style

My Top 20 Newborn Baby Must Haves

By Esperanza on March 22, 2024

Newborn, newborn photography, newborn style, baby boy style, baby boy, newborn baby boy, new mom, first time mom, mom style, mommy and me style, neutral style, neutral nursery, nursery decor, nursery style, boho nursery, boho style, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

The past seven weeks of Sage Wylder’s life have flown by! The first few weeks were tough with sleep deprivation and getting into a flow, but now Sage and I have a bit more of a routine down which makes such a big difference. I knew I wanted to share a blog post with my newborn must haves for other new momma’s out there who like me, did a lot of research to figure out everything I would need for baby. Now that he is almost 2 months old, I feel like I have a good idea of what items were newborn essentials for me. Of course these items will vary as all moms and babies are different, but I think this is a helpful start!

Baby | My Style

Sage Wylder’s One Month Desert Photo Shoot

By Esperanza on March 5, 2024

Newborn, one month old baby, baby, baby boy, baby boys style, newborn outfit, newborn style, neutral style, matching style, mommy and me style, desert style, desert, sustainable style, Phoenix, Phoenix blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

Sage Wylder is a month old?! It makes me so proud and so sad at the same time because I know he will never be this little again… Taking care of a newborn, especially as a single mom, is not easy but he is thriving! He gained 2 pounds and grew 2 inches at his one month wellness check, which makes me feel like I am doing a good job as a momma. I always felt I would be in my heart and now I feel validated lol! I’m going to credit it all to the breastfeeding and of course mama’s love 😉 Anyway, I wanted to take some cute photos in the desert to celebrate his first month of life!

Baby | My Life

Sage Wylder’s Newborn Baby Photo Shoot

By Esperanza on February 22, 2024

Boho chic style, boho nursery, neutral nursery, neutral baby boy style, baby boy style, boho baby, boho neutral, newborn, baby, baby boy, baby photography, newborn photography, creative photography, fashion photography, first time mom. new mom, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

Introducing my baby boy Sage Wylder! Sage was born at 12:27 am on January 31st via C-Section at Chandler Regional hospital after 3 days of labor. I am so thankful that he is here, safe & healthy. He is an Aquarius and I’m a Cancer so we are both water signs! I never thought I would have an Aquarius and I can’t wait to see what his personality is like in the upcoming years. Sweet baby boy was in the NICU for 3 days and after a week of recovering at the hospital, we were able to come home. I finally got the chance to shoot some newborn photos of Sage at 2 weeks old! My mom helped me shoot a lot of these photos and the rest I shot myself. I love how sweet he looks and I will definitely cherish these photos of my baby forever!

Baby | Holidays

My First Valentine’s Day With Baby Sage

By Esperanza on February 14, 2024

Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day photo shoot, Valentine's Day photography, newborn baby, newborn, newborn photography, baby photography, creative photography, fashion photography, retro style, Sezane, Sezane style, first time mom. new mom, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling.

I couldn’t resist doing a Valentine’s Day themed photo shoot with newborn baby Sage. He was only 12 days old when my mom shot these photos of us, such a little guy! I wanted to keep the photos simple so I picked up this $4 Valentine’s balloon from Safeway as a prop and we drove around till we found a white wall. Sage wore this rusty adorable jumpsuit his abuelita bought for him at a boutique in Eastern Washington and I wore a coordinated, retro style look with new pieces from Sezane. We had about 15 min to shoot before baby boy get fussy which was just enough time to snap a few cute photos that we will have forever. The perfect way to remember our first Valentine’s Day together!

Baby | My Life

Our Hospital Birth Story & Baby Name Reveal

By Esperanza on

Hospital birth, labor & delivery, c-section, birth story, our birth story, newborn baby, newborn, newborn baby, newborn, newborn photography, baby photography, new mom, first time mom, baby boy, lifestyle blogger, Phoenix blogger, The Urban Darling.

At 41 weeks of pregnancy, I still wasn’t dilating or having strong contractions. My doctors wanted me to be induced before 42 weeks, so they scheduled me for an induction on Sunday January 28th at 10 pm at Chandler Regional here in the Phoenix metro. I was disappointed because I really wanted to be able to go into labor naturally, but I was also worried about waiting and any complications that could arise if I did. So my mom and I packed up the car and headed to the hospital with as much positivity as we could muster. I was excited to know that at least we would be leaving with baby boy. Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong with my labor, delivery, and everything that followed after, did… In this blog post I am sharing a recap of our birth story!

My Life | Pregnancy

What I Packed In My Hospital Bag

By Esperanza on

Pregnancy, maternity, first time mom, first pregnancy, hospital bag, hospital bag checklist, labor & delivery, pregnancy advice, boho nursery, boho chic style, neutral nursery, boy mom, baby boy, boy nursery, neutral desert nursery, nursery design, interior design, lifestyle blogger, The Urban Darling, Dagne Dover.

I thought I would share what I packed in my hospital bag with all the other new moms out there! My momma friend sent me her checklist and I watched some YouTube mom’s videos as well to perfect my hospital bag checklist. Even though I ended up having a C-section, I still used almost everything on this list, except for half the things in my Frida Mom Labor & Delivery Postpartum kit unfortunately. I hope you momma’s find this checklist helpful in those last few weeks while you are getting ready to head to the hospital to deliver your baby!

My Life | Pregnancy

My Pregnancy Baby Bump Growth Updates

By Esperanza on January 24, 2024

Pregnancy, maternity, motherhood, pregnancy photography, maternity photography, maternity style, baby bump, bump updates, bump growth, belly bump, baby bump growth, pregnancy transformation, pregnancy progression, boho chic style, sustainable style, fashion blogger, lifestyle blogger, first time mom, first pregnancy, Storq, The Urban Darling.

Something I really wanted to do during my pregnancy was to capture my baby bump growth each month with a photo, that way I would be able to see/look back on my full pregnancy transformation. It definitely wasn’t easy to do some months, especially as I grew more and more exhausted but I’m so glad I made it happen. The transformation of pregnancy is truly incredible, beautiful, and empowering. I know I will cherish these photos for years to come and maybe baby boy will love seeing them someday too!