Archive for the 'baby' Category
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Checking in!
Saturday, January 5th, 2008
We had out last regular appointment with our midwife on Friday. The baby will be born a week from Monday (the 14th), can you believe it?
She’s predicted to weigh in at about 8.5 to 9 pounds! All of her measurements are in at least the 85th percentile, size-wise, with her head in the 97th percentile!
All in all, it’s been a very strange physical experience. I never did get over my morning sickness. I *still* throw up about 2 or 3 times a week, and even more often lately, as there gets to be even less room in there. I’m also completely swollen! My hands, mostly, which makes knitting kind of hurt, but also my face and my feet. They’ve checked for high blood pressure, but everything is within the “normal” range, so it’s nothing they’ll do anything about…just one of those things.
Now that school’s out for the semester, I’ve also just given up on trying to wear non-pajamas! I’ve got a bunch of yoga pants and solid-color PJ bottoms that have become staples, along with dresses over leggings. And…thank God for Crocs. I NEVER pictured myself as a croc-wearer…but they have saved my LIFE. They’ve been the only shoes that have enough support AND cushion for me to wear them to walk around in. The Birkenstocks have great support, but no cushion. I’ve gained almost 45 pounds! I’ve reached a weight that I NEVER thought I’d see. My poor skinny feet are just not used to this!
SO…it’s been tough, bodies are weird and amazing things. But it’s definitely something I’d do again. When I feel the baby move and respond to my voice…it’s all worth it.
At the same time…I’m glad the birth is “scheduled,” because I don’t know if I could deal with this baby coming any later than 9 days from now!!
Posted in baby | 8 Comments »
better update!
Monday, October 15th, 2007
I’m back to knitting and sewing!
In addition to the normal book writing and freelance stuff, I’m working now on the scarf for the class I’m teaching on the 27th at Unravel. It’s a ribbed lace pattern that looks equally good from the front or the back, and doesn’t curl at the edges so after blocking it stays nice and flat.
It’s knit on 6s, so it’s not incredibly tiny and goes fast for lace. (Those are my redwood Colonials, if you haven’t had a chance to try these needles, I recommend them. They’re really pointy and flexy but not TOO flexy…and they’re just pretty.)
(If you do the zoom on that photo…please ignore the cat hair on the couch! I need to get the vacuum out this afternoon….)
The sewing part of the post is baby-related…here’s what the newest batch of diapers look like:
Front:
Back:
Inside:
These are size small Fattycakes (of course) with woven cotton Hello Kitty outer, hidden layer of PUL inside, along with a few layers of cotton terry for absorbancy. The inner is cotton flannel. This kind of sewing is totally addictive. Choosing fabrics, thinking about Mazey’s outfits and what she’s going to need to go with what. It’s also very assembly-line, so I cut everything out and do step one on them all, then step two, etc., so it goes FAST. I can make 10 or so diapers in a day if I really sit down and do it. Just very mindless and satisfying because it’s so immediate.
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So I started taking a B6 supplement, and it has helped SO MUCH with the tiredness!! I was living most days like this:
Wake up at 7, prep for class, teach, come home for lunch, sleep till about 5, wake up for 4 hours, go to bed.
Lately, I’m not needing that 3 hour nap in the middle of the day. It’s also knocked out the morning sickness completely. The day is SO much better when it doesn’t start out with a vomit. I’m also getting used to the extra weight out front, and the new center of gravity. There were a couple of weeks there when my belly suddenly just POPPED out, from nothing to HUGE…and I just wasn’t used to it. I wish someone had suggested B6 earlier! It seems like every single pregnancy is different, and they just don’t know what will work for every person. It’s hit and miss.
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 5 Comments »
Belly Pics!
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
Here are a couple of pics from last weekend. We went up to Albuquerque for a wedding, and these are some shots at 23 weeks:
Posted in just chit chat, Trips, baby | 7 Comments »
Is it fall where you live?
Saturday, September 8th, 2007
Here in Southern NM, it’s starting to cool down. I think it was about 68 last night, but it was still in the high 80s all day.
I’m ready for it to be fall. Every year when school starts, it feels like it should be sweater weather already. Growing up in Iowa, we’d have to wait a few weeks for REAL fall weather, but by the time mid-September rolled around, it was usually sweater-weather in the evenings. And then living in the Northeast NY, MD, same thing, except fall lasted a LOT longer and the winters were milder.
Here in the waaaaaaay Southwest, though…we have LooooooooOOOooOooong summers. I LOVE the sunshine, and I really do even enjoy the heat. For about 3-4 months…and now I’m ready for it to cool the f*** down already! I’m getting BIG, I’m walking funny (the waddle) and I’m TOO HOT.
In preparation for cooler weather, I started working on this shrug-sweater-thing out of some gorgeous Neighborhood Fiber Co. Merino. It’s gonna have long sleeves, super-extendo-ribbing, and actually close in the front. This is what I work on at SnB on Wednesdays, so I get a few inches done every week. My rate of project-completion has gone waaaaaaay down since this pregnancy has set in. I’m so tired. In a good way, but tired.
The ultrasound yesterday was really neat.
This clinic we went to has a much more high-tech machine than they do at our reglar clinic. (This was a level-2 ultrasound that they do on high-risk people.) We saw her little arms and legs, hands and feet, head, heart, stomach, kidneys, brain, ribs, spine…everything.
She was wiggling around and moving her legs and arms a LOT. When we first saw her, she was lying with her arms in the same position that I was lying in on the table!
Both the technician and the attending physician remarked on how much she was moving and called her a “wiggle worm.” (And said again that all that movement is great to see and is a great sign.)
She just woke up and I can feel her moving around now, too. She’s not doing the big Karate (or Kar-a-tay) kicks yet, but I can feel her moving and dancing around. So, we got some of the ultrasound photos, and I put them in her scrapbook…but except for the first one, they’re kind of a mystery. The one that says “face” is the one that I’m particularly ignoring.
It’s really cute to compare the first batch where she was like a gummi bear with a tail to the second batch where we can see her long legs and even a foot! She’s sure growing and I’m so relieved to have gotten to see her and know that she’s doing well.
We go back in 4 weeks for another of these, because her position in my belly was such that they weren’t able to see the outflow “tubes,” for lack of better word, from her heart well enough. Her back was facing forward, head down. So we’ll see her again soon!
(I’ll add pics today, but wanted to post the update to the quickie from yesterday!)
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, events, baby | 13 Comments »
It’s a GIRL
Friday, September 7th, 2007
…and she’s PERFECT!
Posted in baby | 28 Comments »
Maybe next week will be different…
Monday, September 3rd, 2007
…but last week SUCKED.
So many things just spiraled out of control to STRESS OVBRLOAD.
The main thing was that I was told I’d have my 20-week ultrasound on Friday, but it was canceled due to the planning of a level-2 for THIS Friday. But nobody told us and Nate had taken the afternoon off work (in the middle of a HUGE install at the museum) and I was looking really forward to knowing the baby’s ok. All of our family was calling us all day to find out “how’s the baby” and we didn’t KNOW.
OK, so one week might not seem like a big deal, but I’ve literally been LIVING for that day. I can’t sleep at night, so I lie there thinking about the baby and wondering about it, and I’ve been getting through those long nights by counting down the days till I get to see the little one and find 2 arms, 2 legs, little organs, etc. And NOW…it’s postponed. The real shock was that nobody called us to tell us. SO disappointing and makes me really question the care there.
We did hear the heartbeat and bloodflow and LOTS of movement. She said that lots of movement = healthy happy baby…so that’s good. I’ve only gained 3 lbs, rather than the 4-10 they like to see by 20 weeks, but she said since I lost so much at the beginning, it’s not a worry. (I’m having food aversion issues, since I”m basically morning sick all day.)
Lots of other drama went on, too…that I just don’t want to go into. Not really bloggable or really worth it. Some of it’s my own fault for being so hormonal and sleep-deprived.
Maybe today I’ll take some photos of a few things I’ve been knitting. This IS a knitting blog. But when everything I’m knitting is Top Secret…the photos are few and far between. It seems like two of the people who agreed to test knit the Petal pattern are actually close to finishing their sweaters…so hopefully that’ll be ready in a little while. A community college class is knitting it as an assignment…so that should be GREAT feedback! 
On a sewing note: I’ve turned into a diaper-making factory.
Doing repetitive yet constructive things like knitting and sewing seems to be my method of burning off angst. I’m looking at fabrics now the way I was looking at yarns a few months ago. Colors, prints, various absorbing, water-repelling or wicking properties, price per yard versus by the bolt…velcro, snaps, buttons, thread…it’s so easy to get really sucked into all these crafts.
These are made from the free “Rita’s Rump Pocket” diaper pattern. They’re supposed to be “one size fits all” so I’m not sure they’ll work on a newborn…the gals at SnB on Wednesday thought they looked too big.
Sewn using:
Outer = woven cotton
Inner = flannel or cotton loop terry
Soaker/stuffer = folded cotton prefold diaper
The fabrics are “space/planets,” “Vans-style checkerboard,” “sharks,” and “dinosaurs.”
(There are more of my newly sewn diapers in that flickr set if you’re interested.)
So anyway, this weekend has been nice in terms of getting to do baby-prep stuff, sleeping, not working, and just calming down some after the suckfest of last week…but I still feel overwhelmed and pulled in too many directions.
Posted in Uncategorized, just chit chat, baby | 10 Comments »
Yesterday was all sewing - all day!
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
I’ve been sort of lurking on several of the cloth diapering sites you guys have suggested. My favorite so far is Diaper Sewing Divas.
Yesterday, after reading all the info on all of the patterns, ordering supplies, and getting up the steam…I did a little sewing:
That’s 6 newborn diaper covers and 6 size small diaper covers. The bright colored fabric is a laminated polyester, and the other layer is a cotton chambray. These are from the Very Baby pattern.
I also made 16 (!!) size small (Very Baby all in one pattern) fitted diapers. The yellow ones are the first batch, then the flowered ones, then the beige ones were the last ones of the day.
The yellow are made of two layers of birdseye cotton for the inner, a cotton stretch knit for the outer, and 8 layers of birdseye for the pad inside. The flowered ones are a 100% cotton flannel ($1/yard!!), using the flannel for both inner and outer and with 6-8 layers of the same flannel for the inner pad. The beige ones are birdseye for inner and outer, and 6- layers of the same birdseye for the pad.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to get to doing this…probably the overlap of my two jobs (started the new one with 2 weeks left of the first one) and just not being very confident in my sewing skills. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to follow the pattern correctly, and there are so many different kinds of fabrics and snaps and elastics. I think I was overwhelmed by all of the information.
Even now, I have no baby to test these on, so I won’t know if they even WORK for a few months yet.
I did learn a lot about the process, and even modified the pattern to my own needs. I omitted the waterproof layer from the dipes, so they’re “fitteds,” but not “all in one.”
After all that sewing, I was really stiff today! I guess I pretty much sat at the machine from 8:30 am to about 10 pm.
To move around some, Nate and I walked over to the coffee shop for breakfast, and afterward stopped by the fabric store and picked out some cuter fabrics for the next batch.
Yesterday while I was working on these, he kept telling me how professional they looked, and how much he appreciated me sewing them…it was so heartwarming! I love it that he’s into the idea of cloth diapering, and that he really understands the time and love that goes into it!
—
OOH! And this yarn from Zenstring just came! It’s bluefaced leichester…for diaper covers.
(don’t worry, Medea likes being used as a prop!)
Posted in just chit chat, baby | 13 Comments »
Good Baby News!
Friday, August 24th, 2007
You know how I took that Maternal Serum Screening test (Otherwise known as the TripleScreen) 3 weeks ago? It checks the baby’s hormone levels in my blood for signs of Down Syndrome and neural tube defects. I got a call yesterday and it came back NORMAL.
So that’s great.
Yesterday we also met with Nate’s HR person about transferring health insurance, so that’s DONE. We’re now officially ALL SET at least as far as the financial stuff goes.
I went to Unravel yesterday to talk about the fall class schedule, and I’ll be teaching beginning knitting and a lace scarf class.
Beginning Knitting:
October 20, Nov 3, Nov 17. This class is taught as a series, and you have to sign up for all three.
(10 am - 12 noon.)
Lace Scarf:
October 27 (1 pm - 4 pm.)
For the Lace Scarf class, I’m going to design the pattern myself, so everyone who signs up will get a copy of the pattern, too.
I guess that’s all the big news…class is going great (I’m teaching a college class this semester.)
Posted in events, baby | 4 Comments »
It’s almost Frrrriday!
Friday, August 17th, 2007
I’m swatching for another maternity sweater. This time, I’m using this gorgeous Merino from Neighborhood Fiber Co. It’s hand dyed by Ms. Karida in what she calls a “semisolid” colorway. There is a very subtle verigation that really catches the light.
I’m trying out reversible cables on this one. (Fabric that cables on both the RS and WS.) Thanks to a little help from my friends, I *think* I’ve got it!
SO…I can tell you one big thing that’s been going on behind the scenes that I’ve been unable to blog until now: I’m leaving my job at the end of the month. I’m teaching a class fall semester, then staying home for at least a year.
I’ve been rushing around trying to get everything finished up there before my last day, figuring out what to do with our health insurance, and getting all kinds of other stuff in place.
That’s where I’ve been lately, if you’ve been looking! And it’s why I’ve been stressed the past weeks. It may not seem like a big change, but WOW. Going from full-time scientist to stay-at-home mom…it’s a major life change.
And a BIG secret to have to keep!
Posted in yarn reviews, just chit chat, baby | 6 Comments »
More baby clothes
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
So, Ok…I’m totally addicted to my baby. I know that sounds rediculous, and it probably is. But I can think of nothing else.
To help assuage this feeling of urgency in regard to “getting ready” I keep something baby on the needles at all times.
Here’s the most recent Baby Thing:
It’s a pair of “Picky Pants.” (Another soaker.) For this one, I used Theresa’s pattern and followed it to the T. The pattern is like a choose your own adventure novel, in that it’s 18 pages long…and after completing one step you decide whether to add some feature (short rows in the seat) or another (long or short legs, different hem treatments.) I’ll definitely make these again! (Yarn is Cascade 220 tweed.)
And here’s the most recent Baby Thing from Mom:
It’s a sweater from Jill Eaton’s “Minnies” baby book, with another set of handmade buttons. CUTE. This one is Malabrigo worsted!!
(photos taken at night, again!)