Archive for the 'baby' Category
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Mercury’s on the move!
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007
I feel like today is a lucky day, and like this will be a good week. Mercury came out of retrograde yesterday, so my (or ‘our’, judging by some of the comments and other blog posts I’ve been reading) communication woes and blockages of the mind should be over for a while.
I *do* feel unstuck. I only threw up once today, and not at all yesterday, so that tells me I *might* be at the end of Morning Sickness. Friday was the last day of the first trimester! We made it!!
Physical therapy also went well today. We’re moving past ‘adjusting’ into actually exercising and working on strength.
I made it to Post Office today, after several days of just not being up to it. Did you know that people can mail chickens? About 1/2 the times I go, there’s a rooster in the back, telling everyone, “Time to get up!” or “Let me out!!”
I finished up my baby surprise jacket. I never was able to find the label from that yarn, but believe me it’s just as well. I think it’s a little rough for baby garments, and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s pretty on camera, though! Mom and I made some buttons last week, so I’ll take pics again when all the ends are woven in and the buttons are on.
The jacket was knit on 8s, so it’s a little big…maybe for an 18-24 month old. That’s ok, though.
**ETA: chest measured 24″ when I knit the BSJ on US 8s**
I wonder how much time I’ll have to knit for Hugo once he actually gets here?
I visualize myself having a happy, peaceful baby who loves to sit quietly. (insert big laugh) I picture myself just strapping him on in one of those sling things and going about my days knitting and writing and everything like normal. (Another laugh goes in here.)
The Spincycle yarn that I ordered arrived over the weekend, so I can make another sweater that will actually be soft and nice. (That’s a sexy sandwich of Booya Kasha and Lummi Island Sunset.) This yarn is so beautiful. I love the colors. It reminds me of saffron. Very India. SO. Do I do another BSJ? Do I do this other E.Z. sweater? (Brooklyn Tweed always makes me say, OK, I have GOT to make that.) Do I make one up? I’m feeling lazy, so I’ll probably wing it rather than try to follow a pattern.
Posted in yarn reviews, Patterns, baby | 12 Comments »
Baby Surprise Day 1
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
Here’s my progress day 1. This is completely obsessive, “must finish one stage before I stop” -style knitting.
This photo really represents what the inside of my brain looks like right now, too. We’re working on a paper for publication, so I’m frantically getting the figures together and putting the finishing touches on the data reduction. It’s a project that I’ve been invested in since grad school…so getting it finished up is a great feeling.
And THAT side of my brain is struggling with the other side that has BABY running through every fiber. If I can get my head into the project, I can really immerse myself in it and make great progress. If, however, I have to get up and be sick every 45 minutes…it’s just BABY BABY BABY in there.
Here’s a closeup, including the gorgeous markers that Lindsay made for me. She’s such a great person, and a friend I met on LJ, who *happens* to be from B-more, but I didn’t meet her when I lived there. She even works at my alma mater!!
Here we are at TNNA…that’s my booth in the background with the hot pink tulle and black star lamps.
PS: Knit your own iPhone! (link courtesy the amazing Xtina)
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 2 Comments »
Baby Surprise Jacket
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007
Since I’m so obsessed with this pattern, I can’t wait until my Spincyle yarn arrives. I’ll make another one when it does…but for now I found something I can cast on with right away.
It’s some as yet unidentified (I need to look back though my notebook to find the label) handspun in very New Mexico colors: pink, tangerine, purple, and light turquoise blue. I bought it last summer in Minneapolis, washed it because it was too ‘raw’ for me, and accidentally felted it. So now I’m untangling it and un-dredding it. It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it was, but it IS pretty matted in places.
I have all the hanks wound into balls and am ready to cast on.
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns, baby | 3 Comments »
Heartbeat followup post / handspun shout out
Monday, July 2nd, 2007
(See end for explanation as to why this photo goes with this post!)
That’s “Booya Kasha” from Spincycle!
SO. Along with hearing the baby’s heartbeat came the news that I am considered ‘elderly’ to be having a baby. The midwife told me that she herself was elderly, and it was fine. And my nurse practitioner was 36 when she had her baby. I knew going into this that we’d be considered somewhat ‘high risk’ because of my age…but it’s hard to hear anyway. And really, really strange…because I don’t feel like an elderly 35-er.
I like this Dr. Sears book
Before the next appointment (July 30) we need to have decided which if any tests we want to go through. We need to do some more research before we decide anything. I came home with a handful of pamphlets on all of the various things.
It’s this kind of thing that makes it hard to concentrate for the rest of the day after these appointments. My brain just starts working overtime and I have this inconsolable need to figure it all out NOW. And because that’s just impossible, I then wander on to the “what should I make for the baby next?” question.
After seeing a few Baby Surprise Jackets (1, 2, 3, 4) , I’m completely moved to make one. And I *must* find some handspun yarn to use!
Does anyone have soft, pretty Aran weight handspun yarn to sell me? (I have paypal, and I’m not afraid to use it!) I’m excited enough about this to also make booties and hat to go with, so I’d need probably 500 yds total. I’ve been looking through the websites of the usual suspects and lots of people are all sold out! Reds, magenta, oranges, yellows, blues, greens, purple, brown…any color is good. Just not “baby” pink or “baby” blue! 
See, just the thought of starting this project has completely cheered me up!
ETA: AHA! I found the perfect stuff!! (See photo at top!) (But of course am always in the market!!)
Posted in Patterns, baby | 11 Comments »
heartbeat
Monday, July 2nd, 2007
Today we heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. WOW.
Posted in baby | 4 Comments »
MEATBALL SUB
Saturday, June 30th, 2007
I took some photos today of some weird crochet-like projects I’ve been doing. I’ve found that crochet (at least the kind I’m doing) is something I can do while I’m lying down trying not to throw up…unlike reading which induces a sort of carsick feeling.
I’m sort of mentally blocked and I keep thinking that I just need to play with yarn for a while and the gears in my mind will unstick. So a few baby projects have found their way into Hugo’s closet. The top one is all alpaca (various brands) and the bottom one is various Merino wools. I think I want to add more to the bottom one, it’s pretty small.
When Tonya was here after her graduation, she taught me how to crochet. My sister’s a really good teacher. She’s like me in that she’ll look and say, “oh yeah, that’s fine” if I feel weird about something. She’ll just say, “do it however you want, it looks great!” And I like to do things however I want, so it’s perfect for me to learn from her.
Since she had to eventually go back home, I’ve been using:
Teach Yourself Visually Crocheting
(Buffy DVD for scale.) I learned to turn corners! Next I want to try something with a stitch pattern. I’m thinking maybe I’ll granny-along, or do shells. Something not TOO hard or brain-using. AND…YES that rug that the blankies are lying on IS crochet, but I BOUGHT it. BEFORE I thought crochet was something I’d ever be able to do.
Sometimes when I want to start doing something new, I’ll buy one of whatever it is and see how it’s done up close…then try it. I have a hard time learning from books.
Oh my Gosh! I am so hungry for a meatball sub right now. (in re: nothing.) When I do feel like eating, I *MUST* have whatever it is that tripped the hunger pang.
I’ve been checking websites of various restaurants in town to see who has one…and unfortunately it looks like Quiznos or Subway for me. (we’ve talked before about how Las Cruces businesses are not really web-focused…and I don’t wanna drive around all day looking for a sandwich!)
I just woke up from a nap in which I was starving and really angry at everyone. And nobody else was hungry! Nobody would go with me to get a pizza! What the heck is wrong with you guys that nobody wants to go EAT!?
So I woke up and asked Nate to go with me for meatball subs in real life, and he said yes. (WHEW!) So he’s in the shower and I have a few minutes.
LATER: We’re back and have also gone to the bookstore, the grocery, AND watered the plants. Look at this!
Posted in just chit chat, baby, crochet | 6 Comments »
Teeny slippers!
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
Tonight was knitting night.
I finished a pair of baby booties from Zoe Mellor’s 50 baby bootees to knit.
They’re the “slip ons” pattern from page 117. This book has some really cute, really over the top things. These are the most simple ones, and for some reason they’re the ones that appealed most to me this evening.
Because I know myself well enough to know that if I wait till tomorrow to take a daylight photo I’ll never do it. So I took non-flash-under-the-incandescent-bulb photos.
The yarn is Reynolds Whiskey. Color 101, which is a heathered orange-yellow. I LOVE this color. It’s happy, bright, and goes with red hair! So when I hold the baby, its feet will look good on me. (I know, cray-zeee.) Whiskey is a great all-purpose wool, and will be really warm for teeny baby feet. My due date’s January 20…so I need lots of woolens.
Posted in yarn reviews, just chit chat, baby | 11 Comments »
FIRST ULTRASOUND!
Thursday, June 14th, 2007
There he IS! You can see his head and both arm buds and both leg buds! (AND My uterus was fibroid-free, so that’s awesome.)
Ok, how many people cried at their first ultrasound? I was WEEPING!!
I didn’t expect an ultrasound today, so I went in by myself. I was supposed to just fill out the paperwork and do the family histories…choose circumcision or not, etc. But at the end, I requested one. I was so freaked out by the spotting at week 7 that I just NEEDED to see that BABY. So they squeezed me in.
This time last year, I was such a mess. So hopeless. The last time I had an ultrasound, they were marveling at the size of my huge tumors. This was such a different experience. It was a major relief. And now I feel tired. Like I could sleep for DAYS. Like a layer of anxiety was removed. I just was NOT prepared for what that feels like. To SEE the BABY.
I may have mentioned that several people have cautioned me against calling the baby “he” because it still might be a girl…and I know that’s true…but it’s hard to call it “it.” Humor me.
Posted in baby | 32 Comments »
Baby Brain?
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007
Does this “Baby Brain” phenomenon go away with the morning sickness?
Say yes. Please say yes.
Today I’m in a total fog. I can see out my eyes, but am really having trouble connecting with the stuff that’s out there.
Last night I went to the bookstore to look for a book someone recommended to me. I didn’t find THE BOOK, but I glanced through one of those “pregnancy over 35″ books. (I’m 35.) It was so scary. I was like, I do NOT need to be reading THIS. I mean, talk about stress inducement.
I did have fun (later, at home, away from scary over 35 pregnancy books) looking up our potential baby names on the baby name wizard…it’s a site that shows you the popularity of any name throughout history. All of the names we’ve picked out for girls or boys are less than 100 in 1 million babies! You’d think you’d pick maybe one or two really rare ones, but all of them!
Over the weekend, we did the “ring test” to see whether it’s a girl or boy, and it’s either a girl or too early to tell. The ring just hung there perfectly still. I think it’s a boy, and my sister in law Kim thinks it’s a boy.
Posted in baby | 15 Comments »
That brown sweater from the back of the book
Friday, June 8th, 2007
Lots of people are asking about that darn sweater in my author photo. I finished it last summer, and I have been partway through the pattern for months (almost a year) now. I intended to have it ready for download LAST fall…but it’s still not ready. Albatross, anyone?
I know where it is and I have my notes. So. I just need to get it in gear, find a few quiet hours, and finish it up. It’s going to be for sale on my site but I’m not sure exactly when.
As soon as things slow down a little bit and I can get it finished up.
Warning: Pregnancy talk to the end of the post…SKIP if you don’t care!
I totally jinxed myself when I told everyone that I have no morning sickness. Most days I wake up completely fine (although early) and can go through the whole day without even a little bit of nausea. But then days like today…I just want to get back in bed. But I can’t. ‘Cause I’m at WORK. Hugo’s usually pretty good to me…but today something has him all worked up.
I’ve been making smoothies every morning, with fruit, yogurt, and soy milk. That’s how I make sure I’m getting all Hugo’s vitamins for the day (plus I take a prenatal vitamin and omega-IIIs) then after work I get the juicer out and throw in arugula (”rocket” in Germany), tomatoes, carrots, etc. so that I get all THOSE. I’m not a breakfast eater, generally, so I know there’s no way I’d eat 2 bananas, a peach, half a carton of strawberries, a cup of yogurt, and a glass of soymilk all before lunch if it wasn’t a smoothie. And work is so tiring for both Nate and me lately that I’m prone to just throw in a pizza after work, take a shower, and go to bed. So…the grinding up of healthy foods so that they can be consumed quickly and effortlessly has been a really great thing.
Some foods are just too strong. I can’t eat mustard or salad that has Italian dressing or balsamic vinegar. Texture is a big deal…no bean burritos. Rice is good. Smoothies are good. Pizza, for some reason, is good. Spaghetti. But anything too flavorful or texturally weird is bad.
Today my smoothie has a peach in it that’s slightly less than ripe. So the smoothie is TART. And Hugo doesn’t like it.
I was talking to a guy at work whose wife is having a baby this week sometime. I asked him how her first trimester was and he said, “She hated me. She hated all foods that she used to like. She was very very angry.” So I’m a little better off that that, at least. I’m not angry at all, but I am really tired! Which probably does make me a *little* grumpy.
But man, yeah. I’m SO TIRED!!