Big Sister Sewing

When it comes to my accomplishing sewing tasks, inertia really is key. I'll put off even simply sewing tasks for months but once I get the machine out and set up, I'll get on a roll and start sewing everything not nailed down. So when I had Craig carry my machine upstairs last week so I could hem our new curtains, I was pretty sure what was going to happen so I made sure to have all my supplies ready and yep, I got everything done - and more!

My goals were curtains hemed, beanbags sewed, and some baby doll diapers made. I'll show you the beanbags later but here are the diapers - aren't they cute?

I used skiptomylou's pattern but I ended up enlarging the sides and using bigger pieces of velcro so Lucy wouldn't have to be so precise. The last thing I wanted was another "baby" that needed me to attend to its diapering needs. The fabric was just scraps I had lying around - quilting cotton on the outside, flannel and knit on the inside. 

My favorites are the pinks, the inside is an old nightgown I cut up. I'm waiting to give them to her until it is closer to Dewey's arrival but its so hard because I know she will love them. After that sucess, I added another project - a kid-sized ring sling and since I haven't really seen any tutorials for this only, I thought I'd share how I did it.

The only tricky part of this is getting the rings. I happened to have about 40 metal rings from when I bought curtain clips for our living room bay window but only needed the clip part. That was last year and I kept them because I just knew I could find something to do with them and finally I did. But even if you don't have them on hand, they aren't that expensive. Target has a set for $6.39 and it doesn't say how many are included, but I'm sure there would be enough for several slings so you might even be able to find another mom to go in with you or you could do what I did and end up having so much fun you make 4 slings! (Don't worry, Lucy's only getting one, the others are going to some other little girls I know). My rings measured about 1.5 inches in diameter and that worked but a slightly larger ring would probably work even better.

 The only other thing you need is a piece of fabric 10.5 in x 45in. This is approximate too. I just estimated based on my ring sling - mine is slightly taller than me, so I made Lucy's slightly taller than her but you could probably adjust it slightly without harm (but alas, I wouldn't go down to 36 inches no matter how tempting it would be to get away with only using 1 yard of fabric, there just won't be enough of a tail). I used a quilting weight cotton but anything light weight would work. Even a knit would probably be fine since safety isn't a factor. And part of the "wrong side" will show so if you care about that, pick a fabric that has a subtle wrong side.

Start by heming the rectangle on all four sides. 

Then lay it flat, wrong side up, and slide both rings onto one end.

Fold over that edge a few inches, right sides together and sew the end down. I just followed the hem line.

And that's it! It's really easy. Perfect for walks around the house or when baby needs attention but tea must still be served.

Of course, I'm assuming that you know how to use a ring sling since you care enough to make your kid one, but if you don't, check out Youtube, there are lots of tutorials. Between the fairly grippy cotton and the small ring, I don't actually have to adust Lucy's very much so I help her put it on one arm (she always tries to put both arms through but that doesn't work) but she can take it from there. 


This should go without saying but I'll say it anyway, these are directions for a child-sized carried meant to hold a doll, not a real baby. Because of that, I've left out a lot of the safety features a real ring sling would have so please do not size up these instructions to make a full sized ring sling. It wouldn't be safe or comfortable. There are lots of ring sling tutorials out there if you want to make one for yourself. 

33 Weeks!

Less than 2 months to my due date! And I'm feeling - not horrible.

I'm having a few more aches and pains, partly because I'm getting bigger but also because I've had to stop working out. We just can't get the house below 79-80 during the day, which is fine if the fans are on and I'm just putzing around doing chores and such but the few times I've tried to work out, I can just feel my body saying STOP. So I have. But I'm still doing lots of tailor sitting and squatting plus keeping up after Lucy so that is something.

I went to the midwife last week and everything looks good - and big. I'm actually measuring 2-3 cms ahead. She isn't worried about it although she suspects this baby will be bigger than Lucy. I'm lucky to know lots of supportive women who have had successful natural and/or homebirths with babies in the 8, 9 and even 10 lb range so I'm not worried either. Actually, I've kinda been hoping this baby is 8lbs+. Lucy was 7lb 14oz  which is sooo close to 8lbs even though we didn't measure her until after her first big "output."  It also makes me feel better. I was feeling huge and uncomfortable but didn't want to whine about it but now I feel slightly more justified in feeling that way although I still don't want to be a whiner - even thought it is ridiculously hot (yesterday = 108! 108! What's up with that?) and I am ridiculously uncomfortable :-)


Lucy is really getting excited now. She loves to go over to the baby's dresser, open up the drawers and point to all the baby clothes and diapers. She still thinks it is a boy although I always remind her that it could be a girl after which she says "but we'll see. We don't know but we'll see when da baby comes and Ms. Dana comes(our midwife's name). And den da baby will cry and den da the baby will have mi-mi (nurse) and den da baby will be HA-ppy." She says it exactly the same way each time and it cracks me up.

Now, I wouldn't be betting on a boy just because Lucy thinks so, she also thinks we should name the baby Eeyore and while we are pretty secretive with our naming options, I can guarantee you that Eeyore is not a possibility. But I happen to think its a boy too. Not necessarily because this pregnancy has been very different, although it has been, but its more of a feeling. But it might only be a feeling because we have a awesomely perfect boy name picked out and are still undecided on a girl's name. There are several options that could work but nothing seems just perfect yet - to me at least. Craig is perfectly happy with one of the names and I agree that it is a very nice name, but I'm just not sure if it is the right name for our baby.  I have these daydreams were we have a girl and she is nameless for a week and it is driving me nuts. 


But names aside, I don't really have a preference for one over the other. People seem to assume that we, and especially Craig, want a boy and it's true that I would love a boy. I always imagined myself the mom of boys and it wasn't until I was pregnant with Lucy that I really really wanted a girl. But on the other side, I don't have any sisters and between losing my mother and getting to know my sister-in-laws, I've realized that I really hope Lucy has a sister someday. But we still hope to have more kids after this so either way, there is still time and I'm fine with whatever. 

But I'm not just sitting around worrying about names, I'm actually starting to prepare for labor. I've started a herbal regime for group b strep prevention. I won't be tested for another few weeks and was negative last time and don't have a reason to think that will change but none of these things will hurt either. I've also started taking floradix and drinking lots and lots of pregnancy tea. Iced pregnancy tea is actually starting to grow on me now, perhaps it is the heat. I don't even have to add honey anymore, just a squirt of lemon juice. And as soon as I muster the energy to dig through my birthing box downstairs and see what I have left over, I'll be ordering my birthing kit. I've been thinking a lot about Lucy's birth and I'm actually getting excited about labor. Well, not the labor part exactly, but getting to meet this baby and knowing what his/her birth story will be. Only a few more weeks!

I finished...so now I start!

I haven't talked about it on the blog yet but I've been working this past year and half on becoming a lactation counselor. I'm working with a specific organization (which shall remain nameless for legal reasons* so if you know or think you know, please don't mention it by name. Thanks!)

Anyway, last month, I finished the accreditation process and am officially a lactation counselor! Yah for me! I'm really proud of myself for finishing. As tempting as it is to say something akin to "wow, that was a lot of work. I'm done now," I'm not. Really the work is just beginning (and by work, I mean volunteering). But that is even more exciting than finishing, I'm ready to see how God can use me in this position to help other moms (and babies :-).


Mostly I'll be working in a small group setting but I'll also be "on call" with a hotline occasionally. This is my first week on call and it really couldn't have been worse timing. Craig's just started night shift work and my whole schedule is wonky. During this pregnancy, I've pretty much been counting on my routine to get me through the day - my brain is just too shot to do more thinking which is obvious by the mess that has been the last week - my first with the new routine. I've forgotten appointments, meals, all sorts of stuff. And on top of that, Lucy is sick. Which meant she hasn't been sleeping well and since Craig is gone, all night time duty is on me although he is around in the afternoons to deal with the super cranky toddler and let me have a break. But I've only gotten one call and luckily I was driving when it occurred so it went to voicemail and I was able to gather my thoughts, hide in the bedroom while Craig played with Lucy and return her phone call with my brain sorta ready to work. Whew, first one down, many more to go!

But don't worry, this won't suddenly become a "lactivist" blog. At least not anymore that it already has been. I love breastfeeding so I probably will occasionally talk about it, but honestly, I don't really care if you breastfeed or not anymore than I care how much tv your kids watch, or when they are potty trained or learn to read, or any of those other decisions you make for your kids. I care about those for my kids but when it comes to your kids, they are your problem - haha.

Of course, I do care if you want to breastfeed but are struggling and need encouragement. I care if you want to but are having trouble finding the information you need to solve a certain problem. I care if you think you might want to breastfeed but are worried about things you hear, like your boobs will end up all saggy (FYI - saggy boobs are from pregnancy and the lack of a good bra, not breastfeeding) or your husband won't bond with the baby if he can't feed him/her as much as you. But if you don't want to or tried and couldn't or had to stop for some reason, okay. That's cool. I'm swear I'm not giving you dirty looks when you pull out a bottle. Pinkie promise.


So that's the new hat I'm wearing these days. And if it was a physical hat, it would probably look something like this:

available from etsy seller printsandthingsshop

*That sounds scary but basically, I want to make sure what I post here remains as my personal opinions and is not seen as this organizations official policy. I obviously agree with them on a lot of issues or I wouldn't be working with them, but still. I just wanna be me!

Kid Kitchen

In response to MacKenzie's demand request, I built this play kitchen:

I made heavy use of recycled products to build this:

• The base is made one of these upper cabinets from our pre-remodeled kitchen. I turned it sideways and cut off the upper section (where the little door is). Then I took the main door and cut it up, discarding part of it and using the rest to make the two doors on the left above. I used the upper cabinet door to make the oven door.
• The faucet came from our old kitchen sink.
• The counter top is a leftover section of our island butcher block. This may be the only kid kitchen in existence with an oak counter top.
• It was painted with leftover paint.

The hinges and cabinet hardware are new, as is the dog bowl we used for a sink. The burners are wooden discs from Hobby Lobby, and the pot rack and pots are from Ikea. The window in the oven door is an acrylic sheet from Home Depot. I ended up using magnetic door latches to hold the doors shut; they are still easy enough for Lucy to open. Inside each door is a shelf resting on shelf pins.

Here is Lucy enjoying the kitchen:

 

The list - updated

I thought I'd do a little update on my list. I felt like we haven't spent any time doing indoor stuff lately because all our attention has been going to a few large and unexpected outside needs so I was pleasantly surprised to see how much we've accomplished. Although of course, I've added a few new things as well (* indicates a new item). 

I'm happy with the bathroom and the last adjustments on the closet and living room are just waiting for a shelf from my dad's house. We should be getting together with him one way or another in the next couple of weeks and I'll be able to wrap those things up easily enough. That really just leaves the kitchen and the master bedroom. 

The master bedroom is my priority since it is also the baby's new room and my nesting instinct wants it to be all fixed up nicely before Dewey makes his/her arrival. I'm also going to blame that nesting instict for the 8 color swatches on the walls by Craig's side of the bed trying desperately, but silently, to convince Craig he is willing to repaint. That's basically my only hope of it happening but a pregnant girl has to try. If I can get the camera to cooperate (it's moved from totally not working to sometimes working), I'll even put up pictures of the few changes I've already made and so you can see the old color and help me convince Craig it has to go :-)

Okay, on to the list: 


Kitchen: SOOOO Close!

- Last trip to Ikea
- Install remaining drawers/cabinet door
- Install remaining drawer pulls
- Replace temporary island countertop with butcher block
- Install backsplash
- Caulk backsplash 
- Decide on and order stools for island
- Buy and install blinds (one down, one to go)

Bathroom:

- Order baskets for closet
- Reorganize closet
- Order one more basket because apparently I can't count :-)
- Add "green"

General Area Closets:

- Paint
- Shuffle
- Order baskets for cat supplies, hats/gloves, etc
- Find new home for brooms so Lucy can get hers without seeing paint and getting distracted (just waiting for my dad to recover from a minor surgery so he can bring the shelf over. No hurry dad!)
- Find new home for board games since Tray/Art supplies are taking over (same as above since I decided to move art, not games)

Lucy's room:
- New bedding
- Finish tot wardrobe - see results here
- Rain gutter bookshelf  (Started and finished this yesterday, pics coming soon)
- Decide if new bedding matches embroidery hoop wall fabric; if so, finally hang fabric hoops
- Blackout blinds 

Living Room:
- Frames for Art Gallery - bought 2 at goodwill. Need a few more but waiting until after art shelf arrives to see what sizes I want. Then need to paint and hang them.
- Reading nook - Arranged then unarranged when cat's bladder infection/stones issue arose. Yes, it was gross so I'll leave out any more details but now Lucy has a reading chair in her room and we are good. 
- Unroll rug as soon as latest potty training crisis is over
- Watch Craigslist for the perfect brown leather sofa for a really good price (hey, miracles can happen!)
- Replace sheer curtains with drop cloth curtains that block more light/heat*

Master bedroom:
- Make room for Craig's non-closet clothes- Find a small bench/chair so Craig has an acceptable "used but not yet dirty clothes spot" before WWIII breaks out (We went all fancy and got Craig a rubbermaid container for under the bed. Not super creative but it was cheap and doesn't take up much space in our tiny master)
- Pare down trinkets/memory items so dusting is possible
- Paint nightstands
- Spray paint lamps
- New lampshades
- Art for above baby dresser
- Art for above headboard
- Make jewelry holder for wall (found a cute one at t.j. maxx)
- Put together succulent terrarium/arrangement 
 -Replace two succulents in arrangement - Lucy wanted to see the roots on one of the plants and the    plant didn't respond well to her hands on learning approach. Darn you books that make kids interested in science and nature!*
- New white bedding*
- Pick new wall paint color*
- Convince Craig to paint walls again*
- Wall shelves for over dresser*
- Arrange for baby (bring up co-sleeper, changing mat for dresser top, etc)*

Getting close now!