Well, then.

As I type this, I am sitting here in a hospital bed with the sweetest 4 day old in my lap. I'm on the mend and he is more than perfect. The last week though, has threw me in quite a loop of, "did that all really just happen?" I haven't seen my girls in almost 24 hours and I'm missing them.  My milk is in and holy moly, porn boobs! How could I forget about that?!

Judah's birth story is half way written up. I was in the middle of it when I really started to feel wonky Saturday night, and had to stop writing and go to bed.  A few hours after that, I woke back up with a slight fever. A fever in a new mom is NOT good at all, so I called my midwife to see what she thought I should do.  With my symptoms combined, (lower, achy stomach/uterus, headache, fever/chills,) it did not look good and sounded a lot like some kind of infection so we went to the ER right away.

Sure enough, after doing multiple blood tests and an ultrasound, the doctor found that I indeed did/do have an aggressive infection that is in the lining of my uterus. It's called endometritis, and can happen, (surprise, surprise,) after having a long labor, among other things. Here's a link with more information on it.   My treatment for it called for 48 hours of IV antibiotics, followed with another round of antibiotics when we get home.

Right now, I'm on around hour 36 and feeling much better, more like myself again. I think I have about two rounds left of IV antibiotics and then I'll be on my way home. I feel like I haven't seen the girls in a week and am so ready to just be at home, create Christmas things with them, and just be. As hard as the last week has been, it's really blessing and a miracle that Judah and I are doing as well as we are. Everything, anytime could always be a million times worse, so I've been holding onto that lately.

The Elving has begun!

It's December!! That means baby month and of course, Christmas!

I got all of my shopping done last month. I just wanted to be prepared and have gifts ready for the girls when I'll be recovering from having a baby. So, here I thought I was all prepared when a few bigger projects popped in my head and I can't/couldn't let go of them. I HAD to at least attempt to make them. As I looked at the plastic crap gifts I'd purchased for the girls, the lack of mama made toys ate at me.  

So I thought, how about make a little Waldorf doll for each child? Does that sound like something feasible to do while 39 weeks pregnant? We'll that's what I did!  Here's a picture of two of the three that were made:

I plan on making night gowns for the girls out of the same fabric that their dolls have. I think it's going to be super sweet on Christmas eve to open these little guys and have matching dresses! 

There are more big projects I'm working on, but I can't share just yet, as some of my "readers" are the intended recipients of these gifts.  It's all starting! 

Almost there!

Okay, let me try this again. I just wrote up an entire blog post then it disappeared! So here's the shorter version:

Last Saturday I had a friend surprise me with throwing me a mama blessing! We did my belly cast and everyone brought beads and gifts to celebrate. I seriously have the best friends ever. They are such an amazing group of women and I'm so excited to be bringing a new life into that circle. 

And here we are today, at 38 weeks.  It's getting so close to baby time and I'm so ready! We have checked everything off of our lists and are now just waiting on this little boy to come join us earthside. Now that everything is done, I've been trying to finish up some knitted things and start on some small Christmas gifts.  Just last night, I finished the sweater I'm wearing in the pictures below. It's the first sweater that I've made for myself that actually fits me the way I wanted it to! I'm pretty excited about it and plan on living in it all winter :) Ravelry notes are here.

I feel like you need a drum roll before you scroll down to see this big belly on me! He's definitely out there and I'm totally in that last month of largeness! 

As for a baby update, J's been head down for over the last month, and is active as ever. He's actually hurt me before and I have to do counter pressure on my belly because he's so strong!   We are gearing up for a super low key Thanksgiving tomorrow, with just us and my mom here. She's been staying with up for the last month and her presence here has been SO helpful! Just having her here for the girls to hang out with while I rest. I'm definitely feeling inward and calm right now, like something big, (birth!) is going to happen any day now! 

My next post should be on the girls. They are learning and growing so much! 

3!!!

My sweetie, E, will be 3 this weekend. I just can't believe how fast these last three years have flown by. She is such a sweetie, a lover, and a keeper for sure :) 

Just one day old:

6 months:

one year:

18 months:

turning 2:

30 months:

 And last week, on the brink of 3:

Happy Birthday, darling girl!!! You are going to love being three! 

Oh baby!

So, I had a prenatal yesterday and can't believe how fast time is flying, (like usual.) In just 4 short weeks, I'll be 36 weeks along and we will have our big home visit with our entire birth team present. How exciting is that? That also means that I need to start getting some birth supplies. Aaron and I still are like, yeah, I guess we are having a baby, huh?  The baby is good to go on clothes and diapers- which I want to write about in  this post.  We are just in need of more practical stuff that a homebirth entails like towels and bedsheets. It's been a few years since we've had new of these anyway, so I think we are going to buy new and use our older stuff for the birth.  Friends have been so gracious in passing some bigger ticket items along. Next month, we'll have a co-sleeper and car seat ready to go. I think Aaron is going to set our crib upstairs so I have a safe place to lay babe down when I'm up there doing bedtime with the girls.  After doing it with two other babes, I think I've got a knack for choosing what we do and don't need.
Here's what we are stocking up on:

A car seat: That's a no brainer, but we plan on leaving it in the car most of the time.

A carrier: Or multiple carriers. I'll have one that will just stay in the car so I'm never without one.  I have a few slings, a woven wrap, a mei tai, and I plan on making a k'tan and another mei tai with buckles for later.

Cloth diapers- yes, we are cloth diapering again, but we are doing it on a budget. I've been given a set of diapers from a friend that I easily could have spent hundreds of dollars on. I also bought a set from a friend for only $75 that would have another couple of hundred dollars. I also have diapers left over from the girls and am making whatever else I need. If you can sew in a straight line, you can make prefolds on the cheap and really bulk up your diaper stash.

A cosleeper: Either one of these or a bassinet for those first few months. You really could skip it if your bed is big enough and you don't have any other littles in with you. One or both of our girls still make it into our bed at night a few nights a week, so we needed a safer option for this new guy. A friend is loaning her mini co-sleeper for the first few months, then we will upgrade to either a big one, our pack n play, or some other arrangement, depending on how everything is going.

Clothes: Another no brainer- but yeah, he's already good to go on clothes.

That's really it for necessities.

_________________________________________________


Here's a list of what you don't need when you have a baby, (and I had all of these ready for A 6 years ago.  You could really skip without!) :

A crib:  even if you plan on using one, you don't need one right away. That goes along with bedding and all of the other cute nursery stuff. Your baby will need to be with you for at least the first few months, so skip the big purchase right away.

A changing table: Have a dresser? get a changing pad and put it on there. I found that I changed the girls far more on the floor, couch, or bed than I did on the actual changing table. It's nice for storage if you need it, but you can really make due without it.

A stroller: Maybe you'll need one when your kid gets mobile, but skip the stroller for the first few months and wear your baby.  Your baby needs to bond with you and pushing him in a big plastic cage doesn't really do the trick, you know?  (This includes using the infant car seat as a carrier. 9 times out of 10, you can leave that thing in the car and carry your baby. Carrying around the car seat with baby in it is not good for your back, not safe, and does not promote bonding with you. They are not safe, EVER, to be used in the top of a shopping cart and really should stay in the car.)

A breast pump: Unless you are planning on going back to work in the weeks after baby is born, you really won't need on if you are staying home with your babe.

*************************************************

Over the next few weeks, I'll be creating his little space in our room and gathering the rest of our supplies. I'll have to post some pictures when it's all ready to go.  I'm pretty sure my 10 week count down has begun (to 42 weeks!)

October Happenings

Boy we have been busy! As I type this, we are not so patiently waiting for Aaron to get back home from a 4 day trip out east. During his time away, I've concured a solo trip to KC to pick up my sister and even finished a hat.  The house is mostly clean and the girls are healthy and fed. I even bathed them yesterday!
All of that said, solo parenting is rough and I take my hat off to all of you who have ever had to do it or are right now.
How about a list of exciting stuff around here?
*My brother returned safely back from Afaghanistan last week! We've skyped and I got to see him in him living room so my heart got to slow down just a bit. He and his wife plan on taking a trip out to the midwest this winter, so I'm excited to see him!
*A lost another tooth! This time on top and now she has that no-top-tooth-lisp. It's adorable. I want to hug her all day.
*We are already a full month into ballet for A and she's loving it. She's really great at memorizing what the moves are called and looks pretty adorable in her ballet clothes. E is missing out though, so in the next month or so, I think I'm going to sign them up for gymnastics as well.
*This is the conference that Aaron is returning from.  Apparently he was so captive with his audience, that someone fell asleep and started snoring :/ I'm totally jealous that he got to go to the east coast in October. Hopefully next year we can all take a proper vacation!
*My little ponies are so in right now around here. I might cut back on the amount I plan on making for Christmas since I'm sure any and all plastic crap ponies will be played with much more that anything I could make.
*My belly is huge!!! And growing right on track!! At my last appointment about two weeks ago, I was measuring 30cm, which was how many weeks I was and everything is looking great. I did start seeing a chiropractor over a month ago for some wicked pelvis pain I was and still am having. He's helping, but man, I am looking forward to the night when I can roll over without hurting.
*on the baby note, J is moving around a ton, I look like I'm trying to smuggle a basketball, and Aaron has been able to hear his heartbeat from listening to my belly since about week 26.  I've started printing out birth art for the room I intend on putting the pool in and am over all feeling pretty calm about this baby. My body is growing the perfect size baby for me and that's what I've been focusing on. I am starting my every two week appointments already and cannot believe that it will be baby month in less that 8 weeks!! Time is really flying by.
*E is turning into a 3 year old before my eyes. The way she plays and speaks just blows me away. She's turned into the biggest snuggle girl since we weaned back in June and I adore her. If she doesn't make it down to my bed sometime in the night, I can count on her snuggling up to her sister instead. Those two... They sure are a pair.
*A has been taking photos with my camera since last week! I love seeing her perspective on her surroundings. She's also very scissor happy right now and can spend hours at the table making and cutting out little animals.
The first five pictures were taken by A.

New (old) Pants

How has a month gone by since I've written on here! So much is going on- school starting for two in our family, preparing for baby, and daily life seem to be taking up a ton of time! The weather has FINALLY cooled down a bit, letting us enjoy open windows and longer sleeves. I'm pretty proud to say that I survived the Kansas summer while pregnant! Go me!
   Speaking of cooler weather, it's time to go through the girls' clothes and see what fits and what we are passing on.  I started yesterday with a small pile and surprise, surprise, A is still a peanut. I blame this on her diabetes, in that she's still playing catch up from when she lost weight at her onset. She's grown a ton since then, but is no where near growing a size a year, clothing wise.
 Another thing, I'm not sure if other mamas deal with, is that my girls are very picky about the style of pants they wear. They will NOT wear jeans, sweat pants, or anything too baggy. They will only wear super tight leggings and tightish stretchy pants. All of their stretchy pants from last year still fit them, but they are just a few inches too short for them to be called pants!  A's favorite pair of pants happened to be about 5 inches too short for her this year. That's when I added some mama magic to them and wala! New (old) pants!

She asked for red ruffles and we are both very pleased with how they turned out! Over the next week, I plan on going through the rest of their clothes and seeing what is going to work for this years colder months. 

  (Also, I can't claim this idea. A few months ago, I tucked the idea of adding ruffles in the back of my mind after seeing this etsy shop. Their stuff is SO fun!)

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - Soulemama

Have a lovely weekend friends! 

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.
- Joining in with Frontier Dreams today! 

The girls and I headed northeast on Saturday for an impromptu trip back to IL. Knowing that the weather was going to be noticeably cooler and running a little low on fiber at the house, I decided to make a few stops on the way. While in Des Moines, the girls and I stopped at this little lys called Knitted Together. I picked up two skeins, (on Saturday,) that are almost all knitted through!  

I've made a pair of longies for J and am almost done with a little button up sweater for him. I'm in love with the main colors of these pants! So dreamy!! 

Next, on our way east, we stopped at another store in Coralville, IA, called Crazy Girl Yarn Shop and boy did I feel like a crazy girl popping in at 4:56pm when they closed at 5! The woman working was very kind though and had lost track of time herself, so I was able to look for a few minutes without feeling rushed.  Here are some pictures of what I picked up and what will keep me busy over the next few days. I'm planning on some more baby things and some hats for the girls. 

Once again, knitting is and is going to be what is keeping me calm this week. What are you working on? 

His fanciness continues:

A few weeks ago, I pinned this link on how to repurpose old T-shirts into newborn gowns. After making one, I was hooked, which seems to be a reoccurring thing these days. Both of the girls lived in gowns for months after they were born and I really wanted to stock up for baby J before he comes. After a long afternoon of sewing, I had six made! Just the perfect number of these little gowns to add to his fancy wardrobe :)  

 Three of these gowns were made out of my old concert T-shirts and the other three were made out of my dads old T-shirts! I just love that he will get to wear something that I remember my dad wearing years ago. 

 These two below might be my favorites from the bunch. The pattern was very straight forward and easy to follow. I also LOVE the fact that I did not spend any money on these. I had everything including the elastic for the bottoms already here. Now they will sit for another 4 months and wait to be worn. 

Oh and one more thing, if you are going to make these, make sure to get a package of Jersey needles for your machine!!!  I've been sewing with jersey for a while, but man, if you don't have one of those needles, there will mostly likely be a ton of cursing :) You have been warned! 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. -Joining in with Soulemama this morning. Have a lovely weekend! 

Macbook Covers!

About a month ago I came across this pin, showing how to cover a macbook with contact paper. I was hooked! For only $2, I could cover our computers with contact paper that would not only look pretty nice, but protect them as well. I mean, hello! We have two littles that are a bit destructive and our macs were definitely showing some wear on them. 

The next time I made it to the dollar store, I grabbed two rolls of contact paper, one in the wood grain and another in a green floral print.  I somewhat followed the directions linked above, but ended up cutting out the apple and the mousepad afterwards. I used an exacto knife and just followed the lines that I could faintly see to do so. It worked great and there wasn't a whole lot of lining up.  I have so much contact paper left, so if this stuff starts peeling off or one of the girls pick any off, I can just redo it if I need to. Talk about a thrifty project! The stickers online for macbooks started around $30. Um, no thank you! 

So far, it's been about two weeks since I did them and they are holding up really well. I don't have any corners peeling up or anything. Have a look: 

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

"The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below." -Frontier Dreams

When I stumbled upon the blog Frontier Dreams, (linked above!) and found this thread of crafting on, I thought I was finally in the right place! Oh, how many times a day do I find myself just making something instead of doing the dishes. I would rather knit than fold laundry. I would rather sew than pick up toys! And I thought I found the right little place to share that with. 

 This past week, I've finished a giant pair of longies for Christmas for A. Not an easy feat! This being only my second pair I've ever made, I didn't realize what I'd gotten into. No, they weren't a hard knit, but long!! Like, 18 inches long for each leg!! But, they are done and are getting ready to be tucked away for December. She loves them and has already seen them, but the fact that she is just as excited and had a say in them is wonderful! It all started a few weeks ago when she saw the pair I had made for her brother. Then, she asked for one for her. So, I got the bright idea to make her and her sister their own pair to open up on Christmas Eve, instead of flannel pants. (I still might make some matching flannel pjs.) So, now, with two pairs done, I have E's left to cast on, which I will probably wait a while to do. I need a break from longies. Just a small one! Luckily, I have about a million other projects to keep me busy.  

 Aren't these ruffles fun? I am SO kicking myself for being too intimidated to knit some up for E while she was still in diapers. At least there are a few little girls I can make some for that I know! 

Then, on Sunday night, A and I started looking through Ravelry patterns for Amigurumi dolls. Then she saw the cat pattern and begged me to start one for her! So, we dug through my (small) stash and found about 3/4 of a skein of bright red yarn left of from J's grampie sweater. Before I even started this cat, I said a prayer that I hoped I would have enough yarn to finish. After some major tweaking to the pattern- it called for fingering weight yarn and I do not do fingering! I used bulky for this! A little kitty cat, (bear?) was born. I had to ask A for every detail to make it just right. And she's in love! Here is Sally the red cat: 

Also, I ended up with inches left of red yarn! She's perfect! 

Also, Ravelry notes are found here and here for anyone who is interested! 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Joining Soulemama today. Happy weekend!! 

He's going to be fancy:

I made another pebble, starting well before I knew (saw) he was a he. But, like I've been telling my husband and friends, I just knew he was a he.  This was made in tiny size on #5 needles, following the pattern otherwise.  It was a very thrifty project, as it used less than a full skein of Cascade 220, which I had on hand.  The buttons I found at JoAnn's.
I think he might need some bow ties to go with this sweater vest. Also, a grampie cardigan? Oh yes! That's to be shown soon :)  He's going to be a fancy dressed guy :)

Baby BOY!!

Earlier this month, we found out that we are expecting a little boy!! We could not be more excited with that news!!  I think I knew before hand, as everything I had made before finding out for this baby was all blues, teals, and greens. I kept telling myself that even if we had another girl, she would look great in blues.  Low and behold, mama intuition was right. He's a he.  And apparently, with my ever moving hands, he will be a very well dressed he at that. 

I bought Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings a few months ago with plans to sew some clothes up for this little one. Little did I know how addicting the little Quick Change Trouser pattern would be!  So, our little guy now has 5 pairs of reversible pants that are waiting patiently until December to be worn. They are teeny tiny and I can't stand how cute the patterns are on them! 

I'm sure there will be more sewing out of this book for our guy.  I think he might need a spring time jacket, yes? 

Mama Blessing:

Here are a few photos of a mama blessing I had the honor of hosting last week. It was an amazing night filled with beautiful women, yummy food, and lots of love.