Friday, April 15, 2011

Crafted for our moms: Upcycled silk

Their birthdays are four days apart.


This necklace for Jordan's mom almost didn't go so well, but this tutorial from Hobo Mama saved the day. Jordan also helped out with a fancy Boy Scout knot. Instead of shopping for beads the right size, I just made polymer clay balls the size I wanted. With only five beads, I like the extra weight it adds.


And for my mom I did a wrap bracelet. The little beads are the same ones as on my birth beads bracelet with a little copper wire added. It can be a long necklace too, which is probably more my mom's style.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

WW: A midwife gift



Made from about nine different sweaters.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

He is here!


Robert Foster was born at home in the water on Saturday at 7:17 pm. At 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches long, he is our smallest baby. He loves to nurse already, so I'm sure he won't be that little for long! We love our sweet little guy.

A special thanks to our friend Jenn who came to the birth and took a ton of incredible photos for us, including the two in this post. I just love them and will treasure them forever. She did a fantastic job of capturing the birth and most of the time I didn't even notice she was taking pictures.

The birth was amazing. I didn't use a single Hypnobabies script, but I was right--taking the class was a good idea. Not everything went the way I expected, but I think the important things did. Suzi was present to see her baby brother come into the world and she couldn't have handled it better. She even cut the cord, with a little help from Daddy and Carey! I'm so proud of her. Ivey spent the night with Maw and Paw and will meet Robert today.


I haven't been able to sleep much, but I feel great anyway. Robert is asleep in his cocoon I made (it totally fits, and so does the hat!) but will probably be waking up soon to nurse. More photos soon, and at some point a birth story too!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Another baby cocoon with a hat to match



I am running out of things to clean and crafts to make over here. Sure hope Robert decides to come soon! This is what I made Tuesday afternoon. It's what I hope is an improvement on my first baby cocoon, with a little knotted hat to match. The cocoon part is from the front of the sweater and the hat is from the sleeves. It was thin, soft merino wool, and I believe it was another one of the sweaters Julie gave me. Thanks Julie!


I really want to try this on him. Mostly I just want to meet him.


P.S. Ivey threw up again last night, after going two and a half days without vomiting! I started her back on regular food too soon, I guess. That basically means anything other than toast with a tiny bit of cheese, applesauce, noodle soup, bananas, and rice. I didn't give her fast food or anything, just a little bit of a bagel with nothing on it, some cheerios, and a couple of peeled apple slices. It was getting to where she was refusing all the stomach virus fare and she seemed so hungry! Really, really frustrating. I'm hoping she'll be okay today. I'm not giving her anything questionable because I don't want to make her sick again!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

WW: Never too early to start reading to your babies



Ivey's favorite to read to her babies is What's Wrong, Little Pookie?

"Ohh, Poopie!" ... "Upset?"

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

40 weeks and 3 days: A quick update

The girls' toenails (Suzi green, Ivey pink) that I painted Friday


1) Nope, no baby yet!

2) I went to the chiropractor yesterday and was balanced and didn't even need an adjustment. First time that's ever happened to me! I'm going back again tomorrow.

3) Ivey slept about 18 hours yesterday and woke up this morning smiling and happy and hungry! There's been no vomit for over 24 hours, thank God! She is just about back to her old self, but we are keeping her on Culturelle (probiotics) and the BRAT diet for a couple more days.

4) Jordan has an accounting test tonight at 7:00 pm. Before he left for work I told the baby that anytime after about 9:00 tonight would be good for him to come out. Of course, going by my other two pregnancies, if he comes before Monday the 11th he will be early.

5) Even after Ivey's stomach bug created a bunch of extra cleaning tasks, there is hardly anything left on my to-do list! I have to vacuum a little, finish up a bit of laundry and that's about it. Now I am working off my "overtime" list. Some of the things left: take the girls to the waterfront park, make another baby cocoon, read birthy/breastfeeding books, reorganize the storage room.

6) I'd also like to get some of my during birthing time tasks done ahead of time. I keep wondering if this baby is going to come quickly once he starts coming, and it makes me a little uncomfortable to have more than about two hours of setup that has to take place once things are rolling. Last time there was a lot of running around only a couple of hours before Ivey's birth. So I might get started on that list today, too. I'd like to at least get the rest of the birth stuff out from under our bed and put down the waterproof floor cover and pallet for beside the tub. The bed is already made up with two sets of sheets, so that'll save us at least ten minutes. I'd like to relax and watch a movie or make brownies during my birthing time with Robert.

Yep, that should just about do it. We are ready whenever Robert is. Just please pray that no one here gets sick again!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Stay in a little while longer, baby


Friday was the best day. My midwife came over and everything was great. The baby was head down and well engaged and we were all set! We figured we'd finish up our to-do list over the weekend and maybe have a baby Monday or sometime. We went to the chiropractor and stopped by Publix on our way home, feeling great. I had a few pre-birthing waves in the store, probably just from excitement. Woo-hoo! Things couldn't get any better. We drove home and put up all our groceries.

Then after dinner we made my belly cast. That was fun. We've done these with all three babies and it gets easier each time. This time the pressure waves kept pushing the cast off my belly as it dried, so I took it off a little early and finished reinforcing it on the counter. Four rolls of plaster strips later, we were done!

Because of the pressure waves, I had to lie down about 9:30 and I took a nap on and off until about 1:30. When I woke up the waves had mostly stopped, but I felt like we had to finish the cleaning, especially in the kitchen and living room and laundry and stuff. Jordan did not share my sense of urgency so after a few, um, words, I sent him to bed and stayed up really late cleaning. About 4:00 I went to bed and tried to sleep but couldn't. I figured it was no problem. The cleaning was almost totally finished, and all we had on the schedule for Saturday was to go and have fun at the Spring Jubilee, our community's annual arts festival. I could just take a nap after that.

But then Ivey woke up vomiting at about 5:30. On the day I turned 40 weeks. It was on and off, and she wasn't acting sick at all, so we wondered if she hadn't just eaten something that didn't agree with her the night before. We even went on to the jubilee, where she puked all over Jordan's back in the Ergo and he had to drive home with no shirt on. Sunday afternoon, just after we thought she was almost better, she started puking again! Last night she got worse, but right now she and Jordan are sleeping in the recliner. I'm glad to see she is resting and that her noodle soup (mostly just soup) is getting a chance to settle. She is feeling miserable and I don't want her to get dehydrated. She either refuses or can't keep down the remedies we've offered to make her feel better, so it looks like this thing is just going to have to run its course.

As you might imagine, we have been running our butts off all weekend trying to keep things sanitized so Suzi, Jordan and I don't catch this. We've been running the washer and dryer nonstop with pukey clothes, towels and blankets, and dashing around with a washcloth and a spray bottle disinfecting doorknobs and faucet handles and countertops. We are getting tired.

Jordan is the greatest dad ever. He has been holding Ivey almost nonstop because that is how she can sleep best, and because we don't want her to get me sick right before the birth. I've been working hard to get everything else done, but poor Jordy. Last night Ivey threw up in his face. It was horrible.

So yes, even though we are at 40 weeks and 2 days now, it is totally cool with us if Robert stays in for a few more days. Last time Ivey was sick like this it lasted about a week on and off and then Suzi and I had it (glad I wrote a long, boring post about it now so I could refer back!). We are just hoping and praying that the rest of the family dodges that bullet this time. We don't want Robert to be born into a house of yuckiness.

But now the poor little girl is up and wanting to eat, so I guess I better go.