Little Red Riding Dress

 

I am really enjoying sewing little baby clothes.  I have about 5 patterns that are waiting in the queue for fabric and time.  (Time being the limiting factor...who knew having a baby would be so time-consuming....oh yeah, everyone!)

I did manage to make a Little Geranium dress by MADE BY RAE.  This pattern for 0-3 Months is free on her website.

The instructions were great and the dress came out very cute.  I do have to say that I wish the neckline was not so "boxy." I feel like it goes too far up on baby girls chest so that you can't see that she has a neck.

The good thing is that MADE BY RAE does offer a Geranium dress pattern for sale that includes additional options for necklines as well as shelves.  It also is for additional sizes.  I will most likely be buying the full pattern as I really did like the way the dress came together.  I even got to use my button hole maker settings on my machine for the first time.

The material is from the Little Red Riding Hood line from Riley Blake.  There are some really cute fabric patterns in that line.  I have some other patterns that I am trying to figure out what to do with.  They are just too cute not to use.

I also made another little pair of pants using the same pattern that I used for the Easter outfit.   I really do like that method for making leggings.  They are really easy to whip up and she has gotten a lot of use out of them.  I am ordering some fun knits online so that I can make some additional leggings for the fall.

My next clothing project is most likely going to involve making some shorts.  It is finally warming up around here and will soon be too hot for little pants.

I have not been able to find a pattern online that I really like.  Most seem too involve for infant shorts.  I don't want to spend a bunch of time with pleats and darts when the little shorts are going to be bunched up sitting in a bumbo or kicking around on a playmat.  I will save the super cute time consuming stuff for when it can be toddled around.

I think my plan is to approach the shorts in a similar way to the pants.  I am going to use a pair of existing shorts as a pattern.  Hopefully I will be able to post a tutorial soon. 

If you don't ever see a BABY SHORTS post...it means they did not turn out. Don't hold your breathe.

Really all of this baby clothes making is just an excuse to take pictures of baby girl.  She is an adorable model.

Bottle Boot Camp

The past week has been rough.  If you read the "Hitting the Bottle" post you will remember that baby girl was still not taking a bottle and my maternity leave is rapidly coming to an end.

At our 2 month doctor's appointment we mentioned the "no bottle" issue to the pediatrician.  We were anticipating her telling us "it's okay she will eventually get it" or "don't stress just keep trying."  Instead she told us we were in trouble and if we wanted her to take a bottle we needed to start getting aggressive.

Aggressive...

Her suggestion was to leave the baby all day with a grandmother.  And I do mean LEAVE.  She said that we should not be around, especially me.

The gist of the plan was to leave the baby with someone patient, familiar with feeding babies, and someone that could listen to crying for hours without giving in to nurse.  Parents usually crack under the pressure.

After leaving the pediatrician's office I felt panicky.  I guess I was pretty delusional.  I had just thought that one day we would wake up and she would magically take the bottle.  We were now facing the harsh reality that we had a baby that would need some additional training.  I was not certain I could just leave my baby for this stressful but necessary time.  I didn't want to put stress on a Grandma and I didn't want my daughter to think I had abandoned her when she was hungry.  While on some level I knew that baby girl would not feel abandoned, I struggled to get past that hang up.

After going back and forth over the options I decided I wanted to be the one to work with her through the "bottle only" feeding period. 

I did not fully realize how hard it was going to be.

We started at 2:00 PM on Sunday.  She cried pretty much non-stop until 8:00 PM.  They were full blown gut wrenching cries.  She would look up at me with red-rimmed tear stained eyes, pleading.

It broke my heart.  I cried, a bunch.

I was very close to giving in and nursing multiple times.  It is extremely difficult to see your child cry.  Usually there is nothing you can do to stop the discomfort.  This time there was something very easy I could do to make it all stop...but I didn't. 

I felt like a horrible Mom.

When she finally took the bottle it was a mix of emotions.  First being great relief.  The second caught me a bit off guard.  It hit me that she may not go back to nursing.  What if our experience was over?  I felt an overwhelming sadness as I was not sure I was ready to let that special bonding go. 

The tears continued to flow.

The next couple days were a mess.  I did not want to offer nursing as an option until I felt like she was really getting the hang of the bottle.  There was NO way I was going to go through the boot camp again. 

It is really hard to bottle feed a breast milk baby.  I found myself really tied down the next few days.  She was still fighting the bottle so our feeding sessions would take up to an hour and a half.  Then I would need to pump.  After the pumping I would need to wash and sterilize nipples, bottle, and pump accessorizes.  Pretty much by the time I finished with all of that it was time to feed again.

I hate the bottle.  I hate the time it takes away from me being able to hold and play with my baby girl.  I hate the cold feel of it against my skin as I tried to struggle with her hands and tongue to keep it in her mouth.  I hate the way I have to hold her away from my body to get her to take the bottle.

I hate it.

True it does give us more flexibility.  The husband and I are looking forward to our first date night in a long time.  I will be able to go off to work confident that she will take the bottle from her caregivers. 

I still hate it.

There is one redeeming quality to the bottle.  One that almost makes it all worthwhile.  With the bottle the husband does get to share in the special experience of feeding his little girl.  True she is a fussy little thing right now but he still enjoys her looking into his eyes as he holds the bottle.

I hate it a bit less.

I am gradually introducing a few nursing sessions into each day.  I am limiting these to the night feedings. Thankfully she did go back to nursing with no problem.  That was a large relief for me.

I know that far too soon she will not be nursing and will eventually be graduating to sippy cups.  When that time comes I will miss the bottle feedings.

But for now, you guessed it....I still hate the bottle.

 

Hitting the Bottle

One bottle, two bottles, three bottles, four.

Five bottles, six bottles, seven bottles...more!

The past few weeks have been pretty stressful in the baby feeding department.  We were really lucky and thankful when baby girl took to nursing as quickly as she did.  We had no problems from day one.

That is all catching up to us now. 

As we approach 7 weeks old she will NOT take a bottle.

In a quest to find the right baby/bottle combination we have amassed an enviable collection of pretty much every bottle on the market.

We have tried Tommee Tippee, Playtex Vent Air, Playtex drop-ins, traditional latex nipples, Simalac, Medela Calma, Dr. Browns, and mOmma. 

I am going a bit crazy.  Not only have I been looking forward to being able to have the husband give a meal or two so that I can either sleep a bit more or just be able to leave the house for a quick baby free errand...but now I am also concerned about going back to work in a few weeks.

We have tried dozens of tips and tricks suggested by friends.  Scoured the Internet for sure-fire bottle techniques.

Baby girl is stubborn. 

What we know at this point is that she does not care for any bottle that has a nipple that drips milk into her mouth before she is ready.  Unfortunately even the slowest flow nipples seem to be too quick for her.  She does like to pause a bunch during feedings so this was not a huge surprise.

We have had very limited (VERY LIMITED) success with the Medela Calma and the mOmma bottles. 

All of this bottle work has left mom, dad, and baby tired and frustrated.  Feeding time is pretty much all of the time now as we start with trying the bottle for about a half hour.  We then rest for 15 minutes (to calm down and not associate the refusal of the bottle with getting to nurse) before nursing.

So by the time we are done with one feeding it is almost time for the next feeding.

To complicate things one of the repeated recommendations is that mom should not give the bottle.  This makes things really hard as the husband works during the day.  Baby girl usually is pretty sleepy in the morning before he goes to work so we only have one shot at the end of the day right when he gets in the door.  Not ideal.

I have started to try giving her a bottle during the day.  We need more practice so we are just going to have to jump right in.

You really can make yourself crazy trying to figure out if there is something about the bottle, milk temperature, feeding position, etc. that is causing her to reject.

I was not anticipating this struggle and wish someone had given me a "heads-up."  I sat in a lengthy breastfeeding class where they did a great job of putting the fear of God in me about introducing a bottle too early.

Don't introduce before 4 weeks they said or else you are likely to get nipple confusion.

What they failed to state is that babies that have not taken to a bottle before 6 weeks are very likely to struggle with bottle acceptance.  If I had known that little fact we would have been more aggressive about the bottle training beginning at 4 weeks.  We wasted some time not introducing the bottle right at 4 weeks and then when we did we only worked on the bottle every once in a while.  We should have been working with her everyday.

I have no doubt that baby girl will eventually figure this whole bottle thing out.  We will continue to search for the right bottle/feeding combination.

I am less sure how much of our sanity will be intact when that glorious day happens.

Wish us luck!

Hopping Down the Bunny Trail

Happy Easter!

I was certain I was going to rush out and buy an over-the-top Easter dress for baby girl.  However after I had looked at a few stores I changed my mind.  Don't get me wrong I saw plenty of outfits that could make you just die from the cuteness.  But little babies tend to get lost a bit in all of that flounce.  Many of the dresses just wouldn't look right on a baby, they needed a toddler that could stand up to do the cute justice. 

So I decided to wait another year for the big time Easter dress.  I should probably warn her now that next year she will be in ruffles and there will be an Easter bonnet.

I figured a cute onesie and a skirt would do the trick for this year.  This was going to be my first craft project post baby.

Let me just say that this little project, that would have taken me a couple of hours pre-baby, took me multiple days and required I forgo a couple of Mom naps to complete.  I think it was worth it!

Onesie -
No big deal here all I did was find a cute bunny picture and stitch witchery it onto the onesie.

Skirt -
I "semi" followed the tutorial found here from Crazy Little Projects.  I will say that this works a bit better for a larger baby.  I ended up having to make the top layer much smaller than it should have been because I didn't have enough real estate to get in 3 layers.  If I had to do it over I would probably make my skirt a bit longer in order to accommodate all 3 layers.  I still like the end result so no biggie!

Leggings
These are probably what I was most excited about on this project.  I love little baby leggings but I can't seem to find exactly what I want.  I had actually tried to find white leggings at the store without any luck.  I was very excited when I stumbled upon this tutorial for easy baby leggings from Make It Love It.  While the tutorial was very simple I was concerned about sewing with knit.  I have a pretty cheapo sewing machine and I was unsure if I could even sew on the fabric.  I made a bold move, bought a twin needle and just went for it.  Despite one complete baby fuss meltdown during a critical step everything went together super easy.  I will be making more of these.  They are very easy and I can get exactly what I want.

So not to toot my own horn but I am pleased with my first post baby craft (even if it did take a long time to complete). 

Add a few Easter eggs and bam...cutest Easter baby ever!

Little by Little

Look who is one month old already. 

It is true what they say, time goes by too quickly when you have a baby.  These past four weeks have been filled with little things that have turned into the biggest moments of our lives.

Her hands will never be this small again.

She will no longer fit so easily in her daddy's arms.

She will never have a first bath again.

Her little bottom will not fit as well into the nook of Momma's arm.

She has been to the park, seen all of her Grandparents (and Great-Grandpa), and has been kissed more times than can be counted.

This past week I packed away the newborn clothes.  I will admit...there were tears.  Tears for the time that has already gone by too quickly, but also tears in anticipation for all of the firsts that are still yet to come.

Babies Don't Like To Be Naked

I like to consider myself an amateur photographer.  Emphasis on the amateur part.  So I of course had grand delusions of taking my own newborn photographs.  Up until now my photographs have mostly been limited to macro photos of inanimate objects or the occasional child of a friend that I manage to wrangle for a few minutes.  I don't typically do posed photos I tend to focus more on candid shots.  Just capturing small moments.

So of course now that I have my own child and unlimited access to her I decided to try my hand at doing some posing.  And what is more cute and sweet then a sleeping naked baby?

There is a reason that professional newborn photographers exist.   After spending a couple of days trying to get some decent shots I have determined the following things.

1) Babies do not like to be naked.

2) Babies really do not like to be naked in a ceramic bowl.

3) Naked babies will take any and all opportunities to pee or poop on you when naked (especially if they are in a ceramic bowl.)

4) Babies do not like to stay in the position you have placed them.

5) Babies to not adjust their feeding schedules so that you can use the natural light coming through your living room.  They instead sleep through all of the good light so you are reduced to scrambling around your house to round up any floor lamps you can find.  Only to have the baby be ready for the next feeding by the time you are finally ready to start taking pictures.

6) Babies will squint, squirm, and spit up just when you finally get them positioned correctly.

7) Babies do not like to be naked...they will poop on you.  (Yes this is a repeat but I feel it needs to be stated more than once as it happened more than once.)

8) Babies will let you know when the photo shoot is over. 

Bottom line.  If I want posed naked newborn pictures I am going to have to find someone else to take them...

...however if I stick to a mix of clothed poses and candid shots I will be okay.

 

Happy Birthday!

I woke up on Thursday the 21st still pregnant.  I was ready to get labor going.  There are a ton of theories and induction superstitions out there.  Some have a loose medical tie (walking, etc.) and some are just down right stupid (touch your left foot to your left ear...who can even do that when they are 9 months preggo!). 

I decided that I was going to up my efforts to move baby girl along.  As stated above I was unable to get my foot to my ear (yes I tried) so I went a bit more conventional.

My Mom and I went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant to get some spicy food.  I had initially planned on meeting a friend downtown to get some amazing enchilada suzas but decided at the last minute that I probably shouldn't be driving over an hour away from home base. 

 

Next up on the "get the baby out mission" was some shopping.  Went headed to the mall to do some window shopping while getting in some good power walking.  At the beginning of the walking efforts I was pretty sure that I was going to be pregnant forever...however toward the end I was feeling a bit "off."  We made one final quick stop to pick up a baby book.  I had been going back and forth on if I actually wanted to do an actual book...I decided yes.

With baby book in the backseat we headed home.  We had only been home about an hour when I felt my first contraction.  Of course I wasn't sure at the time that was what was going on, only that it hurt and it was a new sensation. What happened after that was a roller coaster that ended in the birth of my beautiful baby girl.

4:00 PM First contractions started.

4:15 Called the husband at work and told him that he needed to skip his 5:00 meeting as "I think things are getting started".

5:00 The husband came home.  He instantly thought I was probably over reacting and that if I was in fact having contractions we still had a long way to go.

6:15 We made the decision to head into the hospital.  I had been having regular very strong contractions every 20 minutes...however I was having some slightly milder contractions every in between the strong ones.  Obviously 20 minutes apart is too far to head into labor and delivery...but if you counted the milder ones we were looking at every 5 minutes apart.  I panicked.  I was convinced that all of the contractions should be counted and we needed to head in.  The husband was prepared to be sent home.

6:20 While the husband quickly packed up the car I quickly slapped a layer of frosting on the cake in between contractions.  This was probably one of the stupidest things I have done but at the time it was really important to me.  I will admit that my Mom had to finish the frosting effort as the contraction pain knocked me down a bit and I needed to get in the car.

7:00 Arrived at the hospital and got checked into labor and delivery.  The husband insisted on leaving all of the bags in the car as he didn't want to have to do the "walk of shame" back out with all of our stuff when they sent us home to labor a bit more before admitting us.

7:45 The decision was made to admit us (Ha!  I knew it was the real thing!).  I was dilated to a 4+ so we were still expecting a long labor ahead of us...but thankfully it would be with an epidural.

8:00  We were in our labor and delivery room waiting for the IV to get placed.  As soon as the IV was in the anesthesiologist can in to do the epi.  I will admit I was pretty nervous about getting the epi.  I mean it is a needle going toward my spinal cord!  I know the topic of drugs vs. natural is a huge one for pregnant women.  I personally cannot recommend the epi more!  It was amazing and took the pain away instantly.  Mine was also a really good one that allowed me to still be able to move my legs a bit.  I never felt overly drugged up and I didn't have any side effects.  The doc did mention that because of my height (I am a shortie) I would most likely have my blood pressure drop a bit which would be fine as they could correct that with a simple administration of drugs.  I was supposed to let them know if I got nauseous.  So all was good. 

9:00 The doctor broke my water to try and jump start everything.

9:30 The nurse told us to get ready to wait around for the next 5-9 hours while my body dilated from the 4 to a 10.  The husband was doing jumping jacks trying to wake up a bit and we were getting ready to watch a couple of movies on Netflix.  I started to feel nauseous.  I called the nurse and waited.  While waiting the alarm on my blood pressure went off.  My blood pressure had begun to drop rapidly.  The anesthesiologist and nurse came in and gave me the mediation to stabilize my blood pressure.  The OB doctor also came in around that time.  He said he wanted to do a quick check on my progress as there was a VERY SLIM chance that the blood pressure drop and nauseous was due to me being in the final stages of labor and not actually due to the epidural.  The doc and nurses reassured us that this was REALLY RARE for a first time mom. 

10:15 "You are dilated to a 9.  Get ready to push in 30 minutes."  After the doctor made that statement pretty much everything else is a blur.  There was a flourish of activity with nurses getting things ready.  The husband had to make a quick call to the Grandmas (both my Mom and his Mom) to let them know that they needed to get in the car and drive to the hospital NOW.  I got a bit panicky as things were happening so fast I did not have time to mentally prepare myself.  Looking back it was probably a good thing as I would have only succeeded in stressing myself out. 

11:00 - After some great coaching from the doctor about how to push we were ready to go.  It was just a couple of nurses, the doctor, and the husband in the room.  It was the hardest thing I have ever done.  Because I had the epi I could not feel when to push or if I was pushing correctly.  The doctor had to guide me.  After a few rounds of pushing the alarm on baby girl's heart started sounding.  She was in distress and stuck in the birth canal.  The husband and I could tell that the nurses and doc were concerned.  Out came the vacuum.  I had hoped to avoid it but obviously we needed to get baby girl out.

11:30 - Our lives changed.  One final set of pushes and one application of the vacuum and Hadley Anne was born.

Through a bunch of tears I finally was able to see my baby girl as she was placed on my chest.  The husband cut the cord and she was quickly whisked away to be checked out by the pediatric nurse.  The husband went to the other side of the room with baby girl while the doctor finished with me.  I ended up having a pretty good number of stitches but honestly I didn't even ask anything about myself I just wanted to hear her cry and see if she needed any time in the nursery or NICU.  Thankfully she did not.  She passed all tests and was eventually placed into my arms.

I can't even describe that feeling...there are no words.

(She was upset that she didn't get any cake!)

 

Happy Birthday Hadley!
Love Mom & Dad

The Final Eye

Years ago a good friend gave me a Daruma Doll.  It is a Japanese figurine that has two blank white eyes.  The receiver is supposed to fill in the pupal of one of the eyes while setting a goal or making a wish.  Only once the goal/wish has been achieved does the other eye get colored in.

For the past 4 years my doll has sat on my desk at work with one colored eye. 

When I received my doll it was easy to determine what I would be making my goal....

...to become a Mom.

On February 21st 2013 at 11:30 PM  I was able to color in the other eye.

Hadley Anne took her first breath.

We Have Cake

During one of my third trimester energy spurts I decided that I wanted to make a birthday cake to take to the hospital for after baby girl is born.  I had seen the idea somewhere and liked the concept of celebrating her first true birthday with a cake to share with family, friends and hospital staff.

I decided that I was going to make the cake from scratch versus my usual method of cake mix.  I am not exactly sure why I decided to do this as I have complete faith in Betty and Hines's cake skills.  I guess I just figured it would be more special if I did it myself.

There is a reason I don't really make cakes from scratch...

1) I don't actually like to bake.  I like to cook but baking I can leave more than I take.

2) I am not much for following exact measurements.  I like to round and estimate.  This is actually kind of funny as this is a bit against my normal nature for most of my projects where I like to be pretty precise.

3) They tend to be a bit dryer than the box mixes and I do like me a moist cake.

I managed to get the layers made and frozen.  I still need to make the frosting but I do have back-up store bought in case I go into labor before I get that done.

Logistics of this plan are still being worked out.  In my mind I will be frosting the cake while in between contractions right before heading out the door.  I suspect that this will not actually be how it goes down and it will be my Mom that ends up frosting the cake after baby girl has made her entrance into this world.

I looked around for a "0" candle for the top of the cake but all of them were either blue or red and looked pretty stupid.  I decided to make a little paper flag bunting for the top.

We have plastic plates, forks, and a serving slicer all ready to go along with plastic champagne glasses for the sparkling cider.  What I really will want is a glass of actual champagne but it is probably not advised with all of the meds (God willing I get an epi) I may have in my system.  So sparkling cider it is!

Come out baby girl....we have cake!

Little Girl Clothes

Call it nesting, call it keeping my mind off of the fact that I am STILL pregnant, call it whatever you want.  I made my first little girl dress this past weekend.  This is actually my first attempt at clothing period, baby or otherwise.

I will admit that as soon as we found out we were having a girl I started getting excited for all of the little clothes I could make. 

I have really enjoyed sewing but until now it really has been limited to craft projects which are a bit more forgiving as far as fit.  I was a bit nervous to try my hand at clothes but at least they are baby things and don't have to fit perfectly, right?

I really like rather simple styles without a ton of fluff and flounce.  (Although I do have a bit of a weakness for ruffles on baby behinds...).  I like my dresses with straight lines and not a ton of ruffles. 

I came across a Butterick pattern at a JoAnn's sale I thought it fit the bill.  In addition to the pattern I found this super cute seersucker fabric in the red line clearance section for half off.  It ended up being a dollar a yard!  Score.  Plus it seemed perfect for summer.

There is no tutorial here as it is not my pattern but I will share some things that I learned along the way.

1) I have become a bit spoiled by online tutorials.  Working off of a pattern is not my favorite as you are left to make some leaps of faith when the instructions don't necessarily make sense.

2) When in doubt go with your gut.  When I was working on the arm holes I didn't like one of the instructions as I felt it was going to turn out a bit bulky.  I decided to try it as written on the first side...  Guess what it turned out really bulky so I made an adjustment for the second side and I liked the result much better.  Maybe I didn't read the instructions correctly...or maybe I am just really awesome and my way was better (let's go with the second option).

3) Basting is for suckers.  Holy cow I have never seen so may basting steps.  I decided early on that I was not going to waste my time basting every 2 seconds and I would "honey badger" it using pins and such.  Potentially my lines would have been a bit sharper if I had done the basting but I honestly think it came out great in probably half of the time it would have taken me if I had followed all of the basting craziness.

4) Baby girl may be wearing this dress in the dead of winter vs. summer.  I think I ended up with a 9-12 month dress vs. the 3-6 month I was shooting for.  I am not sure if this was due to me or just the sizing in the pattern.  If she doesn't end up a chunker-nutter/Michelin Man baby she may have to wear a baggy dress or plan on being in a cardigan in the winter.

All in all it was pretty easy to put together and I will definitely be making another one.  I am really excited to start making some clothes and I already have my next project picked out...however if baby girl decides to actually come out it may need to wait for a bit!

Baby Monsoon

Back in January I was lucky enough to have some very good friends throw me a baby shower.

I should call it a baby monsoon!

What an afternoon filled with family and friends all to celebrate the upcoming arrival of baby girl.

It was a combination work/friend/family shower and it was perfect.  Because both the husband and I work at the same place (and have for 12 years) we have a bunch of common friends/co-workers...all of whom are very excited that we are finally pregnant.

There were fun decorations...

Amazing homemade gummies for take home gifts...

Yummy foods...

 

Great friends...

 

And presents...practical presents...

Super cute presents...

Handmade presents...

 

And more presents...!

I seriously do not think we will have to buy clothes for an entire year (but I probably still will!).

I did learn one thing.  Opening a bunch of adorable baby gifts when you are 8 months pregnant and have a raging double chin does not lead to the most flattering pictures.  Seriously could I make anymore stupid faces!

One of the highlights for me was that the shower was planned around my Mom's visit for the holidays. 

As an only child this will be my Mom's first grand baby and it was very special to have her at the shower.  I broke down a bit while opening her gifts as I know she had been waiting for that day a long time. 

I couldn't have better friends, those memories will last a lifetime.

Final Countdown

Sorry the posts have been non-existent.  I'm busy growing a human.

A human that I love with all my heart...but she has worn out her welcome in my uterus.  Eviction looms.

My due date of Sunday the 24th is rapidly approaching and each morning when I wake up still pregnant I will admit it is a bit of a disappointment.  It is funny as I spent the first 8 1/2 months of my pregnancy worrying about her coming too early!

All in all I have had a great pregnancy but she is now causing a bit of damage in her tight confines.  About a month ago she decided it would be a good idea to kick Mom in the intercostal muscle so much that she caused a small rip. This has limited my mobility, not to mention my crafts, quite a bit. 

Obviously, my main reason for wanting her out is the fact that I just want to hold her!  I will however miss feeling her move around in there and I am not sure what I will do with my hands as they spend 99% of their time rubbing my belly.

I did have a bit of an energy rush this past weekend and I managed to sew my first piece of clothing for baby girl.  I think it came out great so I will have to post the final product.

As for now I sit in wait with bags packed, nursery done, and clothes washed. 

Baby girl we are all waiting for you!