A trip down memory lane, among other things.

Remember this?And this?


Well, here's yesterday's rendition:

My big girl. And she's only going to get bigger.

Today is Halloween. YAY! Possibly my favourite 'holiday' of the year. Although I do love me some Christmas . . . some years. This year, for the record, totally hyped for Christmas, Sweet Pea's first!!
Anyway, tonight Sweet Pea will wear her $0.30 costume - no, that's not a typo. Thirty Cents! And hopefully we'll get photos, and I'll post them by Monday.
Tomorrow is SIL's wedding. This morning I did this:

Sweet Pea's ballerina wrap to cover her wee arms. Now she can wear the black dress!

I also saved myself $73 by converting a regular bra into a nursing bra. For tomorrow I'd like to feel like a woman, with 2 separate and distinct breasts, rather than a milk machine with blobby boobies. To buy a pretty nursing bra is spendy, spendy. Instead, I took one of the bras I bought during my pregnancy and made a few changes. I added clasps and ribbon - and now I have a new nursing bra! Hey, it's not like I was going to wear the preggo bra again! My boobs will never be that large . . . until next time.

So I feel remarkably productive, all before 9:30 am.

Adventures in Stocking . . . stalking? No, stocking.

This morning, I woke up to this:

And since I've been feeling all seasonal and Christmas-y already (I even have some of my shopping done!) the snow was just a little bump to do something I've been wanting to do.

I had an early morning date with my winder.
I broke out the needles . . . AND . . .

Voila! The beginning of Sweet Pea's very own, amazingly beautiful fair isle stocking!

I got that bit done in just over an hour. :)
Here it is at the end of one day!

Dressing the baby: an excercise in futility.

Sunday Morning.

I'm up early. I spend some hours doing the things I want to do. Lovely.
I hear stirring in the nursery. Stirring becomes giggles. Sweet Pea is talking to herself. She's awake! In I go to get her up.

Just like every morning, she greets me with a big gummy smile. I tell you, there is no better way to start your day. She always looks so genuinely happy to see me. We have a sit and a snuggle while she nurses. I feel calm, serene, happy. Sigh.

Next up: diaper change, and getting dressed. I pick out a really cute outfit. Polka-dot onsie, denim jumper, striped tights, cupcake slippers.
Once she's in a fresh diaper, we start getting her dressed.

First up - tights. The first foot is generally not an issue. Tights bunched up, put foot in, pull up to thigh.
Done.
It's the second foot that will fuck with you. Tights bunched up, chase foot around, let go of tights, grab foot, attempt to bunch tights with one hand . . . release foot. Bunch tights, chase foot, grab foot with one hand hold tights with the other, stuff foot in with one hand.

Notice first foot has been worked out.
Only toes are still in the tights.

Sigh.
Third foot. *Bunch tights, chase foot, grab one-handed - damn. Let go, pull tights back up second leg. Repeat from * twice. Deep breath. Bunch tights, chase foot, BINGO!
Pull tights to thighs as quickly as possible.
Stand baby up, pull tights up the rest of the way. HA! Got ya.

Onsie - should be simple. Onsies we do every day.
Bunch up, put over head. Speak in a soothing tone while baby wails, sure she has gone blind. Yank down.
Bend arm at elbow, despite resistance, squeeze into sleeve. Repeat with other arm. Pull down body. Waste 45 seconds wondering if it's tights over onsie, or onsie over tights. Decide it really doesn't matter. Attempt to snap onsie shut. Pull harder. Snap, snap, snap. Done.

Denim jumper - Waste 45 seconds pondering 'over head, or pull up'? Put jumper over baby's head. Speak in a soothing tone while baby flails in denim bag. Tell baby you are afraid to grab the jumper while she flops like that because you fear poking her eyes out. Stand baby up. Jumper stands straight up from shoulders. Attempt to pull jumper over shoulders with one hand while supporting frantic baby with the other hand. Tell baby she has a good point. Pulling the jumper down will only pin her arms to her sides thereby hindering the dressing process. Lay baby down. Insert fingers into arm hole, locate corresponding arm, pull through. Repeat on other side. Stand baby up, pull jumper down, close zipper. Done.

Slippers - again, should be easy enough.
Open slipper really wide. Slide foot in toe first. Curse the makers of skid-proof tights. Open slipper really wide. Slide foot in toe first against the top of the slipper. Wiggle heel in. Pull up slipper. Repeat with other foot. Done.

Ah yes, the baby is dressed. I feel less calm, less serene - to be honest, a little frazzled and harried. But still happy. Happy she's dressed.
Take baby downstairs, set in infant chair for play time. Smile at the cute baby. Feel warm and fuzzy as she smiles back.
Listen in horror to the sounds issuing from cute baby's bum. Recognize sounds as imminent diaper blowout. Stand by helplessly.

Grab poopy baby. Note the wet icky spot in infant chair. Head back upstairs. Remove slippers. Remove jumper, grimace at the wet spot spreading up the back. Look at baby's back. DON'T look at baby's back. Shudder quietly.

Un-snap onsie. Snap. Snap. Sigh. Snap. Ponder best way to remove poopy onsie without getting ick all over baby. Complete removal of onsie slowly, carefully, and completely squicked out. Look at tights. Marvel at baby's ability to have a poop blow out that doesn't just go up, it goes up AND around. Consider using tongs to remove tights. Discard idea. Consider using gloves to remove tights. Discard idea. Remove tights.

Give baby a 'wipe bath' from shoulder blades to ankles. Wonder how she got poo in her knee-pits. Recognize the culprit was likely the tights removal. Use inordinate amount of wipes.

Change diaper.

Begin again.

2 Seperate, yet equally important, posts

No really, your eyes deceive you -- there are TWO posts here.

First off, and this truly does deserve a post of its own -- Sweet Pea rolled over! I didn't want to say anything too soon in case it was a fluke, but she did! On Tuesday! And she's done it twice since then.
Aw, my sweet little baby is growing up. She sleeps through the night, she plays and interacts, and now she rolls over.

I swear, I'm really enjoying her little. I don't want her to grow up - but I'd be really worried if she didn't!

*******************************************************************************
Second post, because this one deserves a post of its own as well!

Story: My mom has just returned from a trip to visit a dear friend of hers in PEI. Fridays she comes over to spend time with Sweet Pea (and, secondarily to see me). Thursday, when I called to confirm that she was coming, she told me that she had some work for me to do. 'Dear God,' I thought 'what am I going to have to knit her?? How do I say no? I don't have time!'

Friday morning, she came up the driveway with this:

I'll admit, I got a little sweaty. 'So it's something big. What, an afghan? Like, a queen-size afghan? Christ almighty. I hope she's not too pissed that I have to say no.'

After much dilly-dally, she opened the suitcase to reveal:

'Oh lordy, that's at least 4 somethings.'
And then she went on to explain that she had gone with her dear friend to the Mill where these yarns were spun. First she handed me the blue - a merino. Yummy. Then she handed me the tan - soy silk blend. Delightful. Then she handed me the cream. Can't remember the content, but OH YEAH! Turns out she wants me to take them from skeins (on the right) to cakes (on the left). I have a swift and winder, it's super easy for me. Then she will knit them up herself. No prob! Knitting pressure off! (Whew). She also brought me 8 oz of merino/bamboo roving to spin up and knit into something for Sweet Pea.

And then, as payment she brought me this:

It's a lovely silvery neutral colour. Unbelievably soft.

I sat, and I fondled, and I admired the twist, and I wondered 'content?' . . . and then I nearly died. No seriously, I'm sure my heart stopped for a full 10 seconds.


Dude.

I haven't stopped petting it yet.

Mad Mortgage Dash Money Moratorium.

I forget that while I am an enthusiastic and doting first time momma, I am also a momma on maternity leave - making 55% of my previous salary whilst I am home. Therefore, a moratorium has been called on my reckless spending.

What this entails:

• No more cute little 'inexpensive' toys and clothes for Sweet Pea. She has plenty. She doesn't need them. I can tell myself this ad infinitum, but I don't think I'll ever believe it. $2 here, and $14 there can really add up though. It's all for the best . . . Ohm.
  

• Yarn Diet. I know! GASP!! But it shouldn't be too bad, really. I have yarn for several projects on hand. The scraps from those projects will give life to other projects. You'll all know why things look a little . . . well, strange around here in the future. Sticky -- why is that sweater raspberry, but one sleeve is lime green?? Can I do it? I don't know, but I'm certainly going to try! My goal: use the stash, don't let new 'siren' projects lure me to the LYS.
  

• No more going to the mall for entertainment. This one could be difficult. The weather is turning icky and the mall is a nice warm place to walk. There are too many impulse opportunities though. See point #1.

• Making the most of the food we have on hand. Mr. W and I agree that we could probably live for a month off of the contents of our freezers. We wouldn't be happy, or in a state of good nutrition . . but we're reasonably sure we could do it. Time for a defrost.
  Typically, we buy our groceries intending to eat leftovers, and then for some reason it just doesn't happen. The half ham goes in the garbage, along with the pasta scraps and the nasty wilted lettuce. It's time to start buying only what we'll use, and using what we have.

So here goes. Does Sweet Pea think I can do it?

She says it's a real nail-biter.

I think I've been de-railed.

Ugh. Why do colds suck so much? And why does my poor baby have to suffer through it too?
Thus far, we're doing okay . . . only 2 days in, but Advil is doing it for me, and infant Tylenol and baby rub seem to be working for Sweet Pea.

Not her regular happy self, but she certainly doesn't look like she's suffering.

Thankfully, the worst bit is just a wicked sore throat, which pain relievers eliminate. Minor runny nose, sneezing and a cough are easy enough to work with.
The maddening thing is the lack of sleep. I don't think I slept a solid hour at a time at all last night. And because I'm nursing, I can't take any cold meds. Just as well, I can estimate Sweet Pea's state by how I'm feeling and the amount of whining and crying she's doing. Of course, because of the sore throat, she's not eating well. Which doesn't help with the whole weight gain thing. Sigh.

On to the de-railing thing.
Mom's birthday sweater is almost done. I just have 3 more increase bits on the sleeves, and then the caps. And then the blocking of the sleeves, and the making up. I got the fronts and back attached, and the collar knit on already. Just over a week to go -- I'm reasonably certain I'll make it.
Sounds good!
Then I should start on nephew's Christmas Pea Pod . . . but (and here's where the de-railing comes in) SIL's wedding is in 2 weeks. I want to make Sweet Pea a ballerina wrap to go over her dress . . .Cool dress, right? Her wee arms will freeze off! But I want her to wear it. SIL bought it for her, and it's not the kind of thing you normally see for baby girls. I have lots of things she could wear, I have my heart set on this one. I figure, if I can pull it off, I'll make her a ballerina wrap to go over it, and she'll be fine. I'll use the leftovers from the sweater she's wearing in the above photo. She'll need off-white tights, but then she's all set.
Her back-up dress for the inevitable catastrophic spit-up?


Little Mothers. I think it will fit her already. It's supposed to be her Christmas dress, but it's not like she can't wear it more than once.

There's so much I want to make, and so much already on the needles. I'm in serious danger of accumlating way too many WIP's again.

Cutest baby ever . . . and an FO.

Well, as you can see, Sweet Pea certainly approves of her Mason-Dixon Baby Genius Burp Cloth!

Lots of fun to hold.


And to play with.
And maybe even to nap on. I was almost finished the knitting when I realized I had made the above error. Apparently the conversation over Thanksgiving Weekend was really good! Good enough to make me screw up this completely mindless knit. Oh well, it's only 3 stiches.

Specs:
Mason-Dixon Baby Genius Burp Cloth
Bernat Dishcloth cotton, 2 skeins, one in each colour.
Mods: I just knit away until I ran out of yarn. Makes for a nice long cloth!

Mom's sweater: Still plodding along. There's a pretty good chance it'll be done for her birthday - I just need to sit down and knit it.

In a state of complete outrage.

Commiserate with me.

When my daughter was born, she was 6 pounds, 15 oz. 2 days later, when we were released from the hospital, she had lost less than the projected 10%, and at her 72 hour check up appointment she had not only regained her birth weight, but surpassed it.
Good eater!
So, the very first time her own doctor sees her, he asks if I'm breast feeding, then tells me that I don't have enough milk, that she's not eating well, that I should switch to formula - all without ever checking her hospital records, or asking what her birth weight was. Yes, she was tiny - but she was also less than a week old when he saw her. And well over her birth weight!

Today, she had her 3 month check up. She's gained 1 pound, 6 oz since her last check up 4 weeks ago. (She's 14 pounds 11 oz now) The nurse who's seeing her tells me that she's not gaining fast enough based solely on last month's weight, and that I need to supplement. I flat out refused. Then she told me I would have to have dd weighed in 2 weeks, and since she already knows the gain won't be enough we'll be starting her on cereal at her next appointment.

Hell. No.

She'll be 4 months old. That's NOT old enough to be switching to solids. What the crap is wrong with these health practitioners? They're the ones harping on pregnant women that they need to breast feed, then they turn around and change stance? Are they getting a kickback from someone? It's absolutely maddening.

My daughter is in perfect health. She's round. She has chubby cheeks, thighs, and a wee round tummy. She's not fat - but she's not scrawny either. She is bright, alert, active and crap loads of fun. I guarantee she is not starving.

I will not be supplementing, nor will I be switching her to cereal in a month's time. I know I'm doing what's best for her, and giving her what she needs. I simply cannot believe that the doctor's office would try to change my mind like this!

. . . I may have fallen down.

I may have fallen down in many departments.

There is Knitting.

Does this look like sweater sleeves? No, I didn't think so either. SIL's Wedding Stole. Almost 50% finished.

There is shopping. Everywhere I go there are adorable wee things. I try hard not to go overboard, I really do. But things jump into my cart. Sweet Pea now has a number of shiny new toys. She also has some new clothes. She also has a very naughty mommy.

I combined the two - knitting and shopping - and came home with this:

They're all earmarked for worthy and valuable things, but still . . . $$ I shouldn't have spent.

So mom's birthday sweater is stalled out again in favour of more pressing things. Let's face it, mom will have more birthdays. SIL will (hopefully) never have another wedding. I'm pretty sure I can get all the knitting done on mom's sweater with 3 good days. The blocking will take another 2 days. The seaming scares the bananas out of me. Not sure if it will be done in time or not.


This one turned 3 months old today. She's making leaps in her development! This week she started grabbing toys, and she now rolls up on her side. My baby is getting all co-ordinated!

October first? Already?

In just 6 days, Sweet Pea will be 3 months old. She's already 12 weeks old . . . and clearly gearing up for another growth spurt.


Because she doesn't figure she's a big enough baby yet.

She's probably right.

In the last week she's made some really cool developmental leaps. Like this one:

She sort of 'plays' with her toys now. Looks at 'em, just like always, but now she bats at them, strokes them, and sometimes even gets them going. Scary as all hell when she makes her crib toys go in the dead of night, and you're not yet aware she can do that, mind you. (Relax, it's a Fisher Price aquarium. I'm not endangering my child)

Also, she seems to be catching on to her name - sometimes turns her head toward the speaker when her name is said. Coincidence? Maybe.
Still hates tummy time. I swear my daughter will never learn to crawl, or roll over, or any of that stuff tummy time is supposed to teach her. She just doesn't get it. In all honesty, neither do I. I lay her on the floor, on her tummy . . . and then what? She either gets all flaily and pissed off and she cries, or she turns her head to the side, rests her cheek on the floor, and has a little nap. I've tried surrounding her with toys. I've tried moving my position around the room. I've tried lying beside her. All to no avail. Sigh.

And, just to warm your heart:

I can't imagine Mr. W would object to such a lovely picture being shared. Apparently the two of them played a little too hard together.

In knitting news, I've cast on a new project. Yes, I know I have a cast on ban in place until mom's sweater is done, but I need something more portable. Something less dull than mittens. Now I have this:

A very simple 2 row pattern. One row is purl. Sweet.
It's a scarf, or will be in awhile. It's for MIL, who saw the scarf in the LYS, and wanted it. Of course, floor samples are not for sale - but I can make her an identical one. The yarn, Sublime Angora Merino, is rather fluffy - seems likely to pill in a heartbeat, but it's very soft, and scrummy!

Mom's birthday sweater is just over halfway done. Good news, I think . . . especially since I've just been informed that SIL would like a wedding shawl. The wedding is one month away. I said no -- I mean, that's some short notice! I'll probably try for it though . . . if I can finish mom's sweater in the next week. For the record, I don't think it's overly likely. At very least, I'm not holding my breath.

In gardening news: My gardens are a mess. They need weeding. They need to be put to bed for the winter. They're looking mighty nasty. Except for the roses. We have 2 rose bushes, and a rose tree. The bushes are done for the season, I think. The tree, not so much. Check it out.