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:: February 1, 2008 Cute
How cute is this? Terrycloth Sunsuit by Kate Quinn Organics, on sale at Snazzy Tots. It might be fun to try sewing something like this. And imagining Otto wearing this, over at the KQO site, nearly makes me faint. Thanks to Melissa for tipping me off to Kate Quinn Organics in this post a while back. posted by in Baby , Inspiration :: Comments (5) :: link :: December 12, 2007 Six Months
Otto is six months old today! To commemorate, here is my labor and birth story that I never did get around to sharing. Warning: non-pithiness, gore, and the "v" word inside. posted by in Baby :: Comments (14) :: link :: November 12, 2007 Five Months
Today Otto turns five months old. An update: - He is the happiest little guy. He wakes up smiling, gleefully chomping on his feet, then laughs, smiles, and stares in amazement all day: at us, at the dogs, at ceiling fans, at the Incredible Hulk head piggy bank. It's just the best thing ever. - 4 mos. was a terrible month for sleep, but it looks like the sleep regression is tapering off. (please please please) - I got to witness his first babble the other day. He had been silently opening and closing his mouth, and alternately yabbling (you know, that all-vowel coo-squealing). I said "he just has to put those things together and he'll be babbling," then not 10 minutes later he was doing just that. If you didn't already know, I am a linguistics-bred speech pathologist, so these things are extra exciting to me. - I am in no hurry to start solids. Who wants the extra expense, prep time, dishes etc. when the recommendation is to wait till 6 months anyway? But he seem SO interested in food, maybe we'll try it around Thanksgiving. - He can sit up for a tiny bit if his hands are in front to prop him up. Like a gorilla. He can roll from back to belly but not the other way around, which keeps me on edge all the time. - During nursing his hand shoots up and grabs onto my face. Usually he hooks into my mouth. Like so.
posted by in Baby :: Comments (9) :: link :: October 31, 2007 Baby's First Halloween
Kinda kicking myself for discovering this too late, but baby air freshener is pretty hilarious too. We're handing out full-size candy bars this year to rebel against people who give mini-playdohs and pencils. We usually only get about three groups coming by, we'll see if word gets out and we're overrun. Right now, time for some tag-along trick or treating with the neighbors. Happy Halloween everybody! posted by in Baby :: Comments (11) :: link :: September 30, 2007 Finished!: Child's Placket Neck Sweater
I finished something!
I started Otto's placket-neck sweater last winter, before he was born, and it was all finished except for that pesky end-weaving. I made the 6-9 month size thinking it would fit him this winter. Last week realized I better finish it and at least get a picture before he grows out of it.
I like how it turned out -- he looks professorial in it. Like he frequents the library and smokes pipes in front of the fireplace. There is still room to grow into it so it may be used in cool weather after all. For now he only wants to suck on the sleeves.
Pattern: Child's Placket Neck Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (corrected pattern pdf here) posted by in Baby , Finished Projects , Knitting :: Comments (17) :: link :: August 13, 2007 Two Months
Otto turned two months old yesterday. We don't have official measurements but word on the street is that he's impressively large. And I realized I haven't given any updates since he was three weeks old and I was at the height of delerium! Things have gotten much easier, thank goodness. • Please don't hate us, but he is sleeping through the night. What a fella. My boobs wake me up before he does. If you want consolation, know that he naps very little during the day and hates any kind of carrier other than human arms, oh my aching back. • Baby clothes vary greatly in what "0-3 months" and "3-6 months" means, but he's already out of most of those and into six-month sizes. We have two crates full of clothes that he never got to wear or wore, like, once.
• We've been having regular coo conversations, which is just about the greatest thing ever. He's very smiley and has a kind of proto-laugh working. He has just begun doing raspberries, with which he cracks himself up. • His limb control is coming along: he can reliably get his fist up to his mouth and go to town sucking on it. I guess this means his cute "ski-jump arms" are a thing of the past. • He loves the changing table, loves every bit of costume changing (who knew putting arms through armholes could inspire such glee), and LOVES baths. We need to get to a swimming pool to see how that goes. • I am going back to work starting this Thursday. The daytime childcare is going to be split up between Bryan (whose boss is letting him telecommute part time -- hooray!) and my goddess mom. It is still going to be so, so hard and I am going to stop thinking about it right now.
• On the baby product front: I got a sample pack of g-diapers. They are a little hard to get the hang of and too expensive for us to use exclusively, but the covers are cute and flushing the insert away is oddly fun and satisfying. There is a lot of info in the g-diapers Yahoo group about using cloth inserts with the g-covers. posted by in Baby :: Comments (28) :: link :: July 30, 2007 Diaper Bag
I finished something! It took many weeks of cutting and sewing in small spurts. The pattern is Amy Butler's Nappy Bag, and this is the fifth time I've made it, the first time for myself. I was never sure if it made a good, functional diaper bag, but it definitely does. Some notes on the pattern: • It's wide rather than tall. The bag I was using before was tall, and it sucks to dig down into it to find things. It's key to have just a single stratum of diapers, blankets, burp cloths, etc. It's roomy and has six big interior pockets to organize everything. • If you wanted to take it to the next level, you could line it or make the whole thing out of waterproof fabric, say, oilcloth? I'm not sure the pattern is suitable for that, but it's worth a shot. • I wasn't sure the optional changing pad included in the pattern would be a waste of time -- now that I have a baby, I can assure you it isn't. More often than not a public restroom does not have a changing area, and you have to lay the baby on whatever germy surface is around, or in the back of your car. Even if a public restroom has a changing table, you don't want the baby laying right on it, and the changing table liner dispenser is always empty. I skipped the changing pad cover, though. • The pattern calls for these two bottle pockets, but since I'm breastfeeding I skipped them. We do use bottles, but pumped milk needs to be kept in a little cooler so I couldn't really use them anyway. The fabric -- I saw Maitreya's little handbag made from a napkin bought on sale at Anthropologie and lusted after the fabric. I went to my local store while extremely pregnant and found a whole huge tablecloth of the stuff! If you have a future or current mom in your life, this is an easy and semi-quick pattern to make as a gift. You could also stock it with some essentials: • diapers, of course -- if the baby is cloth diapered an extra cover is always appreciated, I love these Needs change as the baby gets older, of course. There are many lists out there on the internet, just Google "packing diaper bag." posted by in Baby , Sewing :: Comments (17) :: link :: July 1, 2007 The NonSchedule
Inspired by Ms. Expiration Date, who also just had a baby ... Old Schedule 8:00am-4:30pm: Work. 5:15pm: Arrive home. 5:15-6:30pm: Get home, putter around, make dinner or go out to eat. 6:30-11pm: Fart around, do housework, computer time, TV, crafting, sleep. New Schedule* 7:00am: Back in bed for a nap 9:00am: See 6am 11:00am: Mom comes over, feed again Noon: Eat lunch quickly while mom holds baby. Afternoon: Mom does laundry and dishes, sweeps floor, tidies up. Otto's awake and wants to be fed just about every hour. Cloth diapers = change all the time. Hold the baby and make faces with him, stare in amazement. 4:00pm: I wonder why I have a headache and feel sad. Oh! I forgot the coffee again! Sometimes a nap wins instead. 5:20pm: Bryan gets home from work. I am usually feeding. 6:00pm: Otto has a serious zonk-out nap and I get some fart-around/dinner time, checking the baby often. 8:00pm-1am: Otto's back up, more cluster-feeding. Some nights he gets fussy, dad is good at calming him. 3am: see 6am About a zillion times during the night: Wake up, reach over to feel him breathing, hold his hand. *Highly subject to change Oh, and since one gets to think about breast milk a whole lot: it's true that people make breast milk yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc. posted by in Baby :: Comments (26) :: link :: June 21, 2007 One Week Home
Wow, what an intense week -- it's been a roller coaster, and that's with an easy, healthy baby. My hat is off to parents who have any more of a complicated newborn situation! (Minor) breastfeeding worries mixed with exhaustion can send me on hours-long crying jags. This Father's Day was one extra-emotional day: the new non-schedule was catching up to me, and my body was still feeling really torn up and deflated. Bryan's family visited, including his sister Amy and her boyfriend Luis in from San Francisco. Luis happens to be an amazing photographer. He whipped out his camera and casually took these pictures. They somehow capture all the goodness of the week and help me forget all the crud. Thanks Luis! posted by in Baby :: Comments (32) :: link :: June 15, 2007 He's Finally Here!
Hello everybody, it's Otto Robert Kight, born Tuesday June 12 at 8:33pm. Birth and name story coming soon, when my mom stops nagging at me to go lay down and take a nap. posted by in Baby :: Comments (66) :: link :: June 2, 2007 Handmade Baby
My due date is tomorrow. Hoooo! I get on extreme-tired jags but otherwise things are so fine that still sometimes forget I'm pregnant, and when I remember, I trip out all over again. Since last week I've been down to only one bottom garmet that still fits -- a knit skirt from Old Navy maternity. So even though I only have a little bit to go, I went and got another one. This is pretty much my uniform from here on out. Last week, I got some lovely handmade gifts at a shower my friend Christie held for me at Shady Grove (all this topped with green chile cheese fries - life is good).
Blanket by Melanie and monster by Susan. The thought of my friends knitting things for us makes me tear up.
And Stephanie made this onesie. There is also a monkey on the butt! *Love!* Which made me rush to pick up some heat & bond lite as instructed by Amy to make my own. These, for my favorite twins. Doing the initials was inspired by Ms. Laurie Liquid Paper:
(There are more elephants where that came from) and for my guy:
Ooh, I almost forgot. I ordered this print from The Small Object and, gasp!, went and got a mat cut so it would fit in an 8x10 frame. That's as close to nesting as you're going to get from me, I think.
posted by in Baby :: Comments (7) :: link :: May 8, 2007 36 Weeks
I'm now entering into that sleepy, uncomfortable, big ol sea cow phase of pregnancy. Don't tell anyone, but I made a George Constanza move and fell asleep at work yesterday for an entire hour after lunch, right in my (empty) therapy/classroom, stretched out over four chairs, with a stuffed turtle under my belly. I still somehow managed not to miss any kids that afternoon. This is from a person who has taken maybe three naps in her whole life (not counting sickness or hangovers). The hand and feet swelling has set in, so thank goodness for roomy crocs. The doctor says everything is on track. The gear and stuff is pretty much all gathered now, so now it's just waiting, and continuing to trip the hell out over it all. It's been a while. Extremely belated thanks to Hillary for these fabulous vintage/thrifted boys' clothes ...
And to Nancy, who knit these perfect booties for us after I sent her those vintage patterns ...
Thanks to everyone for the kids' clothing suggestions. Of course since asking I have been overrun with baby clothes -- everyone says you will be but you still feel panicky and unprepared till it happens. And you still have to have a couple pieces that you pick out yourself, you know? I think I love Gymboree the best (the sales rack, of course). My sister-in-law says that she knows people with "serious Gymboree problems." Naartjie is definitely up my alley too. This summer I will try my hardest to print my own, a la Will Heron, and applique a la Amy. Lastly for now: I made three, count'em three, Amy Butler Nappy Bags for my three pregnant colleagues. They came out so nicely, but since I worked up to the last minute I failed to take pictures! I still have to finish the changing pads so maybe you can see those. I think I'll make a set for myself too. posted by in Baby , Mail :: Comments (10) :: link :: March 27, 2007 I Require Baby Clothes and a Serger
Hello mothers and perpetual baby-shower-gift-buyers alike ... I need some advice! Where (online or otherwise) do you buy unique baby clothes that a) aren't like $28 for a newborn onesie, b) aren't gender-stereotype-indoctrination-city? (I don't necessarily need my baby to be making clever statements or expressing his parents' pop-cultural tastes and political leanings, but a sprinkling of that is OK.) With all your answers I maybe I'll get a little link collection together to share? Of course I will thrift, make, etc. but a gal likes to shop new sometimes too. (Especially for the insane number of pregnant people I know!) Speaking of making ... the need for all these little cotton jersey things makes me want a serger more than ever, so any pointers to a decent, easy-to-learn, budget, all-purpose serger would also be appreciated. posted by in Baby :: Comments (30) :: link :: March 3, 2007 Baby Belly
Understand, I have one full-length mirror in my house, and it is hung behind a door that doesn't get much use, for better or worse. So, this is the perspective on my belly that I go by.
I don't know how this picture looks to you, body image is such a weird thing, but I've been pleasantly shocked at how big I'm NOT, at six months (26 weeks -- this was taken last weekend). Not that I expected it to last, but maybe some little part of me was getting cocky. Then, Bryan takes this picture:
Oh! OK then. I really am pregnant. Welcome to the third trimester! I am starting to get that lead-weight-in-my-belly feeling, having to prep for bending over, and strangers are asking my due date rather than staring and going through that internal conflict (she could just have a massive beer belly, I won't say anything, but I will keep staring). No groping stranger hands yet, though. posted by in Baby :: Comments (12) :: link
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