Swap Update

Before I go any farther I have to tell you something, beware it's kind of gross, but I know that any of you that have ever had a baby can completely understand. It's something that I had forgotten about with Marley, and I think it's better that way. Well here it is, I've turned into a huge dirtball. I went to bed last night in a t-shirt that I know had at least 2 spots of spit up on it, a little leaked through breast milk, and completely forgot about the fact that my bed had two places where Abe had squirted a little pee during a diaper change, and one spot that had a little bit of explosive poo on it (it wasn't still wet, if that makes any difference). I have to tell you that I do regularly wash my sheets and I am even pretty anal about it, they get washed every third day, but I guess this is just how it goes these days. But don't worry the sheets are in the wash right now, and I have already taken a shower.

Back to where I wanted to go with this... My Gimme Your Stuff Swap partner got her package, and from what I hear she was very happy with what I sent to her. I did get a picture before I sent the package out so here is what she received....Two skeins Classic Elite Silky Alpaca, one skein of soy silk lace yarn (the yellow and pink stuff), one skein of kool-aid dyed yarn (dyed by Marley and I), some kids toys, a couple bars of chocolate, jelly bellys, tea, handmade soap, a journal, flowered coffee mug, and some bags from a few local shops. I was amazed how quickly it reached her in Portugal, I sent it on Thursday and she got it on Monday. I am very excited to see what she has picked out for me!

My other swap, The Great Bootie Swap, has actually had some progress made on it. Booties are the perfect thing to knit while nursing, as long as I am not using double pointed needles. I have one pair completely finished, one pair that needs to be seamed, and one pair that will be off of the needles with only about 15 more minutes of knitting, then only one more pair to do. I am stumped for what to do for this last pair because I forgot to pay attention to all of the requests of my swap partners. The last pair will be for someone expecting a grandchild, but doesn't want anything yellow or orange (I've knit one yellow pair, one orange pair, and one pair with both colors in it). So we'll see what I can come up with. Here is one of my finished pairs, the Oscar Bootie.

Oh, oh, oh! Abe has gotten himself into some great kind of routine during the day! It involves two long naps that allow Marley and I to spend sometime as just the two of us. Yesterday I even got some stuff done around the house. He then has a couple of long periods where he is awake and playful in a 2 week old kind of way.

Still Alive in Babyland

When Marley was born we were living with Declan's parents, and I feel like we must have missed out on some of this new baby insanity. Suzanne took care of cooking, cleaning, I think maybe she even did some of our laundry, needless to say there wasn't much more than keeping Marley alive and happy that had to be done on our end. Completely different situation now... I keep thinking "were we crazy for doing this again!?" then I realize that little man isn't even two weeks old, he has no set schedule, he cries/poops/sleeps/eats and because he is so little there isn't even the slightest return of a smile yet. But again I am learning to keep my sanity by remembering that we are just at the beginning and man is he cute and a really good baby. Also that other kid of ours, that one that I hope doesn't feel neglected, oh... Marley, that's her name, has been doing more than an amazing job being a big sister. She throws away dirty diapers, preforms for us while I nurse Abe, helps fold laundry, and just does an all around awesome job.

Declan came home last night and told me something that one of the teachers at work told him about parenting. She had asked Declan how things were going, and told him how she missed where we are at right now. She told him that now that she is older she looks back to the years she spent raising little babies/kids as the best years of her life, and that she wished she realized that while she was in the middle of it. I started thinking about that, and I realized that she's onto something. Waking up at 1am and 5am sucks, but never again will I have as much energy as I do right now. I could even say that it feels almost invigorating in a way. And there is something amazing about how such a little thing can completely throw your life/priorities for a loop, and there is also nothing sweeter than seeing Marley sitting next to him on the ground "holding his hand" while they watch a scary part of a movie.

At some point I will take pictures and show you the fruits of my Mother's Day, a beautiful lamp from Declan and Marley, and a trip to knitorious. I picked up some Elsabeth Lasvold Hempathy for this top in the summer Interweave Knits, and also some dyeabolical yarn in Avocado which I have started the pomatomus socks. Pictures another day, baby needs to eat....

Abraham Elliott Gardner

So... he is here! Our wonderful, perfect, little boy met us May 3rd at 10:09am!

Here's how it all went...
4:30am Declan gets in bed after working all night long. I immediately get up because I kind of feel like I need to go to the bathroom. Once in there it seemed like something other than the regular peeing happens. Declan describes the sound as a water being poured into the toilet, not peeing. I have a feeling that this might be my water breaking but I am not sure. It wasn't the "big gush" that people talk about, it was just a little bit that continued to come out a little bit here and there. After calling Mom, Dad, Declan's parents and the doctor we decided to head to the hospital.

6:00am We get to the hospital and I am checked and I am still only at 3cm. They start the pitocin about half an hour later. My contractions weren't anything more than mild braxton hicks contractions at first, so they needed to get things moving.

7:30am They keep upping the pitocin, and the hopes of any sleep for Declan and I are soon crushed as the pains really begin to set in. Contractions are now ever three minutes or so and I am dilated to 6cm.

8:00am Declan goes to the cafeteria to get breakfast while I give in and get an epidural. I had wanted to try to go as long as possible without, but I was at my breaking point. I tried the birthing ball, counter pressure, breathing techniques, but nothing was helping. I was also to the point of almost vomiting from the pain. The nurses claim once the epidural kicks in I will feel a lot better, still able to feel pressure, but not the sharp pains.

9:20am Definite pressure! Lots and lots of pressure, and pain, and uncontrollable shaking. I buzz the nurses to tell them that there is something down there wanting to come out. They check me and I am at 9 almost 10cm. The doctor is called and is on his way.

9:55am Pushing begins... I push with three contractions and...10:09am WELCOME BABY BOY!!!

We had a great stay in the hospital, lots of visitors (thank you guys!). Marley was so happy to see her little brother, especially after saying nightly prayers for him to come. She wanted to see and touch and hold him, and (so far) has not once acted like she is upset he is here.
He did stay unnamed for a while, and finally after being told the birth certificate needed signing we settled on Abe. He is definitely an Abe. So far he is super relaxed and really, really, really loves eating. Like non stop feedings, and now my milk is in (OWWWW!!!). Suzanne says he looks just like Declan did when he was a baby. I do see a little of Marley in him, but this guy will not be another mini-Ariel. Besides that, life is good for the Gardners. Abe is sleeping now, and we are settling in for life as a family of four.

This past Sunday I was able to spend sometime knitting at Knitty Couture and while there Thi told me about their next KAL for May, the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I had cast on a couple of times for this and had no luck, I imagine it had something to do with the yarn being way toooo thick for the needles I was using, but oh well. So while there I picked up some Creatively Dyed Sock Yarn in a really pretty natural, goldish, yellow color. I figured I would need to get a head start on the KAL since BBG (Baby Boy Gardner) will be here hopefully next week. Well I got a huge head start... I finished it! I am so in love with it too. Everything about the pattern and yarn is perfect. The yarn is an incredibly soft merino sock yarn and the pattern, well the pattern is almost inspiring. Everyone has been telling me to relax and take it easy since BBG is almost here, I have even been told not to come into work anymore, so I really didn't feel bad spending Sunday night and most of Monday knitting away at it. I suggest reading The Opinionated Knitter while knitting the BSJ if you have a chance. Obviously you don't have to do it at the same time, but I feel like it really made the EZ experience.

After my BSJ knitting and reading The Opinionated Knitter I have fallen in love with Elizabeth Zimmerman. Her patterns are hilarious to read, even though I occasionally need a little clarification when it comes to directions. I loved reading about her and her husband going for motorcycle rides and her knitting on the back of the bike. Anyway... before I go on too much, I decided that I needed to knit the EZ Bootees as well and the Bonnet. The Bootees worked out just as well as the jacket and I think I will make a couple more pairs of them for the Baby Bootee Swap. I am having a little trouble with the Bonnet so Marley and I may stop into Knitty Couture for a little help today.

As you can tell I have been getting very obsessive about certain projects... the soakers, the EZ patterns, etc. but I realized that I need to clean up my knitting space a bit and sort through things that have been started and need finishing or frogging. I pulled out the lace ribbon scarf for my Gram that is almost finished (I just need to cast off). I have booties that need to be seamed, and lots of random other starts of projects that need to be cleaned up. I hate going through all of that stuff, but I suppose it needs to be gone through eventually. I still need to finish the top for Suzanne, her birthday will be here soon and I need to get that finished up and sent out to her so it doesn't make the usual, belated arrival.

Well today is supposed to be super nice outside, so I am looking forward to finishing this blog and heading outside with Miss Marley.

progress, prefolds, and poop (the baby kind)

After a promising progress report from the doctor (I am now at 3cm and 70% effaced), I am beginning to wonder if this won't be the last quiet weekend, or at least the last weekend where it will just be the three of us. After all of this talk of inducing early and being so impatient for him to come, I am really going to try and enjoy our ever shrinking time as just Marley, Dec and I. We've worked ourselves into such a great routine, we know each other's habits, and we all get along well, which makes it difficult to imagine throwing another kiddo in the mix. I've begun to fantasize about the new routine we will soon begin, but my daydreaming is sure to offer none of the reality that will soon be here. But I suppose all of this is half of the excitement.
I have to tell you that I am enjoying seeing the results of the Baby Name Poll change almost daily, but kiddo is still unnamed.

In knitting news, I am almost finished with my stash of soakers. I have been using the curlypurly pattern and just experimenting with yarn choice. I am trying to use up some of my stash, but as some of you know I never turn down a chance to buy some more yarn. The first ones I did are with slightly scratchier yarn, but nothing a little lanolin bath won't soften up. After reading some threads on the Ravely Soakers and Longies group I have begun doing the rest, well at least the newborn ones, in 100% merino. They are said to pill horribly, but the softness will totally be worth it in my opinion. It does feel like a bit of shame to use Malabrigo to possibly be covered in the out squirtings of an infant, oh well it was stash yarn.

I also made a trip last week to cottonbabies and bought some more diapers, super simple Indian prefolds this time, along with some hemp doublers and some more lanolin to prep the soakers. It was a neat little shop, lots and lots of cloth diapering stuff, all natural baby and maternity clothes, tons of carrier ideas, and was very kid friendly, with a pretty big play area and great wooden toys. Marley and I spent almost an hour there asking lots of questions while gaining more confidence on the whole cloth diaper idea. OOhh, that reminds me that we will need a diaper pail.

Insert quick break to take and upload pictures of soakers....

Okay so starting at the top and heading clockwise we have Arucania Nature Wool (this is one of the slightly itchier ones), then we have Di.ve Autunno (100% merino, and it still needs the ribbing around the legs), then Cascade 220, this next one is in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted and RYC Cashsoft Aran, then Malabrigo for the red one. I've heard that 6 is good number of soakers to have. I also have a couple of Super Whisper Wraps and a couple of Dappis. I am thinking that will hold us through the first couple of months. After that I may have a better idea of whether or not cloth diapers and the Gardner family match, along with what will work the best for us.

We've decided not to get too far ahead of ourselves and take this "one size at a time". Cloth diapers can be economical, but can be a sizable financial commitment if you aren't going to use them, which is why I am hoping the prefolds agree with us. We are figuring that we will still throw disposables in the mix. I can't imagine dealing with fastening and folding cloth diapers all night long, especially during those wonderful newborn/breastmilk diaper months. I also imagine that long car rides and stays with others may end up being difficult with cloth diapers. Either way, I am excited about it, and it feels good to do some functional knitting, using my craft for good not evil.

Well things are unfortunatley moving slower in baby land than I expected/hoped, espicially after my little scare at the beginning of this week. I was hoping that would have yeilded some progress, but no. I am still where I was last week, 1 cm and 50% effaced. I understand this is normal, but I would love to be an exception. Besides that crappy news, baby is doing great... lots of movement, great heartbeat, etc. My sleep deprived body is seriously stressed out and I have actually begun losing weight (3lbs. in a week!), which is normal but strange considering with Marley I was packing on the pounds until the day she came out. I did find out that next week we can talk about "how long I want to stay pregnant". Umm, doctor I'm now considered full term, I'm ready now. She mentioned inducing if we are at all interested, which was not an option with Marley, or atleast no brought up as an option, so I am very much on the fence. I figure I've tried it the non induced way, why not give it a shot being induced. You figure one girl, one boy, why not one of each birthing method? But if we were to induce the earliest they would let me do it would be April 29th. I have had a lot of requests for next week, so maybe I can defy my doctor saying "I'm sure I will see you next week" and make that happen. Oh and Declan has begun to refer to my moving around as the same thing as a bumble bee flying "seemingly impossible when it comes to laws of physics". Thanks honey.

But because the universe can't be that cruel (A note before I go any farther... I understand there are women that go 2 weeks plus beyond their due date, I understand that I am still not 40 weeks, but don't go rolling your eyes when I bitch and moan. I am just as miserable as any other woman who is this pregnant. Besides, I have not at all tried to soak up sympathy, besides complaining on my blog and to family, until now. I want the doctor to feel bad for me, and I will begin to force tears in hopes of the universe seeing and making this baby come now! Seriously, I almost mowed the grass today, because I felt bad that Declan has no time to do it, and I apparently have all the time in the world) Okay, back to where I was... Because the universe can't always be that cruel... we came home today to find a package waiting on the back porch. It was from a friend of mine from highschool, and in it was a cloth diaper starter kit! How awesome is that!? There were 8 newborn diapers, some diaper covers, cloth wipes, one of those spiky balls to make drying time go faster, and a little gift for Marley- some headbands. They are all from Cotton Babies in South County, who also offers a program where you can bring back the small diapers towards a purchase of larger ones, great idea.

I also finished my second pair of booties for the Baby Bootie Swap! That's a good thing. Tommorow Marley and I will go out looking for a few more goodies for the Gimme Your Stuff Swap and hopefully I will have started and finished pair 3 for the Baby Bootie Swap. If this baby is coming, sooner or later, I figure I better get things like this out of the way. And I promised myself I would put up pictures or maybe even a link or two to Cotton Babies and bootie patterns, but for some reason Yahoo won't load and I can't figure out how to add another tab or doing anything interesting on Mozilla.

Swap

I am excited to report that I am participating in my first gimmeyourstuff swap! Their website doesn't seem to be updated very regularly so I was happy when someone, who is also on Ravelry, contacted me about swapping. She obviously knits, which I am going to go ahead and consider a plus, is from Portugal, and also has small kiddos. I think our match up is probably a good one. So I've been trying to come up with some great items to swap and I think I may be on the right track with what she would like. For some reason I am very nervous. Kind of in that middle school "will they like me?" sort of way. I would tell you what I have found to send her, but in case she reads this I don't want to ruin the surprise. I will tell you all about what I sent her and what I receive as soon as that happens. We have put early May as "due date" for sending the packages out.

I've always liked the swap idea, and I've read the blogs, seen the groups that do all of that stuff but this will be my first. A week or so after she contacted me I was asked if I wanted to join another swap group through Ravelry, The Baby Bootie Swap, and of course I accepted. I will be knitting four pairs of booties to send to people that will be knitting/crocheting booties (4 pairs) to send to us. Along with the booties I will need to send a $5 gift or maybe another little knit something. I'm at a blank with this swap though. What booties do I knit!? Items for this swap don't need to be sent out until mid June, but I am really hoping that I can at least get all of these things knit and/or the gifts taken care of before the baby comes (in 3 weeks!!!). For some reason though my mind can't handle this picking out patterns idea. I am NOT buying any yarn for this swap, that is the top rule for me with this swap. I have so much yarn and even though booties are small I figure this will be a good way to get rid of some of it.

I'm thinking way too much about all of these patterns, and I'm sure the baby has something to do with that. I have one pair knit, but part of me thinks they are too plain for something like this. Okay Ariel, this is not a contest for who has the best booties, there will be no judging, only warm baby feet. Last night I started on a second pair, Pirate Baby Booties, which I started in some black cotton yarn, that is probably a little to thick, but I am making it work. I really haven't gotten too far, but happy nonetheless. The yarn is driving me nuts though, it is the biggest tangled mess, and every couple of rows I have to go back to that big, black, wad of yarn to untangle enough to get me through another couple of rows. I had knit a tank top out of this yarn last summer, and I suppose I didn't do a very good job of putting the yarn back the way it goes, if there is a way to put tiny amounts of yarn away.

In other news I am very cranky this morning. Why may you ask... well about 1am I woke up with some serious lower back pain and achy feelings in my lower abdomen along with some contractions (I suppose BH) that intensified the pain. I tried tossing and turning and after that not doing a damn thing, I went down stairs and played chuzzle for about an hour while counting and timing contractions, that almost had me on the phone with my Mom to come get Marley while I tried to round up Declan to get on to the hospital. They ended up being anywhere from 4-7 minutes apart and some were fairly intense, but not all. After them eventually going away I went back to bed, with 2 hours less sleep than I can typically handle. Also, we've decided Jasmine (the cat) needs to start sleeping downstairs, because I am afraid she will try to sleep with or on the baby in the co-sleeper or crib when he comes. She is a very needy cat, and gets plenty of attention during the day, but at night she likes to be on top of you, actually until recently she literally slept on my pillow with me. So we are trying this thing out before baby gets here. Well early this morning she was pretty pissed off. Oh, she is very, very, very vocal too. At about 6am she sat on the other side of the basement door telling us that she was ready for breakfast, and didn't like this basement situation. Thanks cat.

The top picture is of Marley in her new, big girl bed. The bed was first my Mom's, then mine, and now hers :)