The day the nursing stopped.

Today:
Wren started dancing whenever music played.
Wren ditched the army crawl and embraced a true, up-on-hands-and-knees crawl.

Wren didn't nurse at all.
Excuse me while I shed some tears. 

my night. a timeline

10:30 p.m: Last nurse of the night
10:40 p.m: Swaddle, snuggle, kiss goodnight and lay the little birdie in her crib. Awake.
11:00 p.m: The birdie puts herself to sleep (a pro!)
5:45 a.m: I wake up to leaky, FULL boobs and a rustling babe. 
5:55 a.m: Back to bed.
8:48 a.m.& counting:

a good night, if I do say so myself. 

smiles

So I'm about a week late in recording this, but Wren is SMILING! I don't remember the other kids starting this early, 4 weeks - that's early, right? 

We are loving it! 
Even though life is busier than I imagined it could be it feels like we are remembering to stay present (with the littlest one anyway, the older two are a different story I'm afraid) and are taking in every little thing and though I wonder what she'll look like and sound like and how her personality will be, I am content to be in this time with her. 

life with a big brother

4 weeks

i've just seen a face

she's just the girl for me

and I want all the world to see we've met.

two weeks

some favorite bits from the last two weeks

obsessed with her 'cute little hands'

so many gifts from family and friends

monkey ears

seriously cute little hands

the teensiest of socks that still don't fit

wispy baby hair we praying stays put

sleepy eyed girls (plural!)

finally being put to use

seeing her blues while they last

cozy nights at home

snuggling up in the snuggler

ahhh

spending the early morning hours with Wren and David Gray. bliss.

here

Wren :: October 18 :: 8lbs 10oz :: 20" :: perfect

getting ready for baby

 It's been quiet around here. I wish I could say I have been feverishly working to get things ready to bring a baby home, but truthfully I have just been tired. So painfully tired. Like, put a movie on the computer and pile the kids into my bed for the afternoon so that I can nap tired. 


I hate naps. I think I can count on one hand how many times I've napped while my babies napped. But here I am, and I will do what it takes to survive the next two (and a half) weeks. 
I cannot wait to feel like myself again. 


In the moments where wakefulness and energy actually meet I have been able to get some things done. I think everything is ticked off on my ABSOLUTELY necessary list, afew fun things have been finished, teeny tiny clothes have been bought, a meal plan has been made and I'm praying for enough energy next week to get together with a friend and execute some freezer fillers, plans have been made for family to come... We are getting there. We are probably closer to being 'ready' than I have given us credit for. 


It feels good to come to that realization. I should blog more often. 

homemade wipe solution

teeny clothes in simple sewn drawer dividers

a new boppy

newborn diapers, cloth diapers, and wipes

sweet little facecloths ready for squirmy newborn bath time

a peek at the new duvet and a sweet little thrift store find

nursery 

the baby boots

finished.

the baby boot

The incredibly frustrating thing about sewing these incredibly cute baby booties...

is that you have to sew two for the project to become useful. It's far more tedious than I was anticipating, likely because they're so teeny tiny, but really now, could they be cuter? 

the list revisted.

Things that have been completed or added to the original list appear in this color. 

The List.
Separated neatly into the following categories:
The Have-to's.
The Would-be-nice's.
The Dream-on you sweaty, swollen, puking mama's.


The Have To's: 

• Diapers (10 done out of 36 in total)
• Wipes (about half of a hoped for 60 done)
• Crib Sheets
• Change Pad cover 
• Crib Bumper (I know, I know... unsafe you irresponsible mama, but after seeing thislittle yellow beauty I couldn't resist and a steal of a deal on some yellow striped (which reminded me of this wedding that ultimately provided the whole color palate of the room, er... corner) and linen fabric at Value Village told me it was meant to be... even if it's just for a picture or two when it all finally comes together. Plus, it's done already. Sue me) 
• a pair or two of these sweet little shoes (I guess not really a have to but I already bought the pattern and to not use it now really would be a shame)
• Find, buy, and paint a secondhand dresser to double as a change table.(thanks to a lovely husband who finished this while I was away) 
• A wet bag. 

The Would Be Nice's:

• Birdies for a mobile something like this. I figure I need 10... Three are sewn. Two are stuffed and blindstitched. I hate blindstitching. (At least four more cut...)
• Some little jersey and bamboo wool hats. Our kids never fit the standard baby head size, so handmade it must be. (I found one bamboo wool hat kicking around in a pile of go-to gifts I like to keep for emergencies. This will likely be the only hat I make.)
• Artwork for the corner. There are some ideas mulling around in my head but my skills in execution when it comes to computer illustrations are iffy. We'll see how keen the husband is to help. Instead I've found a cute little owl for the wall and some paper lanterns for the ceiling and have decided to recycle art I already have kicking around the house... 

The Dream On's:

• A stack of smocks à la angry chicken. My dream would be a little girlie who wears a daily uniform of onsies, leggings, and smocks. She will need more than the one sitting half finished in a pile that was intended to be a present for another little girl months ago. All that bias tape and those tiny little arm holes plant this one firmly in the dream on category. (One smock, still waiting for a snap and some bias tape to finish the neck)
• A stack of bibs. Again, the thought of repeatedly preforming the 'right sides together, turn, press, topstitch' thing just isn't all that appealing. 
• A mommy made quilt. Seeing as I've only made one quilt before and it was less than stellar I will leave this for a time with more patience and more bend in my body.  Completely taken off the list, in favor of a duvet cover for the baby duvet I already have and won't even think about actually using on the baby for a year or two. 

the snuggler completed

I cannot wait to stuff this little swaddler full of little Wren goodness. This has been the most satisfying sewing project I've undertaken for awhile. So much so that I couldn't resist sewing up another for a little boy only days away from making his appearance. 

The second time around I added the velcro before piecing the snuggler together and I like the results much more when you can't see the stitching. I also decided to hand sew (like the pattern suggests) the opening closed instead of topstitching (like I decided would be easier) and the result is much cleaner as well. 

As pleasing as this project was, I'm sure it won't be long until I'm itching to revisit. I think my go-to baby gift has been found! 

the snuggler

A late addition to my list of things to make for baby. 
And a pleasantly easy project. 

I have yet to add the velcro so completed pictures will follow in the next day or two. Pattern is from this book.

2 kilos

In a little more than a week I have polished off a 2 kilo bag of raisins.
Ta-da! I think I have found, for the first time in 3 pregnancies, a craving!


Also. Today marks the beginning of the end.
Hello, third trimester!
I think this calls for some more raisins.

the list

I have lofty goals for the making that is to be done in preparation for our little birdie and not so lofty energy levels, so in an effort to simplify the process and keep my brain from exploding I introduce:


The List.
Separated neatly into the following categories:
The Have-to's.
The Would-be-nice's.
The Dream-on you sweaty, swollen, puking mama's.


The Have To's: 

• Diapers (10 done out of 36 in total)
• Wipes
• Crib Sheets
• Change Pad cover 
• Crib Bumper (I know, I know... unsafe you irresponsible mama, but after seeing this little yellow beauty I couldn't resist and a steal of a deal on some yellow striped (which reminded me of this wedding that ultimately provided the whole color palate of the room, er... corner) and linen fabric at Value Village told me it was meant to be... even if it's just for a picture or two when it all finally comes together. Plus, it's done already. Sue me) 
• a pair or two of these sweet little shoes (I guess not really a have to but I already bought the pattern and to not use it now really would be a shame)
• Find, buy, and paint a secondhand dresser to double as a change table.
• A wet bag.

The Would Be Nice's:

• Birdies for a mobile something like this. I figure I need 10... Three are sewn. Two are stuffed and blindstitched. I hate blindstitching. 
• Some little jersey and bamboo wool hats. Our kids never fit the standard baby head size, so handmade it must be. 
• Artwork for the corner. There are some ideas mulling around in my head but my skills in execution when it comes to computer illustrations are iffy. We'll see how keen the husband is to help.

The Dream On's:

• A stack of smocks à la angry chicken. My dream would be a little girlie who wears a daily uniform of onsies, leggings, and smocks. She will need more than the one sitting half finished in a pile that was intended to be a present for another little girl months ago. All that bias tape and those tiny little arm holes plant this one firmly in the dream on category. 
• A stack of bibs. Again, the thought of repeatedly preforming the 'right sides together, turn, press, topstitch' thing just isn't all that appealing. 
• A mommy made quilt. Seeing as I've only made one quilt before and it was less than stellar I will leave this for a time with more patience and more bend in my body.

I know there is more, but for now this is where is stays... a start anyway. 

the view from here

Not even the third trimester and my toes are no longer visible. Ack. Slow down little Wren... all day sickness, all pregnancy long and too stretched out stretch marks are too much for one mama to handle. 

post

i just re-read some old posts.


this one in particular is laughable right now.


Sometime between the writing of that and the days before finding the digital 'pregnant' on the pregnancy test, my mind was most definitely made up.


I did not want another baby. Yes. My decision was made.


Too bad it wasn't mine to make.


I think I have come to terms with the fact that this baby isn't going anywhere. The kicks and flutterings are undeniable now. I am at once thrilled by this fact and terribly, terribly sad. This is not what I had in mind for this year, but slowly I am remembering that the boy wasn't what I had in mind for our first year either. Slowly I am remembering that we had the girl in mind long before we actually got her. Slowly I am remembering that the timing has never been what we had in mind. But it has always been better.


Much, much better.