Sewing Frenzy

I am taking a lunch break from sewing. It has been a productive morning of stitching up my orange wrap, cutting flannel for the mattress sheets (I finished cutting the mattress wool this week!), and sewing up the first sheet. This is her blue option (featuring cats and butterflies). She also has a yellow (with unicorns, fairies and castles) and a pink sheet (with animals sleeping on moons). I had a couple other flannels, but I've decided 3 sheets is enough. I can use the flannel for other baby projects. I sure hope Baby likes unicorns, because there are more where these came from (at least 4 I can think of, but perhaps more).

Since I forgot to add this earlier, here's the belly art from this past weekend. 34 weeks.

I suppose I should go have that lunch I'm breaking for...

Kicking Mommy

I take back every time I said I wanted to feel Baby kick. "Stop kicking mommy!!!" I think she aims for sensitive organs. Robin goads her on of course. And while it's nice that he can feel her kick, it's not so nice for me. I prefer the more abstract sensations of movement. Those don't hurt. It's all par for the course now that I'm in my last month (or so) and once again, I should reiterate that I know I have nothing to complain about. Sure I feel uncomfortable much of the time now, and I'm more tired, and I wake far more frequently to pee, and just shifting positions in bed is a chore, and getting up and down (especially in the car) is awkward... and there's a whole month more to endure... but I'm not complaining ;)
We have our homevisit with my primary midwife and student this week. Should be a fun afternoon. And then it will be February. The very last month. Full of Imbolc rituals and baby showers (for me and a friend on the same weekend) and knitting and rushing around to finish getting ready for baby's arrival. (Which reminds me that I have to go update the baby registry list again.)

The Business of Being Born

Trailer for a new film entitled The Business of Being Born

Research Interests

I was inspired by today's PhD Comic to write about MY research interests, which I don't think are accurately represented by the following pie-chart.
Contrary to the above, my advisor's interests do not dominate my research. In fact, except for when I was his research assistant for one or two terms, he's not had much impact on my interests per se. Certainly he's been very helpful in clarifying my research, but my specific research with children is not his field of study. Like in the chart, my research interests have shifted since I began, but my research topic has remained the same. That is, I started my MA knowing that my PhD research would be with children in contemporary Paganism. The shift that has taken place has concerned my emphasis. Whereas I was previously more interested in the development of new religious movements and contemporary Paganism, I am now far more interested in the sociology of children and religion / spirituality. Unfortunately, pretty much everything that I want to research is what "nobody will ever pay me to do". I am hoping that will change over the years as the sociology of childhood and children grows as a research field. My own academic interests certainly would take up the majority of the pie chart. I am pleased to be able to say that I get to do my own research, not someone else's! (Except when I am being paid as a research assistant to do their work.)

As for the non-academic items from the chart, they really don't apply here (celebrities, sports and online shopping are not in my field of interest whatsoever). My "other" research interests include things related to pregnancy and babies - everything from cloth diapering to the evils of plastic. Along with that is my current interest in researching new patterns for wool soakers and then knitting them. Knitting is my morning relaxation. It is also how I justify watching DVDs with Robin, because I can knit and still feel productive while enjoying his company and being entertained. Before I could see or feel my pregnancy, knitting a baby blanket helped me to connect with the baby. And when I need to procrastinate, good ol' knitting projects are always on hand to help me out ;)

Preggo-Prerogative

Friday night I came up with a very useful term: preggo-prerogative. Neither Robin and I had eaten dinner, so I thought when I picked him up from work at 7 we could grab something. I wanted sushi. He was humming and hawing. I decided to call upon my preggo-prerogative to decide the matter. It seemed a fair use of this privilege to me. I've really not demanded much during this pregnancy. I've not had strange cravings. I've not sent Robin on late-night trips to pick up special foods... so *I* think that if I have a desire for a certain food (very occassionally) and it's not too much trouble, then darn-it-all, I should get that food for dinner!! I'm not abusing preggo-prerogative and making constant demands...

In other baby news, we received another wonderful baby gift in the mail. The ever-so-thoughtful Jen and Joe sent us a chocolate brown Moby wrap baby carrier. Yummmy. Now we have several options: Moby wrap (soft, stretchy and neutral in colour), orange wrap (less soft and stretchy and bolder in colour, not Robin's favourite), beige pocket sling (which Veronica didn't like much, but we'll try for diversity), and maroon Ergo carrier (with all the nifty accessories). I still have an unpadded ring-sling on my baby wish-list - you know, for more options. (Robin says I don't need any more...) I love baby wearing. Now, we just need the baby... (Monkey is un-cooperative. She wouldn't get into the sling! I'm sure if I had a canine-cat (ie, a mini-dog) she would love to be carried. Monkey would rather ride in the pram.)

[Robin models the new wrap with a rolled-up towel inside]

Yesterday I got to dress up for a department potluck social. Dressing up feels good. (V, I ended up wearing the top you sent for Yule with a warm wrap.) Potlucks are also very good!! So many delicious choices... and then dessert! We also had lunch with our friend Chris S who was up on a short visit from Tennessee. Today I had a free pregnancy massage. It's a good weekend!

Bright Yellow Folder

A large bright yellow folder is my new constant companion. So say my widwives. Yes, Yellow Folder and I must go everywhere together "just incase" (I go into labour). I think Yellow Folder needs a name... Byf? That's not a very nice name. How about... Sunshine. Yes, Sunshine is my new companion. Good thing I have a large purse to carry her around in. Why is the folder female? I don't know. Maybe because most of the people involved in this birth (with the singular exception of Robin) are female.

Today's midwife appointment was short. Because I was late. I'd blame the storm, but I actually forgot this morning. Don't you hate when you remember something the day before, tell yourself to file it as important to remember the next day, and then forget? Apparently 3 calendars (2 on walls, one on the computer) aren't good enough to remind me of appointments. To report on progress - all is well. As usual. Measuring to size, normal heartbeat, normal blood pressure, normal everything. We're just over 33 weeks now. My next appointment, at the end of the month, is a home visit.

Yesterday my mom's belated Xmas package arrived. Aside from the Xmas gifts (DVDs from mom and clothes from sis), the best part was the baby-stuff -- some prefolds and snappis, the newborn-sized wool soaker I'd made Dorion, and breastfeeding clothes. Now we can start practicing our prefold diaper wrapping (on non-squirmy stuffed animals). I can't remember if my childhood baby doll Claire is here or in Winnipeg... will have to look... she'd be the right size to practice on. (Yes, I have many of my favourite childhood toys still... most are in storage in Winnipeg.)

On my way home today from the midwife I made two stops. The first was to relax from the storm, read what the midwives gave me today, and fix my blood sugar. I love the Stonecrock Bakery in St. Jacobs, so I gave them my last two dollars in exchange for some food and coffee. Then I popped into Angel Worn, which is under new ownership. I was a little disappointed to see they no longer carry certain items such as Love Baby Love products (replaced with Yemaya products) or the Ergo line (good thing I bought the diaper bag, carrier and backpack when I did!). Fortunately they still have the Honeybunch ring slings and I was pleased to see they've added SewFunky pocket slings, made by a local woman. I'd get one of those, but sis just sent me a pocket sling. Just for the record (Robin), I didn't buy a thing... although there was this adorable green sleeper right at the front of a rack that was tempting me... Also, they have adorable bamboo-fabric sleepers made in Canada ($23) that I'll just "have" to add to baby's gift registry.

Visitation Rights

Mom's visit is now booked. She'll be arriving Feb 27 for some pre-baby preparations and departing Mar 20. Dad has yet to make visitation plans, but he'll only be here a few days.
Robin's dad and sister still have to make plans to visit also, but sounds like they'll be here in April. That works for me.

So when are the rest of you visiting?

I assume most of the Winnipeg gang will be awaiting our visit there. But locals, I imagine you are wondering when is okay for you to visit. It can be an awkward situation since different parents have different needs and non-parents might not be aware of those needs. Thus, I will answer your unspoken inquiry with my personal response.

Assuming we have a normal healthy birth, I'll be ready for short visits after a few weeks. Let's say the beginning of April or after mom leaves. (I may call up a few friends before then.) I can assure you I will be going stir crazy and appreciate some company and support. Going out will be less easy to do at first than having friends over. My rule of thumb, however, is that you should be comfortable enough to get your own glass of water or make the tea. I risk sounding rude here, but don't come visit if your intention is simply to ogle my baby. You can do that when I bring her out. Of course you'll be fauning over her - she's going to be gorgeous! - but I would hope that you come to support the new parents as much as to greet our newest family member. Any support you can provide would be greatly appreciated. To clarify, I consider coming over to keep me company for a couple of hours while Robin is at work and share a cup of tea (which you may have to make) to be supportive. By and large, I feel that our society has declined in its social relations. We've lost much of the supportive community (and community expectations) that bound us as a society. It's been said that it takes a village to raise a child, but we are far too individualistic in this day and age. We focus on the easily transportable nuclear family rather than community. Once upon a time the community would have brought us food and helped us around the house as we adjusted to life with a new baby and recovered from labour. Now my mom has to fly in from Winnipeg to provide support and even that is only for a short while before she has to return. We call ourselves an advanced / enlightened civiliazation... Give me a "less civilized" village any day!

There, now that we have those expectations out in the open... do come visit! I'll be home all day.
You're welcome to come feed me... ;) I'm terrible at feeding myself. I never feel like making anything, and I suspect I'll feel even less inclined when I'm more tired, even though I'll need more food... a vicious cycle.

Speaking of food. I should go reheat some potato and leek soup.

PS - Robin just got a "promotion" at work. He is now a Quality Assurance agent with a pay increase and better hours. Still weekdays only and he finishes at 7pm, but that's much better than the current 9pm and means we can actually make reasonable evening plans.

Oops...

I want to make a mattress for the co-sleeper because I don't like the thin thing that comes with it. I was originally going to try and find an eco-fiber my sister had seen at Walmart (of all places) that is made of corn and is akin to poly-fil stuffing. However, I can't find it anywhere. Then I saw that Len's Mill has raw cotton and I thought this would be a good natural alternative. So today I bought a bag of the cotton and a nice wool fabric (on sale) to make the mattress. Only then did I decide to do some online research to see if anyone has made similar mattresses... Stupid me. Cotton is apparently a poor choice for stuffing a mattress because it attracts dust mites, absorbs moisture (and then who knows what will grow...) and compresses (I was planning to account for that). Needless to say, I no longer think stuffing the mattress with this raw cotton is a good idea. Good thing I only paid $11. I'm sure I'll find a use for it for stuffing something.

Alternative: I suppose I could just layer the wool thickly... Yes, I know wool absorbs moisture too, but it has antibacterial qualities and I was already planning on a chemical-free mattress pad.

In other news - I took some photos of baby stuff to share today. First, here are most of the clothes I have already. I wanted to take a photo of how adorable they are before I stacked them all inside the co-sleeper. Today was a day of cleaning and organizing! The jean outfits in the top left are new today ;)

My favourite is still the soft pink sleeper with cat-earred hood. The yellow ducky sleeper on the right, from Corey, is equally soft, but it doesn't have a hood with cat ears!

(You can see a somewhat larger photo if you click on the image... I just discovered that.)

And here is my diapering collection so far. Obviously it's not extensive, but I'm just starting... My Fuzzi Bunz and the wool soakers I've knit in different styles. Plus the little legwarmers I made and the froggy sox.

Here's Darla and the stroller. I bet she wishes we were going on a walk right now... (We did go this evening.)

Sun Peeking Through

Despite it being another drab, gray, rainy day... the sun is shining just a little inside in the form of new cloth diapers that *finally* arrived!!! That's right, my Fuzzi Bunz are here in all their fabulous gloriousness. Just look how cute they are! Okay, the white are a little boring... but I figure I might not always want an orange bum showing through!

We're going to check out a couple of Peg Perego strollers from Kijiji ads this week. Yippee. Less than two months to go and I'm realizing that there is a lot yet to do... such as make the co-sleeper matress and matress covers. I also have to finish sewing my wrap (got the thread today). (Robin adds I should make the kitchen curtains, but I have priorities. Granted, I should do it before baby arrives...) Wool soakers are coming along well. I'm still hoping to find someone local who makes prefolds or contour diapers. Otherwise I'll just order them. Also have to make some flannel wipes and the intended quilt from the leftover matress-cover fabrics. Unfortunately for me, I don't particularly like sewing... I'd much rather be knitting or crocheting...

...Then I can make things like a Yoda Hat. Oh wait, I already did that. Here it is, unfelted. It will obviously be much smaller when felted. This is Robin's favourite item. And NOW he wants me to make matching pants to go with the hat, socks and wrap-sweater. Sheesh! First I have to figure out what size the hat and socks will fit her at. No point having them all in different sizes!

I suppose I should get back to work. Not fun work - worky work. Research work. Right after I call my sister to inquire about something...

(She'd seen some alternative fibre fill for making a mattress. Corn-based I think. But I can't find it anywhere.... I could get raw cotton from Len's Mills to stuff the mattress.)

Grumpy!

I want my diapers and I want them last Friday when Canada Post was supposed to deliver them (according to the email sent to me by Canada Post). At the latest the package should have arrived today, according to CP's shipping standards (I looked it up). When I called CP to inquire further I was informed it has not been scanned since it was mailed and it must be intransition (duh!). However, only the sender can track the parcel. I think this is ridiculous, and I've already sent CP a complaint stating so. As far as I am concerned, the sender (Parenting by Nature) and I completed our business transaction when they entrusted my package with CP. I should not have to ask them to track the package for me. They are a busy company, and now I have to wait for them to find time to track the package and reply to me. I should just be able to do it myself since CP did send me the item number for delivery. Needless to say, I'm not impressed and am subsequently grumpy. I was looking forward to my colourful diapers arriving on this gloomy day that follows a series of gloomy, gray days. (May as well be on the coast with this weather!)

I was hoping to be able to post something more upbeat today! For example, I recently joined a yahoo group with other women (I've not seen any male names) who make wool soakers. They share patterns, revisions, reviews of yarn, and other ideas related to wool soakers (and subsequently, cloth diapering). I'm trying out two (so far) of the wrap style soakers in newborn size (since that's the quickest/smallest) using wool I have leftover from other projects and sales. I've realized that I can probably avoid buying cloth covers altogether if I make enough wool soakers and wraps. Surprisingly, this would actually work out cheaper. For example, some of the wool I am using I picked up at Sally Ann for a dollar. Even a new ball of commercial merino yarn is about $5 at Len's Mill and makes more than one wrap. The wraps in particular are very quick to knit up. I think I'll try a couple more of the patterns provided by the yahoo group as "test" pieces. Already I have some ideas for how they could be tweaked, but I need to a) try them on baby and b) have a reference to base my adjustments on. I can't believe that about a year ago I had just started knitting and had no yarn stash... I never imagined I'd be making my own pile of wool soakers. That seemed far too complicated compared with rectangular blankets.

There is a woman in the local barter-works who makes cloth diapers. I saw her wares at Queen Street Commons once, but they've sadly cut down on the amount of items they display in there now. Unfortunately, one has to be a barterworks member to find out how to contact other members. I considered joining before... but what do I have to offer for barter?... Wool soakers :) Maybe once I've found a pattern I can work with well.

Midwife and Ultrasound Update

I met with the midwife yesterday and heard the results of the Christmas Eve ultrasound. As it turns out, baby is slightly larger than "average", which is perhaps why I was measuring larger than "average". Yesterday's measurement of my belly revealed no extra size or fluid. Maybe we just caught her in a growth spurt before. Regardless, baby is healthy and growing well. I'm doing well also. And growing. I bought some new PJs (suitable for breastfeeding later) and maternity clothes recently (there were some great sales at my favourite consignment shops this week). Warm maternity clothes were much needed! Most of what my sister sent is summer wear (despite the fact that she was pregnant in winter like me...) and the pants are very very long. I hemmed one pair of pants, which became the only nice pair I had to wear out of the house. I bought myself a pair of maternity jeans - the kind with the large elastic belly front. I remember laughing at such clothing once upon a time (I'm sure Ericka remembers also). Now I know them to be very comfortable! I find other styles of pants, particularly if they just have elastic in the back, do not fit as well or as comfortably. It's good to be back in jeans! I'm tired of sweat pants or dress pants. I missed the thick comfort of jeans.

My diapers should be arriving soon... Maybe I should check the mailbox again today...

But first, let me go photograph and upload the socks and new wool soaker I finished...

The socks are to go with the yoda sweater and yoda hat (not yet finished). I realize yoda doesn't exactly have frog feet, but this is the closest pattern I could find. The soaker is my first attempt at a Curly Purly wool soaker knit in the round. I love the yarn - a soy-wool blend. I may make one more... before holding off to see what style of soaker I like best with A.

Would you like to see more photos I just downloaded from the camera? How about some holiday pictures...

Darla is looking festive. And at Rita's I took a lovely nap. (Apparently Robin thought this was photo worthy.)My Belly featuring a sun tattoo from the sunrise Yule ritual I attended during solstice. It's fake of course, but stayed on forever until I scrubbed it off. The kalanchoe that has been growing wild in the living room from multiple cuttings has finally decided to flower for the first time. Here is its first bloom. And, since everyone seems to love this purse, I thought I'd share some pictures of what I knit for my mom. I started this last spring when we picked up the yarn in Saskatoon. Then I grew to hate the project. However, I was determined to finish it for Yule. And I did. My sister has asked me to make her one... I laughed and said NO! Never again. Or, not for a long while... Maybe as a surprise one day when I feel inspired to try my needles at a new purse design I make up. In the end, I don't hate this purse. Actually, I think it turned out very nice.