floating world

she's here!

Milla Charlotte arrived at 2.20 on Tuesday afternoon, 52cm long and 3565g.

Maybe she was waiting for her quilt to be finished?

On Tuesday morning I had a few niggly pains that I refused to get excited about in case it was indigestion or false labour, but mid morning they started to get stronger and more regular, so I let M know he should think about coming home from work (luckily Ali was already spending the day at my parents' place), and rang the Birth Centre to let them know we'd be coming in some time in the next few hours. By the time M got home at 12 I was keen to put the TENS machine on, and then we decided that since things were definitely happening we might as well go in to the hospital. When Ali was born I had to drive across the city in transition, and even though we were booked in to a closer hospital this time I wanted to avoid the same thing happening again. We arrived at the hospital at 12.45, and - after nicely telling some new parents in the car park that we really couldn't help them fit their child restraint - made our way to our room at the Birth Centre. Then we settled in for some serious contractions, and just over an hour and a half later Milla was born. Even though I had been told that second babies could arrive much faster I was stunned - and very happy - how quickly it all happened. I had a great birth experience with Ali, but it was definitely so much easier the second time around - much faster, and I felt like my body remembered what it was doing.

It has been strange and lovely getting used to having a newborn again, luckily Milla has been feeding well from the very beginning and seems well settled so far. She is so different from Ali as a baby - her features are more delicate, she has darker hair and more of it, and I think her eyes might end up brown instead of blue. We came home yesterday and it is so good to be in our own space, and in a comfy non-hospital bed. Ali with Milla is possibly the sweetest thing I've ever seen... he just loves her so much, and was thrilled that the Baby Sister was here at last. (And although his initial response to her name was, "NOOOOO! She is called TOODEE!" he seems to be coming round to Milla.)

So far we are all doing well, settling in to life as a family of four, slightly sleep deprived but very happy.

cot quilt

I'm now 39.5 weeks pregnant, which is the most pregnant I have ever been. I was ready for this baby to arrive any time from 38 weeks, since Ali was a little early, but the advantage of having a bit of extra time has been finishing off lots of the things on my to-do list that I wasn't sure I'd get to. The freezer is full of meals, the cupboard under the stairs is tidy, Blurb books for 2008 and 2009 have been ordered, and I've finished the cot quilt. If I go past 40 weeks I may even be forced to do our wedding album, which I've been putting off for 6 years.

The quilt is made from fabric we bought from Ie in Paris, plus some linen from Tessuti. The back is a white cotton/linen blend, plus leftovers from the front, and the binding is a narrow stripe from Remnant Warehouse. I drew up the design myself, inspired by Blair's medallion quilt and the cross quilts I've been favouriting in Flickr forever. I cut 12cm squares, stitched them with a 1cm seam, and ended up with a quilt that's 90cm by 130cm before binding, which is a good size for a playmat or to tuck in around a toddler.

(this is the diagram I worked from - I sketched it out on paper and then made a little chart in Illustrator so I could keep track of what needed to go where).

For the first time I used some "proper" quilting tools - a rotary cutter and quilting ruler, and then a walking foot for the machine quilting. Much, much better than what I was doing before - it made the cutting & sewing far more enjoyable, and I'm happier with the finished quilt too. Now all I need is a baby to wrap in it. 

not-much-sleep wear

Three versions of Kwiksew 1812, ready for the hospital bag. I first saw this pattern on Jenny's blog, and thought it would be perfect for maternity and feeding.

The one on the left was a prototype, in a poplin from Spotlight. The two on the right are in Liberty Lawn from Shaukat, and trimmed with lace from the Paris fleamarkets. The lawn versions are much nicer - since there is quite a lot of gathering it definitely works better in a fine fabric with some drape. 

When I was pregnant with Ali the book that made the most sense to me, out of all the websites and birth books and magazines, was Birth Right. One of the things Susan Ross suggests is packing something pretty that makes you feel good to wear in labour, rather than the oversized old t-shirts that were recommended in our antenatal classes. Last time I bought a new nightgown and - although the midwives kept asking "Are you sure you don't want to change out of that?" - it really did make me feel better.

I think it can make a difference in the zombie newborn weeks too, to wake up wearing something nice, even if you feel like a wreck. Ali was never a good sleeper as a baby, he fed every 2.5 hours overnight for months and didn't sleep through until he was about 14 months old. I'm counting on it being statistically unlikely that I could possibly have another baby who wakes up so much, but best to be prepared.

pregnant lady clothing week challenge

I'd planned to join in the Kid's Clothes Week Challenge this week, but didn't end up doing any child-sewing apart from hemming Ali's ridiculously long pyjamas. Instead I sewed for me. I'm aiming for things that are suitable for the last couple of weeks of pregnancy, and also for feeding over summer. This top is view A of Vogue 8495 - I made size 12 based on the bust measurement, but it's pretty loose under the arms so next time I'll cut out a 10. The only variation I made from the pattern directions was to make my own bias tape to finish the armholes, as it seemed silly to use the bought stuff, especially when I love the look of diagonally striped bias finishes.

I like the pattern though - it's easy to put together, nicely finished with facings, and very comfortable to wear. It accommodates a 37-week-bump, but I think it will look better when my waist (hopefully) reports for duty again in a month or so. This version's in a grey and white seersucker from Tessuti, and I already have a couple more planned.

maternity smock

For a very simple dress, this has taken ages to finish. I think I brought the chambray at the end of 2009, and I put it on my 2010 Creative To-Do List at the end of last year. I started it in March or April, I think, but a perfectionist streak combined with fairly basic sewing skills made it frustrating... at first, in what I can only blame on early pregnancy lunacy, I lined the yoke and made the pockets from a yellow floral cotton. Even though only I could really see it, it looked horrendous and made me nauseous so I replaced the yoke lining with a plain cotton and took the pockets out entirely - extra bulk around the hips is not what I need right now. I also did some top stitching in teal, which I wasn't happy with, and unpicked. The next sticking point was the cuffs, which I couldn't get to look how I wanted, so I ended up chopping the sleeves off at 3/4 length instead and trimming them with some cotton tape I bought at the fleamarkets in Paris.

It's ended up looking very similar to this smock from Egg, and even with all the time spent unpicking it's satisfying to be able to make my own version since maternity wear is outrageously expensive (can you believe $100 for a fabric rectangle sewn to elastic?)  I mostly live in two denim skirts and two pairs of jeans, so it's exciting to have something different to put on, and I like it that this dress fits well around the shoulders and bust while still having room for a bump*. I don't want to make too many dresses, since they're not very practical for feeding when the baby arrives (unless they're wrap style), but I thought a hip-length version of this could be be good for the rest of the pregnancy and would also be feeding-friendly.

*it's not actually a maternity pattern, just a voluminous dress from a Japanese pattern book (picture from the book is here), so I'm not sure how flattering it would be on a dainty Japanese lady.

keeping me busy

I'm 31 weeks pregnant now, and entering the weird limbo stage where there is so much that I want to get done in the next few weeks and at the same time, despite all the preparations, it seems slightly surreal and unbelievable that we will have a new person in our family in such a short time. The almost-3-years since Ali was born have gone so quickly, but I still feel like I have forgotten all about newborns and what you do with them. Although I have remembered that jumpers with very small head holes are a bad idea, so at least that's something.

So, the things keeping me busy right now are:

• trying to turn our spare room / play room into a nursery
• sewing some maternity clothes, since I'm incredibly sick of all the ones I have
• bridesmaid duties for my closest friend from high school, who is getting married in two weeks
• planning Ali's 3rd birthday party
• washing baby clothes, knitting baby clothes, and procrastinating about sewing a cot quilt (with the fabrics above)
• other crazy nesting - doing things to Ali's room, hanging pictures downstairs etc.
• avoiding the coverage of what has to be the least inspiring and most irritating election I can remember
• preparing for life-post-baby - trying to think ahead and get organised for Mark's birthday and Christmas and all the other events that will fall in the Newborn Black Hole.
• Make Blurb photo books for 2008 and 2009. And our wedding album (from 2004). And an album for Ali's first year.

All fun things to be doing, but I'm starting to realise that I probably won't get everything off the to-do list that I'd like.

Unrelated, but sites I'm enjoying that might be interesting for anyone else thinking about baby names: a world map of popular names, and You Can't Call It "It" (I especially like the Deadly Trends of Baby Naming). Although Ali is adamant that the baby will be called Toodee.

baby toys

I don't need to buy many things for the new baby - we'll use the existing cot, change table and moses basket, and Ali had lots of white and neutral baby clothes that I can put a girl baby in. And the baby bath, high chair and carriers and stacks of muslins are still hanging around. We have enough baby toys already too, although one thing that I never had for Ali was a baby gym. I did actually try to buy one, but had to take it back to the shop because it was just too ugly. It didn't really matter, because being an only baby Ali had my undivided attention, but I think it's the fate of 2nd children to spend more time lying on the floor amusing themselves, so I've been on the look out for a playmat for the past few months. Luckily, since Ali was a baby some nice wooden baby gyms have appeared, so I'm not going to have to come to terms with a polyester monstrosity.

One of the best value is this Ikea Leka gym, it's $44.95 here and I have seen people Ikea Hack it to swap the toys around.

Honeybee Toys has a choice of 3 different wooden baby gyms from Selecta. They're all made in Germany and really beautiful.

I finally chose this Pin Toys one from Eco Toys. I like the 3 legged design - it seems less bulky - and I've ordered from Eco Toys before and was very happy with the service. And it's on sale at the moment which is a bonus.

Here's hoping the baby appreciates her tasteful wooden baby gym and that it provides lots of entertainment! 

soft and cosy

I started knitting an Ishbel shawl back in February. I wanted to see if I could do fiddly lace knitting, and it was a cold week in the middle of summer, and I had some fine alpaca I had bought to knit baby things for Ali back in 2007, before he was born and I discovered that hand wash fibres and a baby who was exceptionally prone to regurgitating milk were not a good mix.

I worked on it for a few weeks, and then lost motivation half way through the lace section when pregnancy vagueness set in, and I wanted to do really brainless easy knitting. I put it aside for so long that I worried that I would never find my place, but luckily there was still a sticky tab on the pattern, so when I picked it up again a couple of weeks ago I could keep going, and it wasn't as fiddly as I had remembered. I've now entered the 3rd trimester, and with it have a crazy need to tidy cupboards, sew curtains, and banish all unfinished projects. 

I am so pleased to finally have it finished - not just because of pregnancy craziness - it's still wintery here, so I've been wearing it a lot as a scarf. My maternity uniform is denim skirt or jeans, some kind of black or navy top, and then a scarf to break up the monotony. The alpaca was perhaps the not best choice for lace, because it's soft and doesn't have the same definition that merino would, but it is completely unscratchy and lovely to wear. And while I don't think I'll rush out and knit another lacy shawl in a hurry, it's satisfying to have this one done. Now, back to the brainless baby knitting... and I have a quilt to make, nighties to sew and a mass of old baby clothes to wash and sort into piles.

Ravelry details here.

finally some finished knitting

It has been cold in Sydney, so perfect weather for knitting. I finished off two cardigans yesterday - just sewing on buttons and making button bands etc, but it feels so good to get them done and out of the knitting bag. Both of these are for the new baby, using up left over yarn.

This is the Debbie Bliss Raglan Cardigan with Fully Fashioned Shaping in Bendigo cotton 8-ply. The yarn is very fine and drapey (almost limp) so it doesn't show off the shaping as well as a stiffer cotton would, but it is very soft and has a nice sheen, and will hopefully be comfortable for a small person.

I started knitting this one in London - I'd packed a skein of Malabrigo worsted, planning to make another capelet like this one, but then I saw this pattern on Ravelry and decided to use it for a baby cardigan instead. I did the 6-12 month size, and the neck looks a bit big, but hopefully it will work layered on top of a skivvy. And the Malabrigo is, as always, beautifully soft. 

These are the first things I've finished for the new baby, and they're now washed and folded in the spare-room, which is waiting to be transformed into a nursery. I'm 25 weeks pregnant now, and getting lots of kicks so it is starting to feel like this is all really happening. Time to overcome my fear of pink and get organised...

maternity top

Thank you so much for all the nice comments on the last post!

I'm enjoying being pregnant again, and I'm so lucky that I don't get sick or too uncomfortable – just really tired in the first trimester. My one gripe is maternity clothes. All I want is to wear a bump-accommodating version of my usual clothes, but so many maternity things are synthetic, expensive and just not me. Luckily I have plenty of Japanese pattern books, which have lots of voluminous patterns... quite unflattering on the non-pregnant body, but excellent for right now.

This top is from my favourite Check and Stripe book (ISBN 978-4-08-780485-0) and it's made up in a black voile with flocked polka dots from Tessuti. This one was quick and easy to sew and the finished top is comfortable and surprisingly flattering - it definitely needs to be made in a light fabric though, in a stiffer cotton it would look like a marquee. I think I'll make a couple more of these, and make the front slightly longer for when my bump gets bigger (or, I could always just layer a long singlet underneath).

Some other non-maternity bump-fitting things that I've been wearing a lot are my striped denim dress and the February Lady Sweater. If anyone has other tips for good sewing or knitting patterns that could double as maternity wear I'd love to hear them. I've got my eye on this cardigan, the one Kate made looks great.