Viking Tea Party

Symmetry

This morning we leisurely hopped out of bed at 9:30, got ready and went into town for a nice, quiet breakfast at a new cafe that opened this week (and we've already been two three times in as many days).  Just the two of us with no pushchair, diaper bag or even Moby Wrap in sight.

Since the baby ball started rolling last night, we're really trying to enjoy these last moments.  It's rolling a bit slower than we thought it would - we were sure we wouldn't get to sleep through the night, let alone get through most of today - but signs are definitely pointing in the direction of "You Could Be Parents By the End of the Weekend!" and I feel really good about it now. Much calmer. I woke up feeling cheerier and happier than I have in days and that mood has managed to stick with me which is really saying something considering how crazy my hormones have been. 

After breakfast, as we walked back through the close, picking up leaves for reasons that will become clear in a few seconds, we talked about how amazing it is that we met in person two Novembers ago, were married with me living in a new country by the following November and that by this November we'll have had our first child.  It's absolutely amazing. What in the world could happen by November 2011?!

Matt also pointed out another funny little bit of symmetry.  Last night, after the signs started and as we were getting ready to go to bed at a crazy early hour in case it was a long night, the phone rang.  I heard Matt ask who it was and then say, "Okay, I'll keep that under my hat," before handing me the phone.  It was my friend Maggie!  I haven't talked to her, literally, since the day I moved here.  I ran into her at the airport when I was leaving the US as she was coming back from England where she had been visiting her brother.  She's also the reason I signed up with the penpal site where I met Matt.  It only seemed natural that she call out of blue just as we start to think our little acorn might arrive soon but I didn't even think about it until he brought it up.  It's such a funny little world!

And here's the reason we were gathering leaves...

I had actually brought it with me to take a picture of under a tree or something but I completely forgot to put my camera in my purse.  It's currently with several things that need to go in the hopsital bag at the last minute.  :)

Anyway, once we found out he would be here before Halloween I knew I needed to make him a little pumpkin hat. This might become his coming home hat if it's not too big - we'll see. I sewed in the ends and, like magic, the signs started appearing.  I think I need to come up with something else "magical" to knit on tonight while watching one of the last few episodes of Dexter Season 4 (which is so freaking, amazingly good). 

Time for a little tea and biscuits - keep your fingers crossed for me that tonight's the night!

Sound Advice

Salisbury seems to randomly set up fairs/fetes in the market square. Yesterday I felt as if the giant slide were giving me a little reminder when it comes to getting ready to head to the hospital...

Doubt this will be a problem - especially since I've yet to learn to drive on the left!

And there's no sign of our little acorn, unfortunately.  I'm fit to burst, though, and starting to actually look forward to being induced next week...

A Little Acorn Update and Letterbox Love

If cats could sense impending labor like animals sense storms I would say our little acorn's arrival wasn't far off.  Lucy, my older, less affectionate (with me anyway) cat would not leave me alone this morning until she had a little cuddle while lying on my bump.  She eventually slid off, though, since there's not much room left in my lap and went upstairs to curl up in bed with her real favorite: Matt. 

Another reason his arrival could be on the horizon is that I had a sweep this morning and she said the results were "favorable".  I'm not banking on it but we'll see.  I go back Tuesday for another if this one doesn't work and if that one doesn't work I'm being induced on...wait for it...Wednesday!  Eight days!  Why in the world they're inducing me one day after a sweep, I have no idea.  I'm tempted to cancel the second sweep if this one doesn't work.  I would have preferred to wait another week to be induced but, honestly, at this point I'm ready for it to be over and meet our little man.

A few minutes after we got home, some letterbox love arrived!  I participated in a little hat swap over on the November 2010 Parents group on Ravelry and here are my goodies from JenInProgress (who also calls her little one her acorn!):

How cute!  Just last night I was looking at the Aviatrix Hat pattern and thinking that I'd eventually like to make one - think briefly and you shall receive!  And note the maple leaf - Jen is Candadian.  :)

And I would be completely remiss if I didn't mention the package my Dayton friend, Chris sent recently!  We had arranged to do a little swap for a magazine I can't easily get here (Interweave Knits, Weekend - speciafically for this uber cute Mariner Pullover pattern) and she went crazy overboard and sent along lots of fun things I miss: Kraft Mac & Cheese, Junior Mints, taco seasoning, candy corn (which Matt has never ever had!) and Goldfish crackers.  The crackers are so going in my hospital bag!  Thanks again, Chris!

I'm off to take a little walk and then pack the aforementioned hospital bag I meant to pack yesterday.  Better safe than scrambling - especially after the nightmares I had last night. 

[Probably] The Last of the Baby Knitting

Thanks so much for all of the kind and supportive comments on Tuesday's "We're Having a Baby" freak out post. Two days later and it's sunk in enough that I'm not only feeling somewhat better but I'm also large and uncomfortable enough to look at the bright side of delivering a bit early. 

HIs crib/cradle arrived yesterday and we bought sheets for it today so, other than doing a bit of rearranging in our bedroom to fit the crib/cradle, we're physically ready for him to arrive.

And I've finished what will probably be the last of the baby knitting for awhile.  

I finally finished the Bitty Cable Cardigan that we're beinging him home in. I had ridiculous amounts of trouble with this for ridiculous reasons.  I found my notes last week, though, frogged the entire thing, started over and finished it off in two days.  Then I paired it with the little trousers I thought it would go well with and it didn't go as well as I thought it would so we today started a mad scramble to find something and happened upon a really tiny pair of jeans that look perfect.  I knitted it with Debbie Bliss Rialto which I would defintely recommend for baby sweaters - after blocking it's fantastically soft. 

And this is a last minute knit - the Baby Sophisticate.  I still had two skeins of Rowan Wool Aran leftover from my One Skein Scarf that I crocheted for myself last week and couldn't help but use most of it to knit up something for the acorn. 

We did a lot of running around today - a bit of shopping, a midwife appointment, meeting Matt's mum and stepdad for tea - and took a two hour nap when we got home but here it is eleven o'clock and I could defintely sleep like I hadn't had a nap at all.  I can't believe how tired I've been this past week and know I should enjoy the ability to sleep as much as I can.  So off to bed for me.  

We're Having a Baby

I know the subject line is far from breaking news but, at the same time, it kind of is. At 37 weeks and 2 days today I went in for a 38 week scan and gestational diabetes consultation and walked out with an appointment for a sweep next week.

Normally, they induce at 38 weeks if you have gestational diabetes but we've been pretty adamant about not wanting to be induced unless there's a clear medical reason. This wasn't some crazy decision we came to on our own, mnd you. We did research and talked with our midwife and felt that, as long as our little acorn looked healthy and my levels were steady without using drugs, I could be treated as an individual without GD when it came to labor and birth.  

 

The next time we'll see this profile, it'll be in person!

The obstetrician today was willing to meet us halfway.  For those of you who are lucky enough not to know what a sweep is, it's a rather uncomfortable procedure that, if your body is ready, might encourage you to go into labor. That's the nice, unclinical explaination anyway. If your body's not ready, though, it's a wash but it's at least trying to induce in a semi-natural way that would let me stay at home for the first part of my labor and, fingers crossed, also might mean a smaller chance of interference in the form of forceps, ventouse or c-section. So that's what I'm going in for on Tuesday the 19th. And if it doesn't work, they'll give it another go the following week and if that doesn't work we'll talk about induction. 

We came home a little dazed and Matt went to work. Since it was five in the moring in Ohio, I waited a bit before calling my parents to give them an update and goofed around on Ravelry with only half of my brain functioning. It wasn't until a few minutes into my call to them that everything hit me and I burst into tears. Up until now I've felt really confident about labor and bringing our little acorn home but now that his arrival is earlier than the date we've been carrying around for months I'm starting to get scared. As my mind wraps around it, I'm starting to get a little excited as well but...yeah, I'm scared.

Thankfully, other than some bedding for his crib (or cradle in the US - a cot is a crib in the UK), we're ready for him. We're not quite as ready for my parents to visit but that'll all work out.  And I did finally finish his little coming home cardigan last week. I'll sew on the buttons tomorrow, add it to my mostly packed hospital bag and cross my fingers that it'll fit him. 

And now it's time to attempt to get a good night's sleep...while I can.

A Little Something Made for Me

I can't help but laugh when Matt takes pictures of me and the bump. Snap, snap, snap - he missed his calling and really should have been a member of the paparazzi. 

This is the exact same location as my last bump shoot but we didn't go out with photos of my 36 week and 3 day old bump and my new "baby's going to be here soon!" haircut in mind.  No, the scarf is actually the star of these photos.

 

This is the One Skein Scarf from Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker book. Last week I started on a cowl in a pretty blue but, even though I'm only about ten or fifteen rows from binding off, I'm really not happy with the first two inches and am thinking about frogging it.  I really wanted a scarf and bought three skeins of this Rowan Pure Aran Wool at John Lewis the other day, determined to knit a nice, long, thick scarf for myself.  I started a couple and wasn't really happy with them but then I found this one and, though it's not what I had in mind, I like it and it was a satisfying little project.  Now I can get back to our little acorn's coming home cardigan since I found my notes the other day, thank goodness.

I remember attempting this scarf when I first bought Happy Hooker which must have been right after I learned to crochet and an attempt was all I made.  It seemed so difficult and I think I gave up pretty quickly.  Thank goodness for experience.  Now I'm thinking these might make good Christmas gifts - quick, cute and inexpensive. 

This button was one of the fun little birthday presents I found on my breakfast tray the morning of my birthday.  I know that's a crocheted scarf next to an I <3 Knitting button but I like the picture.  

 

Matt brought this home for me today and I can't wait to crack it open tonight.  Normally I would want the audiobook version but when we looked into it last night (after he looked for it at the Waterstone's in Oxford and found that it was already sold out) we found out that it's only three hours long and there are three other narrators.  If it were just him reading the stories I wouldn't have minded but since it's not, I'll just hear him read it in my head!

The Acorn's Oak & A Finished Object Catch Up

As if the baby shower on Sunday wasn't enough to turn a frustrating day around, I was in for another surprise when I got home. Matt had finished clearing out the baby's room, mopped the floor and had the changing table and half the chest of drawers put together!

After showing him the shower goodies, I decked out the changing table and started filling the chest of drawers with all of the clothes we brought back from Ohio. I'd forgotten how tiny and cute some of those little outfits were! Then we put together the crib, did a little "staging" and had a Skype chat with my parents to show them around since they so kindly bought the furniture for us. 

So now that the room is mostly finished - we have a lot of little finishing touches to add, of course - I can reveal the tree! I haven't even started on the leaves but I can add those little by little. I have visions of Mom and I making leaves while we're waiting for the baby to arrive....

It's huge! It goes from floor to ceiling and nearly takes up one entire wall. We're also adding a little birdhouse nightlight and I'm going to "carve" our initials into the tree as well.  

The room really already looks fantastic but I'll wait until we've done some decorating before I post any more photos. My granny has made us a little woodland themed quilt that Mom is bringing, too - I can't wait to see it!

In the mean time I do have some - sigh - finished baby knitting to talk about. I keep saying I'm going to knit something for myself but nothing really appeals. I have a blue and a purple skein of Rowan Pure Wool Aran, and I'm determined to knit myself a cowl with one of them before the acorn gets here. In fact I may add that to my (should be long but is really short) to do list for tomorrow.

This Seamless Baby Kimono and I go way back..back before Matt and I even got married. We were getting married, though, and we'd talked about having babies and we knew we were eventually going to try so I didn't feel like I was really jinxing anything. Technically, this was my first sweater - not the Shalom or the February Lady Sweater - although I didn't block this and sew on the buttons until this week. I did make a few changes to the pattern: I used buttons rather than a tie, sewed in a popper on the inside of the side opposite the buttons and did a seed stitch along the bottom rather a few rows of garter. I love it but am a little worried about the cuffs. They didn't actually show up in any of the photos I took but they're kind of tiny.  

This is another pair of the Garter Stripe Baby Socks and I call them Alan's Socks. And why is that? This yarn was actually part of the prize package I received from Kim when Alan Rickman won the first Knitter's Hunk back in 2007. I knitted my very first sock with it right away but that's when I discovered I was one of those with Second Sock Syndrome so the rest of it languished in my stash, waiting to maybe be made into a second sock someday. Alan was in the running again this year and doing really well so I decided to knit a pair baby socks in his honor. I finished them just a few days before he was crowned Knitter's Hunk again this year!  So, yes, Alan's Socks - very appropriate.  I'm also quite proud that I almost got the pooling to match.  :)

This BItty Cabled Hat is part of our little acorn's coming home outfit.  I've mentioned the cardigan that goes with it before because, even though it's very simple, I'm having trouble with it.  I had the body finished but ended up with gaping holes under the arms that I just couldn't fix so I ripped it back to the arm holes but then somehow managed to flub up one of the cables and into time out it went.  Unfortunately, the pattern for it is one of the ones I can't find and I had already made some very helpful notes which are now also who knows where. I think rewriting them is also on the list of things to do tomorrow since I'm beginning to feel like having his coming home outfit complete is pretty important.  That and finally settling on a car seat since that's really the most important part of his coming home outfit!

I took a photo of this with a quarter and a 10p coin to show just how bitty it is. Very, very bitty.

I had an antenatal appointment today to check the progress of my gestational diabetes. It was a miserable appointment in that we waited for two hours only to talk to a consultant and the GD doctor for about twenty minutes but, thankfully, things are good and I'm still able to control it with diet rather than medication. The consultant also seemed fairly open minded to the fact that I'm really against induction if there's no medical reason for it. I'm also open minded to whatever needs to happen but, of course, would like things to happen as naturally as possible. I don't want to be in labor for 48 hours and I really love the idea of using a birthing pool for pain relief (not for the actual birth, though) and an induction means being hooked up to a machine which means no birthing pool and a possible long labor with interference.  

I'll settle for a healthy baby, though - no matter what it takes.  :)

Baby Shower, American-Style

Things have been a little stressful around here and last week more days than not were spent riding an emotional roller coaster that one had two speeds: sad and mad. Yesterday started out that way. I didn't even consider putting together my bag for knit group until it was nearly time to walk about the door which was Not a Good Idea since everything here as we make the spare bedroom a nursery, the third floor attic/office a storage room/spare bedroom and the conservatory a conservatory/office, is 100% topsy-turvy. Things you thought were there are actually who knows where and yesterday that proved especially true for the patterns of a couple of projects I'd wanted to finish.  So I threw what I could find in my bag and hit the pavement, running a little late. 

Imagine my surprise when I rounded the corner of our newly found quiet little alcove at Cafe Nero and heard, "Welcome to your surprise baby shower!"  

Baby showers aren't as popular here as they are in the US but Libby said they wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything just because I lived here - how nice is that?  They even researched baby games!  You just don't realize how often you say the words "baby" and "knitting" at a baby shower put on by knitters until it's part of a game where you can't say them at all.  

Besides our little acorn's very first piggy bank (we've already started collecting 5p coins in a wooden acorn for him and have been looking for a proper bank for months) and his first "oh my goodness, push that button one more time and that''s going up on the shelf where you can't reach it" toy with lights and music (just kidding - it's very sweet and not loud at all) there were, of course, some beautiful hand knits!

What little boy wouldn't look handsome in this little cabled sweater? This was knitted (in my favorite color, no less) by fellow ex-pat Phoe who also kindly took photos and made the gorgeous flower arrangements.  This is going to be so cute with the little pair of jeans we bought last month and I'm already sad that, eventually, he'll grow out of it!

I've had this pattern in my Ravelry queue but I know it would have never turned out as cute as this one made by Alice (that's her on the right in the above photo)!  Again, he's going to look so handsome!  Matt and I are, no doubt, going to have the best dressed baby in Salisbury.

 

I've been looking at tag blankets for awhile now and am so glad I never actually bought one because this one that's handmade by Libby is so much nicer!  The bright color ribbons have so many different textures that I even found myself absentmindedly playing with the tags and the back is lined with a sweet, soft, blue Peter Rabbit fabric.  I already know it's going to be a Little Acorn favorite.  

Thanks so much to Libby, Stephanie and Phoe for putting it all together and to everyone else for coming - I had a really wonderful time!  It's hard to believe that the next time I meet up with the Poultry Cross Knitters, our little boy will probably be asleep in his pushchair or cuddled up in his Moby wrap!

 

Phoe also posted about the shower so to see more photos (especially more of a very pregnant me), hop over to her blog, A Life of a Photographoe. :)

Bump Photos - 34 Weeks

I'm 34 weeks exactly today so we took a few more photos this afternoon.  I had a little finished project in my purse to photograph as well but we completely forgot!  We're going out early tomorrow for the Salisbury Food & Wine Festival so we'll try again. 

Letterbox Love

It's a good day when two out of three things that fall through your letterbox are Real Mail!

Look, look, look at the cardigan my friend Sarah knitted for our little acorn!

 

And yes, the buttons are exactly what you think they are: acorns!  And since I have never knitted anything but top down sweaters, may I point out how impressed I am that this actually isn't knit top down?  

Thanks again, Sarah - I can't wait to see how handsome he looks in it!

The second piece of real mail was a card from my parents.

I think I've mentioned this before but it bears repeating.  They've been sending us a card a week which has been such a nice way of reaching out from so far away.  Nearly every one of them brings a tear to my eye (although, these days, what doesn't) and this was no exception.  I can't bear to take any of them down!  I told Matt today that I would miss getting them in November and then laughed at myself.  I think a baby is a pretty good replacement for a weekly card in the mail!  

And lastly, something I didn't get in the mail that still shows lots of love ...

Our little acorn had his dad bring me some flowers and a card the other night to thank me for pricking my finger several times a day to take care of him.  Sweet!

I've only been monitoring my blood sugar for a few days but it seems to be going well.  Even when I totally blew a day by eating Burger King for lunch and pizza from my favorite pizza place for dinner, my numbers were still perfectly fine.  I  made up for it by having a Quorn burger with carrot sticks today, though, and I have to say, Quorn burgers are pretty good!  The hardest part of this is eating enough of what's good for me and the baby.   I find myself hungry more often and fear has me waiting longer than I should to eat something so when I do it ends up being one of my three main meals.  I should be eating something every couple of hours.  We've stocked up on some snacks that are healthy but quick which should help me not reach for the tea biscuits.  In fact, I'm off to dish myself a bowl of Greek yogurt right now....