Viking Tea Party

Thankful Thursday

Coming Home Cardigan

Thanks for the Emmett love! He's unbelievable and we are so unbelievably lucky. We get almost no sleep, feeding has been harder to learn than I'd expected and recovering from both an episiotomy and a c-section is challenging but I'd do it all over again in a nonsecond. In fact, I think I was already talking about having another one before I'd even reached the recovery room. He's so freaking cute I think we owe it to the world.  :)

I know I said I wasn't going to post photos of him but I can't resist! 

Coming home from the hospital was not the pleasant, sunny experience that I expected. By the time we did leave Saturday night it was after ten and I was emotionally drained and exhausted and couldn't bother changing his clothes so he went home in a cute little sleeper. I did try the matching hat on him but it didn't fit his little noggin since it had been mishapen by the ventouse and forceps. Thankfully, the pumpkin hat did fit so he had something homemade to come home in.

He had his first visitors the other day so I made sure he was wearing the cardigan.

I never ever thought I could, instantly and with all my heart, love something that I didn't pick if that makes any sense at all.  He was given to me - made by us - and I am so lucky!

He's Here!

Actually he's been here for a few days but, as you'd suspect, there's not been a lot of time for sleeping, let alone posting!  He arrived at 2:37 am on October 29th and weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces. 

Lttle Emmett is, without a doubt, the best thing I've ever made.  We already can't imagine our life without him or that there ever was a life without him.  

I had started a much longer post but just can't find the time to finish it. Some day.  Maybe.  :)

 

Feeling...

...a little nervous, a little scared, a little nauseous and very excited!

We're leaving for the hospital in about an hour so the next time you hear from me, I'll be a mommy!

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!