January 2010 Archives

31 Weeks
Originally uploaded by kerner

Why yes, I am carrying the baby in my double chin, why do you ask?

(Oh my, no baby update for 5 weeks... I'm bad.  Oh well, no time like the present!)

How far along? 31 weeks.

Total weight gain/loss: About 20 pounds

Maternity clothes? This question is just ridiculous at this point! A better question is what non-maternity clothes can I still wear!  I can still wear my normal winter coat and two of my handknit sweaters - Central Park Hoodie (doesn't close in front) and February Lady Sweater (only buttons at the top)

Stretch marks? None yet... although I think Baby is due for a growth spurt any time.

Sleep: Fine, just lots of trips to the bathroom during the night.  Luckily I have no problem falling right back asleep.

Best moment this week: A surprise baby shower my co-workers threw for me last Friday.  I had lots of hints, but I really was surprised!  They let me drive all the way home before my boss called me back for an after-hours work emergency - a "serious personnel matter" that couldn't wait over the 3-day holiday weekend.

Movement:  He seems pretty active all day long.  I can definitely tell that he turned head down in the past couple of weeks, because all the movement is at the top and the bottom of my belly now, instead of on the sides.

Food cravings: I don't know if I'd call it a craving, but I have been eating tons of dairy products lately.  I've been drinking a gallon of milk a week by myself!  Thank goodness yogurt and cottage cheese are available in low-fat varieties!

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? It's basically flat at this point.  It looks really bizarre.

What I miss: Eating a large meal without feeling like a stuffed sausage.

What I am looking forward to:  Another ultrasound in about 3 weeks, and the tour of the labor and delivery area of the hospital as part of our childbirth class next week.

Once again I've gone far too long in between blog posts, and I've been completely negligent in posting pictures to show the progress of my baby belly.  I do have some pictures taken, but Flickr Uploader isn't behaving, so I'm going to have to try to wrestle it into submission over the weekend. 

When I wait this long in between posts, a lot of little things happen that seem like good post ideas at the time, but after several days have passed, I feel like I missed the window.  Here's random assortment of what's rumbling around in my head today:

• We're celebrating my grandma's 80th birthday this weekend.  I think it's a surprise party, but I'm not 100% sure...
•  I really need to learn how to use my camera better before the baby comes.  I bought a digital camera book and I'm planning to work through it with my blog-friend Stephanie.  But, that requires that I turn off the TV at some point and actually read a book...
• And if I do that, I should probably be reading my Hypnobabies lesson and finding the time to listen to two 40-minute CD tracks each day.  (My commute time would be perfect, but apparently hypnotizing yourself while driving isn't such a great idea.)
• I guess at some point, I should actually attempt to educate myself on basic infant care, since I am completely clueless when it comes to taking care of a baby.  Feeding 8-12 times a day?  Honestly, I have tried and tried to wrap my head around that, and I really can't fathom how it's possible.  (I mean, to do that and get anything else done, like sleeping for example.)
• My January goals were a bit ambitious... in future months I just need to pick one thing - one EASY thing - and try to do that.  This month, the one goal I've been able to manage pretty regularly is getting to bed by 10:30.  And really, I love sleep so that's barely even a challenge for me.  Daily exercise?  A great idea when the weather is good, but 2 weeks of 10-20 degree temps make it difficult to get outside for a quick walk around the neighborhood.  (I have been going to preggo water aerobics, though!  It's one time in the week that I get to talk baby stuff without fear of boring other people to tears.  Well, that and phone calls with my sister.)
• The quilt top that I started making squares for a couple of weeks ago is all done.  I'm working on the back now - it's going to be stripes of all the leftover fabric from the jelly roll.  It should be pretty cute.

If you've made it this far, you deserve a prize!  (Sorry, I don't have any prizes to give you.)  But I really, really promise this time that I'll get some belly pics posted soon and hopefully I'll get back on a more regular schedule for blogging.  It's the only journal-type thing I have, so I feel like I should post fairly regularly so I have some kind of record of my life right now. 

Have a great weekend!

Squares 1-6
Originally uploaded by kerner

I'm finally getting around to starting a quilt for a certain baby boy who should be making his appearance this March. I'm using a Moda jelly roll (long strips of precut fabrics - 2 1/2 inches wide) in the Happy Campers line to make these squares, and for the pattern I'm following along with Oh Fransson!'s new Paintbox Quilt-Along. Each square measures about 7 1/2 inches square.

This is a bit more detailed piecing than I'm used to (I'm all about the BIG blocks and random piecing) but I think it's turning out pretty well. Although I realized after the fact that Baby Boy might not appreciate the flowery block, and I don't really like the fabric in the red one. So... I've got several more to make! (About 24 squares total, I'm guessing.)

The good news is that I can make 2 squares in 30-45 minutes now that I've got all the measurements down. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the quilt top and either quilt it myself or get it sent out to a quilter before the baby comes.

IMG_3846
Originally uploaded by kerner

In the midst of all the New Year's Resolution fervor (which I'm much better at talking about than actually implementing, by the way) I have actually been doing quite a bit of knitting. My favorite kind of Christmas knitting is the no-deadline kind, so it makes sense that for the past two years I've made Christmas stocking in January. Last year I knit two - one for me and one for my husband. This year, it's one for baby! Luckily the patterns calls for you to go back at the end and add in the name at the top in duplicate stitch, because we really haven't decided 100% on that yet. Plus, I may have to go back and change it anyway, because if we end up naming the baby Jehosephat* but everyone ends up calling him "Jump," I'll switch it out to his nickname.

I'm also - FINALLY - making a black and gold brioche scarf for my husband to match a hat I finished almost exactly a year ago. I'll try to snap a picture of that today, as well as an updated belly picture.

* I kid, Mom, I kid! You can stop hyperventilating now.

Galapagos Sea Lions Resting
Originally uploaded by fiznatty

As part of my year-long theme of nurturing calm, I hope to come up with a few practical ways to "live the theme" each month. Since I only have 11 weeks (eek!) before the baby comes, I'm only going to plan through March, and see how things go after that.

For me, a big part of staying calm is having enough energy to deal with the tasks at hand. So, I am going to spend January focusing on feeling energized and making sure I get enough rest - specifically:

1. Going to sleep by 10:30pm (if I have somewhere to be the next morning). If I stay up late, I inevitably abuse the snooze button in the morning, which means I'm late to work and the whole day is off to a bad start.

2. Doing some type of physical activity 3-4 times per week. Exercise really energizes me... I just have to remind myself of that when I'm debating between staying home or heading back out in the cold to go to the gym!

3. Spending 15 minutes per day decluttering. We've got a new person moving into the house soon - we need to make room for him! Decluttering is not necessarily an energizing activity for me, but clutter is very draining, so I am actually really excited about making some progress in this regard.

Looking forward, I hope to spend February focusing on relationships (marriage, family, friendships) and March on preparation (aka CRUNCH TIME).  I'll flesh these out with some specific goals later on, after I see how this first month goes. 

Nurturing Calm
Originally uploaded by kerner

Last year, instead of making traditional resolutions like "get in shape," "keep the house cleaner," etc., I selected a theme for the year. I am a goal-oriented person, so I did end up coming up with some goals that fit within the theme, but I really liked the idea of coming up with a theme for the year and trying to focus on that, rather than tracking exact details of a resolution. Plus, when I get off track, it's a lot easier for me to think about veering back towards my theme for the year rather than admitting defeat in my resolution and starting over.

This year is shaping up to be quite different than last year, with a baby on the way in March, so I'm trying to keep my expectations low as far as self-improvement goes. Still, I really enjoyed having a theme to center me during the year last year, and I have a feeling I'm going to need something like that as I prepare for and tackle first-time motherhood this year. With that in mind, I hereby declare 2010 the year of Nurturing Calm.

Last year's theme (Cultivating Joy) was really all about being true to myself, but this year's goal is a lot more of a stretch. I think that's appropriate though, since I've never really thought of myself as a mothering, nurturing type of person. I guess I'm going to be in for a rude, awakening, huh? But that's where the "calm" part of my theme comes in. I really want to approach this new chapter of my life with patience and calm. These qualities are not always my default settings, so I hope to come up with some more concrete ideas about how to bring more calm into my life.

Stay tuned for more New Year's navel-gazing... I have to do it soon, before my belly button flattens out and disappears completely!