I knit a manta ray!
Swim, ray, swim!
But then I flipped it around and folded it a few ways, and poof!
How's that for a surprise?
Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman (pattern in The Opinionated Knitter)
Yarn: Superwash Merino sock yarn from Maple Creek Farm, purchased at Rhinebeck 2008
Needles: Addi turbos size 5
Started:
Finished: Well, technically not finished yet... I still need to seam up the sleeves and sew on buttons. But I have until March, right?
I'm curious to see how old she'll be when this fits - it turned out a little bigger than I expected. I loved the pattern, though, and loved how it turned out! I see myself making several others at different gauges so she'll have one for many seasons. Next up, though, I think is a February sweater (ravelry link) with the purple sock yarn from Rhinebeck. I'm thinking if I make it pretty small, it might be the coming home outfit, but we'll see...
Baby Sewing
It's true, I've starting sewing a bit, too. Cloth diapers, of course!
For a teeny tiny bum!
This is my first cloth diaper for the snarglette. I used the Kwik Sew pattern to cut out the pieces, and then winged the construction. I made it an All-In-One (AIO) by adding a waterproof (resistant?) layer, and a sewn-in soaker. I've bought lots more fabric, and a couple more patterns, as well as downloading several free ones, so I've got lots of fun sewing experiments to look forward to!
In fact, I've already made my second one, but I made a Medium size, which appears to be completely enormous... as in, she may be potty trained before she can wear it, but it was good practice!
I had a lot of problems with my sewing machine on the first one - the bobbin kept skipping and I could not get the tension right. I contemplated taking it into the local repair shop, but first I actually read the manual (*gasp*). And found out that my machine had special bobbins. And I was of course not using them. So instead, I went to the local repair shop and bought some special bobbins, and my second diaper went off without a hitch. Problem solved - hooray!
Baby friends
So, you might have seen that Cara was down here in DC - something about a date with a rock star. Anyway, Dan & I took the opportunity to meet up with her and Georgie. We had a great lunch and awesome conversation. We talked carseats, strollers, and assorted baby gear, and then compared pregnancy symptoms - basically, the stuff that no one else wants to hear about :). And of course we had to compare our bumps!
Fetal twin powers activate - DC style!
Hooray for a fabulous time with friends who are going through the same thing you are!
Baby symptoms
So this pregnancy stuff is pretty hard. Guess what... I've thrown up twice this week. Which is to say, I'm 2/2 days. Yes, I'm 22.5 weeks. Yes, morning sickness "should" be over by now. Guess I'm one of the "lucky" women for whom this is just going to keep going. Hopefully I'll still get over it at some point...
Also, I'm having a lot of pubic symphsis pain. Now this is a relatively "common" symptom in women who are in the very advanced stages of pregnancy (say, 35 weeks and beyond), but again it appears I'm a "lucky" one who got it early! According to my doctor, it will probably keep on for the rest of the time... Yay!
In good news, the baby is moving and kicking all of the time now, and even Dan has been able to feel her. She seems to generally be breech (which she was at the ultrasound), and the kicks are really low down. I'm fairly obsessed with feeling the kicks with my hand, and that means that I spend some time with my hand lodged in my waistband, just like Al Bundy:
Attractive!
The kicking is a great feeling, and very strange at the same time. I honestly thought it would be a lot more distracting and break my concentration, but I just find myself maybe smiling a bit more, but just carrying on with conversations or doing whatever I was. There's definitely an activity pattern - she's pretty quiet when I wake up (although one morning I did have the very bizzare feeling of being kicked while puking), then perks up a little bit mid-morning, and then there's another big pulse of activity right after I eat lunch. Actually, any time I eat something, it seems like my blood sugar spikes and she responds. The next big jump fest is in the evening and at night. It's really no wonder that newborns don't sleep through the night - we're totally conditioning them to be active then. I wonder what would happen if I stayed up all night walking around (which generally puts babies to sleep) and then laid down during the day to let her wake up... Maybe I'll try it if I am home on leave before she arrives :)
Tomorrow is my next doctor's appointment. I'm seeing a new doctor this time - it sounds like I'll have one of three (or four) doctors in the delivery room, and I would like to have at least met them first. So this is doctor number two! Fingers crossed that all goes well!
Posted by Sarah at November 20, 2007 11:15 PM | in: Finished Objects , baby , sewing | PermalinkLOVE the long update!!! Bump is looking good. And remember, it gets noisy in there when you eat! That might be waking her up too!
Posted by: Mom on November 20, 2007 11:27 PMThe Al Bundy picture is SO perfect - I felt like that, too. As the baby gets bigger, you'll start to feel more rolls and swoops and fewer direct punches. It's so bizarre! I'm sorry you've still got morning sickness - but I hope it's confined to the morning time. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by: natalie on November 21, 2007 07:20 AMSarah, I have to tell you when I was pregnant with Bob I threw up everyday....so bad I was hospitalized for dehydration twice....saltines before you even get out of bed in the am. Works wonders.
But let me also tell you it is so worth it!!! And look 23 years later (today)I have an all grown up baby boy in college!!!!
Best wishes.
Oh my god - I LOVE the picture! Look at us!!! (Dude - my bump totally looks bigger than yours - even without the boobage.)
I am totally with you on the hand down the pants. My kicks tend to be more mid-belly - but lately they've been moving lower.
I'm sorry you're still so sick. I probably puke once a week now. Although I feel like I could every day if I tried a little bit. And the pelvic pain - oy vey! I feel for you girl!
PS - I'm so stealing that picture!
LOVE LOVE LOVE!
AHH! It's so weird that you're getting symptoms from early in a pregnancy ("morning" sickness) and late in the pregnancy (pubic symphsis pain) but it's great that you feel her moving. yay! She'll love Thanksgiving!
Posted by: laura on November 21, 2007 08:42 AMI am on baby number 2 (just just!) and never once got nausea or threw up with baby number 1. However, with baby number 2, I'm sooo nauseas (maybe this time it's the opposite sex!) Anyhow, I've discovered that pickled ginger (or any kind of ginger, but I like the ginger you get when you have sushi (well when you have sushi when you're not preggos!) works!! ginger helps nausea! I just discovered it yesterday, and so far - so good!!!
Good luck & feel better soon!
Posted by: Robyn on November 21, 2007 09:02 AMOh and I forgot to mention I love the colors of the sewn diaper! Totally my colors! I was never into the cloth diaper thing. Disposables worked for me and still do (baby number 1 is almost 11 months).
I'm dying to make the baby surprise, it's on my list and in my queue on ravelry, i think :)
Posted by: Robyn on November 21, 2007 09:04 AMThat baby surprise jacket it too cute! And congrats on the sewing! I'm helping my friend Jolene sew bunches of cloth diapers too. They are quick and fun to make!
Love the bump picture too!
-Jody
Posted by: Jody on November 21, 2007 10:46 AMawww, this entry just warms my heart. The cuteness of the baby sweater, and the diaper, and the BUMPS! love it! I'm just thrilled to pieces for you.
Posted by: ann on November 21, 2007 11:04 AMLove the sweater! Those diapers are so lovely, it's hard to image them getting poo'd and pee'd in. Your post brought back great memories of my son kicking away in utero.
Posted by: Kim on November 21, 2007 11:52 AMoooh :-\ I'm sorry you're having a rough time of it. Just think though, WAY MORE blackmail/guilt inducing material for when she's older!!! You can totally beef up the mom card with this stuff! "Do you know what I sufferred trying to bring you into this world!?!?!?!"
hee!!!
The diaper looks adorable!!! How many of those will you need to make?
Posted by: Lara on November 21, 2007 12:13 PMYey for baby updates!!! I have to agree with Cara that this time her bump looks bigger! I'm sorry Snarglette is causing you pain but I'm glad that she's making you smile too!
I have all of your invitations in envelopes... now I just have to go buy stamps and then put them in the mail!
Sarah Sarah Sarah...
your sister sent me over here... Imagine my joy. Who is this Jenny Sherrill, you may ask? The former Jenny Vinson and huge fan of yours and how did it get to be that your little shrimp sister grew up into a real true cool person too?
anyway, two cool babies later, and I will say there are some of us "lucky" ones who get to spend 9 months puking... but it does wonder for the pregnancy weight! (Baby 2, Adam, was almost 9 lbs, and my total gain for the preg. was 15 lbs.)
Anyway, come over to newpics.org and see me and my boys and email me and all that....
Hugs,
Jenny
Happy Thanksgiving a day late! How was your doctor's appointment? What did you do on Turkey day? I am really missing you and mom on this Black Friday... and the stores. Oh yeah, I'm missing the stores too!
Posted by: Jenna on November 23, 2007 10:50 AMI'm doing the Al Bundy thing too, and this is my second... it never loses its coolness!
Sorry to hear you're having discomfort, but your baby knit is adorable!
Posted by: Kelly on November 24, 2007 07:02 PMAbout the kicks and the pain, you are not the only one to experience it early. My baby partially tore on of the ligaments surrounding my pubic bone. He then proceeded to kick it for four more months! So, I can relate!