Christmas Dresses

Progress on any project is super slow right now, but I made effort and got the girls' Christmas outfits done(except I ran out of lace and still need to get more). They're not very fancy, but they match, I used fabric I already had, and the dresses at least are lined with flannel.

Baby E's Dress

Baby M's jumper and blouse

Frigid

Our fridge stopped working. I don't know the ins and outs of fridge life, but the vegetables in the back of the fridge were freezing and being ruined. So we tried to turn the temp down using the innocent looking buttons inside. But at some point after that the fridge was no longer cold at all and the freezer was waaaay too cold... so we went four days like that and pretty much everything went bad and Margaret got constipated because we ran out of fruit and then finally they brought a new fridge. There's only three guys in the appliance section of maintenance, and apparently they do the campus locksmithing too, besides being students. So that's one reason it took so long.

Baby E is doing very well. Growing, eating, sleeping and burping happen every day. And diapers... Baby M is doing good too, and super cute.

Any sewing I've done has been brief snatches in between babies to try and get some winter clothes put together for M. They're functional but not too attractive, and Margaret does not appreciate having to wear sleeves and thicker clothes. Oh well. Our apartment is so drafty layers are required!

Hobbling along

One week until probable due date. Effects of a bulky middle are still in full swing. Half the time I look like an old lady who needs a walker, and a servant- to carry my toddler and my groceries! I'm torn between wanting it to be over as soon as possible, and waiting until after my last massage on Monday. After some more concerns over the baby's size, we submitted to another sonogram this week.

It's getting to the point where before I go to bed at night I look at my kitchen in resignation and think, if I go into labor tonight this is what my kitchen will look like. I do dishes in secret because I can't handle the toddler's help. And John changes as many of the diapers as possible just so I don't have to lift the toddler, either.

And jump ahead three weeks....

We made it to the other side. Still hobbling a bit, but hanging in there. Baby M loves Baby E. We are all sleep deprived, and one of us is teething. But it's still nice to be done with that phase!

Blah Countdown Post

Home made pizza sauce simmering on the stove. Pizza dough rising in the bread machine. Fussy teething toddler on the floor with ALL of her toys. Laundry in the machine. Braxton-Hicks in full form. Wild cravings for peaches and chocolate milk. Puffy hands and feet. Two more hours until daddy takes over. Two more weeks until the baby comes, and who knows how many days until M gets her latest teeth.

Nesting/baking: French Silk Pie

I am ready to be done; It's been long enough. I want this baby on the outside. I may be sleep deprived on the other side, but at least my body won't feel like it's physically being dragged into a pit every day.

Watching, waiting, and wanting company

 Two more weeks!

Chickens... Babies... Sleep.

So Baby M is teething and maybe having a growth spurt. Anyway, she's been getting me up more at night. I'm tired. I'm also very excited to start her on solids and went to the store to buy some whole chickens to make bone broth, healthy for growing babies.

But, I should not have gone shopping while sleep deprived. In buying two chickens my glazed eyes didn't get past the words "Whole" and "Sale." They looked a little squishy, but it wasn't until I was loading them into the car that I realized they were whole, deboned chickens. I guess the baby will just get plain broth because I'm going to have a lot of it.

And then when I got home I discovered I had bought vanilla yogurt when I wanted plain.

Dan in one of my coats.

Anyway, Baby's doing well. I have another order from Dan, who practically could hire me full time. He's been asked to play the part of John Hancock at an event, and so of course needs a new coat. It's a soft grey wool with dove grey linen lining. It's going to be pretty sharp.

The Hancock Coat

The grey coat is supposed to follow this actual surviving Hancock coat in cut and style. I found this neat article about the coat.

Dan in another one of my coats.

Back and Settled

We're done with travel for a while. I'm in post vacation denial. I don't want to work, but too bored not to do anything! We so enjoyed seeing family for one more time this summer, and on top of that, a total eclipse.

Baby M

Baby M is growing fast. She's popping teeth and that makes her crabby sometimes, but overall she's a happy baby, and especially happy to be home and out of her car seat.

I bought this ladies' Medium blouse for .50, and it's brand new. I cut it up into a bunch of little bits and made this baby dress.It probably took way more time than it was worth, but oh well. I'm hoping to get my usual Fall rush of sewing orders, and I want to spend my sewing efforts in the meantime on baby clothes!

Shirt changed to baby shirt-dress

I also made this checkered knit dress, very Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. I bought the fabric from Girl Charlee- I'd been wanting to order from them for a while. The faux apron is a vintage handkerchief. I had never tried putting buttonholes on a knit before- and it didn't work. I should have just reinforced them and done them by hand. So I'm not going to show you the back because it looks bad. Maybe I'll go back and fix it someday!

Can the Baby come out now?

Well, maybe. It's coming soon, anyway. We're just past 37 weeks, the legal marker for home birth. I don't really expect the baby to go late, so it's good to reach this point. It's no longer worth it to shave my legs. Or bend over. Or lift anything. The baby's fine and healthy and seems determined to keep growing despite the protests of my abdominal muscles.

Baby Stuff- blankets and animals.

We're nearing the end and I've been blessed with several different baby showers. First, the enthusiastic Lutheran ladies, at Mildred's bidding. Second, a Thanksgiving brunch gathering with NE family and church friends. Next was evening tea with a few Seminary ladies, hosted by one of the Professors' wives. This past weekend was a Country brunch with the TX church ladies; and last but not least, a brunch with a few of John's side of the family in Dallas.

Diaper cake. Not really sure where to put it, but it's cute!

That all adds up to lots of little gatherings and gifts of helpful baby items(And just a few unhelpful ones) that we probably wouldn't have bought ourselves! It's a blessing. We're thankful for friends and family helping us prepare for our first baby.

Baptismal Gown

The Baptismal gown is finished!

I made the gown from leftover pieces of off-white lightweight linen. It's a pretty simple gown, mostly because we don't know if we're having a boy or girl and John didn't want lace and ribbons if it's a boy. Plus, any children we have will have to wear this and hopefully we will have a boy at some point! So anyway, a plain gown.

The gown has pleats in front and back, and simple trim on the reinforced hem. Plain cuffs and collar. A button at the back neck and ribbons to gather in as needed.

In researching baptismal gown traditions it seems to be a more high-church tradition, with the white gown symbolizing innocence and purity(not very Calvinistic!). Our family has never had a family baptismal gown; I made one more for the sake of starting a family tradition, to make the baptism of new babies special. Plus it's a fancy, gender-neutral garment already prepared beforehand.

So that's one more thing checked off the to-do list!

January Starts the Count-down

We are seven weeks out from projected baby arrival. Lists are being made. There's lots of little things like stock up on PB&J and toilet paper, but the main two goals look like this:

• Clean entire house thoroughly by 37 weeks
• Put food in freezer

Current state of the baptismal gown: needing lace. Current state of the quilt I'd really like to finish: close! Current state of my last sewing order: Ugh. Buttonholes.

I've had some pregnancy discomfort, but nothing really bad. It will be nice to not be rotund in the middle again; I look forward to more variety in sleeping positions! One thing I am looking forward to being over are the comments people make to pregnant women. I had no idea! People tend to all say the same things when they don't really know what to say. It also seems like younger women have been positive about childbearing, but the older women have tended to be negative. That's hard. Here are a few of the most common comments received:

• You look tired.
• How are you feeling?
• You look like you're not enjoying this stage.
• That baby will not come early.
• Your life will change forever.
• I know you haven't found out the gender, but what do you feel like it is? (I get this one ALL the time and I seriously do not know!)
• Take naps/have fun now because you won't be able to later!
• Childbearing causes your stomach muscles to separate/brain cells deplete/vitamins become deficient/whatever horrible health consequences.

Hearing these comments over and over tends to annoy me a bit. I'm thankful for a very calm, positive midwife and a husband who listens to my rants. The subtle attitude of negativity from some has left me desiring to be encouraging about childbearing to younger women, whenever I get to that higher position. For myself, I did not get married with the desire to remain childless. I did not go through ten years of singleness to turn around and bemoan the relatively short discomforts of pregnancy(except to John!). To add more perspective, we know that infertility can be very common. We see friends struggling with this and are very grateful we have not had any such painful issues. We are thankful to be having a baby, and I for sure do not need anyone to tell me about the physical discomforts of producing one!

A baby is a total life change? Yes. But I'm thankful that I'm not going into this blind. Our parents had no clue how to take care of a baby. I helped raise four younger siblings- they were so cute. And they hate to be reminded that I changed their diapers. I welcome ideas, and advice, if I ask for it, but I don't want older women to tell me how to raise or train my baby, especially if it's presented from a negative viewpoint. I already have experience and opinions, and quite a bit of available information. Plus, I will figure out my baby when it arrives. Which I am looking forward to!

I'm thankful- for a healthy, gender-unknown baby, arriving soon.

Baby Things

One or two Mondays a month I go spend the morning with a group of retired ladies tying blankets together for charity. They're Lutherans, which is a nice break from Baptists, and while they do mostly talk about their health issues they can be an interesting group. Most of the ladies are widowed, all are retired, and all of them are well above sixty-five. Mildred is the eighty-something powerhouse ringleader.

First baby gifts!

I stayed away the whole three months of morning sickness(because I was sick), and when I went back Mildred decided they needed to give me a shower. That was Monday, and Mildred was so excited she said it was like Christmas. It was very sweet of the ladies and exciting to be given baby things. Apparently Mildred has everyone convinced that our baby will be a girl. And I now have plenty of onesies, if nothing else.

Quilt top

I've put together a quilt top for a baby blanket but I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it before the due date. Ir's made entirely from scraps from my stash, so very practical. I'm under no delusions that this will probably be the only baby blanket I will ever make, so if I have more than one child, they'll just have to share!