52 Books :: Week 15 (Book 14)

Creative Play for your Baby was a refreshing read. I love that the toys and projects are all stimulating and entertaining and can be made at home using natural materials. Thankfully a book that does not advocate parents to spend hundreds of dollars on plastic toys with all the bells and whistles (although I have to admit that we do have more than our fair share of these toys).







This week I am reading Multiple Blessings. I think it will be a nice light, quick read. I have baby on the brain these days and there is not much room left in there for heavy literature or anything too informational!

Nursing Cover

Today while grandma was here to play with Baby C I sat down (rather uncomfortably) at my sewing machine to get started on, and finish the nursing cover that I have been meaning to get to for ages. This was a super simple project and sewed up fast but looking closely (at the wrong side) there are some serious construction errors that had I been making this for someone else I would have corrected. I am going to blame my less than adequate sewing performance today on the fact that my huge belly is keeping me at odd angles to the sewing machine, I can't see my feet, and had a difficult time finding and manipulating the foot pedal. Yes, that's it - I will blame the belly.

I do have to say though, I am quite happy with how it turned out. I made it out of a light weight linen so it will be super cool and I think that we will get a lot of use out of this if for nothing else as a sun shade for all the time that we will be spending outside. I can't wait! Speaking of the sun, it is out and shining so Baby C, Nick and I are going to go out and enjoy a walk on what will hopefully be one of our last Sunday's as a family of 3!

Sleep sack finished

I finished the sleep sack tonight but I think I might tweak it a bit more. The pattern called to cast on 128 stitches and after a few rounds I realized that there is no way that this was going to be small enough for a newborn-6 month size so after finishing the waistband I increased by 20 stitches and added about 2 inches of length to make it a good size for 6-12 months (that is when we really ran into sleep problems with Baby C waking up cold because she rolled out from under her blanket). I think that the waistband is still a wee bit big for that size and I'm not quite sure what to do about it (any suggestions). I might just add a crochet collar for about 1/2-1 inch to tighten it up... but it might also look like crap. I guess I'll have to try it out and see how it looks. I have enough wool left over to make another so I think I'm going to go back to the drawing board and make a smaller newborn size.

52 Books :: Week 14 (Book 13)

I picked this book up a few months back at my local book store and just haven't had a chance to read it yet. Although these days Charlette is a bit more of a toddler than a baby I think I will find it useful enough in the months to come.

Not much to show for it

I have been working like crazy the last few days along with my mom and Nick and don't feel like I have much to show for it. We are furiously trying to get things ready for the new baby - the room is painted and his/her things are being moved in (even though our room will be *home* for the first little bit). I have been washing baby clothes and those teeny tiny newborn diapers are all fresh and waiting on the change table (along side Charlette's one size diapers - wow they look small in comparison!). I am trying to finish the sleep sack but have been more inclined to sleep a bit myself when Charlette goes down for her naps.

I'm now 37 weeks pregnant and my fear of having a premature induction again seem to have been unfounded - so far we are healthy and for the most part happy (except I think that someone is starting to run out of room in there). And now we wait... maybe a little rocking and knitting, but mostly soaking up those cuddles with my soon to be older daughter and waiting.

52 Books :: Week 13 (Book 12)

So I missed out on starting a new book last week. I have been spending whatever spare time I get working on the sleep sack for the new baby.



This week I will be reading:




Babywearing by Maria Blois. I have been trying to find this book online for about a year and finally decided to contact my local book store and they were able to order it for me from the publishers in the US. Have I ever mentioned how stoked I am for this book? I have heard absolutely nothing but fabulous reviews and have been told it is the book for babywearing enthusiasts (or just those looking to learn more).

35 weeks and counting

I have always regretted that I never really took any belly photos when I was pregnant with Charlette so when my friend Stephanie said that she was setting up a photo studio in her basement I couldn't help but jump at the chance to be her guinea pig! Here are just a few of the keepers from our photo session.

** All photo credits: Stephanie Gray-Canada

Wrapping Up Loose Ends (or weaving in loose ends)

This blanket is finally finished. I can't even remember when I started it, and I don't think that I blogged about it. It has patiently sat by the wayside while I learned how to knit and was focused on more exciting projects. I think I just got bored with it because it is my go-to baby blanket ad I have made this pattern for a lot of babies lately! Its for a friend who is expecting - I don't think they read this blog but I wont say their name just in case. I am super happy with how snugly it turned out and c'mon self striping yarn? Perfect!

Baby knits

The other day I cast on for a sleep sack for baby. I am so excited to start this knitting project but also a little nervous as it is my first attempt using circular needles. I first came across this pattern on Soulemama's blog and it was actually the reason that I signed up for Ravelry. Its a free pattern called Kicking Bag for Babies and it just looks so sweet. I am modifying the pattern a wee bit and I'll find out soon enough if it was a good idea or not!

At first I was disappointed thinking that I wouldn't have a chance to use this being as belly bean will be a spring baby. Then I remembered how I like to sleep with the ceiling fan on and our room can get mighty chilly leading to the obvious problem of the baby being too cold. Perfect - a reason to knit my very own kicking bag!!! Yeah!

Putting up

This was an exhausting weekend of preparations. Mom and I made quadruple batches of chili, chicken taco soup, shepherds pie and porcupines (meatballs with rice) for the freezer as well as a ridiculous amount of twice baked potatoes. Combined with Nick's mad barbecuing skills I think that we will be eating pretty well in the months to come. And today was all about washing baby clothes and remembering how just a year ago my own little toddler was wearing those preemie and newborn baby clothes - and swimming in them! I definitely feel a little more prepared this time around (but maybe that's because I'm not on bed rest and haven't even made a single trip to the hospital!)... but there is still some more that I want to get done before we are a family of 4.

Chili

Chicken Taco Soup

Now we will just have to see how long all this delicious food lasts... I'm getting hungry!

52 Books :: Week 11

I think that pretty soon I will have to label these posts as Book 11 as opposed to Week 11 because I am starting to feel as though the reading is about to slow down just a tad over here. Although I am loving this challenge, I don't think that I finished 10 books all of last year. This has been a fun way to encourage myself to rediscover a passion!



This week (and maybe next) I'll be reading The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. This is another book that has been on my reading list for quite some time now and I am excited to get started on reading it!