are you interested?

WANTED: A patient soul who can get up at night with a hungry little monster at least 3 times.

Qualifications: Willing to part with sleep during nighttime hours. Needs good ears for hearing baby noises. And must be able to change a squirmy baby's diaper. Must be quiet so Mommy and Daddy can sleep!

Salary: My undying gratitude and devotion. Also, breakfast in the morning. If you're awake, that is. :)

in which daddy goes back to work

We were lucky that Hubby could take two weeks off work after Emma's birth. While he used vacation time to do it, the last two weeks have been as far from a vacation as he could get... he's cooked, cleaned, done laundry, catered to me as I recovered from the c-section, and been our chauffeur around town, too. Poor Daddy! I bet he's tired.

This morning was a little hard as he kissed us goodbye to go back to work. Now, it's just me and Baby at home. It's not the first time we've been alone, but it is the longest stretch. We spent our time napping, feeding, diapering, and then this afternoon we went to the doctor to make sure Emma's gaining weight, which she finally is! We've been to the pediatrician's office four times in the last two weeks. Crazy.

Do you see her cute little ducky feet? :)

hello, baby!

Emma Catherine

was born on Friday, August 5th, at 9:00 AM

Weight: 7 pounds, 3 ounces

Length: 18 3/4 inches



We spent four days in the hospital following my c-section. Baby Emma was breech from 36 weeks on, and didn't turn back to a head down position.

Here we are a few minutes after getting home from the hospital on Tuesday...

And here is our little cutie yesterday...

We are so blessed!

a tour of the nursery

Baby's nursery is ready to go! And just in the nick of time, too. I've always been a procrastinator. :)

Really, the room has been ready for a while, just chaotic and disorganized. It's a small space and Baby has so much stuff to pack in there! We started in March by painting and ordering the furniture. Slowy but surely, I've been finishing projects for the room, like the wreath, the crocheted throw, a mini quilt, and a toy net.

Here's the whole room. I stood outside the door of the room to take this picture! The window is on the south wall; the crib is on the east wall.

Here's the west wall, with the changing table/dresser unit. I have a fun wall hanging planned for the big empty space above it.

This is the mini quilt I made that hangs above the crib.

Baby has already amassed quite the collection of stuffed animals. (Okay, okay, you beat it out of me. They were mostly all mine and have been in storage for years because I couldn't bear to get rid of them.)

Since it's not a good idea to line her crib with animals, I wanted to buy a toy net to hang in the corner of her room. As I was looking around online I realized that I could crochet one very easily and for free with yarn from my stash, rather than shelling out $15 to buy one.

After a brief online hunt for an easy pattern, I dug out some cotton yarn and made a simple triangle. It's super cute and matches the colors already in her room, however it's really small and only holds three stuffed animals! I actually like that it's not huge, but if I did it again I'd definitely make it bigger.

Now, what do I do with the rest of the storage bin of stuffed animals? Turns out, I haven't really solved my problem yet. :)

Big Bunny is snuggled in between the crib and the closet doors.

Today, Hubby helped me organize the room and clean out the closet to make room for more stuff. We're ready to go!

baby update {38 weeks}

I told my hubby he should take a picture of me in my favorite spot... on the couch, lol. I didn't actually think he'd do it, but he did. Here I am in all my preggo glory! (Eek)

baby hat

I wanted to make a hat to match the Star Booties for Baby to come home in... since we're at the height of a super hot summer, I knew it needed to be lightweight and airy. I found a great pattern from Aesthetic Nest, called the Picot and Lace Baby Cloche. Overall the pattern was really easy to follow and quick to crochet.

The only problem I have is that I always doubt myself when it comes to sizing baby items. I'm hoping it fits Baby's head! It looks soooo small.

By the way, Aesthetic Nest is really worth checking out. Anneliese has some great crochet tutorials for baby, kid, and adult items, as well as party ideas and sewing patterns.

tiny... so tiny

I knew that eventually I'd end up crocheting a baby hat and booties for Baby (who is still in the breech position, by the way. Stubborn girl.). Hubby said a few nights ago that he was surprised that I hadn't done it by now, and I'm kind of surprised at myself, too. After all, there are only about two weeks left until she arrives!

We went to Barnes & Noble last week and I picked up this book because I loved the Star Booties. My first attempt was a teeny tiny booty that was cute but also a bit on the wonky side. It was supposed to measure 3 1/2 inches but barely ended up at 2 inches.

My second attempt was more successful. It's the right size and not wonky. Best of all, the third booty actually matches the second in shape and size!

I'm also doing a hat, but having some issues with it. We'll see how things go.

dear weatherman,

I know what you're doing.

I know you're fudging the numbers.

I know it HAS to be over 100 million degrees outside. I can see things melting outside like that Perrier commercial. But you say it's 95. I could handle 95. It's NOT 95.

You lie. It's HOT. I'm HOT. I turn the AC waaaay down and sit under a fan during the day and I sleep (or try to) with two fans pointed at me at night. And still, I'm HOT.

Stop fibbing and tell the truth. I won't get mad. Also, please arrange for a much lower temperature so I can lose the fans and AC and my husband can defrost.

Respectfully,
Carmen

P.S. If you tell me it's because I'm 37 weeks pregnant or it's because of my hormones, I might have to be offended.

baby update ~ 36 weeks

Well, we've had a bit of a hiccup... literally and figuratively. Baby gets the hiccups between three and five times every day... sometimes her hiccups are so strong that you can see my belly jumping around!

Here she is today... we're looking at Baby's face... she had her back to the ultrasound tech so we mostly saw her spine and ribs. No good profile photos, unfortunately.

Figuratively speaking, things weren't as peachy today at my doctor's appointment as they've been throughout my pregnancy. Baby had been head down the last few weeks, but decided that she needed to spend last week maneuvering into a head up position.

Whoops.

We'll be keeping an eye on her through ultrasounds for the next few weeks, so hopefully she'll turn back the way she's supposed to be!

Here I am in all my belly-rific glory!

baby update ~ 35 weeks

Oh boy. I don't know how other women do it. I still have five weeks to go, and I'm pooped! I get tired and out of breath so easily these days. (Thank you, uterus, for jamming up under my lungs.) I haven't slept through the night in at least four months, and I have to go to the bathroom every two hours or so.

I live in search of AC and fans... I don't go anywhere that doesn't have them!

 If I was still in school, I'd cry. Women who work until their due date are better women than I am.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning. Baby Girl is head down, heartbeat is strong, dilation is zero, everything looks great! I'm at the point where OB appointments are weekly, and I have an ultrasound next week.

My craftiness has almost disappeared... I partially pieced a mini quilt last week, and it languishes on a chair, waiting to be ironed. I have no desire to drag out the iron or sewing machine to work on it. Maybe I could crochet instead?