indieknits

A Belated Happy New Year!

It's been a while since my last post so I thought I'd share another picture:

Emma is now smiling!

We're gradually easing into a pattern, although there is no routine established yet (she's only 7 weeks so it's early days for that). The nights are still pretty hard going, although she is starting to go for one 4-5 hour stint now before waking for a feed.

I'm happy to say that I am still breastfeeding. It was a struggle for the first 5-6 weeks but is getting easier now. All the medical staff I've met encourage it, but give so much conflicting advice! Other people have planted seeds of doubt - I've heard 'how do you know she's getting enough?' many times. I'm so glad I've stuck with it, although I will need to get her used to a bottle at some point (and start expressing).

I've stocked up on bumGenius and am very happy with them - they are very absorbent, don't leak, and wash well. I've also ordered some reusable wipes so am looking forward to getting started on those too :)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from us to you!

and best wishes for 2010. xxx

Emma is here!

As you may have guessed from the radio silence over the last couple of weeks, baby Emma has arrived!

She was born at 3:06pm on Monday 7th December, weighing in at 8 pounds 12 ounces. Labour started at 2:30am the same day - I felt my waters pop and contractions were 3-4 minutes apart pretty much straight away. By 11am the pain was so intense that I went to the hospital, and luckily a pool was free soon after my arrival. I am proud to say I had no painkillers at all, except gas and air which only made me feel dizzy! The water definitely helped though.

              

We're now adjusting to life at home and looking forward to a magical Christmas! :)

Surprise Shower!

Yesterday I arranged for Emmms and Sharon to come over for the afternoon - or so I thought. Turns out that they had been plotting a surprise shower for me for the last two months! When I opened the front door, it wasn't just Emma and Sharon standing there but Mel, Tricia and Jen too! They brought the most gorgeous blanket and pillow ever:

 

Thank you to all the knitters on Ravelry that helped put these together. Ross and I are touched by your generosity! Emma will be so warm and cozy wrapped up in the blanket during those cold winter months.

They also brought over some other handmade gifts:

Tricia and Charlotte made Whirligig Shrugs:

 

Mel made a snuggly hooded cardigan:

and Jen made me a cute little project bag!

 

I had a fantastic afternoon :)

Wanida Socks

I've just completed my Wanida socks!

Pattern: Wanida from Sock Innovation by Cookie A

Yarn Used: Old Maiden Aunt Merino Superwash 4ply in Bluebells

These socks just flew off the needles - the combination of a great pattern and gorgeously soft yarn made them a real pleasure to knit. 

I'm 35 weeks today! I think we are about as ready as we can be. Just waiting on a delivery from Mothercare and then we'll have pretty much everything. Ross and I are keen to use washable nappies, so I have ordered a bumGenius 3.0 to try out once Emma arrives. Once I felt the difference between a cotton nappy and a disposable, I knew straight away which one I'd rather put next to my baby's skin. We'll order 20 or so more once we've given the tester a go. 

Right, I'm off to work on some secret Christmas knitting!

27 Weeks Today

I officially start my third trimester today, and have exactly three months until my due date! Time is really flying by. We've got most of the big things (pushchair, cotbed, mattress, moses basket, changer) but still have lots of blankets and sheets to pick up. The need to nest is starting to kick in and I am eager to get all of her clothes washed whilst I can still hang them all outside to dry.

I really should take a picture of the blanket I am knitting - it is coming along nicely! I plan to make a few more bits (more booties, socks, hats and a cardigan) but may save a lot of it for November, when I start my maternity leave. Can't bloody wait! I am getting more and more tired as the weeks go on. Sleep is getting more and more difficult too, but I guess I should get used to that! I'm not complaining though; it is only temporary and is of course more than worth it. We can't wait until she arrives.

22 week scan

I had my 22 week scan yesterday! Check her out - she looks like she has a cheeky grin on her face!

Also had an hour and a half wait for ten minutes with a midwife (!!!) who said that everything is perfect. Yay!

My mum visited this weekend and bought us a load of baby things!! We hit Oxford Street nice and early, we only visited Mothercare and John Lewis but it was enough to whack me out for the whole weekend. She bought a gorgeous moses basket (along with a stand, mattress and sheets), a baby monitor, bath, bouncy chair, changing mat and a handy bag for me to store essentials when we're out and about. Thanks mum!!

16 weeks today!

At last! My home broadband was activated this morning. I spent so long farting around with it that it made me late and I had to rush to work. That was tricky. I seem to be getting out of breath just walking at a normal pace! Definitely starting to show now too. I am getting to that awkward inbetweeny stage where my clothes are too tight and maternity clothes are too big.

Nothing new on the knitting front. I want to get started on something, but my brain can't get any further than that at the moment. I have half a skein of Malabrigo Worsted in my stash so might cast on an Elfin hat.

Thanks for all your comments - I'm sorry I haven't been visiting your blogs as much as I should. It's all been a bit mental recently but life is starting to settle down again now, so I'll be back on track shortly!

Baby News!

Hello!

I am posting from Costa Coffee because we don't have any internet at home until next week... just wanted to share my scan picture with you all!

Turns out that I am 15 weeks, and not 12 as I thought! and we also found out that it will be..... a GIRL!

I'm back! and I have news to share!

Hello! Gosh it feels like ages since I last posted. Things have been mad in the house of indieknits lately. There is a reason why I've not posted much, knitted much, or generally done anything social for the last month.

I am pregnant!

It came as a bit of a shock so the news is still sinking in! We are very excited though. I'm currently at 7 weeks, so it's early days and I am still at the tired and sick stage. Thankfully I haven't actually been sick yet, so fingers crossed I'll miss out on that.

We will probably be moving flat in the next month or two - we're currently in a two bedroom flat but there are a few things we don't like about it (the area is very noisy, the windows seem to fill up with condensation as soon as the weather turns cold, I could go on but I shan't!) so we have our eyes peeled for somewhere else. In the meantime I am taking each day as it comes and trying to sleep and relax as much as possible. My low fat eating plan has gone out of the window (hurrah!) and I haven't missed alcohol one bit.