A Beautiful Birth!

Our second daughter Sophelia August has made her appearance!


Around 4 A.M. Thursday the 29th of September, at 37 weeks 4 days gestation. I woke up with horrible back, hip, pelvic & upper thigh pain. The back pain is normal for me, but this morning it was very intense and had spread to the other areas. I can normally deal with the pain using a heating pad, warm bath, change of positions, but this time I couldn't get the pain to let up at all. Laying in any position was awful, & sitting or walking weren't that great either. 


6:14 A.M. the pain started to break up. I started timing it & it seemed like these were just going to be what my contractions felt like this time round. They were about 4-5 minutes apart & 40-60 seconds long. After an hour of timing them I decided to call my midwife Susan to let her access the situation (I was afraid of waiting too long & her not making it here in time!) She let me know she would eat breakfast & head on over. I went & woke up Tucker, let him know it was show time. My maternity photos were supposed to be this coming weekend, disappointed that I didn't get to do them again I took one final belly shot between contractions.

I bounced around & rocked on the birth ball in between contractions, leaning over it & having Tuck apply pressure to my back during the contractions. Unfortunately it was back labor...again. Susan arrived & asked if I wanted to be checked, sure why not. 100% effaced & 5 cm dilated. She also checked on baby, 144 heart rate. Annie woke up & Tucker got her dressed & occupied her in her room with some toys & a movie. Susan put pressure on the back of my hips for my contractions until Tucker could come back. I had been throwing up, pounding water, throwing it back up again so Susan suggested a tablespoon of honey. I hate honey. I wanted to stop throwing up so I gagged down a tablespoon, it was awful but I stopped throwing up for a little while. Susans assistant Shonda was on her way over with the birth pool. When Shonda arrived they wanted to check me again to see if we had time for the birth pool to be set up. 8 cm. Maybe if we hurry. 


They were able to get the pool set up in our living room (of our upstairs apartment) & I climbed in. It wasn't the comfort I was hoping for but it did help some. Annie came & peeked in every once in a while, she really thought that my bath needed some toys so she threw in a tugboat, a duck & a couple of balls. When I insisted I didn't want them she gave up & went back to her bedroom. I tried laying back & relaxing in the pool but it seemed the best way to deal with the contractions was hands & knees with someone putting the pressure on my back &/or hips. I threw up, pounded ice water, & threw up again. I don't remember how many times I repeated the process. Someone was also always wetting a cold rag for my forehead & back of my neck, I felt like I was overheating.


Finally at 11:50 A.M. during a contraction I felt my water pop in the tub and I knew the baby was right there, ready to come out. Susan checked me one last time to make sure I could push, I rolled over & let her check, a bit of a lip of cervix but she said she would hold it back & I could push. So push I did. 1 minute & 4 pushes later (2 for the head, 1 for the shoulders & 1 for the body she came out left occiput anterior) I pulled my baby up to me. No tearing! She cried as soon as she left the water. I couldn't get her to my chest because of a short cord, which also prevented me from being able to see the sex so I just asked & Susan told me we had another baby girl! She had generous amounts of vernix covering her body, some dark fuzz for hair, and she was beautiful & plump. We threw a few towels around her & I asked Tucker if we had a Sophelia. He confirmed. Annie came out & met her new sister for the first time. She wasn't very interested. 

I sat on the birthing stool & held her low on my abdomen wrapped in towels. When her cord stopped pulsing Susan clamped it & Tucker cut it. I offered her the breast & she took to it right away, as if she had known what it was for. 9 minutes after she had been birthed the placenta came & I moved to the couch to relax & continue skin to skin breastfeeding. 

After Susan & Shonda had cleaned things up they checked Sophie out. She had received 10s on all apgars. Weight was 8 pounds even, length 20 3/4", head circumference 34cm, chest 33.5cm. Her heart rate was 144, which was also what it had been at my last couple appointments & all through labor. Respiratory rate was a 48. For being such an early gal she was a wonderful size, she was stealing all the good stuff from me!

We are both doing great. I'm feeling super, I feel like my recovery this time has been so much smoother & quicker (even though last time wasn't that bad either), not to mention it's awesome to just be able to crawl into my own bed! Sophie is a breastfeeding pro & has the chubby cheeks to prove it! She sleeps wonderfully & we've gone on a few walks around the neighborhood with her in the moby wrap. Her older sister Annie has finally warmed up and now loves to stroke her hair, arms & belly and seems to always want to hold her. We have been blessed!

What a HOOT!

But in all seriousness owls!!! 

I love them. I love a lot of animals, but owls are high up on my list of favorites. And then throw them on a newborn and the awww factor never ends. I knit up this owl newborn hat for my SIL who is due to have a babe in 4 days. 


The pattern wasn't difficult, just some cables. Turns out adorable. The yarn wasn't my cup of tea. A little rough to work with but feels soft enough for a babe after knit. 


Then there is this sleep sack that I am head over heels in love for. I think it's the yarn & the owls. I dyed the yarn purple to be gender neutral but to get a pretty purple I had to dye pink  + blue so there are little variants in the color everywhere and I adore it. Can't wait to put a babe into it...only 2 more months eeeee!!!

Knit Picks Candy

Received my order from knit picks. Super excited to get this yarn dyed up. Am a little disappointed that the merino was superwash so I probably won't be using it for baby soakers (which was the initial plan) but I'm sure I can find something to knit up for me then....


Have had this sleep sack finished for a bit, love the colors. They did not knit up how I would have expected though, interesting pooling going on. It seems a bit long & skinny but we'll see how it fits after the babe is here. 

Lil Pumkin Hat

Dyed up some yarn the other day for a swap gift. I like it so much I wish I could keep it! Both skeins started out as natural colored Cascade 220. The green was done on the stove and was 3 packets lemon-lime kool-aid, some Wiltons leaf green, & Duff electric green. (I'll be making more of this green to go with my purple I love so much, two fav. colors and they look lovely together!) The orange was in the crock-pot and was 2 packets each orange & mandarina-tangerine plus a PAAS orange Easter egg dye tablet. After the orange had exhausted there was a creamy white looking color left in the water, I'm not sure what that was from but it didn't affect the color any, it's gorgeous, but I am biased. 

I knit up an adorable little pumkin hat for my swap partner & am sending her the leftover yarn to make whatever she wishes to match. Love love love this pumkin. I was so tempted to just keep all of this for myself and send something else! The hat went quickly & easily enough, the leaf had me worried. I kept thinking I was doing something wrong or that the directions weren't correct, it wasn't looking like a leaf until the very end. It did turn out great though.

Update & back on the wagon

Hopefully I can get back into a posting schedule. Things have been a bit hectic for me. See that I hadn't posted since January...because in February (Happy V-day to us!) we found out we are expecting our second little babe...& then I've been sick ever since. Now I'm still sick but I think it's finally coming around, I've had a good streak of 6 days finally. Been going to our midwife & babe seems like s/he is doing just fine, heartbeat a loud 144 last appointment. We are planning a home water birth (which I am super stoked about...EEEE!!!) but of course if there are any issues we have a birthing center backup plan. Annie's birth went so smooth & quickly that if this one is anything like that we will be set...and baby might even get out before the midwife would get here! I am now around 23 weeks and belly is getting bigger.....

I've dyed a little yarn & done even less knitting, but I hope that now things are clearing up I can just hop back on that horse and get into the swing of things. I definitely need to start knitting up baby stuff, so maybe that thought will push me on.  

I did get to finish some shorties for Annie. They are bright, cheerful & colorful. I was worried about the fit, but she can get them on so it works for me!

spindles galore!

I will have to start spinning my butt off. I went from nothing spinning related to 4 spindles just this week! I watched the DVD that came with my spinning kit (link to come) and figure it's something I will have to do while my daughter is sleeping or away. Knitting I can do just standing at the counter, seems like spinning requires a bit more. I also received some roving with my kit, but I think I'll be needing plenty more. 

I also finished an adorable slouch just in time to wear out to my surprise night tonight (technically since I'm up in the wee hours, naughty me). My love planned a big night out for me, but a friend of ours let it slip at his birthday party about the bowling part. So I know there is dinner with the hubby, then bowling with some friends but I'm not sure who's coming, and bar hopping afterwards. My aunt is going to babysit and Mommy & Daddy get a night on the town! I think it's much needed for the two of us. It's been a while since he's wooed me :). 

peachy keen

finished my peachy keen cowl and it's blocking atm. I can't wait to try it on. It's such a cute little lacy knit. Lacy for those who can't do lace anyways.... I will try it once the instructions stop looking so frightening. Promise. 


Until then...the cowl. 

 even in an old lady color I'm fond of it. The peach isn't a bad color. And the pattern was interesting and fun. I was sure I was going to screw it up, but I can't think of any areas I messed up on, yay! 

yarny goodness

got an order in and i'm in love...i will be ordering more. without doubt.

first without flash, second with. you get the idea of the colors. gorgeous. the orange is for some test mitts i have yet to start. the darker one is for my star-crossed slouch that i will start in 5(ish) projects. and the other two? who knows :)


and on a mom related topic. 3 nights ago we had a rough night with our gal and daddy decided he couldn't take it anymore and she should be weaned. So lets just say I forgot about how full and painful weaning would be! Crazy, can't wait until it's over. She's taking it very well for how attached she seemed. I wanted to wait until she was 2 (I'm pretty sure that's what WHO recommends), but I did hate breastfeeding. I feel bad saying it, like I'm an awful mom or something, but it just was not enjoyable for me. I only did it for her. The benefits are just too great to pass up. 

Roses are red...

and so is my Roz, shades of red, pink, orange and purples actually. gorgeous shades, I think every color of lipstick must be in this cowl. I love the color, love the softness and drape of the yarn, and the pattern shows them both off beautifully. 

Feels awesome on, my new fav. article of clothing

And of course my baby helper, goodness she's getting big!!!

dye dye dye

over-dyed a couple skeins i was unhappy with last night since i finally got my wiltons cake dyes, yay!

these first two had been dyed with kool-aid lime & berry blue. the dye didn't reach all parts, which I had intended, but the look I was going for didn't quite come out. I over-dyed the first one with some wiltons sapphire and the second with teal. I love the sapphire I think mermaid lagoon. The teal has yet to grow on me.

This one was dyed with black cherry kool-aid. i liked the look but thought it could have more color to it. I over-dyed with wiltons rose. Love it. Shiny, pink & purple-ish. Neat looking for sure.

dyetastic

 Ok I'm awful at putting pictures on here still so bear with me and just enjoy all the pretty colors!!! My friend Ashley and I got together this weekend to dye. We had a blast. We used all kool-aid colors and came out with some great yarns.

The first one is one of Ashleys. Using lemonade & orange in a plastic syringe she squirted stripes onto her skein. She then put it in a steamer basket and steamed it for maybe 20 minutes? (we're both awful at writing down our directions and keeping track of what we are doing). And then it hung to dry.

This is Ashleys second. A small amount of super soft thin alpaca. She used grape, berry blue & black cherry. Used the syringes again but squished the color into the yarn until it was saturated where she wanted. It was microwaved twice for two minutes with a cooling break in between, rinsed and then hung up.

 Ashleys final skein used up all the leftovers from what we had dyed. Some berry blue, grape, black cherry, lemonade, lime...I think that's it. It was sprayed, splattered, syringed, squished...almost anything, and then steamed to set & hung to dry.

 My first skein used lime & berry blue in spray bottles. I sprayed my skein with the colors & then rolled it up in saran wrap. It was microwaved in a glass dish at 2 minute intervals with cooling rests in between. After a few times my saran wrap started to melt/peel. Luckily it didn't start to stick to the yarn. I peeled it all off and continued to microwave the yarn in the glass dish. Then I rinsed and hung to dry.

My second skein was grape, berry blue & black cherry. I sectioned my skein into quadrants and using syringes and squishing filled 1 with the blue 1 with the cherry and 2 next to each other with grape. I wrapped in the saran wrap and tried to bake the yarn but the saran wrap started to melt. Again it didn't melt to the yarn! I re-wrapped and carefully microwaved at two minute intervals with cooling breaks and then unwrapped, rinsed & hung to dry.

I absolutely love how all of our yarn came out and can't wait to dye again! Each time I get so many ideas for "next time". 

strawberry smoothies

finished a slouch hat recently but it lacked a little something. so i whipped up a white rose to complete it. i think it still needs a button though so I'll be shopping for that, needles & yarn tomorrow!

toggled it twice!

my second deck case, that is. 

Used some random scrap white from a destash I received to make a case for our white magic the gathering deck. Whatever yarn that was (assuming acrylic) it wasn't bad. Didn't have the squeak some do, wasn't rough on my hands, and was kinda soft. I do prefer the wool that I used on the black case it seems the shape of the case stays better, and I prefer the feel of most wools over a lot of the acrylics I've tried. I still have at least 3 of these cases to whip up. But two might be stripes and the final one multicolor so stay tuned for that!

DaisyHead Creations Longies Giveaway

Sharing the longies love  they look gorgeous! Hoping to win, with how much i've avoided actually knitting my pants my little gal needs some! I tested the daisyhead cutie bahootie still procrastinating putting on the legs though, i hate picking up stitches!

new haircut=new hat

it had been a long while since i had my hair cut so i went and got that done, and i've always wanted to become a hat person so i thought i should knit some stash hats (that would look good with my new cut of course). A friend of mine knit up a slouch so i tried it out. The yarn was from an old lady destash, and I do think it was old, it split something awful. It was also in an old lady pink, and i'm not much of a pink person to begin with, but i don't think it's bad. I think I'm going to add a flower. Then maybe I'll keep it.

lessons learned

Plenty of lessons are still waiting to be learned for me in parenting, knitting and of course dying. Well here's a lesson I learned in dying.  No matter what the name of the yarn, check the content label. Just because the name says wool, doesn't mean the yarn is mostly wool. Even though people (me) may assume so. Anyways I tried dying this wool (yeah right, 20% wool 80% acrylic) and it didn't work too well. Color took in the 20% but when my yarn was drying my husband said it looked like a dirty janitor mop, and he was right. I tried using blue & black food coloring & green kool-aid. I don't remember details, but since it didn't work I guess they don't matter. The yarn was supposed to be for my dads Christmas hat but I went and purchased new for him and decided my dye disaster would be saved for something else. Because I didn't like it I chose a pattern I didn't love but was interested in. I do like how my frosty cowl turned out. The color is interesting even if it's not pretty. Because only few strands are dyed the yarn has that white acrylic looking frosty over the blue & green. Reminds me of that first winter frost to fall on the ground. Anyways here is my cowl/headband. 

I like to wear it as a headband, it seems too wide but it cover more of your head that way, and i do love that it covers my earlobes. My current hat doesn't cover my stretched lobes, which is something that I need during a cold WI/MN winter. I hope this headband/cowl will assist me with that.

Blah Blah Bloz

I want to start out by saying I love this pattern. That said, I did it wrong. I didn't actually mess up on the pattern, but I did use a less than perfect yarn. My yarn was too stiff and sturdy making the finished project warm and bulky yes, but without the drape and softness the original was meant to have. I intend to make another, I did enjoy the knit and i love the pattern. shame I didn't buy the yarn I wanted originally, it would have worked perfectly. I'll have to pick it up today maybe....anyways the finished bloz. I like it and I'll wear it for the cold winter, like I said...it's warm!

gage of green

Just have to brag a little about my fetching, i don't even have photos of them on yet but i absolutely love everything about these mitts. loved the pattern, had a few unsure areas but managed to find explanations online and work through it with grace. loved the yarn. hubby put it in my stocking. he went to the lys and told her that i was wanting to make fingerless gloves, she suggested a few yarns and he says he picked the most expensive. i just like pretty :) . the yarn was like butter to work with and just felt great on the needles, feels wonderful on as well. i love the color. green with flecks of orange, blue, black, yellow. probably missed a color or two, it's just such a nice tweed. not weird and chunky, and so soft and silky. love, and i can't say it enough.