Monday Musings: Breastfeeding

With SoJo closing in upon his first year on this earth, my thoughts have turned to breastfeeding, specifically whether or not I'll be continuing to nurse him after his first birthday. I've had my ups and downs with breastfeeding, especially in the beginning. I was thrilled when he latched on like a pro an hour after his birth. He wanted to be on the boob constantly, and I remember sobbing my first night in the hospital after the nurse brought him in yet again to my room because they couldn't soothe him (without a bottle, of course). I thought, my god, what am I in for? I won't sleep more than an hour at a time for the next few months.

He was voracious in his nursing, often wanting it every hour and staying on the boob for an hour at a time. At his 1 month visit, we found out that he wasn't gaining as he should be and that I needed to think about supplementing with a bottle. Of course this made me so upset, that I wasn't providing enough for him. Despite all the nursing we were doing, I still had a low milk supply. I started giving him a bottle of formula in the evenings after a nursing session, and he seemed so much happier. The poor little guy was hungry! I found a great article on BlogHer called "What if Breast Isn't Best?" that really made me think differently about this whole issue.

My low milk supply made me crazed over the first 6 months. I kept worrying that SoJo wasn't getting enough to eat, and also if I hadn't nursed or pumped in 3 hours that my supply would go down even more. These were the times when I hated nursing (well, to be honest, those first few months were bad at times too, having to be the sole provider of nourshment, no matter what time of day or night). I hated not being able to go out for a few hours for fear of damaging my milk supply. And having to get up at 4am to pump because the baby was sleeping through the night and I didn't want my supply to go down. Ugh!

Those times I kept saying to myself, if I can just make it to the 3 month point, then the 6 month point, then a year, I'll be ok about stopping. Well here it is nearly a year and I can't believe how much I enjoy it! I think when SoJo started eating solids, I was more relaxed about nursing, knowing he was getting calories elsewhere in addition to my milk. I think not having so much pressure about my milk supply actually made it go up. Weird, huh?

When I was pregnant, I planned on nursing for at least a year, but now I'm thinking I might go beyond, assuming SoJo still wants to "nursey-nurse" (he actually knows what that means now, and jumps up and down when I ask him if he wants to do it). Some of it is that I have some misgivings about giving SoJo cow's milk, since in my mind it's a little weird to be drinking milk from another animal (even though I occassionally eat cheese and dairy), especially since I can give him my milk. But often pediatricians and "experts" frown upon nursing beyond a year (not that I care what they think).

So that's my breastfeeding story. What about you? Did you nurse your child? Why/why not (of course this is not meant as a judgment)? Did you have challenges or doubts? How long did you nurse for? Would you nurse again if you had the chance? I really want to hear your stories!

SoJo Swims!

No photos yet, but we went to our first swim class, or should I say, splash session today. Every Monday for the next 12 weeks we'll be pretending it's not 20 degrees outside and snowing in order to swim in the 90 degree chlorinated waters of an indoor pool.

From the beach this summer...can't believe how little he looks! But why does his face (and my body) look so fat--don't answer that last part.

Mr. Geek hates water, to the point that he would skip showers if he didn't stink. And in one of his many moments of clarity, he insisted that SoJo learn to swim and not be afraid of water. I wholeheartedly agreed, since I must have been a mermaid in a past life (that speaks for my love of nori, hijiki, and kombu). I LOVE water, and don't know what I'd do if the seas and municipal water reserves dried up. I'll take it in any form, shower, bath, drinking glass.

Today was a great day to start our swim session--mild weather, a long morning nap, full belly of breastmilk, oatmeal and bananas (him, not me). I even got to see some of my old swim-mates from when I used to go to the pool every day when I was pregnant.

Our class was great, only 3 kids and a nice instructor with engaging songs, swim toys, and games to play. SoJo loves water, and was a little-too-happily splashing around and yelling in delight. I couldn't have been more pleased...well, maybe if he would have focused on my face when I was trying to instruct him with some of the games.

I put him under the water a couple of times too, which went well. He still was a little shocked, but from what the instructor told me, by about a year old, babies lose their automatic reflex of holding their breath under water. So I really want to get him used to briefly going under. We use a cue of 1,2,3 to prepare him for knowing what is going to happen, and I blow in his face to trigger the gasping reflex. With practice, I'm sure he'll be swimming to me under water soon.

The point of this class is baby safety, and by the end, SoJo should be able to roll onto his back in the water, which would be crucial if he ever accidentally fell into a pool of water. At least he could cry out for help, rather than flounder face first in the water.

All in all, it was a good session, except getting out. He didn't want to leave the water, and of course it was difficult showering and getting his clothes on, since he was chilly. Plus he kept trying to crawl under the changing room door once I dressed him, while I was in the midst of pulling off my wet swimsuit. There was no way I could run out of that room to chase him, even if most of the clientele is over 70 and probably has poor eyesight!

Easy Peasy Homemade Baby Food

Soren LOVES sweet potatoes (must take after his mama), so today I broke out the old Kidco baby food mill to turn some locally-grown sweet potatoes from the farmer's market into baby food for SoJo. I had used the mill last week to mill the applesauce I cooked 2 weeks ago to remove any of the bits of skin that were left behind before I fed it to Soren.

This was so easy! After cleaning the sweet potatoes, I threw them in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
I let them cool, then I slid the jackets right off with my fingers. A little messy, but simple.
Then I put them in the food mill (you don't need to use a baby one, you could use a regular one, or just mash them with a fork).
The mill is great, since it removes any bits of skin or other un-chewable matter. I got it as a shower gift from my wonderful sister-in-law, Sylvia, and I look forward to making more things with it.

As I pureed each potato, I filled recycled baby food jars with the puree and stuck them in the freezer for future use. Just make sure that you leave some space at the top of the jar or container to make room for expansion, or else you might have sweet potato oozing out into your freezer.

Just like I said, easy peasy! I hope you make some of your own.

Homemade Teething Biscuits

With little SoJo wanting to chew everything in site, I sometimes give him teething biscuits. He loves gumming and chewing them, even though I know he isn't teething right now (he finally got those two bottom teeth--my nemeses from early October).

Since we ran out of them and I didn't feel like trekking out to the health food store for organic ones, I decided to make my own. Unfortunately my camera has quit on me, so I can't show you how boring they looked. Let's just say they looked handmade.

There are plenty of recipes online, for everything from wheat-free to vegan. I modified a recipe and added breastmilk to it.

Maple Vanilla Teething Biscuits
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Egg
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
1/4 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp. Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tbsp. Breastmilk or Formula

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie pan with oil (I used my Misto sprayer with canola oil). Beat together the egg, vanilla extract and maple syrup. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Dump mixture out onto a floured surface and roll with a baking pin until it's about an inch thick. Cut dough into whatever shapes you'd like, either with cookie cutters or a knife.

Bake for 8 minutes, flip, and bake another 5 minutes. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container. Not sure how long these will last, but at least a week or two.

For other recipes, this site has teething biscuits covered. There are really simple recipes with just juice and instant baby cereal, and some more elaborate ones with bananas.

Not only are you cooking healthy and cheap for your baby, but you are reducing the packaging that goes into landfills from teething biscuits. The ones I've bought come wrapped in plastic, two in a package, which seems unnecessary. But that's another post.

DIY Baby Bath Tub

I'm always looking for ways to reuse and repurpose items around our home. Since my son recently outgrew the baby bathtub (and it was a recycled one that a relative gave us), I needed to find another solution, and rather than fill up the entire bathtub for each bath, I decided to come up with a way to use less water. Since my son is able to sit up on his own, it was time to move him out of the reclining tub, which Mr. Busy-body often fussed about, and which didn't allow the water to cover much of his body, therefore making him cold.

Looking around the house, I came across a clear plastic bin that was perfect. It would allow me to use less water and also to fill the water a little higher, keeping my son warmer in the bath. Plus I didn't have to go out and buy a special kind of baby tub, and this tote can be used for other things after the boy outgrows it.
To make it safer, I added a large sponge in the bottom of the tub. This one is found at the big box baby store and I didn't need to buy it since it was something that I had been given at my baby shower. It helps cushion the bottom of the "tub" and keep SoJo from slipping.

Another option is this baby seat with suction cups on the bottom, also a hand-me-down.
I've seen these at yard sales and secondhand baby shops too. This is helpful for me because it keeps SoJo from slumping over in the tub and falling face first in the water.

I've Become One of those Moms

It's finally happened. I've become one of those moms. No, I haven't gone out to get a mom hairdo, but I've let my child cry-it-out. Husband was laughing that the expression even has its own acronym, CIO. "What doesn't have an acronym these days," he says, this coming from a man who works in IT where everything has letters that stand for something, FTP, PING, MYSQL (I call that my squirrel).

But I digress as usual. Before you judge me regarding the CIO, let me explain. This week has been awful for SoJo and sleep. I think it's because he's on the cusp of full-blown crawling, or maybe teething, but he's been getting up every night at least 2-3 times, screaming his head off. Not just fussing and going back to sleep. I feel so spoiled that he had slept through the night (at least 8-9 hours, sometimes up to 12) from the first month onward.

I know that when it comes to babies and sleep, schedules and patterns don't last. But I guess I just really became attached to sleeping at night, minus the half hour midway for breast pumping. As most of you know, it's disorienting and stressful being roused abruptly by blood-curling screams, so I'd much rather wake slowly to pump than be jolted awake by baby cries.

My husband has a great perspective on it: grist for the mill (his words). We signed on for the baby thing knowing that it would shake up our boring lives and give us a new challenge. Do we ever know that now! And what life is worth living without some grist for the mill? It builds character and proves that we can be strong in the midst of adversity. And hey, it's not like my kid has some life-threatening disease, so buck-up Kathleen!

I am finally letting Soren cry-it-out, not entirely, but just more than I used to. First off, he's getting older and more aware of the world and used to us as parents. So I feel that he's ready to be alone a little more and able to learn to settle himself better. Secondly, I am exhausted from the past few days of constant sleep-interruption. I can also blame blogging too, since I really should be napping instead I'm typing! But this is therapeutic in its own way.

I'll continue more on this theme later hopefully, since my pillow is calling at the moment.

Baby Bjorn Believer

I recently came across a post on Baby Cheapskate that was compiling comments on what the most useless baby items are. Surprisingly, one of my favorite items was on the list--the Boppy pillow. I couldn't nurse without it!

On similar theme, one of my absolute baby necessities is my Baby Bjorn. We were gifted with what we'd call a "spirited" (read: alert and cranky) baby. From the first days onward, we tried many tricks to sooth little SoJo, from swaddling to rocking to nursing (which always worked). He wasn't what one would call colicky, since he usually could be soothed, however constant soothing can be exhausting! Enter the Baby Bjorn.
From about the first month on, we carried SoJo in that. He'd fall asleep instantly, giving us a few moments of peace. It also allowed me to have two free hands, and to get some things done around the house. I like that it is comfortable and doesn't feel like the baby might tip out like the sling that I have. It also matches a lot of my clothes, since right now I'm a huge chocolate brown fan. The material is very durable and drool and spit-up washes off it easily, and it's easy to get a squirmy baby in and out of too. I can't express enough how much I love this carrier; in fact just last week at the local baby store, I encouraged a man who was buying a carrier to get the Original Baby Bjorn rather than another brand. And he did.

Now that SoJo is a little older, we like to walk with him facing outward. It'll be nice in the cooler months to snuggle him against our chests and go for walks in the nearby park.

For those of you who are Baby Bjorn converts, you may have heard about the Baby Bjorn Believers program where everyday moms and dads like you spread the word about Baby Bjorn products. I've signed up and am now a Baby Bjorn Believer. If you're interested, register and use me, Kathleen Walck, as a contact. I'm eager to try some of their other products, like the potty and some of their mealtime items.

Whatever...Kids and TV

Is kids' TV bad for kids? I've been wondering that for a while now, even before I was pregnant. This stems from having to sit through annoying Disney channel stuff at a friend's house for like 3 hours straight.

I'm probably the only one who can't stand the programming. It's usually some smarmy tween with idiot parents and really bad, over-the-top acting. Or else it seems like some of the characters are nasty or just have attitude, or are as stupid as patio furniture (thinking of a certain sponge here).

Yes I know parents complain about the violence in some children's cartoons, but that's not what I'm talking about here. My friend's 4-year-old daughter in particular has been giving her mom attitude, like putting her hand on her hip and saying "whatever." My friend is convinced that she learned it from TV, since she doesn't hang around older girls. And don't even get me started on the Slutz, I mean, Bratz dolls. Who buys those things (I'm sure some of you have to end that embarrassing temper tantrum in the store!).

And to harken back to the good old days of Tom and Jerry, why can't cartoon characters just beat the hell out of each other over and over again?

So far we don't let SoJo watch TV. I'm not a fanatic, but I don't believe that babies need TV (then again, who does?). He's occupied by so many other things in the world, and I've noticed if the TV happens to be on, he tunes out everything around him. During the day I play music or have silence. In the evenings we don't really watch anything. Come to think of it, why do we still have very basic cable anyway? Oh yeah, for Lost and football.

We'll see what happens when he gets older. I know I can be naive about raising a baby, and some of you probably swear by the TV as a temporary babysitter in a moment of desperation. I'm hoping my desperation doesn't end on that street.

Next week I'll be ranting about the princess/diva thing!

Thrifty Green Thursday: Homemade Baby Wipes

Now I can check one more thing off of the 100 Things You Can do to Save the Earth post I wrote last month. I started using reusable baby wipes to go along with the cloth diapers.

A Google search on homemade baby wipes will return lots of results and lots of recipes, so take your pick. Mine is 2 cups of distilled water (I used distilled because we have water with a lot of mineral deposits which might clog the spray bottle), 2 tablespoons of Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild Liquid castile soap, a few drops of lavender essential oil, a few drops of tea tree oil, and a punctured vitamin E capsule. Shaken, not stirred.
This goes into a spray bottle which is used to moisten the cloth before wiping. Mind you, this spray bottle is a bit of an overkill but it was one we had around the house for gardening (but hadn't actually used...no fertilizers in it!).

For the wipes part, I used a few flannel receiving blankets, cut into smaller pieces of course. Since most mothers are often drowning in receiving blankets after their baby showers, this is a great way to reuse them. They're always too small anyway for swaddling, and what the heck else do you do with them?

I got 16 wipes out of one blanket. To get them pretty even, just keep folding the blanket in half and then cutting. It makes the wipes rectangle sized, just like the disposable ones. The flannel is nice because the edges don't unravel like other fabrics when washed. And do you think I'd actually be here seaming the edges of 48 baby wipes? Well, my friends who read my blog know that I probably would be doing that...so Martha of me...but alas, my sewing machine is stuffed in the back of one of our closets behind baby stuff.

I keep a stack of folded ones next to the changing table. If you're cloth-diapering, just launder them with the diapers. If not, store the used wipes in a little trash can with a lid and wash them once a week or so. You can find cloth diaper laundering instructions here.

Check out Green Baby Guide for more Thrifty Green Thursday tips.

Mama the Contortionist

Did you ever notice how once you have a child, your body somehow changes? I'm not referring to the weird paunch that hangs around your mid-section like a deflated jello mold, but to the way your body contorts itself to the occasion? For example, sometimes when I am nursing SoJo on the go, I don't have a pillow handy so I have to make do by propping him up on my thigh which is also being propped up by my foot which is hurting like hell because I have it in a high-heel position without the shoe to go with it.

I become a contortionist about a hundred times a day, whether it's buttering toast and balancing him on my hip, riding shotgun with my seatbelt on and feeding him a bottle while he's screaming in the backseat (really hurts the wrist), or picking up random objects with my foot while holding him, then trying to get said objects from my foot to my hand. And don't get me started on my brain's ability to bend in a hundred ways at once by multi-tasking its way through the day. Could I call that a mind-bender?

Somehow I manage to do it all without falling over or dropping him. Amazingly, no one has gotten hurt yet but man, I ache today. It must be from trying to fold laundry with my feet while changing a diaper with a baby on my hip. Try to figure that out!

Monday Musing: Singing to Your Kids

Do you sing to your kids? Do they like it? I sing to SoJo a lot, but since he's my only frame of reference for singing to babies, I wondered what other parents experiences are. I know he loves my voice because that's the main thing he's heard since conception, but frankly, I can't sing too well. My husband has told me so many times, so it must be true (because we all know husbands are always right...uh huh). Although he does say that when I sing to Soren it makes him sentimental and a little teary (in a good way). That melts my heart.

Soren's favorite song that I sing, oddly enough, is from the movie "School of Rock." It the song Jack Black and the kids sing at the end (I think it's called "Teacher's Pet") and even though I only know this part...

And if you wanna be the teacher's pet
Well, baby, you just better forget it.
Rock got no reason, rock got no rhyme
You better get me to school on time.

...and the "Ooh, la, la, la" background chorus, he just LOVES it! I can sing it from across the room and he turns his head and smiles and bounces up and down. I need to learn the rest of the lyrics (except maybe that line "Kick Some Ass!"...I'll wait til kindergarten for that!). I haven't seen this movie since it first came out, but for some reason this song has gotten stuck on replay in my head. So in honor of back to school, go watch this fun and funny movie.

Some of SoJo's other favorites:
Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon (I grew up with her songs...my dad was in love with her. I also love the Radiohead version here.)
Dear Prudence by the Beatles
Oh Darling by the Beatles (Soren's primary nickname from me is Darlin')
Beautiful Boy by John Lennon
Subterranean Homesick Alien by Radiohead
Judy is a Punk by the Ramones
I Would for You by Jane's Addiction
Into the Mystic by Van Morrison
We're Going to Be Friends by The White Stripes (I sing all of their songs: rabid fan here)
Level and Yellow Sun by The Raconteurs (also sing all of their stuff too)

What songs do you sing to your kids or which songs do they go crazy for, even if you're not the one singing?

The Diaper-Free Society

I came across a weird yet interesting thing via No Impact Man's blog post on cloth diapering...Diaper Free Baby, which touts "A natural approach to responding to babies' elimination needs." Apparently, you can actually avoid using diapers with your infant if you just tune in to their cues of having to go pee or poop.

First off, this site is as secretive about its practices as the Scientologists (I've never been able to find out what exactly Scientologists believe or practice). I searched around for their methods because, hey, who wouldn't want to give up diapers if they could, but I didn't find any how-tos or specific advice. There is a lot of info about this ancient practice and its benefits but nothing about how to implement it yourself (but you can donate to them!). I suppose you need to contact your local chapter via the website. UPDATE: Candice from My Greening let me know that there is a link there, it just wasn't as obvious as I thought it could be.

I hate to sound a little skeptical, but it seems difficult if not impossible to be cued into your baby's elimination needs 24/7. Sure this may have worked in the Stone Age when an entire village helped a mother take care of her child, but I am already exhausted enough from responding to SoJo's other 500 needs. The closest I come to this would be when I have him lying on a blanket on the floor with his nappie off, but I am close by with another one to catch his arcing pee!

But this may interest some of you, so do check it out. And this is a long-shot, but if anyone has actually done this, please share!

PS That is NOT Soren in the photo...it's from the Diaper-Free Baby site.

UPDATE #2: I got some additional info from Candice who actually did this part-time and it's not as difficult as I thought, especially if you have the time and are open to trying something new. For more details on what she did, check out her helpful description from My Greening right here. I'm glad that she enlightened my mind on this issue.

Cloth Diapering

As if motherhood wasn't tiring enough, I've started using the cloth diapers I bought when I was pregnant (and a little more naive). For the first few months, they were too big for SoJo, so I held off. And the disposables, as much as I try to be eco-friendly, were easier, especially when dealing with a hyper-sensitive and cranky baby pretty much all day long. Actually, cloth diapering hasn't been that bad...so far the only issues I have with these are that you need to change your little pip more often (sometimes twice an hour) and that they seem a lot bulkier in the crotch, which makes me think SoJo will end up looking like a bow-legged cowboy. I am not like some people who are disgusted by the thought of messing with baby poop, so the cleaning part is not so bad. Plus he usually only has one poop a day now so it's mostly wet diapers I have to deal with. I am using Chinese prefolds and diaper covers, which are the most traditional and the cheapest, which is why I bought these. I didn't want to spend too much as I wasn't sure how I'd feel about using cloth diapers. I'd really like to try some of the all-in-one diapers or the ones with inserts, but we just don't have the money to spend on them right now, especially since the pre-folds are working fine. What gave me the confidence to use these is my mother-in-law who used them in the 70s and 80s with all three of her kids. For her it was a matter of economy, as my father-in-law was a trucker and she stayed at home. She showed me how to use them and how to clean them, and I figured if she could do it, I could too. At least I have the Snappi, an alternative to diaper pins, which I just couldn't get the hang of even after she showed me how to use them. My fingers just aren't so strong, and since I have a wiggle-worm instead of a baby, I'd be afraid I'd poke him.

These photos show him with the prefold and the Snappi and also with the Bummis diaper cover on top of the prefold. The cover works pretty well, but if there's a few pees in the diaper, like after a nap, it gets damp and I need to change it. Also I need to carefully attach the velcro tabs so that the edges of the hook side doesn't scratch his legs. But otherwise, the prints are cute and they were reasonably priced at Soft Cloth Bunz, where I bought all the diapering supplies. If you sign up for their emails, you get a coupon, I think it was for 10% off or something. And if I remember correctly, there was free shipping on items over $150, which is at least what you'll spend if you switch over to cloth. If anyone wants to know more details, please email me at katydidandkid@gmail.com. I'd be happy to chat with you about my experiences!

Weaning Baby from the Swaddle

Soren loves his swaddle. He loves it so much that he can't sleep without it. The problem is that he busts out of it every nap and during the night, and then wakes up crying (mostly during naps...he usually holds out until the early early morning). We haven't gotten out the duct tape yet, but have pinned the one side with a diaper pin which will hopefully keep him in it for the remainder of the night.

So husband and I are trying to wean him off of it with little success. I've looked online for answers, but as usual with internet research, you get lots of different opinions which often contradict each other. SoJo is 3 months now and I naively thought that when he reached this "magic" age he would not need swaddling, would be a perfect napper, and be able to fall asleep at the drop of a burp cloth, etc. However, he is still pretty sensitive, having trouble sleeping anywhere but his bed. We took him for a quick ride tonight so we could get some ice cream, thinking he'd be awake for 40 minutes until bedtime, since he usually fusses in the car, but of course this time he fell asleep. Then he was off track for the rest of the night and I've only just gotten him to bed. Anyway, this is more of a therapeutic rant for me rather than a post with any sort of information in it. But I do wonder if anyone out there has dealt with weaning a swaddler.

Look What I Made

So I finally got around to making something (hence this blog's subtitle, making and doing). I've seen these burp cloths all over, from baby showers to online baby stores and Etsy.

I decided to try making some with extra fabric leftover from some of the sewing projects I created for Soren's room (see earliest blog postings for photos). I also have a lot of extra cloth diapers from my shower, ones I haven't used on the little one's bottom of course, which by the way, has been working out pretty well. (Side note: I've started cloth-diapering more during the day, but he is still in disposables at night as he sleeps 9-11 hours a night and I'd like to keep it that way).

Anyway, these were really easy to whip up, and I made some for myself and for my friend's shower in August. I think this will be my baby shower staple from now on. I'd like to make them a little fancier with rick rack or ribbon trim, but I just didn't have anything in my sewing stash at the moment.

All I did was fold over a 1/2 inch seam on all sides and do a zig zag stitch around the edges. Some of the fabric panels are thinner than others depending on the size of scraps I had, but they still look good. I see endless possibilites in these, especially since I have a huge tote of scraps in the attic that I need to find something to do with.

There's a great tutorial at Chickpea Sewing Studio if you'd like to try them yourself.

So Much for Making and Doing

Lately I've felt like such a lump, as I haven't been living up to the subheading of this blog. I admit I have a great and legitimate excuse (new mom) however, creativity has been such a huge part of my life since I was a kid, so it's been hard not having the time to knit or sew something.

My current creative outlet consists of picking out what SoJo will wear in the morning (which takes about 30 seconds) and preparing meals. I know it'll get better as he gets older and plays alone more and hopefully takes naps that are longer than 30 minutes, but right now I am feeling creatively constipated (yuk!).

I'd like to make some simple toys for SoJo, like some knitted blocks or little fabric people, as he is starting to get interested in grabbing things and holding rattles. Of course I am concerned about lead paint and toxins, so making my own toys sounds safe, fun, and super-cheap. My in-laws are coming for a visit tomorrow, so if the 90 degree temps don't get the best of me, I may get my wool out of the attic and make some felted balls for him. I'll post some photos too!

The photo shows some of my silk scarves that I made over the last year or so. I actually don't miss that too much, as those dyes are quite messy. But I will be doing an art workshop this summer at the local library for kids, so I'll be pulling my equipment out again.

Baby Clothes

This evening I packed up some of Soren's "old" clothes that he has already outgrown to send to my cousin in Georgia who is due in July (with baby Evan...I love that name!). I can't believe that I am already passing on clothes, and am already getting sentimental about it. I was wondering how I could hold onto these memories without actually holding onto the clothes, as I've seen too many design shows where mamas have basements/closets/guest bedrooms filled with boxes of outgrown kids clothes that they've been holding onto for sentimental reasons. So my plan is to take photos of the outfits that I really liked, either with SoJo in them or just lying out on the floor. My question for the public: How did you hang on to the memories of your child's baby clothes?

More Nursery Pictures

Nursery Tour

Finally, I've gotten around to taking some pictures of Soren's nursery. I haven't figured out the best way to arrange images with this blog, so forgive me if they come out wonky. I really wanted to add comments to each image, but I don't think I will figure that out for a while (so much for being married to a computer geek).

This nursery was truly a labor of love, and I enjoyed putting it together. It used to be my studio/art supply storage dump, but it will work well for a nursery despite its small size (about 10' by 14'). As you can see in the pictures, one of the challenges was to work around the door that adjoins our guest room. We tend to keep it closed during winter, as we don't heat that room, but when Soren arrives and the weather is nicer, the door will probably be opened and the little swing (thanks again Julie and Aunt Mary!) will go downstairs. Right now it makes a great door stopper, as Oscar the cat sometimes opens the door to that room.

One other challenge with the room was that there is no closet, typical of an old twin house. The previous owners put up a weird shelf thing by the ceiling, which you may have noticed. I have some baby stuff up there behind the curtains I sewed, which Chris says look to girly...oh well! Speaking of sewing, I made a bunch of things for the room, like the valence, the chair pillow, the laundry bag on the back of the guest room door, and the covers for the long shelf. Behind the shelf curtains are some lovely black baskets I got at my shower which are holding books and other supplies, so they provide some storage.

I have to say that a lot of this stuff comes from IKEA, including the chair (yes, I know it's a little large for the space but it is really comfortable and low to the ground, which means it should be good for nursing). The wall baskets, full of diapering supplies, also are from IKEA. What a great place for cool cheap stuff.

I could go on for days about the little intricacies of the room, but I'll just stop here. Friends and family, please come for a visit when the little guy comes!