a hippie apron dress top thingy

That is the "official" name of the garment I made for Ramona today. When we were in Philly last month I went to an awesome fabric store called Spool. I went with some projects in mind and picked out the fabric for them, but then there were some fat quarter bundles that I couldn't resist. One was comprised of Amy Butler's new line and then other was kind of whimsical, mostly pastel and impishly cute. The one I liked the most had french writing on it and little pictures of things like flowers, houses, bikes, etc. I didn't have anything in particular in mind for this bundle, I thought maybe some drawstring bags or something when she starts amassing "little toys" (as much as I tell myself it won't happen, I know it will...) But then today I was thinking about these hippie tops and dresses I used to make (and buy at, ahem, Dave Matthews concerts) in college. They were simple to make and I figured a miniature sized one would be pretty easy. She could wear it as a dress now, and, if I made it "right" it could be worn as a top later on. It took me most of the day, with tons and tons of stops in between to, you know, care for the child. It's not perfect, the straps are a little wonky. But somehow, I don't think she cares...

Thanks to Papa Dworkin for assisting our adorable model
And who can resist that big cloth diaper butt!

4 month update...

It's been a little hard to get back in the swing of things after our big trip home in December/January, but I'm trying to make an effort and a "milestone update" seems like a good place to start...
At 4 months Ramona can...
go from lying on her back to sitting to STANDING holding onto a finger...
sit upright with a little leg support...
laugh, laugh, laugh...
roll over both directions...
spot things from far away...
grab anything she wants...
"talk." a lot.

Last week we got her an excersaucer and she really seems to like it. This past weekend she went on her first desert trip to Memphis and Saqqara. It went really well, there was a bit of a meltdown at one point when she was hungry. But I basically want to have a meltdown every time I got to the desert and I'm not 4 months old.
Ramona has the most incredible, sweet personality. She smiles when she wakes up and pretty much doesn't stop all day.

Toes!

I seriously want to dip them in chocolate.

the yogi baby has arrived!

Ramona Sabine!
Six weeks ago...
I know.
Shameful!
But I'm going to be better I promise! I'm going to at least post a picture every week. Mainly so I can stop bombarding my family and friends with pictures every week.
I'm also going to be using this blog for my crafting, knitting, sewing needs. What does that mean? I have no idea. I may post links to patterns that I'm working on, ideas that I have, and definitely finished projects. Ira got me a sewing machine for my birthday and I am so excited to start making Ramona some clothes and some things for her room.
So, I promised the birth story...
My doctor decided that I needed to be induced 11 days past my due date. So on October 24th, we arrived at the hospital around 9am. The doctor came around 11am to check me, I wasn't dilated at all. So he induced me at that point. We waited around all day with friends in our suite. It was pretty fun, playing cards and eating snacks. Although, if I had known what the next 2 days held I would have SLEPT! The doctor came back at around 6pm and checked me again. Nothing. So the plan was that a resident would come back around 1 am or so and give me another suppository. So Ira and I stayed up til about 10:30 playing cards and watching the Gilmore Girls. Less than an hour later, I started contractions. So we were up all night. The resident did come to check me and I was about 2cm dilated and when the doctor came back in the morning, nothing had changed. So frustrating! All that pain for nothing. The rest of the day was rough. Lots of pain and no breaks between contractions for rest or sleep. I finally gave in and decided to get an epidural once I realized that I wouldn't have the energy to give birth. It was actually a really good experience. The anesthesiologist was amazing. She put me at ease and was incredibly skillful. She made me feel better about getting it. She said most women wouldn't make it to 8cm after 18 hours of labor. It was worth it just to be able to stay in one position and rest. I thought I would want to be able to move around while I was in labor, but I didn't count on not having any downtime between contractions. I guess this is a common problem for women who get induced. I went down to the delivery room around 9pm, pushed for 25 minutes, and there she was! Beautiful from the minute she arrived. She wasn't a squished up newborn, haha. She didn't cry and fuss like the other babies in the nursery, she was very observant and quizzical. Still is...She has changed so much over the past weeks, but there is still a lot of that personality she had the moment she entered the world.

Cairo Baby Shower

Here are some pictures from our baby shower in Cairo. It was a boy/girl shower (gasp!) thrown by Amanda and Gordana. All of our friends were there and it was a wonderful day! We feel very lucky to be bringing the baby into such a wonderful group. By the way, one month left! I'm 36 weeks today, I can't believe it...

Scaredy Pants??

I've been working on these GREAT pants for the baby for a couple of weeks. I picked out the yarn months ago, a pretty forest green color. They were pretty simple to knit, I plan on making more in the future. I was really excited when they were finished, so was Ira, he wants a grown up pair. But then something dawned on me. Why did these pants look so familiar? And then I remembered a Dr. Seuss story that used to scare the, ahem, pants off of me when I was little. Do you know the one??
I can remember not even wanting to turn to that page in the Sneetches (which is my FAVORITE kid's story)


I mean, come on, those are some SCARY pants! How weird that I would choose to make these pants the same color?? Hopefully the baby won't be scared, too!

Meal of the Week

So I'm going to try and make this a new feature on the baby blog. It seems like I have week long cycles of meals that I like to eat morning noon and night. This week it's peanut butter and jelly club sandwiches. Weird cravings, or genius?! I brought back some amazing strawberry jam from Paris and I have gone through almost half the jar this week thanks to these babies. I know the picture isn't the best, but that's peanut butter, jelly, and bananas. Oh yeah, and 3 slices of bread. Meal of the week.

more knitting for baby

Here is the sweater I was working on this week. It knit up very quickly and I think I'm going to be addicted to making baby sweaters now! The pattern is from Ravelry and it's the "baby yoda" sweater. There were a couple of glitches with the pattern but I worked it out and I think it came out cute! It's a wrap sweater and it's made out of hand dyed cotton. The pictures aren't the best, but it's a pretty orange color in real life. Pretty close to the first close up picture. Ira said we should wear it on the baby when we come home on the plane in december!
Other then knitting, things have been going well. It's been good for me to rest this week and not do a lot of walking in the heat. My feet and ankles have returned to normal and I can actually see the bones in my feet which is exciting. I never thought I would care about such a thing! The only things I can really complain about are heartburn at night and I have a lot numbness and tingling in my hands. The tips of my middle and ring fingers on my left hands have been numb for weeks now. It's just annoying more than anything else. The baby is moving ALL THE TIME. I see things in my baby books about "counting kicks" and I think that if I did that I wouldn't get anything else done! I would kindly appreciate it if someone would move their cute little feet away from my rib cage, however!

handmade baby

I've been making things for the baby for the past couple of months. I probably would have started the second I found out I was pregnant, but I had other darling babies to craft for. So the first thing I made was a "kicking bag". It fits right under the baby's armpits and is stitched at the bottom. It's kind of like a sleep sack without arms, which I thought would be better for this climate. I've also been embroidering onesies. I don't have any pictures because they went along in the shipment. I have a couple that I'm working on here and I'll post pictures when they are finished. I'm also working on a sweater! I've always loved making things for others, but these projects have been the most fun. I can't wait to see the baby in them!

I think I might be pregnant

Haha, that's been my ongoing joke, that I'm sure Ira is now tired of at this point. Here I am at 31 weeks, standing in front of the tree that Ira and I stood in front of and exchanged our vows. Aw....
I know this is a tease, but I'm going to have to leave it at that. We have limited internet right now and I keep getting thrown off. So all is well and I will update again soon!

bye bye Cairo (for now)

Tomorrow the baby and I leave for the States (waaay to early for mama's liking) for 2 months. Today will be filled with packing, cleaning, last minute gift shopping, and spending some time with Amanda before I head out. I will still post while I'm home, but they may be few and far between! I promise I'll post another picture next week since it's been almost a month since the last one. Have a wonderful day!

Big News!

Ira felt the baby kick for the first time!! It was so cute and true moment of joy for both of us. He wanted so badly to feel a kick before he left for Congo and I'm so glad his wish came true...

22 weeks

Still lots of kicking and carrying on from this little one! Ira hasn't been able to feel it from the outside yet, but we're hoping that maybe in the next few days he will before we part ways for a month :( I'm feeling lazy, so I'm just going to lift right from the Baby website to tell you what's going on this week..."At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily." Here's a link to a picture of a spaghetti squash because if you're like me, you may have no idea what that looks like. : )

Maadi House

Here are some pictures of where I like so spend my weekend days with Amanda...and sometimes her Brit, Pete.
1. The pool 2. pretty red trees that are all over Maadi right now 3. The ghost of Amanda

21 Weeks

The baby is the size of a carrot this week, or as long as one I should say. Let's hope he/she is wider than a carrot! I have been feeling movement non-stop. It's a lot of fun. I'm trying to be aware of the times of day when the baby is moving, they say this can indicate the baby's patterns as a newborn. This picture was taken at the 20 week ultrasound last week. I know it's a little washed out, but because of the, ahem, activity level of this wee one, the ultrasound tech had a hard time getting a good image. Still feeling well, but the heat is getting to me more and more. I had a moment where I almost fainted last week from the heat. I've been trying to stay out of it as much as possible and stay super hydrated when I do have to be outside. Again, looking forward to going home and being able to take walks in some cooler air...

20 Weeks

Well, here I am! Halfway! Hard to believe. I've been feeling pretty good this week. After the initial shock of the feet swelling incident, I got over it. And it hasn't happened since, so that's good! Not much else to report other than we are in full swing with end of the year madness. Parties, preparations, the works. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so hopefully I can post an ultrasound picture!

Bummer

There things about pregnancy that I really think are not going to happen to me. I know, I know, I am a naive first time mom. But it actually helps me panic a little bit less if I live in my delusional state as long as possible. One of the things I was convinced was going to pass me by was swollen feet. I figured the yoga, all the walking I do, and (stupidly) that my feet and ankles have always been on the bony side (and my high arches have actually been causing me a lot of foot pain lately) would somehow protect me from this "inevitable" side effect. Yesterday I got my wake up call. I spent a lovely day at the pool with Amanda and Pete and then with the Westmorelands later in the day. I love being in the water these days, it feels great on my legs and sore feet. Afterwards, I walked to the market, and then back home. I made dinner and then Ira and I were playing a game of cards. I was sitting in a chair in lotus, like I always do. I got up to get a drink and it felt like my feet were falling asleep. Not entirely uncommon when I forget how long I've been sitting like that. Anyway, I looked down and my toes. The area just below my toes, and the toes themselves were all puffy! What?!! Not me! So I took a shower, rubbed on some peppermint foot lotion and decided to lie down with my legs up the wall. It seemed to help a little bit. This morning, they still felt a little funny, but looked better. I did a little online research and the one thing they tell you to avoid? Being outside in hot climates. Great. Well, I guess I'm going to have at least 3 more weeks of swollen feet. I wonder what's next?! Yikes!

Hey 19!

A little Steely Dan reference for you. And this baby will be forced to learn all the words to all the Steely Dan songs, just as I did had to as a child. By "force" I mean it was on all the time so I had no choice! Anyway, 19 weeks, 21 to go. The baby is the size of a "large heirloom tomato" this week, very specific! The belly is growing and changing for sure. It's becoming more and more prominent and looking more like a basketball every day (another sign it's a boy?) This week the senses become more developed so I'm going to be singing and reading and playing music a lot from here on out. I can't tell if I'm feeling the baby yet or not. I'm feeling things for sure, but I just don't know if it's the baby. In the next couple of weeks things should be more clear. The next doctor's appointment is next week, another ultrasound so hopefully the little stinker will be still long enough to get some good shots!

A little scare...

So a few days ago, while doing my typical bakery/market run I had a bit of a scare. I walked to the bakery and everything was fine, it was hot, but I was ok. Then, walking to the market from the bakery, which is a little longer, I started to feel my heart beating really fast. I didn't panic, but I walked a little faster to get to the market and into the AC. I hurried through the store and then while walking back home, it just got worse. I came home and called my mom (an RN), she asked me some medical questions and then told me what I thought just wouldn't happen to me. I need to slow down. I'm almost halfway through the pregnancy now and my body is working harder to support me and the baby. That coupled with the heat makes it really hard. So later that night while walking to teach yoga, I slowed my pace down and I was fine, no palpitations. Sigh. So this is it. I'm a real pregnant lady now. Everything else is ok, still getting those obnoxious allergy attacks and headaches every few days, but I'm kind of used to them now. Just trying to sty cool til I go home in 27 days! The belly is getting bigger, but I'm going to wait until next week when I hit the 20 week (20 WEEKS!?) mark to post some pictures. Stay tuned!

18 Weeks

I can't believe that in 2 weeks, I'll be halfway there. I think the 2nd half will go even faster than the 1st half since I'll be home for 2 months of it (June 14th!) The baby is 7 ounces and 5 and 1/2 inches long, as big as a bell pepper. I'm sure he's still moving around like crazy in there, but I can't feel anything yet. There are lots of times I think I feel something, but I'm just not sure. I know it takes first time moms longer, so we'll see! Feeling pretty good, but still getting some NASTY headaches. Hard to tell if it's the baby or the air outside...