Our first bath!

Our first bath was not met with enthusiasm by Coraline. She much prefers to be bundled up then naked, so we suspected that she wouldn't like being wet. And we were right; the poor thing was miserable the whole time--within fifteen minutes time, she had scratched herself in the face, and peed on Mommy!

But at least we are baby fresh now! :-)

 "I really don't like this, Mommy!"

"Oh, this is much better!" (Sabres hockey towel courtesy of the hospital)

"Haha, I just peed on you!"

Snuggles with Papa...much better!!!

Postpartum problems and St. Patty's Day project

Since I felt crummy during most of my pregnancy, I looked forward to post-pregnancy when I figured all my ailments would go away. While I wasn't silly enough to think I'd automatically shrink back to pre-pregnancy size, it never occurred to me that I would have postpartum issues. The only thing I knew about was postpartum depression, solely for the reason that I teach Charlotte Perkin Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wall-paper" every semester, a classic tale of how poorly doctors dealt with postpartum depression in the late 1800's.

As it turns out, a lot of women experience postpartum problems. While I have not been depressed thankfully, recently I began to not feel well.  First it was cramps, which I later learned are known as after cramps, then a pounding headache that never seems to go away. A trip to the doctor's confirmed that what I was feeling was not usual necessarily, but why I was feeling this way remained elusive. So while my doctor is on the case, for the time being Coraline and I have been taking it easy, couch napping and cuddling, hoping Mommy feels better soon.

I had decided shortly after Cora was born that the hubby and I should have a mini St. Patrick's Day party because it was the original date Coraline was slated to arrive. Our idea of a party is just the three of us in party hats eating green food, but honestly, that's just the way we like it around here. Of course, I didn't have anything St. Patrick's themed for Coraline to wear, so I decided to decorate a onesie during her daytime nap today because the hubby had suggested that a little crafting would distract me.

This was a quick project, just the way I like it! The original onesie, purchased by the hubby's sister, I believe, was a light lime green with a pink embroidered bee. I selected vintage scraps from my stash in rainbow colors and ironed fusible on the back:

 

I cut the rainbow and clouds by hand, and then used a scrap of black satin for the cauldron to cover the bee embroidery. I outlined the clouds with a running stitch in silver thread.

 My favorite part, though, has to be the hand sewn sequins for the pot of gold. I'll be sure to take pictures of the little one in it on Saturday! :-)

My growing little girl

Hopefully you're not sick of baby posts yet! ;-) Coraline Mae had her second official doctor's appointment today, weighing in 9 ounces heavier than her first appointment a week ago. This means we've surpassed her original birth weight, now coming in at 7 pounds and 4 ounces. Her doctor was beyond pleased with baby girl's growth!

Just a week ago, this outfit fit us like a glove (thanks Uncle John and Auntie Jen!), but now, sadly, today it doesn't fit us any more! :-(  Perhaps someday Coraline Mae will have a baby sister who can wear it? :-)

 

It's hard to believe how fast she is growing before my eyes! Today the hubby and I discussed how quickly time has gone by. Has it really been 9 days since Cora was born? Our schedule is dictated by breastfeeding and diaper changes, so we've had no real concept of time. With a little one in need of feeding and changing every 1-3 hours, it is hard to know the difference between night and day lately. And forget returning e-mails, text messages, or phone calls--sleeping in a three hour block is a luxury around here!

Oh well, the things you do to be someone's Mommy! I mean, how cute are we post-milk coma in our pink kitty cat suit?? :-) (Which thankfully still fits, phew!)

1 Week Old!

Today is a big day for us: Coraline Mae is one week old! It's hard to believe that just one week ago at this time, little Miss Cora had opened her eyes to the world. Now our little baby girl is big enough to lovingly grasp her Daddy's fingers.

Today also marked Grandma leaving, which made all of us in the house very sad. It took all my might not to turn into a big sobbing mess, and yet it still took some comforting from the hubby to cheer me up after she left. Even though I'm 31-years-old and now a mother myself, you never stop needing your Mom. When Cora was required to stay in the hospital a day longer than expected, my Mom was the only one who could console my tears. When we did finally arrive home safe and sound, she was the ever doting Grandmother I have known her to be with my niece and nephew. She cuddled Coraline, cooing and kissing her, in addition to cooking, cleaning, shopping, and doing endless baskets of laundry. One early morning, when nothing I could do would comfort Coraline, it was Grandma who rocked her to sleep for hours. I don't know what I would do without her. We already miss Grandma tremendously! :-(

Some last minute Grandma cuddles:

Today we also had a visit from Coraline's uncle, aunt, and 3-year-old cousin. They kindly brought us flowers, lunch, and gifts for the baby girl, and spent lots of time oohing and ahhing over her. We also found out the exciting news that they are expecting another little one themselves come this October. This means 3 little cousins all born in 2013 for my hubby's family, yay babies! :-)

Cousin Mikayla loves her baby cousin! And, as you can see, Coraline was all ears during lunch:

Of course all that visiting pooped Daddy and Cora out. It's a tough life around here!!!

Being a Mommy has been better than I ever imagined. It is a huge, exhausting responsibility that I wouldn't trade for the world. Despite being up all hours and the endless feedings and diaper changes, I've never been happier--I feel incredibly lucky to have Coraline in my life.

How can you resist these kisses from the Easter bunny??

And kisses for Mommy too! :-)

She's arrived!

I am happy to share that my daughter, Coraline Mae, was born on Saturday, March 2nd at 5:54PM. As you can imagine, we are over the moon!!! Now only five days old, I'm still developing my "Mommy legs," so for the time being I'll share some pictures for you to ooh and ahh over and post more soon! :-)

First picture of Mommy and daughter <3

Snuggling on our first night together

Proud papa!

Eyes open to greet the world

Dressed and ready to go!

First car ride home

Completed projects and things to go...

This week we celebrate 38 weeks pregnant, yay! Although her St. Patrick's Day due date is a few weeks off still, they are thinking baby girl may make an early arrival.  In our last ultrasound, she measured a healthy seven pounds and four ounces with tiny wisps of hair on her head!

Of course, I hope to have a few more weeks only because once I accomplish one task in anticipation of her arrival, I find another that needs to be done. My brain has turned into one big "to do" list of uncompleted projects. My burgeoning size limits my capacity, and I find that I am often frustrated by my inability to complete basic tasks, nonetheless more complicated projects. (By the way, I hate when people say that pregnancy is easy. There is nothing easy about it. It's do-able, that's for certain, but it takes a lot out of a person to grow a human being from scratch!)

Thankfully, I've finished some tasks successfully, which I'll share below, so I have been busy, despite having more than a few things to go... Maybe I'll finish everything by St. Patrick's Day?? Let's just hope she's patient like her Daddy! ;-)

Yup, in case you were wondering, Mama is hanging in there! :-) 

 Wooden letters for her room covered with scrapbook paper:

 A large tote to bring pillows and such to the hospital:

This is the same cradle my mom used when my brothers and I were little. Unfortunately, you can't readily buy a mattress for this size, so I made my own with cotton and badding. (Sorry for the dark picture here; this is in the poorly lit corner of the bedroom)

I tufted the pad (made those cross stitch "x" shapes) by hand to be able to make the whole thing washable. It took for-ever-ugh! Now all I need is a sheet to put over the pad.

Of course, she needs a place to store all her hair accessories! ;-) The hubby helped with this project which required painting a picture frame pink, adding hooks on the bottom for headbands, and stapling in the ribbon straps to hold bows (which is currently bare, I know, but I'm sure we'll fill it up quick enough!). The angel hook is something the hubby and I found thrift shopping back in Albany. (And yes, he bought her the bunny ears at Target the other day)

I glued on the pink and white ribbon rickrack around the frame and added a matching pink grosgrain bow for hanging on the back of the door. The ribbons in the center are authentic vintage in shades of pink and blue which match the room well:

 I've also been doing a little hand embroidery for the days that I'm not feeling so well. I traced this free printable Pooh image from my iPad. I'm debating on where to put the bees. The pictures make the embroidery look dingy, but I assure you they are both embroidered on bright white fabric (And I'm sorry my picture taking skills are lacking lately!!)

I began this hand embroidery when I first found out I was expecting, only uncovering it in my sewing room the other day, so a quick press and it was done. My favorite part is the metallic silver lining of the clouds! :-) I think I may make these into padded canvases to hang in her room?  Any other suggestions?

5 Things: Crafty Deal Websites

 

We've been busy crafting over here, but a little lazy on taking pictures, so hopefully I'll post some soon! In the meantime, it had occurred to me that it's been some time since I've done a "5 Things" post, so today for my crafty friends, I will share 5 crafty deal websites that I visit regularly because, honestly, who doesn't love a bargain?! :-)

1.  http://www.missouriquiltco.com/shop/dailydeal

 This website is called Missouri Quilt Co. and they feature a new deal daily. My mom was the first to get me hooked on this website, and now I check it every day. Their specialty is pre-cuts, and they can offer quite a discount if you hit the website early. I've purchased charm packets and jelly rolls at some significant discounts and shipping is super fast. I highly recommend this site!

2. http://stitchsteals.com/

  This website also features a daily deal, specifically on yardage or sewing supplies. If you like designer fabric, you can find a real discount on lines like Riley Blake, Ty Pennington, or Michael Miller. They also occasionally offer quilting rulers, templates, and miscellaneous sewing supplies.

3. http://craftysteals.com/

   A sister website of stitchsteals.com, this site features craft items on a daily discount. This site is specifically geared towards non-sewing crafts. In the past, they have offered Clover flower forms, scrapbook paper packs from Anna Griffin, and Martha Stewart gift sets. My only complaint is that they occasionally will feature the same deal on both websites, boo! :-P

4. http://pickyourplum.com/

   This site requires you to sign up through e-mail to receive their daily deal, but they offer enough variety that I think it is worth it. They don't always feature craft supplies; they also offer personalized items, such as monogrammed cutting boards, and accessories, like watches and scarves. I've purchased a couple of times from them and I am surprised how quickly I receive the item coming from the West Coast.

5. http://www.craftsy.com/shop

   While this isn't technically a daily deal website since they change their promotions every week or two, Craftsy (which also offers online craft classes, by the way) offers some great deals on craft supplies, including fabric, notions, yarn, and craft kits. I have not purchased from this site personally, but they do seem to offer some good deals on fat quarter packs for quilters, etc.


*In case you were wondering, I have not been endorsed by the above websites. I share them in case you're like me and like to craft and save money! :-) Do you have another daily craft site you check? Comment down below if so!

A gift for Baby Samson

My sister-in-law delivered a bouncing baby boy named Samson on February 13th. Yay! This meant that I had to shift it into high gear to finish up the blanket that I had began sewing several months before. The hubby volunteered his services, which were much appreciated, because being nine months pregnant and crawling around on the floor to pin a blanket was a tad bit difficult.

The design for the whole present was inspired by the Michael Miller fabric I found on fabric.com. I thought the dachshund fabric was too cute! Of course, I wanted the blanket to be soft and cuddly for the new baby, so I included matching flannel from the Riley Blake line and a Minky back.

Goodness me, what a headache to sew!!! I encountered problem after problem, but I refused to give up. Have you ever watched the movie "Meet the Robinsons"? See the short 37 second clip above to see what I mean! ;-)

In the end, it worked out OK, I think! The black fleece binding on the blanket was crooked, despite sewing it by machine twice and fixing up spots by hand. The Minky fabric, while incredibly soft and snugly, was a nightmare to cut and sew (hellllo shedding stretchy fabric!). Then I had the brilliant idea to wash the blanket in baby detergent after I had sewed the whole darn thing, which caused even more problems, like splitting of a few seams! Ahh!!! So I had a little meltdown, but with the hubby's help, I was able to mend it with grosgrain ribbon sewed down to give a quilted appearance.

By the time it was all said and done, I was also able to fuse his initials on his lovey blanket, and even made a little matching gift bag with the rest of my scraps to wrap it all up. I happily gave it to the new parents yesterday and they said they loved it. Phew!!! Welcome to the world little one! :-)

Here's a shot of the blanket. I cut strips the width of the fabric, alternating the design, so it ended up being quite large. The dark brown grosgrain ribbon gave it a more pronounced striped effect: 

 His initials were cut by hand and fused on to one side of the lovey. (See previous post for other side)

 I made the gift bag large enough to hold the blanket, lovey, and a few goodies they might take home from the hospital. I had the light blue baby blue applique in my stash which matched perfectly! And check out the bag handles--yup, that's dachshund ribbon!

And here's a shot of it all together, ready to go! I used my Cricuit to cut the "S" initial for the front of his card:

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

It's been a busy few days around here with little time for blog posting. Valentine's Day, aka the hubby's birthday, was decidedly low key this year. He said he wanted to stay home, watch movies, and eat chicken wings for dinner--so that's what we did! (Like you have to twist a pregnant woman's arm to stay home!)

We did have a little time for food crafting and made some chocolate covered strawberries. We melted chocolate in my double broiler, as well as in the microwave, to mix up a few flavors. Our varieties included dark chocolate, milk chocolate with walnuts, and white and pink chocolate. Yum! The hubby was happy!  :-)

Snowstorm Nemo

A blizzard called Nemo has hit New England, and we are getting our fair share of snow in the 716 too. I am still not feeling well, so the hubby went out and took some pictures of our backyard to share today. Hope you are warm and well wherever you are! :-)