She's here!

2 days old, finally home!

Our new baby girl arrived earlier than planned. I've always had to be induced with all my other children so when I woke up at 1:3oam on Friday and didn't feel well I got up to walk around and noticed I was having regular contractions. "Am I really in labor?" I thought. After an hour they were still 3-4 minutes apart and getting stronger each time so I called my doctor and he said to go in and get checked at the hospital. I honestly thought they would check me, send me home with a pill and just tell me it was false labor. As we got there the contractions got harder though and they said I was at a 5. Guess we're having a baby! I had all these plans that day to deep clean my house before my parents came, get a pedicure, and 10 other things on my to-do list before she came. We checked in at 2:45am and she arrived at 4:38am after a few pushes. No epidural. 6 pounds 12 ounces and 20 inches long, she is definitely the tiniest baby I've ever had. It took us 2 days to name her because our list of names was long and we just couldn't decide. After awhile though I thought of a completely new name and I called Troy and he said, "Yeah, I thought of that one too this morning. I like it!" He brought the kids over later and asked how they felt about it and I quickly wrote it down on the birth papers before I could change my mind again. We had a few minor concerns with her so we had to stay 48 hours in the hospital.

During that time I thought how truly blessed I am to be a co-creator with God... How amazing pregnancy and the whole birth process is... How something so little and helpless can make your heart melt and how you can fall in love unconditionally almost immediately. It's impossible to not not believe in God when you see a newborn baby - with perfectly created bodies. Today I wish to express to the world how thankful I am to my Heavenly Father for this miraculous gift!

~Karen

Free Hair Bow Tutorials!

http://www.hipgirlclips.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=31_135

If you have girls or know someone who does and would like to make some hair bows, I just found the best free tutorials for how to make all sorts of hairbows. Check out the link above and their prices are great for the supplies you'll need to make the bows. I know what I'm going to be busy doing next Craft Night!

I made myself a (little) 20 page booklet with Word so I won't have to sit in front of the computer to make the bows. LOL These bows would look cute on those crochet headbands or nylon headbands and for older girls, attached to hair clips. Can you tell I'm a little excited?

Hospital Packing List

Let's be honest - nobody likes to wear those thin hospital gowns and nobody looks good in them. So I whipped up this cut little number to cheer me up when I go to deliver #5. I got the free pattern online from http://www.lazygirldesigns.com/hospitalgown.php I lengthened it a bit. This would make a great gift for anyone who has to spend time in the hospital. Below is my list of things to take for delivery. LMK if you think there's anything I should add.

Hospital Packing List

Infant Car Seat (leave in car)

Nursing pillow
Extra pillow

In diaper bag:
baby shampoo, lotion & powder
2 receiving blankets (I know they provide these but don't you hate how all your kid's newborn hospital pictures look exactly the same?)
4 burp cloths
baby hat
baby nail clippers
baby wipes and diapers
2 onesies & socks
2 sleeping gowns/outfits for baby
going home outfit for baby & hair bows

In Rolling Suitcase:
robe & slippers
2 pair undergarments & socks
menstrual pads cause the hospital's are awful
nursing & sleeping bra
homemade hospital gown for delivery
2 pairs comfortable pants & tops
going home outfit for me
Charged cell phone
Camera and extra batteries
Video camera and charger
Purse with I.D. & insurance card
Baby journal/scrapbook for footprints
Books - Nursing Mother's Companion & Book of Mormon
Activities – card games, knitting book/kit by Klutz (I've always wanted to learn)
Snacks – fruit leather, etc.
Breath mints and gum

In Toiletry Bag:
face wash stuff
shampoo & conditioner & body wash
washcloth and towel cuz I don't like thin, bleached, rough towels
razor and lotion
deodorant
toothbrush and toothpaste
nursing cream
hair brush, bands, clips & hairspray
hairdryer & curling iron
chapstick & makeup
nail clippers and nail file
prenatal vitamins
dirty clothes bag
MP3 player - last time this was how I got thru labor w/o an epidural. My OB thought I was listening to Enya - nope, Van Halen! He got a good laugh out of that.

Presents from baby to kids such as a new book and a gift card to their favorite fast food place.

Baby Sewing Projects UPDATE

Did you know you can go to JoAnn's and use a JoAnn's coupon on fabric, a Robert's coupon on thread and a Michael's coupon on a pattern or any other non-fabric item? And all in the same transaction! I love it... *sigh* Anyway, here are a few pictures of the baby sewing projects I've been wanting to finish:

*Girly Mei Tai (pronounced may-tie). The hood flap is made of that super soft bubbly fabric and can be used to cover up baby's face when she's sleeping. This can be forward/rear facing and you can do a front carry or back carry. It's lightweight and my favorite way to carry babies. The wrap is the most comfortable for longer treks though. I'll post a picture of that once baby comes since it's just a really long piece of stretchy fabric with a middle panel for decoration. Wrapping it is the tricky part.

*Fleece pouch - I had enough leftover to make another one to keep in the car and a scarf for E and later a baby hat (not sure what size to make it so I'm waiting) Cost for each pouch = $5. Maybe in the summer I'll make a reversible cotton one with a cute pattern but fleece is just so easy to use and it took me less than 10 minutes to cut & sew these 2 pouches using a french seam.

*I love the double-crochet lavendar afghan I made but I always wanted to make a Granny-Square one so I chose pink and did a scalloped edge again.

New Baby

I'm an Aunt again! Congrats to my oldest brother and his wonderful wife, my first sister-in-law. So happy for you and the grand miracle of life! Isn't he cute?
“Babies are such a nice way to start people.” — Don Herold

Afghan finished

Couldn't sleep so I finished the decorative edge on the afghan and still couldn't sleep so... I made a hat. Tried to go back to bed for an hour, didn't work so I took a picture and ta-da! Here it is:
Maybe now I can go to sleep?

Just because it's homemade doesn't mean it's cheap

I just got back from JoAnn's. I used several coupons and the other stuff I bought was already on sale and yet... I still spent more than I thought I would. It would've been cheaper to buy the dresses at a store but I want my daughters to have a dress made by their mother for their special day. I'm making E's baptism dress and the new baby girl's blessing dress. Now I'm terrified because I've never sewn satin before. I just have to keep telling myself, "I can do this". I feel like a big, pregnant blue engine looking at a big mountain made of white satin.

M4865 is the blessing dress and M5793 is the baptism dress (I'm doing the sleeved version but tweaking the design just a bit by adding a sheer skirt overlay) Check out these cute patterns (I got them for $1 each)

BTW, I've almost finished the shimmery lavender afghan (just need to decide on a decorative edge), made the diaper bag New Year's Eve and I've cut out the burp cloths so those should be done this week. Oh, and the carseat cover is done too. Check them out!

Baby Sewing Projects

Can I just start by saying it is so much fun planning for a baby girl? I'm a little giddy at the moment. Here's my list of things to sew:

*Mei Tai pronounced may-tie. The last one I made was gender neutral but it would be nice to have something that screams "GIRL!" I want to add a hood, pocket and have it rounded at the top since my last one didn't have those features. Here's the one I have now that was a lifesaver (and a workout) when we hiked last summer: (half the time he fell asleep) *Quilt & burps. I found some cute pink "bubble" fabric that's so soft and cuddly.

*Carseat cover (basically a blanket that attaches to the handle part) Below is the tutorial but I'll add flowers where it attaches to the handles and jumbo rick-rack around the hem. You use a whole yard for each side. http://awednesdayafternoon.blogspot.com/2009/04/summertime-car-seat-cover.html

*Slipcover for the actual carseat. I found a used one for $30 yesterday - see below. (They are still selling it at Walmart for $150 - score!) The dark brown matches the fabric perfectly so I'm just changing the pattern part. Took me awhile to cut (no pattern) and pin (we had canned soup that night for dinner... at 8pm) but I'll hopefully get it sewn in today. Here are before and after shots: *Nursing cover with boning - done! I made it reversible and did ties instead of D-rings. I'm not that well endowed so I adjusted the boning to 12 inches that way it's not gaping open for EVERYONE to see but I can peek & baby can still breathe. http://www.shannonmakesstuff.blogspot.com/2009/04/nursing-cover-tutorial.html

*Coordinating diaper bag. I like the tie on the nursing cover to I'll add that to the bag handle. I have a secret bag-craving. If I wasn't married, half my closet would be full of different bags.

*Might make a reversible wrap carrier. These truly are the most comfortable and versatile but it's tricky getting it wrapped on w/o getting the tails dirty. I just need to find some brown jersey knit for a decent price (use a w/ a coupon) and it won't take me more than 15 minutes to "decorate" it. Check out http://www.etsy.com/shop/loveyduds She has beautiful designs in case you don't want to make one yourself.

*Last but not least, I need to make a white blessing dress and crochet a blessing afghan. I'm thinking lavender would be pretty.

Product Recommendation

I never do this but... this is so cool! This Jeep stroller is the new Wrangler Unlimited g-edition. The g stands for green - the fabric is made from 40 recycled 16 oz. water bottles... How cool is THAT? It's good for up to 50 pounds, has 2 side pockets, 1 back pocket and undercarriage storage area for mom and 2 little side pockets by the kid so they can keep a few small toys nearby. N is a little tall for his age (3) and yet there's still room for him to use it another year or two. He's been falling asleep in the car lately and it's really hard to carry a sleeping toddler when you're pregnant so I needed something like this. It's great for taller people so you're not hunched over and it's an umbrella style so it will fit in any car. It came with a travel carrying case but it also has a tough fabric handle on it so you can easily carry it comfortably with one hand when it's folded up. Did I mention it's only 16 pounds? N has been sitting in this for the past hour watching a Christmas show on TV. It's obviously comfortable and it also reclines. "OK, ok, where can I get it?" you ask? I ordered mine yesterday, got free shipping and it came within 24 hours. LOVE IT!

http://www.diapers.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?productId=20907

My kids aren't very good at keeping secrets

One of my children accidentally spilled the beans. However, the kids are very excited to meet their new sibling on (but preferably a little before) April 30th. I went in today and saw the heartbeat and got a tiny little picture on the ultrasound but I thought this picture above looked more visible. My parents are supposed to get back from their mission to Chile the first week of May. I wonder if they'll be able to come back a little earlier than planned?

Here we go again... :) Where's my pillow? I need a nap.

*Update: It looks like my parents are going to try to come back mid-April. That will give them some time to go home, see my SIL's new baby, then hopefully come up here to watch our kids while I deliver. Hooray!