Hooking in the new house

I'm very pleased to say that I'm back hooking again, after a substantial break. I don't know wether I lost my crochet-mojo or that life got in the way with the move and everything else going on in the background!

I've not been crocheting for myself either, which is a big change! A lot of the WIPs on the go at the moment are for IQ. I was bought the Little Crochet book by Linda Permann for my birthday last year but didn't want to make anything from it because I knew IQ would grow out of it, probably before I'd even finished the piece. Ha! All of the items in the book are the sweetest things, from blankets and bears, to ponchos and jumpers and with so much to choose from I felt a bit stumped as to what to start first.

Funky legwarmer

My first project started from the book are the Cozy Crawlers leg warmers. I've been carrying IQ a lot recently (in my new fancy-schmancy Ergo Sport!) and as the weather is about to turn much colder, I thought these would be perfect for keeping her pokey out legs warm on our daily walks. I've decided to make them out of Patons' Smoothie DK cotton yarn. It's an absolute dream to work with and the variegated colour-way means the leg warmers are looking pretty funky! I've finished 1 leg warmer and am having a bit of a break before I start the other one, as 60 odd rounds of extended single crochet makes my hands hurt after a while.

The next pattern I've started from the book is the gorgeous ribbed cardigan. I just adore the pointy elf like sleeves and motif yoke. I've gone a bit 'out there' the the yarn I'm using and have chosen Rico Baby Essentials cotton in a sky blue. I've made a few of the motifs and am halfway through the back. The shaping is so clever, using a mixture of HDC, DC and TDC the bottom has so much body and shape. It's looking so gorgeous, I can't wait to finish it up already. But, it's taking me quite a while as I've only got a limited 2 hours or so each night to work on things. I really hope I can finish the cardigan before the weather turns really cold.

The start of the cardigan

I've also been working on a few other projects for some special little people who are making their first appearances to this world over the next few months. I can't share on here though, as I know one of you (Samboy) will see!

See, told you I've been busy!

Being a mum is the best thing I can be

Since I became a mum I've had many sleepless nights,
There's always dribble or sick on my shoulder and bags under my eyes.
My career is on the back burner while I change nappies and cook tea,
I never thought that being a mum would be the best job for me.

So when people ask 'how do you cope?', I say I'm doing fine,
The smiles and giggles, even burps and farts, melt this heart of mine.
When I see those big blue eyes stare at me lovingly,
I know in my heart that being a mum is the best thing I can be.

Every day I play and sing and I'm amazed at how much she grows,
The hair on her ears, her round belly and that gorgeous button nose,
They were all made with so much love it's easy enough to see,
This baby girl is my world and I just love being her mummy.

Very little sleep and a lot of sitting

Poor little IQ. Her teeth really are causing some misery. After bed last night she woke around 9:30pm having a screaming meltdown. I quickly changed her and gave her more teething powders then took her back up to bed. After that waking she woke every 1.5 hours thereafter and was wide awake at 5:45am.

I'm on my knees here!!

She's barely slept today (usually has 3 good naps per day) and has been really miserable. I haven't left the house once today and I feel so stuffy because of it.

One great positive that came out of today is that she's making good progress at sitting on her own. In between feeding, calpol and crying we have been playing and having fun. She's Still a little wobbly and falls over when reaching for toys but it's all practise!

I have been keeping with the mix feeding today but I'm almost certain that my supply is really dwindling... She's just polished off 14oz!!!! And is sleeping in my arms for the first time today. I feel like the wakings last night were because I wasn't producing enough milk for her... I feel pretty dreadful for that.

It's looking like my breastfeeding journey has come to a rather abrupt end, not the smooth transition I was hoping for :-( I'm trying to reassure myself of the positives to stopping breastfeeding but I feel bereft. Has anyone else stopped suddenly or phased it out? How did you feel about it? Was it easy to get used to not bfing anymore?

I could do with a few positive words as I'm feeling really guilty!

First of 2013 - Travelling and Teeth

Good evening and happy new year!

I hope the festive period and new year was full of family, food and happiness for everyone.

It was our first 'family' Christmas, the three of us together and it was a very busy one. From the 23rd of Dec until the 31st, we travelled almost 600 miles, visited two different countries, two childhood homes and lots of family and friends. We were both so proud of IQ. She coped with all the changes amazingly and was very content for most of our time away. We returned yesterday feeling like we'd had a long holiday but the 10 days we were away flew by. It was great to see so many friends and family over the festive season and I think I ate my body weight in food.

I can do this by myself ya know...

All I want for Christmas are my two front (bottom) teeth!

Just before we left for our Christmas break we discovered IQ's first tooth, well, teeth in fact. The bottom two teeth were just about poking through the gums. I had discovered them by chance when letting her chomp on my finger - what a surprise! It was quite a sad discovery for me as I'd said that I would phase out breastfeeding once her teeth arrived. It seemed so sudden and unannounced that, while I was really happy that my little girl had reached this enormous milestone, I was upset because it called for an end to breastfeeding.

We've started to add in a bottle feed gradually, we started with an evening bottle before bed then after a few days we added another bottle at lunchtime. I wanted my supply to adjust to this lack fo demand without any sudden changes, so that my supply didn't go crazy and leave me feeling sore. So far we're on 3 or 4 bottles a day, ranging from 4oz to 7oz as we're still trying to figure out just how much our little milk monster needs. It's going much better than I had hoped and I'm starting to feel the pressure of being the only person to be able to feed IQ lift, giving daddy some much needed bonding time with her too.

Only comfortable on mummy

Growing Pains

While IQ's teeth took us by surprise, we had noticed some of the signs of teething - chomping, drooling, cutting naps short and general grumpiness. We thought we were doing really well, especially as she was teething during our holiday but I've got to hand it to her, she's been fab. It's only been in the last 2 days that she's been really miserable. The poor little thing has got all the nasty teething symptoms, chomping, drooling like a bulldog, short naps resulting in over tiredness  horrible bottle green poos leading to TERRIBLE nappy rash. It's no surprised that she's spent most of this evening crying and grizzling.

Schnuggles

It's so hard to see her feeling so miserable.

At one point she woke from a nap and came downstairs only to fall asleep in my arms a few minutes later. It was the only place she felt soothed and comforted (I'm in no way complaining about this, I LOVE it when she sleeps on me). After a nap in my arms and a quick bath we got her ready for bed. She was so tired she fell asleep so quickly and I'm hoping she'll have a good sleep. Poor little thing.

Teething is horrible business and I read recently that if adults had to go through the pain of teething, we'd be driven crazy by the pain... no surprise that our little ones have such a hard time of it!

Belly Chuckles and a bus ride

Buggy - check
Changing bag - check
Phone and purse - check & check
Blanket and hat - check
and Baby.... um, check!

Leaving the house with a baby is always like a special ops mission and today was no exception. Today we had our first journey on a bus. I was a little apprehensive as we were travelling away from the house, further than walking distance, so if I forgot anything then tough!

IQ, snug as a bug

I walked a mile to the bus stop (there are bus stops closer, but this one is the only one that the particular bus I wanted to catch goes from) and waited for ten minutes for the bus. As it arrived, I realised that there were steps to get on so there was no chance of me getting the buggy up unfolded. I quickly took the car seat off and folded the buggy quick-time to get on. A lovely lady helped me on the bus with the buggy (as it's a huge chunk). The bus driver was very helpful and really lovely. She gave me some information about the bus times and when they came back.

We popped in to the little village where Andi works, we went to the studio for an hour and IQ had her lunch and a change in there. We went for lunch in Subway, joined by daddy, which was really lovely. We headed back towards the bus stop and a few busses went past. You know that feeling, the paranoid one where you keep looking behind you in case your bus comes? We had that. All the way down the road I kept looking back and low and behold, our bus came down the road before we'd even had chance to cross.

Amazingly the bus waited at the bus stop and we were able to quickly cross the road and make it to the stop. When the doors opened I noticed that it was the same bus driver as earlier but she was on a low bed bus, meaning that there was no steps to get on. The bus driver said "I saw you walking down the road and thought you'd be getting on, so I waited for you." How amazing is that? I was so chuffed she did this. With thanks to modern technology I brought up the bus company website on my phone and wrote an e-mail telling them there and then how pleased I was with their driver. In this country, I feel like we don't commend good customer service well enough and that bus driver deserved a pat on the back.

Thanks to her, I'm now not afraid to get on the bus and I hope she'll be driving it next time!

We got off and walked the mile back to the house. This time is was all uphill and I was exhausted by the time I got home. As I placed IQ in through the door still in her car seat I heard this wonderful, deep, wholehearted, belly chuckle! This was the first time she's EVER laughed like that and it took me by surprise. In true form, I whipped out my phone and videoed her laughing. Please excuse my hysterics in the background But she made my day chuckling like that!


(please bear with me as I upload the video - it's my first time doing this!)

What baby wore wednesday

Today has been a tough day. I'm trying to write a post about it but I'm stuck for words. Maybe once I've had some sleep I'll be able to find what I want to say.

IQ has managed to dirty two outfits today. This gorgeous bodysuit is what she ended the day wearing. Hubby bought this from a tattoo convention back in May. I love it as it suits us two as tattoo fans very well.

What Baby Wore Wednesday

Today we had a lazy day. I kept my pj bottoms on and IQ was rocking the pink cats babygro. So sweet!

Refashion - Boring Baby Bib to Funky Bandana Dribble Bib

For some reason we were given LOADS of bibs when IQ was born. While it is a very thoughtful gift and I'm sure once she's eating solid food she'll be getting through loads a day, currently as a breastfed baby she doesn't really use them. She does however DRIBBLE LIKE MAD. There's almost always a frothy dribbly beard below that gummy smile of hers. I saw bandana dribble bibs in Mothercare and they were £5 for two, which isn't bad but with a box full of bibs going unused in the nursery I couldn't part with the money. So I refashioned a boring old bib into a nice quirky bandana bib. It took me all of 5 minutes.


What you'll need:
One bib
Fabric of your choice (cotton or jersey will work best)
Scissors
Set square or anything with a large right angle
Pen
Sewing machine / needle and thread

*note* If your bib was like mine, it had a flannel front with a plastic back. I left the plastic backing in place but you can always remove it.

Instructions:

Step 1:

Take one boring white bib. Using your set square, draw a triangle ON THE BACK of the bib. Cut along your lines.
Step 2:
Trace the shape of the newly cut bib on the the REVERSE side of your fabric. Cut.


Step 3:
With WRONG sides together, sew all around using your sewing machine. Make sure you leave a space for the velcro fastening (not sew over it like I did and have to unpick).

Step 4:
Tidy up your edges with your scissors and you're done.

Congratulations, you now have refashioned a boring old baby bib into a funky new reversible bandana dribble bib.

Super easy double crochet baby hat

IQ modelling the lime and pink hat

IQ modelling the pink and lime hat

(EDIT: This pattern was edited on 13/02/13. I must apologise, the original instructions were incorrect for the size of hat indicated. Rookie error on my part. Thank you for all your feedback, without which I would not have realised my mistake!)

I can't believe that I actually made time for crafting!

I made this super simple baby hat for IQ last week and have had many compliments while out and about. Grannies love a baby in something knitted/crochet and my girl is always wearing something that fits that category! (Grannies love babies full stop!)

This super simple double crochet hat will fit a baby approx 0-6 months.

You will need:

4mm crochet hook

Yarn of your choice (preferably baby DK) in 2 colours

Stitches used:

Chain, slip stitch, double crochet (in American DC = UK Treble)

Gauge:

6 DC and 4 rows make a 4x4 inch square

Please note:

This hat is worked in the round, do not turn the piece while working. Each round is joined with a slip stitch to the second CH at the beginning of the row.

Instructions for the hat:

With 1st colour

ROUND 1: Ch4, join with SS to form a ring

ROUND 2: CH2, 12 DC in centre of ring, join with SS to 2nd CH from beginning of round (do this in every subsequent rounds) (12)

ROUND 3: CH2, 2DC in each DC around, join with SS (24)

ROUND 4: CH2, [2 DC in next DC, 1DC in next DC] repeat all around, join (36)

ROUND 5: CH 2, [2 DC in next DC, 1 DC in next 2 DC] repeat all around, join (48)

ROUND 6 - 13 : CH 2, DC in each DC (48)

Join second colour on joining slip stitch.

ROUND 14: CH2, DC in each DC, break yarn (2nd colour) (48)

Join first colour on joining slip stitch

ROUND 15 & 16: join, CH 2, DC in each DC, join. (48)

Alternative finishing row makes a small scalloped edge (like in the pink with lime stripe above)

ROUND 16: join, CH 2, [DC in next DC, SS in next DC] repeat around, join and fasten off. (48)

Fasten off and weave in ends.

You can also add an embellishment, I added a small flower on the lime hat but whatever you choose to add, make sure it's attached securely to baby can't pull it off. I did try to do a bow on the pink and lime hat but it doesn't really work so I've pulled it off - but you can see in the photograph, it's just all wonky looking!

Please let me know if you use this pattern, photographs of finished pieces would be lovely to see!

Silent Sunday

8 weeks and growing so fast!

My little girl is 8 weeks old this week and that meant that she had to have her jabs. They had been written on the calendar for a few weeks and I knew that when the day came, I'd be a bag of nerves. Luckily I didn't feel too bad about it and took her to the doctors. We didn't have to wait too long to see the nurse (usually this takes Forever as Wednesday is 'blood pressure' day - grannies everywhere!). The nurse kindly explained what she was going to do and what each jab was for (2 in total). I decided to feed IQ as she had the jabs in the hope that she wouldn't notice them as much. It didn't really work! The first jab made her bite down HARD! The second made her latch off completely and scream. It was horrible. My little baby had just had two huge needles stabbed in her thighs!!! I was close to tears myself then all of a sudden she stopped crying, probably because she'd forgotten what she was crying for! She was bandaged with two plasters on her thighs, my brave little soldier!

After the doctors we went to the drop in weighing clinic and playgroup. My little milk monster now weighs 12lbs 12oz! Woweee that's a lot of milk! She's steadily following the 90th centile mark!!

I'm one proud mummy!

Baby bumblebee car seat cosie

Here's IQ in her new bumblebee car seat wrap from Babies 'r' Us. They had a bumblebee, a bear or a rabbit but this was by far the cutest! It's going to be perfect for the colder nights!

Adoreable!

IQ is 6 weeks old!

My darling little IQ is 6 weeks old already. She's coming on beautifully ad I'm finally Starting to feel like we 'get' each other a little better. Breastfeeding is going very well but it is hard to keep up with such a greedy little milk guzzler! She's put on a wonderful amount of weight and now weighs an impressive 11lbs 6oz (weighed at clinic on Wednesday). She's spending much more time awake and is very curious of her surroundings, we've also started playing with toys which she seems to enjoy very much.

She's still finding it hard to wind down in the evenings and that can be difficult for me as she cluster feeds from 7pm and sometimes won't sleep until 11 or 12pm! It's exhausting and very hard to keep a calm head!

She's currently on a walk with her dad as I need some good old me time and daddy just loves having her all to himself!

This week we have our 6 week check with the GP, I'm sure everything will be fine and my little pudding will be even heavier again I'm sure!

Being a mummy: One month in...

Gosh, doesn't time fly? I can't quite believe it's been over a month since IQ came into our lives.

Being a mummy is much harder than anyone prepares you for, yes there are late nights, mountains of nappies and crying - but what they don't tell you about is sore nipples, not having time to wipe your backside, going days without a shower or breakfast (sometimes both) and the sheer emotional strain it puts on you.

Having said all that, it seems to be getting much easier as I begin to understand my baby and my body too. I'm breastfeeding on demand (and she is a little piggy!) and I've come close to quitting a few times. It is hard but I'm sticking with it because I love the closeness we share at feeding time. Especially night time when me and IQ snuggle close and sometimes fall asleep together.

Every day is a different journey, they all start differently and end differently and that's the exciting part, knowing that no two days will ever be the same again!

IQ is growing so fast, she's nearly outgrown all of her newborn clothes and last week she weighed 10lbs 4 oz, so I'm certain she's reached 11lbs already! She's even in size 2 nappies, what a big girly!

As our days start making a bit more sense and that IQ stops feeding constantly, I hope to get back into some hobbies, sewing, crochet and (hopefully) blogging!

For now, here's a photo dump from the last 4 weeks of my beautiful IQ's life! Enjoy!

Firstborn Knitted Baby Bobble Hat

I was looking around the Internet for a knit flat newborn baby hat and didn't have much luck finding one. They were all either knitted on DPNS or on circular needles in the round. I really couldn't be bothered to dig out my circulars and I don't own DPNS, so, you guessed it, I wrote my own pattern. It's so easy and I was surprised that I couldn't find one online. Maybe my pregnancy brain made them invisible...

The newborn baby hat is knitted flat on 5mm straight knitting needles and sewn up the side once finished. I'm not the fastest of knitters and this only took me two evenings (approx 6 hours) to make, so I'm sure the more experienced knitters will be able to complete it in half the time.

The size of this hat is for a newborn, approx 11-13 inches head circumference and 5.5inches tall. This hat should fit newborn up to 3 months of age.

The materials you will need to make this easy newborn hat:

• wool of your choice, I used Patons 'FAB!' DK
• straight 5mm knitting needles
• darning needle / crochet hook to make up
• measuring tape / ruler

The stitches/techniques you will need to know to make this hat:

• cast on
• knit and purl stitches
• K2TOG - knit two together
• whip/blanket stitch to make up
• pom-pom skillz

The easy-peasy pattern to make this hat is as follows:

Using straight 5mm needles, CO 60 stitches (I used a long-tail cast on but use whatever technique you're most comfortable with)

Ribbing: K4, P4 until end
Work in k4,p4 ribbing until ribbed band measures 1 inch

Work in garter stitch (knit every row) until entire piece including ribbing measures 4 inches


DEC row 1: *knit 6 stitches, k2tog* repeat to end.
Knit next row without decreasing to end

DEC row 2: *knit 5 stitches, k2tog* repeat to end
Knit next row without decreasing to end

DEC row 3: *knit 4 stitches, k2tog* repeat to end
Knit next row without decreasing to end

DEC row 4: *knit 3 stitches, k2tog* repeat to end
Knit next row without decreasing to end

DEC row 5: *knit 2 stitches, k2tog* repeat to end
Knit next row without decreasing to end

DEC row 6: *knit 1 stitch, k2tog* repeat to end
Knit next row without decreasing to end

DEC row 7: *k2tog* repeat to end

Break yarn leaving a long tail and thread tail through remaining stitches on needle. Pull tightly closed. Use the rest the tail to make up the side using whip/blanket stitch.

If you so wish, get your pom-pom skillz out and make a fancy topper for your hat. Voila! Told you it was easy :)

Saturday Make - Leopard Print Baby Slippers

I made these today. The first thing i've made for the unborn! They're so adorable!

Two become Three

I know it's a moment that I'm going to remember forever. We got up at 6.30am, had our breakfast and morning chat as normal and left the house. Just like we usually do but that morning we were going to somewhere different. My husband and I got a little lost entering the hospital car park but found a space with ease as it was still only 7.45am. The only cars in the car park were likely to be staff members who were already there, hard at work.
We were called in for our appointment at 8.10am - bang on time. We were obviously the first appointment of the day as the nurses still carried coffee cups. I answered a few questions, lay out on the bed and handed my notes over, which were kept in a paper folder labelled 'IMPORTANT STUFF'. (I'm organised like that). The wonderful lady turned on a big black and white screen and right before our eyes was the tiny wriggling mass. 

Our baby. Our first baby, and he was dancing for us. 
I choked back the tears because I couldn't believe my eyes. That tiny moving thing is living INSIDE me. The incredible shape was something that me and Andi had created. It was beautiful. Even though he was moving around I couldn't feel a thing. It's because he only measures 3 cm in length.

I cannot explain how happy I was to see that picture on the screen. It made everything feel much more real. I have something to look at as proof that they're growing inside me. As I've had no morning sickness, I still don't feel that pregnant but I do have a small baby bump already!

I am so excited about what next year has in store for us as a family. It's going to be an amazing year!

So I'm sorry but this blog is sure to become a baby / crafty blog!