Something else made during Me Made May... (plus: an owly baby hoodie and maternity sewing plans)

Halfway through Me Made May a few months ago, my husband and I got some exciting news—I was four weeks pregnant! We did not yet want to publicly announce, but I almost instantly developed an obvious baby belly and a quite expanded bustline and began to have trouble fitting into some of my favorite clothes, me-made and otherwise. (I think it's a second-time mom thing, as I didn't show at all with my daughter until I was at least 11 weeks along).

I didn't want to give up on Me Made May, so I just tried to suck in the belly in photos and even wear body shapers to try to hide it on the blog and at work for the rest of the month... but by the last few days of May I was actually wearing some of the maternity clothes I made back in 2010, and various kindly people of New York were already starting to offer me seats on the subway. Can you spot it?

And then at about 6 1/2 weeks along, I suddenly was hit with a wave of nausea and exhaustion like no other, and am only now at 16 weeks starting to emerge into some semblance of normal feeling. All I've sewn in the meantime is a little baby hoodie for a friend's baby shower:

The nice thing about sewing baby clothes is how very short the seams are—they may have just as many pieces and bits as adult clothes, but before you know it, everything is done. This is from the wonderful Kwik Sew's Sewing for Baby book, and I made the same pattern for my own daughter Z when I was pregnant with her (did she not have the BEST little fro-hawk?!):

I'm now planning to embark on a modest maternity sewing and baby sewing/knitting spree—a friend of mine from the Brooklyn Sewing Club scored me a set of Simplicity maternity patterns on a $1 each sale (some of which are actually Megan Nielsen patterns!), and I'm super excited to make them up. Here are my top three:

Simplicity 1469 (which is also Megan Nielsen's nursing/maternity top/dress pattern):

Simplicity 1468 maternity wrap top (another Megan Nielsen):

Simplicity 1360 maternity dress or mini dress:

I'm probably not going to overdo the maternity sewing, as I have quite a few maternity me-mades left over from last time and have been able to score a lot of great items free or thrifted (like the top in the photo). But I think at least a few warm maternity tops, a pair of wool jersey leggings, a long-sleeved dress and a wool jersey skirt for winter are in order, since I'm due in January. I might focus more on adding to my nursing-friendly-top-and-dress stash, as that will be something I can wear for at least two years, not just the next five months.

P.S. Our daughter wants to name the baby "Text Message Wood", "Tree Wood" "Apple Wood" or "Brothy Sisty Wood" (Wood is husband's last name). We will not be taking her up on her suggestions.

40 weeks, 1 day casual/work outfit

I'm wearing this outfit around the house today. But although I'm now on maternity leave, it's probably best classified as a work outfit, as I wore it to the office pretty frequently in my third trimester.

• Blue plastic necklace: Cheapo costume jewelry. Cost: $6. Cost per wear $0.05
• Geometric-print Talbot's wrap dress: Thrifted. Cost : $4. Cost per wear: $0.40.
• Brown flats: Privo by Clarks. Cost: $80. Cost per wear: $0.80.

Total Cost: $89.

Total Cost Per Wear (so far): $1.25.

I have to admit I was surprised to find myself buying a Talbot's dress, even second-hand--they seemed to be a lot more fashion-forward lately. As you can maybe tell from how it rides up in front, it's not actually a maternity dress, but it's plenty stretchy enough to work as one, and should be good for nursing as well. Oh how I love a surplice neckline (and a geometric print)... I can't wait to sew some post-pregnancy!

Belly-showing side view:

Ok, off for an exhausted pregnant lady nap. Maybe Cartoonist Baby will see fit to show up in time for Father's Day?

P.S. I am quite gratified to report that I have made it through the past three months without A SINGLE PAIR OF PANTS. For real. All my maternity pants (except for one pair of maternity jeans and one pair of maternity leggings) stopped fitting in March, but with the warm weather on its way, I bravely soldiered on in dresses and skirts alone with no trouble whatsoever.

D-Day is here!

Come on out so you can wear all your cute outfits, Cartoonist Baby!

Or Z-Day, rather (Cartoonist Baby's name starts with the letter Z, so that's what Masheka and I have been calling it).

After all the scares we had last month, and my skepticism over the ultrasound-established date of June 18 (my own calculations said June 9) I really never thought I'd make it to my actual official due date, but here I am!

The above is an outfit I made for Cartoonist Baby back in Feburary--it's the "Piparminttu" jersey pinafore dress and "Anis" jersey pants from the 01/2010 issue of Ottobre Design magazine (which I recently subscribed to). Both are in size 62 cm (about 3-6 months). I omitted the button placket trim detail as I thought it was cuter without.

The polkadot material is cotton jersey repurposed from a knit top that didn't fit me...

... and the red cotton lycra is from Western Fabrics. The gray ribbing is from SewBaby.com. (See my PatternReview reviews of the dress and pants for exciting details on how I initially sewed the pants together upside down).

Anyway, my midwife ordered me to stop working as of today, so I am now officially on my 12-week maternity leave. So the sooner she comes, the more time I get at home with her. NO PRESSURE, right?

Oh, and I only have until next Thursday (when I'll be 40 weeks and 6 days) to be allowed to give birth at the fabulous in-hospital birthing center before I get "risked out" and have to use regular Labor & Delivery upstairs. Which would be a bummer, since the birth center has private hotel-like rooms with nice big tubs, birthing balls, and regular double beds, Masheka would be allowed to stay with me and baby afterwards, and there is a nice 24-hour waiting room for close family. In L&D it is just regular hospital-style, no eating or drinking except for ice chips, NO WAITING ROOM AT ALL, and afterwards I'd be recovering for two days in a shared room and Masheka would have to sleep at home. Boo to that.

Still, the very latest I'd be allowed to go without induction is 42 weeks. So I'm still feeling impatient, but a little more calm and relaxed--she'll be here soon, somehow!

Oh, and here's a pants-only view:

Orange Birthday Peep Toes!

So remember how Cartoonist Husband told me I shouldn't buy myself shoes or clothes with my 30th birthday money--that books or DVDs would be a more fun gift?

Apparently that was a classic Masheka fake-out (he's quite poker-faced and I'm quite gullible). So feast your eyes on these retro peep-toed beauties that he got me, a pair of lovely yet comfortable orange Tsubo Erebus heels that I'd been coveting ever since I first read about the brand on Already Pretty. I refuse to wear pointy toes, spiky heels or any shoe that can't actually be walked in (I'm a car-less Brooklynite, remember), so I get REALLY excited when I find heels that are comfortable, sturdy AND sexy.

Here they are in action--sort of. I can't actually wear even the comfiest heels these days (I can barely walk in sneakers or my comfy Privo by Clarks flats at this point), but I just had to play dress-up. The top is of course my heavily modified Jalie 2005, and the maternity skirt is a $2 thrift find.

I can't wait to wear these post-pregnancy! I haven't talked much about shoes here, but I adore a colorful comfy retro heel! Two of my other favorites...

My red Camper Mary Janes (shown here at 25 weeks pregnant with my red BurdaStyle maternity-modified "Melissa" skirt):

I got these at Soula in Brooklyn back in February (when I could still wear heels!), but I believe they're still available. Camper calls them the "Kim" pump, but I prefer to think of them as my ruby slippers. Here's a product shot:

My chartreuse Gentle Soles (or Souls?) heels, shown here with a Liz Lange by Target dress at 23 weeks pregnant:

I got these at least three or four years ago (also at Soula) and I don't think they're the same brand as the Gentle Souls/Soles sold by Kenneth Cole--I think they were imported from somewhere in Europe but I haven't seen them in any stores in a very long time. I've walked miles in them and they are fabulous.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what I got myself for my birthday -- I did indeed order the walking foot for my Viking (hasn't arrived yet), Blueprints of Fashion: Home Sewing Patterns of the 1940s and a dystopian science fiction novel by Nnedi Okorafor called Who Fears Death. (I don't know that I've mentioned it, but I am a HUGE speculative fiction nerd, in literature, television shows AND film--do NOT get me started, I am obsessed).

Very Tired, Very Pregnant

Taking a nap under my orange (RTW, not me-made) trench coat in 2007 at a comics convention in Philly; cartoonist extraordinaire Keith Knight helpfully put this sign on me and I sold some copies of my book in my sleep.

Dear readers, I am TIRED. You may have noticed an extreme slowing of actual finished sewing output from me, and you would not be wrong. At 34 weeks pregnant, everything is just DIFFICULT, sewing not excepted. No compression stocking known to woman or husband-administrated massage (thanks sweetie!) seems capable of keeping my feet and legs from swelling to twice their size by the end of the day, and limping up and down the subway stairs and trying to keep fellow riders from jostling me in my ever-so-heavy belly is just NO fun. And repeatedly hearing things like "you're huge!", "are you SURE it's not twins?" and "you must be ready to go any day now!" from random strangers is just NOT helping.

(Random side note--I don't know how it is elsewhere, but 90% of the time in my anecdotal experience when someone offers me a subway seat it's a woman--most men seem to have a method of using their books, Kindles or iPods to pretend they don't see pregnant, disabled or elderly folks who are supposed to take seating priority).

The exciting part is--Cartoonist Baby will be here in just 3-7 weeks! Wow! If I wasn't still working I would just sit around on the couch all day watching my belly jump and move--she's an active little girl to say the least, and what before were just kicks and jiggles are now clearly little baby limbs. I just feel constantly overwhelmed with love for her, and can not WAIT to meet her and hold her and kiss her little baby head and smell her baby smell and... wow!

But alas, there's a lot of work to be done! Masheka--aka the Best Husband in the Universe--has taken on more and more and more of the housework (and he was already doing a solid majority before I was pregnant) as I've gotten more unwieldy, uncomfortable and sleepy. I'm basically just doing the cooking and some light tidying up at this point, but I am still helping out with our massive apartment decluttering and decorating project and any chores or to-dos that don't require moving heavy objects or standing for lengthy periods (like finishing up putting together the tax information for our freelance business--we had to get an extension on it for the first time this year, oops!).

Not that we're unprepared--I am a woman of many checklists! We finished up with the childbirth, birth center, breastfeeding, infant care, babywearing and cloth diapering classes, and will be done with all such educational things after our baby CPR/safety class next week. My midwife visits have gone from monthly to biweekly, and will soon be weekly. The "go bag" is in progress. We've got a likely pediatrician lined up, and we've got the bassinet, clothes, cloth diapers, a car seat (not that we have a car, but we'll need it for the cab ride home from the hospital), a breast pump, and all sorts of assorted baby gear from our generous friends and family. I've requested my 12-week FMLA leave (to start when Cartoonist Baby arrives, or at my due date, whichever comes first), and Masheka has put in for six.

So blogging and actual sewing here might become lighter (or at least less verbose) for a little while--and at some point in the next two months, there will be an indeterminate period of radio silence. I hope you won't go away for good!

But do not despair--as promised, I finished my reversible skirt, and the cardigan is almost done as well. I'm hoping to photograph them tomorrow. And the lacy hand-dyed baby sweater is coming along surprisingly fast considering my sporadic knitting pace!

And if you're wondering what a tired pregnant lady is doing up past midnight, well--I took a four-hour nap at around 6 p.m. today, and made the mistake of eating some chocolate-covered espresso beans when I woke up. But I think my bed is calling me again...

Happy 30th to Me! + The Boxing Basqiat Baby Onesie!

... 30th week of pregnancy that is! (My 30th birthday isn't till June 1!) Not so long ago Cartoonist Baby was the size of a blueberry, and Masheka and I can't believe our little girl weighs over 3 pounds and is 17 inches or more long now...

Or maybe we can, considering how strong her belly-shaking kicks are!

According to all my pregnancy books, Cartoonist Baby is even DREAMING now. Which naturally leads to the question--what do babies dream about?

Probably not patterns and fabric.

And since I abhor an image-free post, here's a picture of one of my favorite outfits I've made for Cartoonist Baby, the Boxing Basquiat baby onesie (review here, for you PR members):

... which is just Kwik Sew 2433 sewn up from one of my husband's favorite (but now too-small) Brooklyn Industries T-shirts that I happened to spy in our massive Goodwill-bound donation pile. The edges are bound with satiny purple FOE (foldover elastic) for a SLIGHT girly touch.

I love this onesie for many reasons:

• The subject. Masheka and I are both artistic and literary types, as you might have guessed. Cartoonist Baby's first name is shared with a famous black woman writer (not sure if I'll be revealing her name on this blog yet, you'll have to guess for now!) and I like that she also has one of our favorite artists, the late great Jean-Michel Basquiat, on her shirt, too!
• The colors. I love wearing pink myself, but why does everything for girls have to be doused in Pepto-Bismol and covered in bows and flowers? I felt like the purple foldover elastic binding I did added just a touch of girly without being overwhelming.
• It reminds me of this photo of my husband as a child... you can see why one of his nicknames was "Rocky"!: