Another baby ensemble sewn during my pregnancy finally gets a model--the Ottobre magazine January 2010 pinafore and pants combo I refashioned from an old shirt of my mother's (see my original blog post and Pattern Review review for full pattern details). Here's the flat photo...
More shots, including one with her Zadie (aka grandfather, aka my dad):
I made the 62 cm size, and it's still a bit big, hence the Hammer pants effect Masheka pointed out to me. But still--super cute, right?
BurdaStyle "Melissa" knit skirt at 25 weeks pregnant...
...30 weeks pregnant...
... and 6 weeks post-partum. (No, I so do NOT have time to be ironing these days!)
So what's a sewist to do when her measurements change from day to day? And I don't mean by a smidge. Over the course of my pregnancy I gained 42 pounds, added 2 inches in the high bust, 4 inches in the full bust and 3 in the hips, and totally lost sight of my waist under an ever-growing baby belly.
So as much as I love fitted, lined skirts (mmm, wool tweed!) with lovely details (pleats! vents! trim!), they just weren't practical during my pregnancy. It was all about the stretchy skirts, whether they be knit, rib-waisted, or shirred.
And they don't make a lot of sense now (alas, my vintage Du Barry dress dreams will have to wait!). My measurements have continued to change, just in other directions. My high bust is approaching 34" again, my full bust is going to be even more of an adjustment nightmare (I wore a 32E bra pre-pregnancy, and now I'm in an H/I cup), my waist is back in some form, and my hips are shrinking as well. All apparently thanks to the clever strategy known as "sitting on my butt nursing my sweet baby girl all day."
All of my maternity tops (including the ones I made, alas!) are way too big and baggy now, but most of my pre-pregnancy clothes--tops and bottoms--are WAY too small. So I've been living in the few knit tops I have that are not skin-tight, some nursing nightgowns and tanks I bought--and all of the skirts I made while pregnant!
Here's the spiral skirt at 27 weeks pregnant:
And at one week post-partum, when I still looked sorta pregnant:
Once again, I have no pants--not even the one pair of jeans I made it through my last two trimesters with.
It's not like I've had any time to sew for myself anyway these past weeks--but I'm afraid to even buy clothes (except maybe thrift clothes) until I figure out where my body is going to settle. I'll try to put it off until September when I go back to work and need to look presentable, and I'll probably try to buy as little as possible even then just in case.
Of course, however fast my measurements have changed, that's nothing compared to how my little Baby Z is growing! Here she is at 6 weeks-ish!
It's still a little big on her, but it's the first time she's worn something sewn by her mom... the boxing Basquiat onesie I blogged about previously, made with Kwik Sew 2433 out of one of Masheka's old T-shirts.
She even wears flame-patterned diapers, sewn by her Grandmommy Beryl:
Also, how cool is her natural curly faux-hawk? (Fro-hawk?) It just grows like that--big and curly down the middle and thin on the sides.
More posts coming soon--at six weeks post-partum, I'm even starting to think about maybe possibly someday breaking out my sewing machine again for a quick project here or there (though I'm still basically nursing her every hour when she's awake). Baby girl is growing so fast I should even be able to photograph her in the 6-month stuff I made for her in a week or two (the above onesie was purchased, not me-made).
Baby Z snoozing contentedly in a ring sling made by her Grandmommy Beryl
I mentioned a while back that in addition to sewing up dozens of cloth diapers, my mother also made us a whole host of baby carriers for wearing little Z. And Masheka and I took an excellent free Babywearing 101 workshop at Metro Minis in Manhattan to learn about five major types of baby carriers (pouches, slings, mei tais, soft structured carriers and wraps) and how to use them safely. The safest position for small infants is an inward-facing front carry, tummy-to-tummy with baby up high enough on the sternum that you can kiss the top of her head. Baby's head is to the side, with plenty of clearance so she isn't chin-to-chest.
The above is one of the ring slings my mother made, my current favorite for around-the-house babywearing. She just used a piece of reversible upholstery fabric she got at Jo-Ann's with some baby-wearing-quality ring slings purchased from SlingRings.com. Slingrings.com also has links to a bunch of sling-making sewing patterns. I'm not sure which one she used, but it has a pleated shoulder and a handy pocket on the tail and she tells me it was a super-easy and quick project (not to mention much less expensive than commercial ring slings).
Except when we're sleeping, either Masheka and I hold and cuddle Baby Z nearly every minute she's awake (and much of the time she's asleep). She's not fussy or colicky, but it's pretty clear she far prefers lying on our chests to lying in her cosleeper or crib. So without a way to carry her hands-free, I'd be hard-pressed to even make myself a sandwich or make a phone call, and I'd be even farther behind on my email than I already am (which reminds me--apologies if you've emailed me and haven't heard back!).
Oh, and here's Masheka carrying Baby Z in the neutral gray mei-tai-style baby carrier my mom made in deference to his tastes. This photo was taken barely a week after she was born, so I still look a bit preggo:
Anyway, if you want more information, I recommend the forums and articles at TheBabyWearer.com. And I swear that someday there will be a sewing-related post here that isn't about baby stuff... really!
As you may imagine, not a whole lot of sewing or knitting going on in these first few weeks at home with Baby Z. So far all I've managed to do is finish a single baby sock--a sock I started during my ridiculously long (five days!) labor. I have started knitting the second one but I'm so sleep-deprived I've messed up the picot edging and will have to start over when I get a chance. (When that will be is unclear!)
This is the chevron lace variation of Ann Budd's free "Better Than Booties" Baby Socks pattern--full details here on Ravelry.
As you may recall, I had already knit the ruffle-top variation:
But even though I used size 0 needles and drastically reduced the number of stitches around (from 44 to 36) neither pair will be fitting Baby Z's petite feet for quite a while.
She's not even two weeks old, so I'm told these aren't real smiles, but... my goodness how she's grown already! By seven days old, she was already 9 pounds... which is 10 ounces over her birth weight!
No sewing going on at the moment (still trying to learn to live the sleep-deprived life) but I have been knitting some striped lacy baby socks, photos to be forthcoming. And those nursing/maternity sleep bras I sewed myself a while back have been super-handy.
Cartoonist Baby sleeps through her family portrait
As you may have guessed from my sudden radio silence, Cartoonist Baby is finally here... and she is AMAZING! Masheka and I are so in love with our little girl, and just in awe of her. We've been home with Baby Z (her first initial) for a few days now, and in between nursing sessions, naps and diapering we pretty much just hold her and talk to her and stare at her in happy shock. I mean, really--look at this face!
Now, when she finally decided to arrive, she certainly took her sweet baby time. I was in labor for FIVE DAYS before she deigned to make her appearance--I kid you not. I remember being scared by one of the videos I saw in my childbirth class about a woman who was in labor 48 hours, but our instructor assured us that was really, really rare. Ha! By hour 60 I was wishing to have that woman's labor. Though the sleep deprivation was certainly good preparation for around-the-clock nursing...
Here we are in the hospital recovery room the day after she was born:
Sadly, due to my extremely long labor, I didn't get to use the birth center I was hoping for, but whatever. My midwives were amazing and the setting didn't really matter in the end--the only real bummer was that delivering in Labor & Delivery meant Masheka couldn't stay with me and baby overnight at the hospital, but he was there from 8:30 a.m. til 10:30 p.m. until we checked out.
By the way, Masheka is the sweetest and most devoted dad ever, in my totally unbiased opinion. He's pretty much doing everything except for nursing her, which is of course my full-time job these days--sometimes every hour!
Staring at her Daddy:
Masheka and I dressing her for her trip home:
All dressed!
Most of the clothes I've sewn or knit for her are still way too big, but here she is in her pink hand-dyed Fool-Proof Baby Hat:
And here's a middle-of-the-night diaper change photo of her in her Green Goblin diaper soaker, which is still a bit on the big side:
And here she is checking out the Brooklyn view in one of the cloth diapers her Grandmommy Beryl made for her:
Here's the full Flickr gallery.
And with that, I'm off to cuddle Baby Z and stare at her some more.
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.
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.
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:
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).
Ladies and gentlemen, I am direly in need of closure--the baby-safe kind. Call me a paranoid mom-to-be, but I don't feel safe/comfortable putting buttons or drawstrings on baby garments, especially not after taking my Infant CPR/First Aid class.
So I'm at a loss with how to finish the two cardigans I've knitted for Cartoonist Baby. Both are fabulous Elizabeth Zimmerman patterns from a less button-phobic era, and on both I ignored the directions about adding buttonholes.
The above is Exhibit A...
Here's a back view:
And for Exhibit B...
So: closures. I always put snaps on sewn baby garments, with interfacing underneath to stabilize the area. But I really haven't seen many baby SWEATERS with snaps--I don't know that they'd work with loose hand-knit fabric. Maybe I could sew some grosgrain ribbon inside the button bands to stabilize them?
Or what about some kind of hook and eye treatment or some kind of frog closure... just one or two largish ones to keep the cardigans from falling off?
Any suggestions appreciated!
P.S. I actually knit up a little baby hat (the "Fool-Proof Baby Hat" from Clara Parkes' The Knitter's Book of Yarn) with the remainder of the yarn from the lacy baby cardigan... I figured Cartoonist Baby could wear home from the hospital.
...but it turned out preemie-sized, and since I'm told Cartoonist Baby was already 6 1/2 lbs at 35 weeks along, I'm going to rip out and reknit a newborn/small size. Witness:
P.P.S. Oh, and obviously--yes, still pregnant. My official due date is Friday but my original date was last Wednesday... I can't say that I have a patient bone in my extremely pregnant body at this point, either. I'm well aware that every pregnancy is different and due dates are hardly deadlines, but I want my baby NOW!
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