Due Today. Probably Not Here Tomorrow.

Our little girl is technically due today. But, she's shown no indication of being interested in departing the cozy and warm confines of my belly. We're not terribly surprised. First time moms don't typically deliver early, and we also know that the doctors backed up my due date from 2/27 to 2/20 based on an ultrasound early in the pregnancy. Our doctor told us this week that they'll give her until the 28th before they'll want to induce.

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In the meantime, I've finished her blanket. First, I added a lace edge because I gave up on the cabled edge after countless attempts to follow the pattern. Unfortunately, the lace edge gathers on the corners like a fitted sheet, which is a little discouraging. I should have accounted for that and picked up twice as many stitches on the corners.

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Next, I purchased some fabric to cover the back of the blanket from City Quilter in NYC, which is where I purchased the fabric for Baby Girl's quilt. It's a wonderful fabric store, and I'm dying to take some of their classes.

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Finally, I brought the fabric back to Hoboken and went to our local sewing/crafting store, M. Avery Designs. I took a private lesson yesterday with Megan Avery herself. Together, we hand-sewed the fabric to the back and added the yarn ties to secure the fabric to the knitted blanket even more tightly. Megan is just a delightful person, and I'm definitely going to be frequenting her store for more sewing instruction in the future. I'd love to be able to sew Baby many fun things on my unused sewing machine. She suggested starting with Martha Stewart's baby kimono pattern, which I think is a definite possibility. I'm also determined to make Baby Girl's first Halloween costume with my own two hands - maybe something involving intermediate to advanced-level knitting and sewing! Your suggestions are welcome!
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Now that the blanket is finished, I'm finally able to guiltlessly pursue other projects. I made this little cocoon pea pod (Ravelry Link to Pattern) for her, which will photograph much better with her in it. It was so rewarding to start and complete this project in only a few hours! Baby blankets take so long. I honestly wondered toward the end whether I would ever finish her blanket.

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I've also started the first of several elephants that I'm planning to make for a mobile for her crib, and then let her play with once the mobile comes down. I'm a little obsessed with elephants, for some strange reason. This pattern from Jelly Bums (Ravelry Link to Pattern) includes legs that are not shown on the cover. I've also casted on Ysolda's pattern for Elijah, but he's too big for a crib mobile.

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Otherwise, the pregnancy continues to be going smoothly, and I can only hope that labor and delivery will follow the same path. The only frustration I'm beginning to experience is the seemingly unending negativity and "just you wait" comments from other parents. I've found that surrounding myself with positive people during pregnancy has been invaluable in promoting and creating the positive experience I've had. I have a team of people including a few very warm, caring friends and family members as well as some carefully chosen professionals who are providing me the love and support I need. One of these people has been our super-positive and experienced doula, Julie, who will be with us through labor and delivery. Between my loving husband, who so sweetly nurtured me through some sudden nausea I experienced last night, and just knowing that Julie will be there with us is enough for me to keep those Debbie Downers and "just you wait" comments about labor and delivery from sticking to me.

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One day at a time is all I'm tackling right now. Planning beyond that just isn't possible. So, for now I'm going back to knitting on the elephants, watching a little HGTV, and eating some tomato soup, which I'll follow with a cup of overly-sweet hot cocoa. The overly-sweet hot cocoa is super fun because it gives Baby Girl a hyper case of the wiggles, and probably is partially to blame for her super chubby cheeks that we saw during our ultrasound this week.

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