Wednesday, October 31, 2007

jason do your super kegels!

Last night we had our first childbirth class with birthing rock star Penny Simkin. Class is held at her super cute house in Capitol Hill.

We learned so much in just the first class. The format is really casual. The pregnant women and their partners all sit in a big circle with Penny at one end. This week she covered:

- How a baby maneuvers it's way thru the pelvic bone and out. It was much more complicated than I thought but it made a lot of sense once she explained it all. I didn't realize that the baby has work to do too just to make his or her way out. It's not all on the mom.

- Super kegels! I didn't know that men can also do super kegels. Apparently it's good for keeping your prostate from getting enlarged. Who knew?

- Cat/cow aka pelvic rocks help with childbirth. She had is practice on all fours so we got the hang of it. I had been doing this for a while because the pose helps ease stress in the lower back. I did not know that it was beneficial for childbirth as well.

- We watched a birth video and oh what a video. This woman featured in the video is now my personal hero. Seriously. She did not scream or cry out at all during all the phases of labor and childbirth. She seemed calm and centered. Her breathing was rhythmic and deliberate. Though she did look tired and in pain it seemed like she just gave her self over to the process instead of trying to control it. She didn't even push! I was intimated and impressed all at the same time. I realized that labor isn't about powering thru or brute force. It's about letting go and embracing what is happening to your body. I am really going to try and work on the relaxation techniques that Penny went over to see if I can emulate what that amazing woman in the video did.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

DAMN I love craigslist, part deux

Since the last “damn we love CL” post, we’ve sold 2 pairs of lamps, sold a couch, bought a sleeper sofa, bought some storage cubes, and sold a car.

DAMN I love craigslist.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

dammit i love craigslist

Between yesterday and today I managed to get the following items:

1 bottle warmer, new, no box, 10 bux
1 glider/swing thingie, gently used 35 bux
1 baby bjorn city carrier, black, new and in the box, 40 bux

I love deals and all of this stuff is at least 50% off the retail price... even the totally unused stuff! w00t!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

fabric.... want

Lookee here:
Repro Depot Fabrics
I haven't ordered anything yet but I'm pretty sure that I will. They have lots of vintage repro fabrics. Really love their stuff. I can't find anything nearly this cute in our local fabric stores which is a tragedy. And the prices per yard are really good.

Here are some of my favorite swatches from the site (can't wait to order a few yards!):



Saturday, October 20, 2007

etsy... finally!

Finally got my etsy site going. Only four items listed so far but I have a couple of hats to add to that and will add more and more as I make new things. Come check me out over there.

Metagestation on Etsy

Here's the final set of blankets that are up for sale on the site:




Thursday, October 18, 2007

scary thursday

So we just got back from L&D. That's right, you read correct, L&D. I had some weird weird stuff happen over the last two days. I got to freaking out about it so I called the midwifery. Well apparently I was right to freak. Worst case scenario, I lost my mucous plug and was leaking amniotic fluid. Best case scenario I am officially incontinent and was just pissing myself. TMI, I know but that was the deal and I was very very nervous.

Well we rushed down there to the birthing center. And you should know that I sobbed uncontrollably the whole way. It's crazy how scared and worried I was. I'm only 27 weeks along... I kept saying to myself that I can't have this baby now.

Turns out it was not the worst case (not the aforementioned incontinence either). I just have a simple infection that can be fixed with a dose of antibiotics. Thank the lord.

One cool thing about today is that they hooked me up to the fetal monitor so we got to hear his little heart beating and all of his little kicks and punches and hiccups in real time. That was pretty neat. I hope I don't have to see that place again for at least another 11 weeks. At that point it will be the right time :)

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

the fall thing - craft fair in phinney this weekend.

I am participating in a craft fair on Saturday. It will be held at the Phinney Neighborhood Association Community Hall.
If you are reading this and you are in or near Seattle you are hereby obligated to attend or I shall never forget this trangression. :-)

Go here for all the details:
http://www.yelp.com/events/seattle-the-fall-thing-craft-show

I'm not saying that you have to buy anything but I have a feeling that your cheddar will be burning a hole in your pocket once you see all the cool stuff that folks are selling.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

another blankie

I went back to the fabric store and got more minky dot backing in yellow and pink as well as some nice printed flannel and a brown and pink polka dot fine wale corduroy.

I also switched to a top stitching method for attaching the front and back of the blankets so that they will have a more squared edge.

What I don't sell at the fair, I'll either keep and use for Fenix or give away to a few of my pregnant friends as gifts.

Here is one of the fruits of my labor from today:

Saturday, October 13, 2007

saturday is sewing day

Today I tried my hand at sewing up some small baby blankets. My friend Tyesha asked me to participate in a craft fair with her next weekend and I wanted to have a little more to sell besides just a handful of baby hats. I've been trying my hand at knitting booties too but these blankets come together so quickly that I'd rather just make a bunch of these to fill out my contribution to the sale.

I bought 4 different types of fabric and made two different designs from them. The store didn't have much in the way of fabric with modern prints so I'll be looking around town for something more interesting. I plan to make several more before next weekend.

Anyway here are some of the designs that I made:

Friday, October 12, 2007

it's belly pic friday!

Watch me grow!
Here are two pics from this morning. I am 26 weeks now... only 97 days til my due date!


Thursday, October 11, 2007

chime balls?

I got these really cool soft fabric covered chime balls for Fenix's room.
I thought they were a really cute accent/decoration that can double as toys. They make very light chime-y sounds when you shake them.

rant

family drama makes me so pissed.
i moved to seattle to get away from family drama and what happens? i'm here once again, smack dab in the middle of some. it's like the shit follows me around.

i'm tired!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

w00t!

i just finalized the conditions of my maternity leave and post leave work schedule.

i will be off on maternity leave for 8 weeks (2 weeks @ 100% pay, 4 weeks at 50% pay, 2 weeks unpaid).
when I come back i'll be in the office 3 days p/week, working from home one day and totally off one day.
that will last for a month.
then for the following 3 months after that i will work 4 days a week in the office. i hope to re-negotiate at that time so that my 4 day p/week schedule is permanent.

i asked for a bit more time to work from home but they wouldn't budge on that. i'm just happy for what i was able to negotiate though!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

what i learned so far

Someone very close to me is newly pregnant with twins. yay! I have been thinking about how I can help her work through all the trials and tribulations that I went thru when I was newly pregnant. If I can spare her the grief of discovering a bunch of crap on her own then I will go out of my way to do that. Sure she can learn all this stuff by reading one of the many pregnancy books that are out there but that's a lot of info to sift thru when you are only 9 weeks pregnant.

Here is the list of tips/info that I sent to her:
- do not run out and buy a whole bunch of maternity clothes as soon as your pants start feeling tight.
try to extend the life of your regular clothes by using bella bands or the rubber band trick to make more room in the waist of your pants. wear empire waist shirts that you already have or wear and empire waist dress over some jeans or pants.
when you do buy maternity wear make sure you buy things that have room to grow or you will grow out of it by the 3rd trimester
old navy, gap and target are the best places to get nice maternity wear that is cute but very inexpensive. the motherhood maternity site also has very low prices but their quality varies greatly.

- drink water all the time. i mean ALL the time. if you have a choice between juice and water, try to choose water. you do not want to get dehydrated as it can lead to a lot of problems for you and the baby.

- your appetite will increase. you will become a ravenous animal when you are in your second trimester. don't be afraid! just make good choices about the foods that you choose to eat.

- you will crave a bunch of garbage that you don't normally eat. i have craved mcdonald's cheeseburgers and fries more than i can say. i do not normally eat that junk but i have been craving it like crazy.

- keep your belly moisturized. cocoa butter or sweet almond oil are good. it will become itchy and dry if you don't moisturize it daily.

- your feet will grow. i think i have gone up a half size since i got pregnant. do not run out and buy a whole bunch of new shoes because your feet may go back to their previous size after you give birth

- your vision will deteriorate. i had to start wearing my glasses all the time due to eye strain headaches. this will go away after you give birth so don't run out and get a new prescription unless you are really having a hard time.

- your hair and nails will grow like crazy! this is a cool thing but it also means that sometimes you might get some weird wild hair that grows out of your chin! scary but normal.

- your skin might break out. mine did until i hit the second trimester. it's all clear again.

- you can take baths. they give alot of relief. the water should be warm, never hot. when your belly starts to get big you will find that sitting in the bath helps relieve some of the back strain that it can cause

- there is a whole list of over the counter drugs that you are allowed to take and many that you are not. ask your ob to give you the list. if you get a headache or have a cold, you will REALLY want to have this list.

- buy the baby bargains book. it will help you decide what to buy. also you can look at my registry if you are not sure. i used baby bargains as a guide on what to register for.

- when you have your gestational diabetes test, drink the glucose drink when it is very cold. it will go down easier if it is cold. it tastes like sickeningly sweet fruit punch or flat orange crush.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

music. makes the people. come together.

I wonder what kind of music Fenix will be into. I hope I am not one of those lame parents that says shit like "your music sounds like noise to me" but alas I think that is the destiny of all parents. But what I can and intend to do that my parents did not do for me is humor my children's taste in music. I will take them to their first concert (no matter how much that music makes my ears bleed) and I will give them money to buy crappy cd's or download awful singles off Itunes. It's in writing here, so if you ever see me changing my tune you can send the url to this post to Fenix as proof.

Anyway after a brief dark period where nothing new was piquing my interest, I feel like I've rediscovered music again and it all sounds so good!

On my way into work I started thinking about what my fantasy concert lineup would look like. Here is what I came up with (and yes there are some defunct bands in there but who cares, it's my fantasy!):

The Smiths
Sparta / At the Drive In /Mars Volts
Sonic Youth
Stone Roses
Film School
A Tribe Called Questjavascript:void(0)
Publish Post
Common
The Roots
Jose Gonzales
Slow Dive
My Bloody Valentine
Lush
KMFDM
Cake (this lineup needs some levity)
Jesus and Mary Chain
Curtis Mayfield (this lineup needs some old soul)

I think a line up like this would make me so happy. I'm serious. I'd leave the venue glowing and elated. Concert promoters of the world, you can make it happen.