Baby Has Arrived!

On Friday, September 28th baby Esai Mateo came into the world. He gave us a bit of a scare and had to be delivered by c-section but is perfectly healthy and is eating and sleeping well. Family and friends have been visiting and sending their love and best wishes. We are eternally grateful to our doctors and the nursing staff at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, they were absolutely wonderful, we could not have asked for better care.

Pregnancy Update

My OB visit went smoothly today. I've been having contractions lately but no real progress towards labor other than the baby has dropped lower making the pressure on my bladder amazingly uncomfortable. The due date is next week so it won't be long now!

Saturday, etc.

Ahhhhh, lazy Saturdays. Well not so lazy for me. I think I'm finally have some real contractions so whatever is left on my Mami-Do List better get done soon.

Number one on the list was bathing Harrison. Done! We marvel at how a dog this small can smell so bad, it's amazing. He may not look very happy but once the bath is over he runs around playing with his tennis ball, clearly feeling refreshed. I also gave him a little haircut. He is cute.


I also got started on my Red Scarf Project scarf. I'd been putting it off searching for a pattern but time is running out. Luckily, Knitting Daily posted a great pattern called "Connections" so I'm off and running. I started yesterday and I'm making some good progress.

Today will be devoted to that To-Do List and some periodic napping.

Weekly OB Visit

Apparently, our baby boy would prefer to join us closer to his scheduled due date (Sept. 26th). Have we produced a type-A, organized, schedule-driven baby? Perhaps. But all that matters is that he's healthy and I feel great (knock on wood). I do worry that a great pregnancy may be capped off with a brutal delivery but there's no reason to expect the worst right? Plus, once labor is over (even if it is tough) we'll have a beautiful baby boy with us!!!!

20+ Days and Counting

As baby's due date nears, physical changes are pretty intense. I'm bigger -- didn't think it could be possible but yup the belly is bigger. My seating arrangements are much more deliberate, note the stacked pillows in this shot. If I'm not careful I could end up in a seating arrangement that would take me a good 10 minutes to get out of.





On a more positive note I'm almost done with the Gold Bobble Booties. Well with the knitting that is, then I have to felt them. My very first felting project! Knitting during the pregnancy has been great. I just wish I could knit faster and get more of my projects done. I'm still jealous of all those knitty bloggers who start baby sweaters on a Friday and are done by Sunday. Ahhhh, someday. . . . .



And last but definitely not least, L. and I went on a much needed date on Friday. It was so great to get dressed up, leave the house, and just remind ourselves that we are still a young couple in love. The plan is to have a date night each week even after baby boy arrives. Wish us luck.

Gifts, gifts, and more gifts. Family and friends on both coasts and the Midwest were incredibly generous. Our baby is very, very lucky.

My Great Baby Shower

One of my best friends from college hosted my baby shower this past weekend. We had a great time. Am I huge or what?!

View From Below

Despite the sometimes overwhelming size and fatigue the pregnancy has been great. We can't wait to meet our baby boy. Of course we'll be posting loads of pics of the little guy given all the free time we'll have (yeah right!)

Many Progress Reports

I've got a month left in my pregnancy. I'm feeling great and am really excited about meeting this little guy who has been kicking me for so long. The OB visits have become a little boring (though I'll take boring over dramatic and scary any day). Just basic blood pressure checks, weigh ins, and Q&As about how I'm feeling.
Here I am at one of my last OB visits.


L. and I recently started our childbirth and childcare prep classes. We had no idea we'd have so much fun at these classes. Our instructor is great: informative and funny (although I don't think she's trying to be, she just is).

Woohoo, Childbirth Class Rocks!

(hopefully so will actual childbirth)

Knitting progress has been good too.

Striped Beanie is done.

This Beanie will match the 1/2 completed Golden Bobble Booties (below).

These will be felted, so they'll be much smaller.

And .......

I started the Baby Hat and Blanket project from Natural Knits for Babies & Moms




That's all for now. I've ordered yarn for my Monkey Swap pal and the rest of this glorious Sunday will be devoted to paying bills, shredding papers, filing, and general tidying up before the week's craziness begins. I hope you all had a great weekend.

Calming Down to Knit

This is my 32nd week of pregnancy and so far so good. A little tired towards the middle of each day but otherwise I feel great. Lots of projects in the works and and not all knitting. The baby's room is still not set up. We're trying to be realistic and keep it as a baby/guest/mami's office- room so it will take some serious organization (which for me often translates into procrastination). I will be posting before and after shots to document my progress.

Yesterday was our first childbirth prep class. It was fun. Great instructor and group s of first time parents-to-be. Today I have an OB appt. and then lunch with a friend that I haven't seen in months, and then I get to shop for household cleaning supplies and a nursing bra. And at the end of all that I'm going to my LYS for a treat (a new pattern book and some yarn for baby).

Oh before I forget (mama brain!) I want to thank Judy at Persistent Illusion for sharing the Simpsonize Me website. Here's my Simpsonized self:

Travel, Knitting, and Pregnancy, Oh My!

I'm just recovering from last weekend's getaway to Arcata, CA. The drive is usually wonderful but traffic was brutal and at 30 weeks pregnant there's limited comfort in a long car ride. I did however get to the beach which was great and did some knitting while I was there. (Will post photographic proof asap).

It seems like everyone is knitting Elizabeth Zimmerman baby sweaters. I really want to finish my Trellis sweater before starting another project but I'm not sure I can resist the urge to start another project. There are so many great baby booties, sweaters, blankets, etc. I want to make them all! I walked over to my LYS just to peek at some of the Zimmerman books but they were sold out. They didn't have any of Debbie Bliss's kids knits books either. It must truly be the season of baby knitting.

85 Days till Baby

Does anyone else out there feel like thier pregnancies are flying by? I didn't always feel this way but now that I'm counting down the days and realizing how much still needs to be done before baby gets here, it's sending me into a panic. Those breathing exercises are coming in handy right about now.

I just sent out a newsletter to friends who haven't heard from me in a while; I'm hoping to reconnect with folks before life gets way to hectic. Here's one of the pregger pics I sent out.

Impressed by knitty bloggers

Now that I'm trying to get back in the crafty swing of things I have to admit that my favorite knitting blogs make me feel a bit inadequate. These folks are knitting the most amazing things in addition to maintaining what seem to be incredibly active lives. I on the other hand find it difficult at 6.5 months pregnant to muster up enough energy after 4pm to accomplish much of anything. I know gestation is an energy zapper but my sisters and mom worked full-time right up until they burst. I'm privileged with an academic's flexible schedule and it's still a struggle. Crazy.

Anyway, I promised myself that I would focus on getting some work done today (and by work I mean professional work -- drafting journal articles, finishing up data analysis, etc.) Ok just writing that made me tired.

Here's a pic of my Trellis sweater in progress: