Four Month Anniversary of Dom's Escape from the Womb!

My little guy is four months old! My how time flies! Next thing I know he'll be walking...

Dominic's Birth Story

WARNING: The following account may be too explicit for some readers. Use caution.

I wanted to share my birth story with you all for a few reasons. First, I'd like to get it down in words while it's still fresh in my mind. What was already somewhat of a blur might become hopelessly unrecognizable should any considerable length of time be allowed to pass. Second, I think it important to demystify as much as possible the birth process, especially since most of our understanding of birth likely comes from watching A Baby Story on TLC. If someone like me, who despises even the smallest discomfort, can endure a natural labor, anyone can.

Seriously.

No, really, the last time I stubbed my toe, I thought I was going to die.

Anyway, if this subject makes you squeamish or uncomfortable, I won't be offended if you don't read it. You won't hurt my feelings. That said, I begin my tale.

The estimated date of delivery given to me by the hospital after a 14 week dating ultrasound put me at 40 weeks on November 2nd. I was pretty sure that date would prove to be too soon since a 6 week ultrasound showed me to be due around November 8th, little less than a week later. I was prepared to be considered "overdue" and began planning how I would put off an induction, should the subject arise. November 2nd dawned and I wasn't in labor...yet. My Braxton-Hicks contractions picked up a bit in intensity, but they weren't cause for any alarm until that evening. I couldn't sleep through them, and in fact they intensified when I laid down. Being the newbie I am, I was convinced that labor was starting, and around 3am we made our way to the hospital...an hour away. Long story short, we (me, my darling husband, and my mom) found ourselves home once again at 11am the following morning. False alarm.

Needless to say, I was pretty discouraged. My contractions gradually petered out as I attempted to regain the sleep I had lost while at the hospital and by the end of the day had completely disappeared. How was I ever going to know when real labor began? I tried to keep my mind off of it the rest of the day, hoping that I wouldn't have to wait too much longer.

The Prodigal Blogger

I'm back!

How time flies! I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted something here! I suppose I just felt like I couldn't focus on anything but the impending arrival of little Dominic...and my nesting instinct was wicked strong for the last few weeks before the birth, so I was keeping myself pretty darn busy. Just try to imagine me shuffling/waddling around the house to the frantic tune of "Flight of the Bumblebee":



There, that should ease any angst you may harbor against me for making you wait so long for a post...I hope.

I would like to make a separate post containing the birth story, which will follow very soon after this one. So to whet your appetite until I have that written up, here are some pictures of the much anticipated Mr. Dominic. Enjoy!

Lookie, Lookie! I Made a SCARF!

I've actually been working on this project for a few months now, but never got around to uploading pictures because 1) I am a lazy procrastinating preggo and 2) I kept going back and forth over whether to wait until I steam blocked it to take pictures. Of course I never ended up steam blocking it (see number 1) so I finally took some (OK) pictures of it to post:

It's really long so I couldn't get the whole thing in the picture without hyperextending my arm (I was both holding the scarf and trying to take a picture of it). This way you get a basic idea of what the pattern looks like. I made it with Misti Alpaca Lace yarn and a 3.75 mm crochet hook.

Here you can see what the ends look like. If I were to steam block it, the ends would look more scalloped, but again, I am lazy.

A closeup of the lace pattern. It's really soft and warm, despite how lightweight it is. I can't wait until it gets cool enough around here for me to wear it (which probably won't be until February...c'est la vie).

If you're interested, the pattern is the Isosceles Shawl by Amy O'Neill Houck from Tension Magazine.