Mothering Sunday (Six Weeks)

Today is Mothering Sunday, my first as a mum, though it feels a bit weird as I'm used to Mother's Day being the second Sunday in May in the US. Little Djinn, clever girl that she is, ordered a few little presents off of the internet the highlight being a "Bestest Mum" mug and yesterday went tot he shop to buy a card for me, for her grandma, and a birthday card for grandma. She really does leave things to the last minute, doesn't she? I could have sworn we raised her better than that. Fortunately Grandma, whose birthday was yesterday, is in Israel right now so her birthday card should beat her home.

My baby girl is 6 weeks (and two days) old. I wanted to post at least once a month about her development and what we've been up to but until this last week she wouldn't let me put her down. The first two weeks I could (but didn't want to because I got endorphins from holding her and that's what kept me bright and chipper on little sleep and no down time) and then she became such a light sleeper that any attempt to shift her off of me resulted in her waking up. Leaving her on her back, no matter how tired she was or how long I left her, just lead to screaming. It was a lot easier to hold her during the day and let her sleep on me at night and work around the baby than to have her be so distraught.

This last week I said "screw it" to the warnings about never ever ever leaving one's baby on their tummy and lay her down that way and lo and behold, she'll sleep. She naps in her bassinet during the day and she sleeps there at night. These last two nights (of three sleeping this way) she didn't even fuss when I put her back after nursing, just fell asleep again. And for all of you nay-sayers, sleeping on the tummy is verboten because of a slightly increased risk of cot death, of smothering in the bedding. Little Djinn doesn't have loose bedding, just her mattress and fitted sheet and she's very advanced in the head-lifting and turning departments. She can already push herself all the way up on her arms and even in her sleep she can lift herself enough to turn her head. She's also sleeping through the night, or at least she would be if I wasn't waking her up to nurse. Chris ordered a breast pump for me so I can express rather than waking her up as I don't want to teach her to wake up every 3-6hrs the way I taught her not to sleep in her basket.

She's visibly changing week on week and almost day by day. She passed her six-week assessment early (the health visitor could see her performing most of the "tests" like staring at my face and smiling so she ran the rest). She spends a lot more time with Daddy and just today I think she started mimicking facial expressions. She likes it when I sing along with music and she's getting really good at grabbing and holding things, though not particularly on purpose. She's gained 2lbs and almost 3" and has started outgrowing her footie-pajamas in the 0-3mos size (purely a length thing, she's only 25th percentile weight-wise). We take her for walks, either in her pram or in our carry system. She sleeps when being carried, but looks around when in the pram which makes it a shame that pram-walks have almost always been at dusk or after dark. I have two slings for around the house, thus far the mai tai works best. She doesn't always want to be in it but for a while there it was the only way I could do things around the house with both my arms. Now that she's napping alone I'm catching up on much-needed housework and was able to bake a cake yesterday (what is Mother's Day without coffee cake?).

In less happy news, Aged Parent is in the hospital and has been for just over a week, after complaining about being short of breath. They diagnosed him with "water on the lungs" and put him on diuretics and then an IV drip and more recently found blood clots in his lungs so they're treating that as well. They're hoping to transfer him to a different branch of the hospital where he'd been going for physical therapy twice a week as soon as they have a place open. That'll be nice as it's in easy walking distance and it's not full of contagious people so Little Djinn and I will be able to visit as well. Within 24hrs of AP being admitted one of his neighbours knocked on our door to say he'd not seen him around and was he all right, and the next morning we got a call from his BFF saying he'd not been able to ring him on the phone. It's nice to know people are looking out for him.

In knitting news, I actually finished a 6 mos size cardigan for Little Djinn which hopefully I can blog about in more depth when I've finished weaving in the ends, blocked, and sewn buttons on. I'm working on the formerly-for-my-mother socks, having just turned the heel on the second one, though I need to rip the first one back probably all the way to the toe and re-knit it. I can work on that while my baby girl is sleeping on my lap or nursing (or most often, when she's sleep nursing, a skill I wish I possessed) and when she's napping in her basket I've been working on a cross-stitch project for her.

Beginner Projects

Having just retaught myself how to crochet, I've been thinking about how I learn to do things, specifically crafts, and I realized something: I don't like beginner projects. Full stop, end of - I don't do them. I understand the point, mastering one step before moving on to the next, but I don't want to invest time in a pointless finished project. This is why most of my crafting abilities are self-taught rather than learned at my mother's knee, even though I grew up in a crafty house.

My mother, when it came time to pass on her DIY skills, picked age-appropriate projects similar to the ones on which she cut her crafty teeth. When I wanted to learn to sew she bought a print half-apron for me - it was one piece printed on a single sheet of fabric and one would cut it out, sew the waist-band in half lengthwise and hem the edge of the apron. I think I got as far as cutting it out and pinning the waistband. I didn't want an apron, let alone one that looked like that apron, and even though I wanted to learn to sew, I refused to work on the project. That was the end of the sewing lessons.

Fast foward to Uni/college where I started dancing (Irish ceili, English country, and Victorian ballroom) and wanted appropriate costumes. That summer I sat down at my mother's sewing machine and made a Victorian ballgown from the underwear out, buying only the shoes and corset. I started with the bloomers and chemise (with pin-tucks and lace!), then a 5' diameter hoopskirt (11 hoops), a skirt (cartridge pleats), a ballgown bodice (boned, lined and trimmed in lace), and then a day-bodice with velvet trim. I also made a flannel-lined wool cloak and a plain chemise and bloomers for Renfaire. That was my beginner project. Did I do everything right? No. Did I make mistakes? Yes. Did I ask a lot of questions and redo things? You betcha. But I sat down to make myself a ballgown and by-golly I did it.

I am the same way with cooking, with knitting, even with programming. I want to hit the ground running and I have boundless faith in my ability to figure things out (or ask for help when I need it). My first knitting project following a pattern was a cable-edged shawl. Uber-complicated? No, but certainly something of which I could - was and am - be proud.