Being a Mommy - Parenting Post

Disclaimer: I am, by no means, a professional in terms of psychology, doctoring, or even giving advice.  My intent is to only share my trials, tribulations, and experiments in Mommy-dom.

I enjoy my son and all of the new experiences, good or bad that come our way.  I spend a lot of time trying to make sure that he's growing and progressing towards his milestones, properly. 

This brings us to my first observation.

1.  Despite the fact that Ethan is a preemie with a 4 week adjusted age, he does not seem to fall on any particular scale that will give a rating of "normal".  He doesn't exactly fit into the profile of a 3 month old (adjusted age) or a 4 month old (actual age).  I worry all the time that he will somehow have a disadvantage or an issue because of his early arrival.  It's even more anxiety-inducing when you see other children around the same age and they appear to be doing "better" than your child.  Try not to fret too much over what other people's children are doing; because more than likely, you're doing a very fine job.

This leads very nicely to another observation that I had and one that I'm afraid, I'm also guilty of.

2.  People will brag and talk up what their child is doing.  The most challenging thing about this is, it can feel like a rather passive aggressive judgement on your child.  This one has two points.  Firstly, it's important to be proud of your little tyke, and to share this pride with others, unfortunately, it can be a bit overwhelming for parents of a child who is not meeting milestones.  It can even begin to feel like a contest.  Your baby is not in a contest with any other baby, at least as long as you're not entering them, literally, into contests.  Secondly, as a parent who sometimes feels like everything is a competition, try to remember, IT IS NOT A COMPETITION.  I think it's necessary to make sure that you're not taking someone elses pride in a way that it's not intended.

3.  There is not a rule book.  I feel that this is the most annoying stumbling block to being a parent.  There are almost too many resources at your fingertips.  Websites, Pediatricians, hospitals, other parents, "retired" parents (children are all grown and gone), books, news reports, and people without any experience at all are all willing and happy to share their advice and judgements with you.  Unfortunately, there isn't one single resource that is 100%, absolutely correct.  I find that, even amongst Pediatricians there is disagreement around all of the various parental hotspots and faux pas.  It even feels like Science and research do not really agree.  It's a potential minefield of guilt, doubt, and insanity.  It seems, so far, that taking all of the various information into account and then mashing them together works fairly well for me.

These observations are merely meant to show my personal experience with having a baby and wandering through

I think that I will try and post more regulary about this whole parenting gig and I will also do my best to be more specific, as I figure things out.  For example, my son has learned to roll over onto his stomach, from his back, unfortunately for my sleep duration, he has not learned to roll back.  This means that he squirms, wiggles, and grunts himself onto his side and then his belly before waking up with an angry wail.  I have tried propping him against the side of his crib.  This does not work, as he just tries to roll and then smacks his little noggin, repeatedly against the bars.  Then I tried to put him to sleep on his belly.  This sort of worked, but it's a WIP (work in progress) for now.  I will update with little events such as these for your reading pleasure, my own tracking system, and maybe even for a sense of comfort for other parents with these same silly, but very real struggles.

Ripple Baby Blanket - Baby Madison

I completed this project a little while ago.  I wanted to make sure I had it finished before my little niece was born.  I just made it; she came a few weeks early, but luckily her blanket was DONE.

This pattern was simple and makes a really great design.  It blocked out so well and added a new take on the typical chevron.

Pattern: Ripple Baby Blanket
Yarn:  Mill Ends - similar to Caron Simply Soft
Hook: I Hook / 5.5mm
Made For:  Madison Skylar

Ravelry Project Page

FO - Silk Ishbel - Fertig, finito, DONE

I really should have finished this sooner, but having a baby takes up quite a bit of time.  I'm terrified to find out what it will be like with more than one.

So here she is....unblocked:

Blocked (soooo much better):

Pattern: Ishbel
Yarn: 100% Silk DK Weight
Needles: US 7 / 4.5mm
Made For: Unsure
Notes:  I love, love, love this yarn.  The pattern was great, pretty easy to follow, and produces a fabulous  product.  I wish I had better pictures that showed off the sheen of the silk.  For more details (like how I messed up the pattern) check out my Ravelry Project Page.

Few more pictures:

Update: Silk Ishbel, Granny Stripe Blanket, and Life

I've been chugging along on Ishbel, a great pattern written by a very talented designer, Ysolda Teague. I mentioned this project briefly, here.

I'm using the 100% silk DK weight yarn that I reviewed.  I really like this yarn....A LOT.  I also really like this pattern a lot.  Although I totally missed reading a portion, and skipped part of the shawl....absolutely my fault, I soldiered on, and so far, I'm happy with the results.  Here is my Ravelry Project Page.  I'm much further along than what is in this picture, but I really wanted to show off the yarn a bit.

I was making fabulous progress on my Granny Stripe Monster Blanket, but now that it's quite large, it's relegated as a "couch" project.  AKA, I can only work on it while I'm at home, sitting on my tokhes.  I don't have any new pictures yet, but it's about twice the size as the last time I posted.  It's at about 600g of yarn and 1000 yards.  You can view more details here and here.

My son, Ethan, is now 3.75 months old and time is flying past.  I try and live in the moment, but life can be very distracting, especially when you are sleep deprived and cranky.

Here he is, in all his 3-month-old glory.

Lastly, I've joined Goodreads, so come check me out over there.  I read a whole lot slower now (the baby udpate slows down my hard drive), but I like this site, as well as Shelfari, to keep track of my books.  I will probably decommission my shelfari site, as I find it difficult to navigate, but I like how it keeps track of anthologies, so we shall see.

I'll be back soon to update my hair experiment, show off my hopefully, completed Ishbel, and maybe, share a free pattern.

No 'Poo' II

As of today, I'm at about 5 weeks into a regimen of baking soda / water and apple cider vinegar (ACV) / water to clean and condition my hair. 
My google research indicates that it takes about 6-12 weeks for your scalp to acclimate its oil production.  It seems that I'm a bit more oily than I'd like, but my biggest issue so far, seems to be some kind of buildup in the length of my hair. 
For a few weeks, I thought it was due to the ACV, but I'm beginning to suspect that I'm not washing out the baking soda mixture, properly.



There are a few tips that I've collected that might help with the buildup. 

1.  Currently, I use a mix of water and baking soda, but I think I will try using the "paste" method.  This includes 1 tablespoon of baking soda in your hand which you mix with a bit of water and massage onto your wet roots.
2.  Brush my hair until the buildup is gone (sebum or baking soda).
3.  Using a stronger ACV solution to clean out the buildup (doubled ACV) and combing in the shower.
4.  Coconut Oil on the ends (they are getting a bit dry) when wet, without rinsing.



I found a site that has a great explanation and that doesn't really lean towards granola-crunchiness (this makes me happy).  The Eco Cat Lady.

Happy New Year & New Knitty Issue

Firstly, Happy New Year to all (even if you're not Jewish) !

Secondly, the new issue of Knitty is up!

All new patterns, designed by very talented people and giveaways (yay)!
I have a few favorites, one of which is way too complicated (fair isle is waaaay out of my league).
I refuse to give away too many details here, so head on over and check out the new patterns and all of the other goodies that the Knitty publishers have put together for us.

Granny Stripe Blanket - Part I

I can no longer resist the pull of the Granny Stripe Blanket. 

I've long disliked the traditional granny square.  The only time I can tolerate it's wonky, square-like shape, is when they stay small and are pieced together.  Otherwise, they grow into an enormous, crooked, wavy piece of fabric....ick! 

Despite my burgeoning granny square boycott, I just love the look of the double crochet clusters.  They always remind me of little flower buds.  And, I've been admiring the look of this blanket for ages.

Now onto my newest project. 

The pattern was designed by one of my favorite bloggers.  Whenever I head over to my blog reader, I hope that she has posted something new.  She is Lucy, from Attic24.

I've discussed her before on this blog, and if you haven't gone there yet to check out her space, then I strongly urge you to do so.  By far, my favorite aspect of her designs, is her color palette.  She appears to be a genius when it comes to color selection.

Granny Stripe Blanket - direct link / ravelry link
My Ravelry Project Page

I plan to make the blanket long enough to lay vertically on my bed, instead of the traditional horizontal layout. 

I chained 300 and the blanket measures at about 95" long.  This blanket will be a monster when it's complete.  I chained and did the first row in a larger hook, as I crochet so tightly.

I didn't want to do it exactly as the pattern states. The pattern has you changing colors every two rows. My modification is to change colors on every row. The biggest drawback to this, is the fact that I will have, what feels like, one million ends to weave in....