The irresistible or terrible twos?

365 days of love!!!

One year later...

Baby H. crib quilt is finished!!! And just in time for Blogger's Quilt Festival! (Don't forget to check out all the other amazing entries out there!)

I started thinking about this quilt and buying fabrics (online because I was in bed rest) in September of 2010 after discovering the sex of the baby I had on the way. During the months of October and November, exactly one year ago, whenever I could master some strenghts I would cut fabrics, but never got to piece them together. It was physically too much for me to sit in front of my sewing machine and however much I missed sewing I always thought to myself: "More important than sewing this baby quilt is keeping the baby it's meant for SAFE". Three days after my doctor finally said I could get out of bed... she was born!
As a first-time-around-recent-mommy, free time was little and mostly used to sleep. Then work got in the way. But every little chance I had I would make some progress on the quilt.
Yesterday I took a day off and finally cut the binding and decided to try to sew it on by machine, for the first time, because this is always the most time consuming part and I was already so "late" in finishing the quilt that I couldn't wait any longer to have it finally done. And in no time I finished it!!!
It turned out ok, not perfect, but the alternative was so... undesirable and unappealing that i don't mind at all living with my flaws. After all, one lesson i will someday teach my daughter is the capacity to live imperfect lives.

So, without further ado, here is my latest accomplishment (and probably my favourite quilt, second only to the "Good News Quilt", which is also hers): the "My Precious Butterfly Quilt"!

At first I had decided on a disappearing 9-patch top but wasn't totally sure, so I ended up changing to this pattern, which I don't know if it has a name or who has already done it (but someone I'm sure).
And I had though of a Dream Dot back but then had a change of heart and went with Flower Shower instead.
Also, the binding wasn't meant to be Kona Cotton Peony, but a yellow dot fabric whose name I can't recall and that it turned out I hadn't in as much quantity as I thought and needed.
Finally, I decided to quilt it 3/4 inch into all the white parts in a pink 100% cotton thread, but maybe because of being so sleep-deprived it turned out pretty wonky. I can always blame it on the baby ahahaha!
So all this goes to show that surprises and hick-ups and obstacles and changes can be a good thing. I actually love this quilt even more because of all its history.

I still have some more things I would like to make for her bedroom, but the main thing was the curtains (check) and this quilt (check). Yeiii me!!!

Seal of approval

For all those cat owners out there... here goes to show that my lab also enjoys the batting stage :)



(Baby H. quilt is finally coming together!!! More pics coming soon!)

Pathetic

So my maternity leave is close to an end and little sewing has been done around here. I've finished the nursery curtains and have a baby quilt missing only the binding, but apart from that... nothing else to show! (and the quilt is not even for Helena, but for my husband's goddaughter)
And why? Because I've spent the last 3 months either translating books (I'm actually in the middle of the third one) or nursing or sleeping.
I don't know when I'll have the time to go back to sewing, to be honest, but I miss it a lot. And I miss blogging about it too.
I'm happy, but a little overwhelmed until I find my bearings. Going back to work, turning 29 and starting feeding her solids all in one week promises to be quite a challenge as far as bearings go, so... I'll try to keep you posted more often.

Until then, an updated photo of my little butterfly!

Oh this pouting face will be the end of me...

Because i DID dream Helena into life...

"Martini smile"

The lessons of motherhood

Almost two months in, i've figured out some truths:
- That time DOES fly and babies DO grow up really fast
- That you never ever get tired of just staring at this beautiful baby of yours
- That everyday is filled with new findings, new achievements, new precious moments and you want to take it all in and remember forever
- That even if you are sleepy or hungry or in pain, it all just comes back to you AFTER you've taken care of the baby (and then it hits you really hard)
- That to the visitors you are pretty much invisible, up to the moment they turn to ask if you are breastfeeding (which everyone does sooner or later)
- Yeah, that's another thing: your body now belongs to the world because everyone wants to discuss your private parts and then they aren't so private anymore, right? I've had to talk over and over again about my boobs, my c-section scar and even the muscles of my va-jay-jay with my MIL's neighbour, which gave a new definition to the word "weird" (which part of c-section didn't she get???)
- Another subject of conversation is poop. Everyone is really interested in Helena's poop, lack of poop, consistency and texture and colour of poop. And also the little farts and the little burps... (Not so little by the way.) Why is my daughter's digestive system of such importance to them beats me.
- Speaking of poop, now let's talk pee. How thankful am I right now for having had a baby girl instead of a boy? A lot. Helena must think it's fun to pee during the diaper change or after the bath, which has taught me that it's useful to have extra absorvent paper and an extra bath towel always at hand.

And the last lesson: her smile when I pick her from the crib makes my day, the look she has like I'm the most special person to her makes my day, her warmth and smell when I'm holding her in my arms makes my day. I'm pretty much in love with her...

Sleeping Beauty

And so a month has gone by...

And I'm still me. I still love the same things, think the same way, have the same needs. I'm just happier.

Back in the game

Today I heard one of the sweetest sounds possible. No, it's not the laughter of my child. No, it's not the snorring of my dogs. It's my sewing machine working again! Oh how we've missed each other!!! After so many months inside her suitcase stuck in a closet, with only some small stash of fabrics and sewing suplies left behind to make her company (everything else was taken to my sewing room in the attic, where I won't be able to go for at least another month), my dear Aurora got to see daylight and be switched on again. I woke up at 8 am to take care of the baby and afterwards, while she and my husband slept some more, I spent the whole morning sewing. Needless to say, I'm happy happy happy! Also, H. is 2 weeks old today and it was the first time we took her out for something other than a doctor's appointment. The weather has been great these last few days but today of all days it was raining. However, we had promised my husband's granny that we would go to the weekly family lunch (my husband kept on attending but due to my bedrest it was my first family lunch in months), so we went for it anyway. And I'm glad we did because we made one great-granny very happy! She got to see H. awake and hold her, for the first time. My husband is the older son of granny's older son, and H. is the first baby in the family, so you all an imagine how she is spoiled. Everyone is in line to hold her (good thing I'm not selfish about that) and even her poop is celebrated hehehehe

It turns out...

My baby decided not to wait for the scheduled c-section (March 21st). My waters broke on March 19th at 9 am and she was out some minutes before noon. Everything happened very fast because the doctors had to perform an emergency c-section. I don't mind at all that things turn out this way, because it felt very awkward to me that we had scheduled her birth. And March 19th is Father's Day, so she came as a present to my husband. A few days later, when the baby and I were already at home, he celebrated his birthday, so it was like double jackpot.

These first few days were very tiresome, as expected. She is an angel and sleeps 4 hours straight, I'm luck that way, but the constant phone calls and the guests visiting all the time and the fact that I'm unable to just relax (i'm always on full alert) took its toll. But now it's safe to say that we've found a routine, things are settling down and my husband and I finally had some quality time with our baby just us (and the dogs). As for my recovery, it's going way better than I had antecipated, I almost forget I had a surgery and that's actually not a very good idea, I tend to do more than I should around the house, instead of just resting a little bit. The thing is... I'm so sick of staying in bed all day hehehe

I now leave you with some pictures of our bundle of joy, and I much appreciate if you respect them and not use them for any means.

Just a few minutes after being born

On my lap

On daddy's lap

In her new home

11 days old :)

7 days, 7 pictures...

EVERYONE is waiting for you, sweet baby!

7 days, 7 pictures...

The iconic picture I longed for...

7 days, 7 pictures...

Forget the hour-glass silhouette, THIS is the real deal!

7 days, 7 pictures...

Meet one very big belly!!!

7 days, 7 pictures...

The first present Helena got was given by her godmother who didn't even know she was going to be asked that very same day

7 days, 7 pictures...

My main occupation for the whole pregnancy...

7 days, 7 pictures...

Good reading habits since the beginning...