Eight Days a Week, I lo-ooo-ooove her!

Today was our first trip out of the house since birth!  We just went a few blocks away to the Pediatrician, but it was a very big deal (for mamma, at least).  I was nervous as anything, just buckling up our baby girl in her carseat for the first time.  But Palesa did wonderful.  The appointment went well too, and Palesa is back up to her birth weight already.  That's our gal!

Palesa also slept in our homemade co-sleeper for the first time yesterday.  We wanted to add a few more pegs to reinforce the sleeping platform.  She'd been sleeping between us for the first week, so Mommy and Daddy enjoyed getting to cuddle again too.  The sheet I made from an old larger sheet which I sewed to fit the co-sleeper mattress.

ETA- something must have worked out well in her new co-sleeper, because Palesa slept for two stretches of 4 hours!  I was thrilled!

31.5 weeks

Hello,

I know what you are probably thinking. No, I did not swallow a soccer ball!

We're now inside two months to go until the expected due date! Happily, the baby now has a place to sleep! Here is also a picture of the finished co-sleeper. Over the weekend we sanded the wood, and then finished the wood with beeswax. I made the mattress out of old 100% wool Swiss military blankets, which I washed and cut into panels and sewed together with yarn. The only thing left to do is make an additional mattress pad (the same wool panel treated with lanolin to make it waterproof), as well as sew the bedding. The sheets I will make with some fabric given to us by my Aunt Rosemary (thank you again, Aunt Rosemary!). The co-sleeper is now attached to our bed (there are handles underneath) and it is ready to go. It only took 7 months, but I was finally able to convince Osei to switch sides of the bed with me, so now I'm also 4 steps closer to the bathroom. At this point in pregnancy, those 4 steps are definitely important!

Osei and I are doing very well, and getting more and more curious to meet this little baby constantly doing hula and breakdancing moves in my belly!

Hugs and blessings to all,

Amy, Osei, and baby Omee

29.5 weeks... and counting

Hello all,

Here is a picture from last weekend when I was still back in my "20's". As of this week, I'm now 30 weeks. Or 75% there!

Major highlights from this past week include putting the legs on our cutsom-built co-sleeper. We will "finish" it with a non-toxic beeswax, and then just need to drill a few more peg holes so that the shelf the mattress will sit on is adjustable. We are also still working on the mattress, which will be sewn by us out of 100% wool blankets treated with lanolin to be waterproof.

Osei recently got me my first sewing machine! It is an older model, a Singer 457, and super sturdy. We've both been studying and learning how to use it and are excited to use it for real projects! So far, one of Osei's old undershirts has been our practice cloth, but we also have some lovely flannel waiting to be sewn into a few baby blankets and burp cloths.

Love and blessings to all,

Amy, Osei, and baby "Omee"

27.5 weeks- this pointy belly could poke your eye out!

Hello all,

It is now 4:30 in the morning, and I figured now is as good as any time to send this email out! Last night we had a delicious and filling meal of orzo, swiss chard from our neighbors garden with onion, and Korean bbq chicken, deliciously prepared by my adoring and talented husband, Chef Osei. For dessert, we then ate homemade ice cream (vanilla with chocolate chip, toffee, and walnut) that we created in an ice-cream maker we're currently "babysitting" while a dear friend of ours is out of town. Despite all of that, I woke up in the middle of the night absolutely famished and had to get a snack. In fact, given the way my mouth is still watering as I'm thinking about last night's dinner, it might be time for round two of the middle-of-the night snack!

Actually, hunger right now doesn't seem the least bit surprising, because Omee has been growing so much this week that I can actually see the difference in my belly! Plus, all week, I experienced lovely stretching and ligament pain from my belly getting bigger. Indeed it is, and is getting nice and pointy too!

This past weekend Osei and I started construction of our co-sleeper, which is a 3-sided bassinet that will attach to our bed. Right now we just need to put on the legs, make the mattress, adjust the height of the mattress, and attach it to our bed. We'll make the mattress out of felted wool sewn together (which is both water and fire resistant). The co-sleeper is very big, but Osei and I wanted to make it tall enough that the baby could potentially sleep there for as long as we didn't mind the company, without the risk of falling out over the sides! We'll send pictures soon, but probably not until it is finished.

This week starts the 3rd trimester! Things are starting to feel more and more real, but we also feel like we still have a lot to do to get ready for this little baby! This coming weekend Osei and I will be going to Canada, just outside of Montreal, for a romantic 3-day weekend to ourselves. It will be nice to have no agenda to accomplish other than time with each other!
Love and hugs to all,

Amy, Osei, and Omee