DIY: House Pillow

I felt like "Coconut's" Montessori floor bed looked a little stark against the wall, so I decided to make a cute pillow in the shape of a house. Originally, I was going to make a whole series of animal pillows or a cityscape, but I vetoed that idea since babies aren't supposed to have pillows on their beds anyway. It will be easy to remove one pillow, but a whole pile of them might get annoying.

The process was very simple (thankfully, since I had just struggled to make two fitted sheets for his co-sleeper). Here's what I did:

• Pulled out fabric from our scrap box and picked some fabrics that coordinated well with the room and each other
• Ironed all the fabrics (I'm such a fan of ironing while sewing. The extra step can be a hassle, but it's so much easier to work with flattened fabrics.)
• Made the base of the house by folding a larger piece of fabric together (right side to right side) and cutting out a square
• Made all the windows and the door by cutting out squares and rectangles
• Used Steam-a-Seam to attach the windows and door to one piece of the square house base
• Sewed around the edges of each window and the door to prevent fraying
• Folded a piece of fabric together (right side to right side) and cut out a triangle for the roof
• Sewed one of the triangles to each of the square bases
• Put the triangle + square pieces together (right side to right side) and sewed around three sides
• Turned the house right side out and stuffed it with filling
• Sewed the top of the house closed

Voila! It really was a simple project. I didn't measure anything or worry about precision in any way.

Share |

Co-Sleeping Update

Our co-sleeper

Our baby's Montessori floor bed is ready to go (not pictured above). Initially, we bought a quasi-eco-friendly mattress from Costco, but it was approximately five inches off the ground. We decided to return it (which has been the story of this whole nursery process!) and instead purchase a simple foam mattress from IKEA, which is only three inches off the ground. We covered the mattress with a quilted waterproof pad and a simple sheet from Dwell Studios. We have a second set of both the pad and the sheet, so when we need to wash them, we can simply slip the next set on without delay.

At this point, we imagine that we will co-sleep with the baby for approximately the first three months and then transition him to his own room. I say "imagine" because we really have no way of knowing what will feel right at the time. I subscribe to several of the attachment parenting essential understandings, such as the importance of meeting your baby's needs without fear of "spoiling." I believe that infants who just emerged from the womb are going through a huge transition, and it's important for them to feel safe and secure about getting their needs met.

However, I don't want to be the attachment parents who are still sleeping with a two year-old. I absolutely respect families who make that choice for themselves, but, at this point, I think I will want space, and I think it will be healthier for my partnership with Matt. (Editor's Note: I reserve the right to change my mind at any point! I'm just explaining how I feel now.)

Matt and I decided to find a co-sleeper to put next to our bed because we already have enough trouble sharing a queen-sized bed with the two of us. We finally decided on the Summer Infant Rest Assured Sleeper (thanks to Katie R.'s suggestion!). Here's what I like about it:

1. With the legs on, we can set it next to our low platform bed, and it's pretty easy to reach the baby.
2. We can also put it on the bed between us, if we decide there's room.
   
3. The sides are mesh, so it feels safe and we can see the baby.
4. The sides are pretty high, so the risk of the comforter covering the baby seems low.
5. The colors are very neutral, which I appreciate in the world of over-stimulating baby products!

The product didn't come with any type of sheets to cover the little mattress, so I decided to make some out of some sheets I picked up at Target on clearance (a whole lot of fabric for a very low price!). I also wanted to cover the mattress with a waterproof pad in case of leaky diapers. I attached some elastic to a waterproof pad we already had, so it would stretch across the little mattress and wrap around the edges. Then I cut out the fabric for the sheet by essentially following the shape of the mattress and added several extra inches around the outside. I hemmed all the way around the edge to create a tube that I could thread elastic through (just like a fitted sheet). It was a huge pain in the butt, but in the end, it worked out really well. I made two sets of sheets, so one can be in the wash while the other one is in use.

I'll definitely give you another update later, once our co-sleeper is filled with our baby!

Share |

Birth To-Do List

On Saturday, Matt and I hit the one-month mark until the official due date of our baby. I've never been one to buy into the idea of a "due date" because most babies don't arrive on said date, but that's what's making me nervous. It would be perfectly normal and healthy for him to come in two weeks. Two weeks!

I am feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of things that I need/want to get done before he arrives. Some of the things on the list are absolute necessities (like get all the supplies we need for our home birth and pick a darn name). Other things will make the transition easier (like prepare as much of the birth announcement as possible).

I imagine some of my overwhelmed feelings stem from the enormity of the impending transition. Our lives will never be the same again. I've cried a little to mourn the passing of our life together as we know it.

I have to remember, too, that I knew this month would be hard with so much time devoted to our childbirthing classes. It's been exacerbated by the sheer clutter around our house. Our dining room table (which is basically the center of our home and our life) is crowded with boxes and baby paraphernalia and car registration forms and bills. Matt and I finally got around to clearing it off, and it has made a huge difference. I wish I weren't so sensitive to my surroundings, but I am! Just decluttering and cleaning a space helps my stress level a lot.

I'm trying not to let myself carry too much stress. It's not good for anyone involved, especially not the baby. I'm looking forward to hopefully checking a lot off my list this weekend. I want to get the "must do" items completed, so I can focus on grounding myself and preparing myself for the birth.

Here's my current to-do list (a mix of needs and wants):

• Create a packet for visitors who want to help us (it's not helpful if you have to answer a gazillion questions as they are trying to help)
• Schedule and attend an infant CPR class
• Get car seat installed
• Finalize birth announcement
• Make comfrey tea compresses
• Go on a massive shopping trip for all the birth supplies we need
• Write birthday cards for the next couple months
• Bring our living Christmas tree to school to be planted
• Create a "room service" plan for after the birth (including a list of places that deliver)
  
• Type up directions to our house
• Finalize our transport plan and post it
• Create a cheat sheet for birthing positions and reminders about drinking, eating, and urinating
  
• Visit the back-up ob/gyn
• Meet with the pediatrician for a new mom consultation
• Finish the crafts on my craft plan
• Get my car emissions tested
• Update our scrapbook
• Get the baby's scrapbook ready
• Go in for one more ultrasound
• Read more about birth
• Pick a name
• Buy everything off our registry that we didn't receive as gifts but still need
• Send thank you cards
• Finish bathroom changing station
• Schedule blog posts for my maternity leave
• Create new Life Binder
• Learn how to use Moby and Ergo and practice swaddling
  
• Install the infant adapter on our BOB Revolution stroller
  
• Review notes about how to take care of an infant
• Watch Laugh and Learn about infant care
  
• Schedule lactation consultant
• Visit the chiropractor
• Make e-mail list for baby announcements
• Set up auto-reply for e-mail
• Make sheets for co-sleeper
• Finish family mission statement
• Return a duplicate gift we got off our registry
• Return the baby's rug to Home Depot, since we found it for $100 less on Overstock
• Make a book for Coconut about the story of his birth (well, get it started)
• Attend a La Leche League meeting
• Sync iPhone
  

I actually feel better seeing the list here rather than in my notebook. I accidentally mixed my "Before the Birth" list with my "To Buy" list in my notebook, so it looks more overwhelming than it actually is. I'm feeling optimistic that I can get a lot of this done this weekend and then go into more of a meditative and relaxing mode in the days leading up to the birth.

Share |

DIY: Ottoman Slip Cover

I debated lots of ottoman options for the baby's room. In the end, I chose a cheap, versatile option: I got a $19.99 footstool from IKEA and recovered it with fabric that we already had at our house.

The process could not have been any simpler:

1. I removed the existing slip cover and carefully took it apart with a seam ripper (those things come in so handy!). I paid close attention to the seam allowances (which was easy to do, since there was a crease in the fabric).
   
2. I measured the dimensions of the existing pieces (five pieces of equal size).
3. I used my rotary cutter and my cutting mat to cut out five matching pieces.
4. I hemmed the bottom of four pieces and then sewed them together on the sides.
5. I pinned the top piece in place and sewed it to the other four pieces. This was the hardest part, but it worked fine.
   

And I was done! I love this option because I can make a new cover if I find another fabric that I absolutely love. For a while there, I was getting way too stressed about the fabrics and the colors of the baby's room. I finally just decided to use fabrics I already had and to make everything pretty easy to change out (like the ottoman and pillow colors).

Share |

Montessori Discovery Basket

I'm so excited about something I read in How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way. They call it a "Basket of Treasures," but I've taken to calling it a "Discovery Basket."

The concept is so simple. Once a baby is able to sit and hold things, you can prepare a basket for them that contains 50-100 real-world objects for them to touch and explore (yes, even by putting the objects in their mouths).

The objects should incorporate a variety of shapes, colors, textures, weight, and smell. It is best to use objects made of natural materials and not plastic. Plastic things tend to feel all the same.

It takes a while to collect the objects in a budget-friendly (i.e., "free") way, so I started this process early. The first thing I added was a pine cone. I used fingernail clippers to snip off the pointy tips. Since then, I've added a wooden spoon we never use, an extra metal measuring cup from my mom's house, a seashell, a rock, bean bags filled with popcorn kernels, a spice jar filled with cinnamon sticks, a nail brush, and a coaster made from glass beads. (Of course you want to ensure that none of the objects are choking hazards, and you will supervise your baby while s/he interacts with the basket.)

I just love the simplicity of this activity/game. So often, you hear parents say that their babies are more interested in the cardboard box than the present inside. We have to remember that a baby's world is completely stimulating. Maria Montessori talks about the "absorbent mind" of 0-3 year-olds; they are taking in everything around them. They already get plenty of stimulation! That's why toys that make lots of noise, have lots of colors, and include lots of buttons/options can actually be over-stimulating. We have to remember that our babies are taking in everything around them, as they teach themselves how to talk and walk during those first three years. We should still provide them with toys during that time, but most often, simpler is better.

Share |

The Benefits of Prenatal Exercise

Hoss and I getting ready for a walk (known to Hoss as a "sniff, sniff") in my second trimester

I get silly updates from pregnancy sites on a daily basis. I call them silly because they aren't usually all that helpful, but I like to skim them anyway because they occasionally have small nuggets of advice. I received this one recently:

Babies of pregnant exercisers tend to sleep through the night sooner, are less prone to colic, and are better able to soothe themselves. Scientists attribute this to these babies being stimulated by their moms through changes in heart rate and oxygen levels, as well as the sounds and vibrations they experience in the womb during workouts.

It resonated with me because I believe in deep interconnections and causes and effects that may not be overtly obvious. I mean, who would have thought to link prenatal exercise to lessened rates of colic? Throughout my pregnancy, I've tried to make plenty of time for walking and one yoga class a week, but I thought I was doing it to have a healthier pregnancy and birth. I didn't realize there might also be a lasting effect on the baby.

But then again, I'm not surprised. I named this blog "Feeding the Soil" because of the organic farming adage that we should feed the soil, not the plants. If we want to produce healthy results, we have to start deep down at the roots. We have to start with a healthy foundation. We can't just apply short-term fixes to the leaves and expect miracles.

Of course, even as I work hard to prepare a healthy foundation because I believe that "chance favors a prepared mind," I also work to acknowledge the limitations of our control. We can control all the inputs we want, but we still can't control the outputs. I do feel better, however, knowing that there is often a very strong relationship between what we put into life and what we get out of it.

Share |

Couple-Hour Quilt

I love quilts, but I don't exactly have the patience to make them in the "proper" way. I don't have a penchant for a lot of tedious, precise measurement and once the quilt top is done, I want the project to be finished (as opposed to just half-way done!).

So I kind of improvise when it comes to quilting. I decided to make a little baby quilt (little = easier and faster!). I sketched out a design on the back of an envelope and decided how big I wanted the squares to be and what size I wanted the final quilt to be. I used my rotary cutter and my cutting mat to make the squares as efficiently as possible. Then I started sewing them into strips. Once I had all the strips completed, I sewed the strips together. Then I simply sewed the top to some fleece material (no batting needed!), turned the whole thing right-side out, and top-stitched the hole closed. Voila!

The project got a little tedious when I was sewing the squares into strips, and I was so, so thankful that I had opted for fairly large squares. In the end, however, I was delighted with the results. I've decided that I want to make lots of little blankets instead of one Special Baby Quilt. The pressure got to be too much for me. I couldn't decide on the right fabrics or the right design. I like the idea of using a variety of blankets and seeing which one "Coconut" is drawn to.

Share |