January 5, 2009 For the past 2 weeks things have been pretty slow around here. There has been a whole lot of staying inside, lots of snow, daily visits from grandparents, days spent in pjs, lots of baking and lots of eating. We had a lovely Christmas and I have enjoyed this hibernation time with my family, but I am looking forward to getting back into some sort of regular routine today. Sosi is back to school and Paul is back to work, and I get to have little Ila all to myself all day. *Cheese cracker recipe from How to Eat by Nigella Lawson. It is the recipe for cheese stars, but I made them hearts instead for Sosi's first day back to school lunch. *Gingerbread recipe from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman, one of my favourite Christmas presents! | December 23, 2008 Been enjoying... First Christmas concerts Being snowed in Our Christmas tree This bundle of loveliness Having Grandma here Baking gingerbread men Eating gingerbread men! Hope you all have a great holiday and Christmas. Will be back here in the New Year. xoxox | December 15, 2008 After all the worrying and fretting about the hospital visit and labour, everything ended up going really well. My water broke at 2:00 a.m Saturday morning at home, and Ila was born at 5:00 a.m. Paul and my doula were both amazing. I felt safe and well taken care of. It was way more painful than my labour with Sosi, so much for the second being easier. Ouch! Ila is such a different baby than Sosi was. I know I shouldn't compare them, but I can't help myself. She is different in almost every way. She is calm and content. She sleeps really well and doesn't make much of a fuss about anything. I remember hearing about these types of babies and secretly hating the moms who had them. I keep waiting for her to wake up and change, but I think this is who she is. She is such a sweet little thing. Sosi is madly in love with her, which is a huge relief. She didn't seem overly excited about a baby sister while I was pregnant, but now I can't keep her away from her. She constantly wants to hold her and touch her. I have even found her on a couple of occasions in Ila's room picking her up from her bassinet. ACK! We have had a talk about that... So, so far things are going well. I feel such an immense relief that labour and pregnancy are behind me and now we can get on with our lives. I am taking things slowly and enjoying every moment of this. It all goes by so fast. | December 8, 2008 Introducing sweet little Ila (pronounced eye-la) Rosa Lopes. Born Saturday December 6 at 5:01 a.m. We are all loving getting to know her. | December 3, 2008 (Me at 38 weeks) I took this picture almost 2 weeks ago now. Today is my due date. I have been having contractions on and off for 2 weeks, mostly through the night. I feel like I have been in labour forever. This is so completely different from my labour with Sosi. I was 100% myself until I went into labour at midnight, and at 6:00 a.m. I had a baby. By 10:30 a.m., I was home. I am 4 cm dilated right now and have been in pain for what seems like forever. I can hardly walk or move. I am actually losing weight. I feel like I want to rip up my birth plan and just march over to the hospital and tell them to do whatever they want to me... I am done. I want the baby out. I told this to my doula this morning on the phone, after being up all night with contractions that wouldn't get closer than 6 minutes and she suggested we should get together and talk. Sometimes there is something holding you back emtionally from letting yourself go into labour. I thought I was waiting for my mother in law to arrive, but she arrived last night and the contractions have stopped once again. I do feel a huge sense of relief that she is here. There is a super bug outbreak at the hospital here and no children under 12 are allowed in the hospital. This means the entire time I am there I can't see Sosi. It is a pretty old fashioned hospital, (they just started rooming the babies with their moms rather than in a nursery) and you generally stay 2 days. I have never been apart from Sosi that long. The thought of it gives me much anxiety... but I feel much better knowing she has her grandma and grandpa to distract her. I am finding this such a test of endurance and patience. Both things I will be needing a lot of in the coming months. I am aching to hold this baby in my arms and to feel that flood of relief. To know everything is OK. | November 24, 2008 Preparing... Receiving blanket. Change pad. Organic cotton blankie. Reading: Buddhism for Young Mothers. (Best preparation of all) and waiting.... | November 18, 2008 Wow, I can't believe it has almost been a month since I last blogged. Time is really speeding by quickly around here. I have decided I can't resist the greatness that is Spoonflower any longer. My masterplan is to use the fabric to make Christmas presents this year. I know this may make me sound like a crazy person, seeing I am due to have a baby in a couple of weeks. I enjoy making presents so much more than buying things. Spending money at this time of year makes me feel yucky. I have always wanted to design fabric and had so much fun putting this pattern together. I am in love with what Sarah over at The Small Object did with her design. She always takes things that little bit further, with amazing results. She is a crafting genius. | October 23, 2008 I have always wanted to make a quilt, but for some reason have never gotten around to it. I have been holding on to fabrics and pieces of clothing for years. For my birthday this year, my sister-in-law gave me Amy Butler's little stitches for little ones (such a perfect gift, I had been waiting for it from the library forever). It was just the push I needed. I started this quilt right away. I got a little fabric crazy in the planning phase. I spent hours pouring over stores like this and this and this, trying to find the perfect combination. In the end I restrained myself and used fabric that I already had. It was so much easier than I imagined making a quilt would be. I put double the batting in it, so it would be extra puffy. I am already planning my next one, well... when Sosi saw this and as with everything I make for the baby, she wants one too. I think I will hand stitch the next one. I like the look better and hopefully it will help avoid all the puckering I got. (If you are wondering about all the pink... yup, we're having another girl!) :) | October 22, 2008 Some things making me happy... Having friends who see things on the side of the road and think of us. Finishing (and wearing!) my super cozy scarf. Finally doing some work in my makeshift studio. | October 16, 2008 A little gift for the baby. Sosi matched the fabrics together and helped stuffing the birds. I sewed them together and Paul found the branches and assembled it all. I think it needs a few more birds, but some went missing. A little someone likes to play with them. Free pattern available at Spool Sewing. | Blog Archives Copyright Lori Joy Smith 2003-2008. Please don't steal my stuff!