Alyrenee's Copious Spare Time

So I had been pondering going back to the antiquated world of paper for my calendar.  In an effort to get off of my phone a little more, I thought an old school planner or datebook might be a good fit.  Little did I know I would be diving into a whole new hobby (the LAST thing that I need). I had a Dayrunner back in the oldey timey days before smart phones...but it was far from cute or sexy.  When I started searching for the modern equivalent, I fell down a rabbit hole on Pinterest .  Evidently this is a thing.  Planners are an obsession. It seems like it is another form of journaling for some or a creative thing for others. I am obsessed with all things rose gold and went looking for something in that flavor. Kate Spade has a gorgeous but pricey one. There was also an offering from Erin Condren ...but I wanted something less binder looking. I ended up going for a regular shiny gold version from Dokibook . I plan to do it in mint and peach and black accent...

So here I am at the six month point.  Baby Joe is a suspiciously good baby...so good we think he must be planning something.  But even parents of super magical low maintenance babies still need help.  There have been a couple of stand out items that have really assisted us in the last sixth months....some off our registry and some things bought along the way. From the first three months: A bassinet/pack n play: being able to just sit up and grab the kid out of the bassinet next to the bed to nurse was swell...especially in those first couple of weeks when it is three in the morning and you can barely get yourself out of bed. We got ours from a friend and we plan to pass this one along.  Seems like an easy thing to acquire from other parents or buy gently used. Or you could use a pack n play instead...and bonus if you opted for the fancy version that has the changing table attachment. It is also nice to have a changing area in your bedroom as well...seriously it ...

Enjoy every moment...don't sweat the small stuff...sleep when the baby sleeps...etc.  New parents hear this stuff constantly...you smile and file it away...some in 'good advice' and much in the 'shut the hell up' file.  You pour over baby parenting books and talk about "crying it out" with other parents.  You can have all sorts of plans, but will those plans hold up in the actual moment? Perhaps reading all these books and discussing parenting methodology ad nauseam is only setting new parents up for failure due to unreal expectations? I certainly experienced this sense of hopeless disappointment in the hours just before my delivery.  It was only when I recognized and accepted the reality of that day and let go of the imagined event in my head that I was able to move forward. I then did what needed to be done in order to enjoy things and get to the ultimate goal (get the epidural so you can quit screaming bloody murder and get that beautiful baby in you...

I made another round of diaper covers. This time I opted for the snap tool to use as closures.  I found that the velcro smashed the fold over elastic too much after a few uses.  I also had an incident where the velcro rubs the baby's leg pretty bad so I'm trying to avoid that by using the snaps.  One word of caution, be sure you have the right end of the snap because you can't take it back.  After realizing that I put the wrong end of the snaps on one of the side of the diapers there was no way I could get the snap off without tearing apart the diaper itself.  One nice thing about the snaps is that they seem like they will be more customizable for the baby.  I also won't have to worry about the velcro tearing apart other laundry in the machine.

So we ended up getting a diaper service from Green Diaper Babies in Chicago and so far so good!  I really like being able to change diapers with wild abandon where when using the disposables...I keep like a running tally of money in my head every time I switch one.  I don't know why. We are still using disposables when we leave the house for any amount of time just for the ease of things and I occasionally toss him in one at night when I am changing the diaper at 3am.  He tends to hate diaper changes and anything to make the screaming stop as soon as possible at 3a is a good thing. So the diaper covers I made are working great.  I could have skipped the newborn size and gone straight to the small size though.  I also did not need to put the "flap pockets" on the inside because I never use them to hold the diaper in place.  I use snappis to keep the cloth diaper on.  So I will skip that step when making the next size.  This first batch uses ...

Okay...so I had that baby back on February 26th...and I am only now getting around to updating things!  Crazy times.  But awesome fun times.  Anyhow, here is the lowdown on what worked and what didn't and a new updated list. But first I need to explain the circumstances of the actual birth.  I was a couple of days past my due date and had my morning NST scheduled for 9a followed by the weekly visit to my obgyn at noon.  My mom wanted to come with to see an ultrasound and also to figure out where the hospital is and parking etc.  At this point it is still CRAZY COLD in Chicago...like maybe 5 degrees, so we were still not keeping the bags in the car.  Plus this was my mom's car.  Brian had ours at work down in River North. NST's were boring as usual and the quickie ultrasounds showed everything was peachy. I had to schedule another NST for friday as I was at the 'twice a week' point.  Based on discussions with my doctor the week before, ...

He is my little sack of sugar.  8lbs 14oz...21 inches.

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Just finished these. The yarn is the self striping sock yarn from Knit Picks knit on size 1 kollage needles using the Sailors Delight pattern from the 2-at-a-time socks book by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.  I am pleased with the results. These match the little baby legwarmers I already made for baby sir.  Now I am starting on another pair from the same book. Here's to plowing through the yarn stash!  I even frogged two half done socks that weren't working to try again. It helps that I am now on maternity leave and also dreadfully sick with a cold and pretty much unable to get off the couch...so lots of time for knitting.

I am pretty chuffed. The first box arrived today...only a few days from my due date..and after a horrible day at work. Inside was a sunny yellow tissue wrapping and some great goodies.  There is a cute bodysuit in size 3/6 months, juice beauty hand cream, a boon silicone feeder, and a story board book with an owl on it!  So the feeder seems neat...i guess you put mushy fruit or veggie pulp in it and it will ooze out holes while the baby holds it in his mouth.  I bet some cold mushy fruit pulp in there might be nice for teething babies too.  The board book is cute and goes nicely with my owl theme nursery. Bodysuits are totally useful and the print is really adorable on this one from the Tea Collection.  And I love the Juice Beauty line already...and hand cream is totally needed with all the constant washing I will be doing.  Plus some coupon codes for discounts from some of these same brands...all in all..nice stuff and I am pleased.

I decided to make some more boob pads...but some quick and dirty ones this time. I used a mayonnaise lid as the pattern and cut one later in white PUL fabric and another in white polar fleece. I basted the two layers together and then did a three thread serge around the edge of each.  I imagine you could skip the batting if you used a temporary fabric adhesive spray and then went straight to the serger...but then you would likely want to wash these before using them. Polar fleece is usually a good wicking material in addition to being soft next to the skin. The PUL is waterproof  to help with leakage and with only two layers and a served edge, these are pretty thin.  I made six pairs and there is still a ton of material left (I purchased  a quarter yard fleece remnant for $3 and a yard of PUL with a 50% off coupon for $6/yard). It took about 15 minutes to complete and I estimate the cost to be less than a fifty cents a pair.   I might make a small zip 'we...

So my husband is a big blues man. Chicago Blues Fest is like his Christmas. Every year he sets up shop on the lawn in his hat and Hawaiian shirt and has the best day. So I came across a tiny straw baby hat yesterday at Buy Buy Baby and just had to get it.  Today I decided to make a little mini me version of daddy. I used Butterick pattern 5510 and made the medium size. I used fabric that I had bought in Maui...it was a big bag of scraps left from cutting Hawaiian shirts from a quilt booth at our hotel...just the right size to squeeze a little baby shirts in.  Who knew? The medium size will likely be too large for him in June...but i figured too big is not a bad thing...he will likely be wearing a onesie underneath and a larger shirt will keep more sun off of him.  The pattern itself was pretty quick and easy to make. I plan to make some more. My friend suggested this would make a great Magnum PI shirt...just have to get him sunglasses, a Tigers hat, and a mustache. ...

I just whipped these up. Seemed silly to purchase washable pads when I figured I could easily make them. I cut six circles total (one in PUL diaper fabric, one in cotton batting, and one in flannel).  I bagged them out, turned them, and then topstitched them to finish.  These are washable, should be absorbent and then the PUL fabric should prevent leaks from showing through.

So Mister Guy and I have decided to go with a cloth diaper service after all...so I made more diaper covers. This time I had better luck with the fold over elastic by giving it a ton more pull when sewing in the elastic gather parts. These sew up really quick. I plan to make a little diaper sack next to put in the diaper bags to keep the smelly messy diapers in...

Just finished these. I've heard from several moms that legwarmers are great. They keep those chubby legs warm but you don't have to take them off for diaper changes.  I made these from Knit Picks self stripping yarn.

So, I decided to give myself a treat this year. I had heard about a monthly mystery box subscription for beauty stuff (birchbox) and also found one for babies (citrus lane).  I am a total whore for makeup and the box seemed like a fun way to try things out.  The baby box is customized to your kid...in both gender and age and based on reviews it seems like a good value.  I signed up for a year of Birchbox and 6 months of citrus lane. I found a discount code to get the first month at citrus lane for less.  My first birchbox arrived yesterday! I have only had time to try out the burt bees lotion (which was nice) and they had a good coupon to buy it in stores included. It also had some fancy shampoo and conditioner, some body lotion samples, and a travel size natural mascara.   I will try those out this weekend. As a part of my annual resolution to Make an Effort....I am also trying to be nicer to myself. I tend to buy things and then save them. I have heard ...

So I just hit the 37 week mark...I figured it was time to get that bag ready for the hospital. Better safe than sorry. Also, if you have ever met my husband let alone seen him pack for ANYTHING...you would not be surprised if I had packed this bag the second the positive pregnancy test came back. So in preparation, I reviewed the list the hospital nurses gave me, researched online, and asked for advice on ye olde facebook.  I thought I would share the results and then report back after baby drop doomsday to see what was helpful, what was a waste of space, and what I missed having in the bags. So here is Bag #1...a duffle with a pull out handle and wheels: -For Brian: sweats to sleep in, two t-shirts, a hoodie, slippers, a change of socks and underwear, and a bath towel.  He is a big man and I am no dainty lady...I predict the hospital towels will be tiny and itchy. -For Me: Bath robe, nursing tank, maternity bra, disposable nursing pads, old pair of cut off sweats I w...

Just whipped this up from some scraps of quilt fabric and polar fleece.

Just finished these. They are made from PUL fabric with the pattern and materials from the Babyville line from Joann. They were pretty easy...though I think I will indeed pick up a fabric glue stick for the next time I make these just to keep the facings in place. (you don't want to put pins in this fabric since holes sort of make the anti-leak thing not so good).  My only complaint is that there was barely enough fold over elastic in the package to get two newborn diapers completed. It comes with two colors per package and I assumed each piece would get you two diapers..so four total...but it was a close stretch for the newborn size. Anything larger would have only yielded one per cut elastic piece and a ton of waste. It definitely seems like its better to buy the elastic by the yard and not in the package. So I made them with a yoke at the front and the back inside that is supposed to help hold a store bought prefold diaper in it. You could also make your own inserts but that se...

Finished the little vest. I think it's darn cute. The pattern seemed fine right up until the end...if i would have picked up the number of stitches suggested in the pattern then my ribbing would have been a ruffle. Um...no.  So i just used my judgment. It still needs blocking. The best thing about knitting for small humans is the instant gratification. Nothing like a sweater in a week.