2010

Today is the last day in a very difficult personal year. I cannot remember ever feeling this way on New Year's Eve: just wanting the day and year to be over and behind us.
Do not get me wrong, so many blessings came our way, the biggest of which is our dear son. However, this was our first full year without my mom. Doing each thing without her was so hard, to say the least. Pregnancy was hard, painful, and HOT. There was the surgery that my 2 year old endured (preceded by a tough stay in the hospital). There was my husbands lay off from work (which was a blessing in disguise in many ways). And these three months of colic have been enough for me. Thank God it's pretty much done.
But, I did graduate from college! And our son was born at home safely and peacefully. And my little home business has flourished in it's own little mini way.
2010, goodbye. There is a strange sense of peace that comes from surviving this year without Mom. And I am so happy to say that I feel her with me and around me more now than this time last year.
2011, bring it on!

Christmas

Christmas was very special and very fun this year. The girls had a blast playing with their cousins, second cousins, aunts, uncles, pop pop, great grandma, and several great aunts and uncles. Santa was good to them! The mermaidens were finished up just in time, and the girls love them.

Wool Diaper Cover in Pink and Black

I am almost tempted to put my son in these shorties. I love girly clothes that are a little edgy, especially because my two girls will only wear princess dresses or fancy dresses everyday. These shorties were just listed in my shop:

Mermaiden

I am finally making a Christmas gift for my girls. We are not buying them anything, but I thought it would be nice to give them something handmade. I am making three of these little mermaidens (free pattern), two for my girls and one for my sweet little niece.

Cuddle Bugs

Here is a terrible quality photo of my boys snuzzling together.

Ryder is a bit snotty today and has been sleeping a heap. Poor boy!

Finally, Rebourne in a retail shop!

I just got home from dropping off some Rebourne woolies, cloth diapers and wet bags at The Nesting House. Located at 606 Carpenter Lane, in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia, The Nesting House is an awesome little consignment/retail space whose motto is, "Responsible Retail for the Next Generation." Look how cute it is:

If you are local and you want to feel, examine, and compare cloth diapers and covers, The Nesting House is an amazing resource. Jen, one of the founders, runs cloth diaper workshops for parents or expecting parents.
Go check out The Nesting House and 'like' them on Facebook!

Chunk a Love and labels

He's such a chubby little thing! Here he is at 9 weeks old.

 Today I'm working on some twill tape labels to sew into cloth diapers. My woven labels are too large to put on the back. I have to have the Very Baby labels on the front, so I needed a small label for the back. We'll see how these work. I am using the Iron On Print 'n Press transfer sheets from June Tailor, Inc. I got them for 40% off with my coupon from Joann's, they are quite expensive!

Colic

Can you believe that this little angel is a screamer? Well, the last couple days have been fine, but it's been a rough month.
I don't know if any of your kids had colic, or were incredibly needy or fussy, but it is really rough. There are tons of things to read on the internet or in books about causes and ways to treat it. I found that certain things worked at certain times, and sometimes nothing helped. Here are some things I used when a screaming bout would start: belly massage, white noise, metronome at 60 bpm, homeopathic colic medicine, bach rescue remedy, different holding positions and gentle swaying, walking him around, changing his diaper, and putting him in his swing for a minute so I could compose myself when I started to feel resentful/angry/impatient/frustrated. This break helped me feel creative again to help troubleshoot and think of new things to try to help him. One thing that helped me a lot is Dr. Sears' philosophy that the colicky baby is a hurting baby. When I can approach it knowing that baby is in pain, it's sometimes easier to keep my cool.
Thankfully the last couple days have been great, and it is so nice to see him happy and bubbly and content.
Today while he and Fern napped, I made some slippers. They were supposed to be for Fern, but they're too big for her. She doesn't like them anyways, so hopefully they will fit Sage. Another reason I don't often make things for my kids: I spend hours designing and sewing during precious alone time, and then they don't even like the item or use it!! I love Wooly Baby slippers, but they are out of my price range unfortunately.

 

Do or did your baby have colic? How did you get through that time? Do you feel good about how you handled it? How did your partner help you and baby? Did your baby with colic go on to be a fussy toddler or child?

Doll Sling

My midwife recently asked me if I would be interested in sewing a sling for her 16 month old daughter to carry her dolls. She gave me a few specifications and I went from there. Although custom work can be exhausting and cost much more than I charge (usually in hours designing and redesigning and fixing mistakes), I do love them. And I have learned to make more than one at a time so I can maximize my productivity and sell the extra.

Here is my daughter Fern trying the sling on for size and photographs. The second sling is for sale here.

The Twinery

I just fell in love with The Twinery. They are a local (Philadelphia) shop that sells 100% cotton, domestically made, eco-friendly baker's twine. Their site and Etsy shop have a great vibe, color scheme, and helpful feel. There are tons of great ideas for ways to use their twine, and some super cute holiday crafts. I would mostly wrap my woolies and wet bags with their twine to be shipped to customers, and I think some Mandarin would go well with my company's color scheme:

I think this might be my Wednesday purchase!

Wet Bags

What is a wet bag? A wet bag is a cute little zipper or drawstring bag that is waterproof. I use mine to put dirty diapers in while I am out of the house, until I get home and (hopefully) remember to put the diapers and bag into the diaper pail.
I make mine with cute outer materials, either from my stash or from dead stock material. The inner waterproof layer is sewn separately from the outer layer, making for a very waterproof system. I have been sewing wet bags for three years now, and feel confident about my product. I have fixed issues with zippers and seams and material. I have a handful of wet bags in my shop now and a few more to list. Check them out! There are two sizes, small and large. Small is best suited for 1-2 diapers or a bunch of cloth wipes. The large ones feature a strap with a snap to attach the bag to your stroller or wrist or whatever.

29 Days of Christmas Giveaway TODAY!!!

Okay, today is your day to win some rebourne shorties!!!
Click here and enter to win, and that includes free shipping to Canada and the US!

A Merry Fluffy Christmas-going on now!

Go check out Knocked Up and Nursing, where Rebourne is part of the giveaway package today!! It's easy and free to enter and the other woolies in the giveaway look awesome!!

Please check out my shop for some wet bags. I'll be listing them as time allows.

Why so few blog posts or updates??

Why haven't I been very active on blogger, facebook, or Etsy?? Well, my little 7 week old has been screaming. A lot. Here he is looking super chipper though:

I don't know if it's colic, or just normal fussiness, or what. Here is what I do know: it is hard trying to keep up with a toddler and a preschooler, a house, and my own personal hygiene, when I can pretty much never put the baby down. He doesn't like carriers (moby wrap, baby bjorn, OR ergo baby with the insert). I am trying to remember my mom's motto at this tough time, "This too shall pass." I have a print with the saying framed in my living room, but it is tough when it seems like he has been screaming for hours.

Anyways, enough doom and gloom. On the first of December I am happy to report that I have been featured in an interview over at Kristen's blog, Ramblings. She was sweet enough to contact me through Etsy and has since offered to interview me. Go check it out and give her some love. Thanks so much, Kristen!!