Emergency Cot Bumpers

In welcoming the start of a mobile baby it was time to remove the device that had guaranteed us 3 hourly stretches of sleep for the past 10 weeks. For any new parents or parents-to-be, I'd seriously recommend a sleep positioner with an incline (we used this one). It worked wonders for Florence to sleep where before laying flat her reflux would wake her up. To take the sleep positioner away felt like just another step in the sleep saga and of course, more tears. Uh-ho indeed.

I needed to whip up some pretty distraction to make the transition smoother whilst providing safety from bumps and bruises to those small limbs finding their way about the cot.

I bought this fabric last year when I had just found out I was pregnant, intending to make a dress out of it. A world away from my usual floral or striped selection my hormones must have been drawn to the bright and playful 2" checks that to me now scream 'baby'! For Christmas I was given Amy Butler's 'Little Stitches For Little Ones' and followed the cot bumper pattern from there.

I love that the bumpers have their own storage pocket. Florence can now learn how to manage her space and tidy away at the end of a busy day!

It will be strange not seeing Florence's little head through the bars when I wake up in the morning. But you never know, by hiding us she might play contentedly by herself when she wakes up and not shriek for our attention. One can hope!

Florence dips her toes

What a monumental week it has been for this little baby. Now I must gush ohmygoodnessmybabyissoclever but seriously she's started to roll, to 'balance' up (almost sitting up but with lots of side tumbles), she's showing early signs of teething, had a little taste of apple and had her first ever trip to the seaside. Big week for a baby!

Our little family, along with our friends and what seemed to be half of the population of the south of England traipsed down to the pebbled shores of Brighton to relax and picnic under a perfectly clear blue sky.

Here we discovered just how trying being a parent can be when all the conditions are game for one lazy, hazy afternoon. When the baby woke up the sensory stimulation must have completely overwhelmed her as she was one grumpy little girl. The husband had to cut our relaxation short to distract her by introducing her to the sea. And it cheered her right up! She loved it!

I had been dreaming about this moment for a long time. When we approached the water she stared, wide eyed and awestruck at the vast expanse of green before her. She put her feet to the wet sand first in an attempt to make sense of all this new. The viscous surface gobbled up her toes encasing them with warmth, a great contrast to the coolness of the tide that then came in all around her ankles. She didn't fuss or complain, she just appeared intrigued at the idea that there was something better than bath time.

Visits to the seaside should be magical times where the days seem to last forever and little minds are filled with excitement and adventure with notions of pirates and mermaids. We intend on making this just so for our children, just as our parents did so for us.

Old and New

My eldest brother turned 40 this weekend. In the lead up to this momentous occasion my mum was naturally feeling sentimental and unearthed a true relic that he once used: a glass baby bottle. This put my head into a spin. Seriously, how easy must I have it with raising Florence in 2010 compared to the hard work my mum put in 40 years ago (and for the next 35 years- I'm one of 7!)? I like to think that I am pretty adaptable but I know I'd struggle if I had to give up my 5 minute electric steam sterilser and start boiling bottles with heavily pungent decontaminating tablets.

And what about not having a washing machine for the nappies? We use cloth nappies and re-usable wipes and I can safely say this is one modern convenience I could not live without. Although we've not launched completely head first into the modern way of parenting. I'd like to say now that I simply refuse to buy some bulky non-recyclable plastic contraption that the baby can sit in that 'entertains' them with garish flashing lights and grinding fuzzy nursery rhymes on repeat. Give me a few pillows, a board book and a pom pom any day and I'll entertain the baby that way, thank you very much!

To pay homage to the past and celebrate this age of convenience that Florence has entered into I put some beautifully fragrant lilacs from the garden into my baby bottle vase and set it on the mantlepiece to admire.

Florence is definitely a modern day child, here we caught her using the pretty pocket on her dress to keep her iPhone in!

(She doesn't actually own an iPhone but she does have my old iPod....)

Happy birthday brother!

Coco's Bobble Dress Complete

I started this project when the blossom was just beginning to bud and thought that I'd be working on this dress until the autumn when Florence would be big enough to actually wear it. But lo and behold, it's finished:

I used this pattern from The Purl Bee but managed to work out how to make it fit a 6-12 month old Florence by reducing the whole pattern by 25%. I did have to ad-lib a little with the length of the shoulders as when I put the first draft on Florence it just about fit her and she's only 4 months! So I added in another 'bobble section' or two. I also strayed from the pattern when it said to edge with slip stitches and used a wool needle to edge instead which allowed me to control the gather better.

The dress is currently too big for the baby which rather comically lends itself to looking like I've dressed her up as a raspberry! I promise to show off my handiwork once it fits her properly otherwise you won't be able to shake that baby raspberry image from your head!

With one project finished you'd think one would normally take a little break before starting the next one but no, not me! Here is a little snippet of what I'm currently working on:

Yes, two needles! Hurrah for knitting!

I really need to get working on making up some of my crochet shoes for tiny feet to sell at a fayre in South London in June with my friends so I am being very bad at time management by starting this new project. But this one is for a 6 months old Florence so again have a little time to complete it.

(P)Raised beds!

Remember the raised beds? Well I've been hard at work since they were made.

Christening the beds with their first seeds

Here we have potatoes, Orla and Maris Piper.

You can imagine the field day that the local cats must have had when they found this enormous, freshly raked litter box for them to use. And you can imagine our anger when we found out what they had been doing in our beautifully constructed new raised beds. So the husband came up with a cunning fence system to show those cats who's the boss.

It's a genious system: the mesh is fixed at either end but can roll back for easy access on either side.

So how is it all going?

Bed 1:

Potatoes, beetroots and carrots with one plot spare for salad leaves or fruiting vegetables

Grow carrots, grow!

Bed 2:

Broccoli, purple sprouting broccoli (for next year's harvest) and tomatoes with a plot spare for salad leaves or radishes

Bed 3:

Leeks, little gem lettuces, red salad bowl lettuce, rocket, peas, a random garlic and some courgette seeds.

I know I should be pricking out my peas but I love watching them grow!

So there are the raised beds! But I'm growing more....!

Containers:

These ones the cats can get to and they love this nearest box, hence the trampled shoots. Urgh!

Red and white onions. 

Last year's herbs that miraculously survived our long winter: flat-leaf parsley, mint, thyme, lemon thyme,  chives, rosemary and lemon balm.

Strawberries (a variety called Florence!) and sweet peas ready to be transplanted to their new home.

And a veg plot:

More potatoes growing straight in the ground.

I'm now at the stage where I need to start really thinking about space and pricking out the seedlings that really need to be removed. And then start to think about what I'd like to grow to harvest in the autumn and winter. So much to do!

How is your garden growing?

Crochet confessionals

Oh what high hopes I had for these balls of wool. I did try, honestly I did. I sat down in fits and spurts with the crochet, working away at these little squares will all intent and purpose at completing a wee blanket for the baby but I just couldn't shake one thought from my head:

"this would look sublime as a cushion cover."

And that thought won!

I did have my reasons for cutting the project 69 squares short. I was using unique wool from the charity shops which mean that if I ran out of a colour I'd have to search hard to match it.

Also, the wools weren't exact weight matches which meant that the squares weren't level and cosy. The squares did have a characterful, rugged appearance (if crochet can be rugged!) which made me want to display them even more.

With that project complete I was able to devote my time to Coco's bobble dress that I am making for a 9-12 months old Florence.

This project is really turning out to be a labour of love as I decided to restart it after completing 1/3 of the skirt as I disheartenedly realised that I'd picked up stitches by double crocheting the ch1s instead of slip stitching them. A rookie error that I'll never repeat!

I have just had to unravel the front shoulders as my joining every round is slightly noticeable and it ran right down the middle of the front so I have to reposition the shoulders so that the join is down one side. Like I said, it's a labour of love!

Florence and Peter

We've all been poorly this week. After an extended bank holiday trip up north to see the in-laws we came back home with snuffles and sneezes. It has been a trying time, watching Florence go through her first baby cold but unable to really help. Babies breathe through their noses (who knew?!) and so having it clogged up with snot and gunge puts an already anxious and protective mother right up there on the edge. This cold seems to have hit me harder than usual, probably as I was already running at around 80% so I have no energy store to get me through. So I've treated myself with plenty of sofa/crochet/chocolate time to help rest.

Florence was playing with her Peter Rabbit rattle in bed this morning and it reminded me of how he got sick and had to be tucked up in bed too. Without prompt or mention, Florence was gifted a number of Beatrix Potter items when she was born, giving a lovely compilation of paraphenalia that she can treasure as she grows.

These stunningly colour co-ordinated books are too precious to read, excellent work, Folio Society. But they are Florence's books and I can only hope she treats them with respect and leaves the crayon scribble for scrap paper and not Jemima Puddleduck's coat.

Oh how I wish I could claim this handiwork as mine! Our lovely friend Ellie created this exquisite birth announcement cross-stitch.

Do I dare answer the question if Florence has been like Peter Rabbit and stayed tucked up in bed, especially after the cot drama? Well, after a mountain of sleepless nights she has only woken once for a feed for the last three nights. I'll put my celebration on hold just in case I jinx it but I am thankful for the sleep!