Introducing...

Bae Theo Wolters born 11.10am today. Beautiful natural water birth :)

40 Weeks Today!

I thought today might be the day, i had a show yesterday at about 3pm & had sporadic contractions through the night then when i got up in the morning they stopped! Ive had more of a show today & maybe a few light contractions here & there but nothing solid yet. Maybe bub is just trying to hold out to be a Gemini! If he comes any time after 7.40am on the 21st he will be so only a few days to wait....or maybe he is just indecisive like his mummy & cant decide if he wants to come out or stay in.

Anyway, I'm just resting up & trying to get as much sleep as i can so i have some energy for the birth. I'm actually looking forward to it - i had a great birth with jet (although if you asked me at the time i would have told you it was bloody awful & i never wanted to do it again). With him i was one week overdue, i had a show in the middle of the night then got contractions through the day but i didn't know that was what they were, they were only like light period pain. Then when we were eating dinner they started to get stronger. I think we went into the hospital at about 10 or 11 & he had a water birth at 5:50am. i would say there was only about 3 hours of pain, no tearing, i used a bit of gas but no epidural or anything else (i did crack a tooth on the gas mouth piece though - oops!). So they say you can halve your labour second time round - if that's the case this time should be a breeze!

ill sms a pic of bub & the birth details here once he is born - hopefully not to long away :)

More Longies!

A friend from the ABA (Australian Breastfeeding Association) had her 5th bub at the beginning of april & she is a fellow cloth nappy user so i decided to make her some longies for her bub (these are the little turtle knits picky pants ones.

I made the small & the medium size, theres quite a difference between them! Hopefully the small will fit her now & for another couple of months, the medium might even fit her next year?

Heres some pics:

Ive ordered the Ladybug Loops pattern because im not keen on how chubby the legs are with this one, but i havent got it yet. When i do though im sure there will be even more pics of longies on this site!!!

Crochet Felted Nursing Breast Pads

I found a pattern for felted breast pads on Ravelry & since ive managed to crochet one thing i figured id give these a go. Somehow i ended up with more stitches than the pattern said i should but hey, they look ok! Ive felted them up & they look like their the perfect size - just got to lanolise them now, then wait for bub to arrive & my milk to come in!

Heres some pics, this is both felted & unfelted:

& these are ones after felting:

& before felting:

Sorry, no action shots this time ;)

My First Crochet Project :)

Ive been wanting to learn to crochet for a while but havent been able to work out how to do it! Anytime i picked a pattern to try i just couldnt get my head around it, so i asked the wonderful ladies on nappycino for a suggestion & Claire reccomended the Brrr Baby Beanie, so i gave it a go & i did it!!! :D

Heres some happy snaps:Its a bit big for Jets baby:

Im so happy ive finally made something! Now all i have to do is figure out what should i do next? ;)

Wooly Outfit for Bub #2

Ive been knitting so i thought id share!

I knitted a pair of picky pants for bub #2 & thought id make a jacket to go along with it. I did size 0-3 months for both patterns.

Here's the jacket, i used snaps instead of a button, i don't think its meant to fold over quite that much but i figured it would keep him warmer. This isn't my favorite jacket pattern, the bottom sits a bit funny but hopefully it looks ok on bub!


& here's the pants, i just love the picky pants pattern! i did the ribbed waist with an i-cord tie & ribbed cuffs at the bottom. Jet actually has a matching pair (same wool but i used the little turtle knits longies pattern which is skinnier in the legs), i don't think Ive ever blogged about them though!:

Teddy likes it but its a bit big for him!

& a little small for mr frog (plus its not really his colour!!!):

& one last pic:

Not long to go till bub gets here now - I'm 38 weeks tomorrow! We still haven't got any idea about names, we have a list of about 50 but I'm just not really that into any of them, guess we will just have to wait & meet him!

Setting up mobile blogging!

Im just setting up my mobile so i can sms a notification when bub is born. Not long to go now - less than 4 weeks till my due date :)

White Chocolate Chip & Banana Muffins - Yummo!!!

I was just reading a post on Tracy's blog about some yummy muffins she made...& i couldn't help myself, i just had to make some too, they just looked to delicious (i am 7.5 months pregnant after all - i can blame cravings cant i?)! Here's her recipe if you want to make some too (go on, you know you want to!)

Dream Parenting

I just wanted to share a link to a site i found that offers a kinder more gentler approach to getting your child to sleep through - its called Dream Parenting so check it out if your having issues!!!

Ring Sling for a Friend

We headed down to Sydney for a few days last week & i was going to visit a friend i only see a couple of times a year who has just (well...3 months ago) had a new bub. Last time we were chatting on the phone she was wishing she had a few different slings so i thought id make her one.

I picked up more material from Campbells Cash n Carry (im growing to love that shop!) for $2 per metre, im not exactly sure what it is but its a nice olive colour (not my colour at all but i knew she liked it). I used the sling rings i bought ages ago (cant remember where) that are a bit thick & heavy & they are a bit smaller than the ones i used on my sling. Its a bit hard to pull the material through them, im not sure if it will loosen up with washing? it does the job though, so hopefully she liked it! I used the instructions on Sleeping Baby again. Heres some pics:

I also knitted her bub a caterpillar. I stuck a cat toy with a bell in it in the head so it rattles & i knitted it out of that fairy floss stuff you can get a lincraft so its nice & soft & fluffy! sorry the pics are a bit blurry, i snapped them on my phone last minute before we left!

I made a Hot Mama Nappy Bag!!!

I am so very proud of me right now!!! Ive spent the last two days neglecting the house work & while ants have run rampant ive managed to actually sew a nappy bag! Its a Hot Mama Messenger Style Diaper Bag by Wired up Designs - i bought the pattern over a year ago & just never got round to attempting it, but i have a whole room to do sewing in now which makes it easier to make stuff cause i can just walk out & shut the door on all the mess when i dont have time to do any more!

I thought it would be way to hard but i just took it one step at a time & eventually i got there! Its out of the same material as the ring sling i made (which only cost me $2 per metre from Campbell's Cash n Carry!!!), it probably isnt a sturdy enough material for a nappy bag really but hey - it matches my ring sling! Heres a couple of pics -



I actually lined it with some white PUL i have lying around (i bought a couple of metres of the stuff in a co-op a year or so ago), you probably arent meant to use a material like that to line it but i figured it would make it water proof, so i did it anyway.

Heres the inside of the bag. Theres 4 largish pockets for nappies, wipes etc, a mobile phone holder, a little key holder that you can snap over your keys, a change pad (which i made too) with a little loop to keep it in place & a wallet pocket (which my wallet is far to fat to fit into):


Theres also two of these drink bottle holders on the outside (one on each side):


& the shoulder strap has padding in it & everything!

Heres the change pad i made to go with it, your meant to use the same fabric to back it (so it would have been purple on the back) but i wanted to keep my fabric so i just used PUL - makes it water proof anyway! Its topped with maiden mills fleece & has wadding on the inside so its nice & soft & cushy!


Notice that there are absolutely no close ups of any of my sewing...thats because its pretty freakin dodgy in lots of places...but i dont care! im just so glad that i actually managed to complete it! & it only took me two days which is pretty good for someone with my complete lack of sewing experience i think.

So what should i try & sew next??? i picked up some more cheap material today so ill have to find a new project for it :)

Trip to the Second Hand Baby Markets

We went to the second hand baby markets this morning & picked up some bargains (as always!). Excuse the picture quality, im having trouble locating the camera so these were taken on my mobile.

I got this big cardboard book for 50 cents:


A stack of clothes for varying prices:

A sheepskin cot liner (its folded in half here) for $7. Im planing on using this one for over the pillow on my happy hangup (the baby hammock) because regular sheepskins are a bit hard to fold over it:

A sheepskin car seat liner (i dont think this one was ever even used) for $10:

A toddler seat for our pram for $20 (normally $100!):

A pram & baby for jet $6:

Mum bought jet this scooter for $15 - not sure if thats cheap or not?

Some maternity clothes for $6, the skirt is a bit big, might have to stick some elastic in it:

A(nother) nappy bag (well, its a nice one!) for $5:

Think thats it! I love going to the baby markets, you can pick up such great stuff at really cheap prices. Its especially good for clothes although you mainly find newborn to size 2 there, you cant get much for the bigger kids which is a shame.