Sunday, March 14, 2010

My latest project...

...Maura Elizabeth (modeling an afghan made by her great-grandmother!). The Wee Peanut arrived March 4 via c-section. Because I'm a diabetic, my doctor felt better scheduling the delivery that way, rather than risking a vaginal delivery of an over-sized baby. She weighed 8 lbs., 8 ozs, and was 20 inches long at 39 weeks -- had I gone to 40 weeks (and gone into labor on my own by then) she might have weighed closer to 9 pounds or more. But still, given that I weighed 8 lbs at birth and my husband was over 10 lbs (!!!), I think her size is more determined by her genetics than my diabetic control. And my control was darned near perfect....

I'm feeling better, and I think Maura is a pretty easy baby so far. I know, things will change practically daily, but right now she sleeps for decent 2-4 hour stretches and eats well. We're doing formula, mostly because the challenges of breast-feeding and re-establishing my blood sugar control/schedule on top of recovering from surgery and caring for a newborn were rather overwhelming. I'm doing my best not to feel guilty about this decision. *sigh*

Stitching? Ha!! My husband took the last week off from work to help out, and he keeps encouraging me to stitch now and then, but there's that guilt again. Plus, people have told me over and over 1) "sleep when the baby sleeps" and 2) "forget about those pre-child hobbies - hehehe." So stitching feels irresponsible. It shouldn't, should it? I mean, I'm usually getting a decent amount of sleep at night and a nice nap in the mid-afternoon with Wee One. I have frozen dinners ready to go, DH is taking care of laundry and running errands, and I have another 6+ weeks before I have to return to work. Maybe the baby sampler WILL get started.....we'll see.

15 comments:

Kathy A. said...

Oh, Erin. What a beautiful little treasure she is. Congratulations to you and your DH.

Von said...

Erin, Maura is a gorgeous baby, and sooo precious! It's a good thing I have my own new grandson to cuddle, or I'd be at your door asking to hold her. :)

GoldenAngelsWorks said...

Congrats on the new little angel.

Christine S said...

Congratulations Erin! Maura is beautiful. I say that if you have time to stitch, go ahead. I don't have any children but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't enjoy your hobbies just because you have a baby now. Moms need their "me" time, too!

Lesleyanne said...

Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughter. Don't worry about not breast feeding I couldn't even though I wanted to too dont feel guilty. I say if you have a bit of time stitch if you feel like it.

Real Live Woman said...

Congratulations! She's beautiful and Maura is a beautiful name.

Sabine R said...

Congratulations to you both, your wee one is so lovely! Don't worry about the breast feeding, Maura will be fine. Do stitch whenever you get the time. Being diabetic you are supposed to avoid stress - and what better way is there to relax? ;)

Karen said...

She is beautiful! Congratulations! As for the stitching, if you are well rested and have a free moment to do it, then DO IT. Without guilt. Depriving yourself of the things you love to do and that relax you will only lead to feeling stressed and frustrated. So grab your little "me moments" wherever you can! They are good for you *and* for the ones you love.

Erica said...

Congratulations on your new little bundle of joy. She's beautiful!

As for the formula vs. breastmilk - try to let go of it. No child walks around with a stamp on their head that says 'I was fed breastmilk!' or 'I was fed formula!'. As long as your daughter continues to thrive and grow, then where she gets her food from is irrelevant. Hold her, love her and give her the nourishment she needs. I have two boys and my oldest got formula because we had feeding difficulties. My youngest was breastfed. They're 10 and 13 now and both healthy and beautiful.

As for stitching - take your moments to stitch whenever they're available. I stitched through 2 labours, through 2 infancies, 2 toddler-hoods and now through 1 teenager-hood and another pre-teenager-hood. There's always time for what you love to do - don't feel guilty about taking some time for yourself. You deserve it!

Missy Ann said...

Congrats! Maura is lovely. You did a good job Mom. :D

Sharon said...

She is gorgeous! Congratulations!

Juls said...

She is so very beautiful!!!! Congrats!!!!

Brenda Lou said...

Congratulations!!! She's absolutely precious!

Unknown said...

She's gorgeous. If you want to stitch - do it, don't feel guilty. It's hard enough with a newborn without feeling guilty about stuff.

And don't feel guilty about the formula either - happy mummy and happy baby is what it's all about.

Cathy said...

Congratulations! Maura is beautiful. You will find your rhythm with the baby and be able to work some stitching in. Then when she is a little older and more mobile stitching might take a back seat again. That is what is great about it. It is always there waiting for when you have the time and energy. Enjoy every moment with your new baby.

Craft Sale!

So my mother and I set up our little table at the craft fair this past weekend.  And we didn't do terribly!  I sold $125 worth of needle...