DIY Babywearing Coat Zip In Insert

This is my very first tutorial for anything so bear with me through it! 

What you need:
- Sewing machine
- 1/2 yard fleece
- 24" jacket zipper (make sure it fits the coat you'll be using)
- 9" unstretched strip 1/4" braided elastic (for head opening)
- 10" unstretched strip 1/4" braided elastic (for bottom)
- Safety pin or elastic threader














Steps:

 Cut fleece with right sides together to your 1/2 yard is 25" long

Pin the short sides and sew across leaving 1/2" unsewn at the beginning and end of each row. Use about a 1/2" seam allowance

Long sides remain open at this point.

Turn work right side out.

Top stitch 1/2" from the seam still leaving 1/2" unsewn at the beginning and end of each row.

Thread elastic now. Pin in place to hold.

Sew in place where you've pinned.

Pin both zippers in place starting at the bottom and working up. 

Fold any extra material under and tuck in at the top once you get there.

. 

Attach zipper foot to your machine and sew zipper on. This can be done without a zipper foot. Just set your needle position all the way to one side

When you get to the end of the 'female' zipper raise your presser foot and push the zipper back so it's out of the way to continue sewing to the end. Back stitch several times at the beginning and ends of the zippers.

 Zip it in and wear all the babies!!

6 weeks old

How is my sweet, precious boy 6 weeks old already?! I'll never stop feeling like he was just born yesterday, but been here a million years.

He's still a very calm baby. He doesn't like to be put down much, and luckily that doesn't bother me. He stays awake quite a bit during the day and he's an alert little fella. His night of sleep starts around 7pm and he wakes up every 3-4 hours until 7 ish. 

He's still nursing incredibly well. It shows in his growth! He weighs 11 pounds and is 22 inches long (20 inches at birth ended up being accurate). He's currently going through another growth spurt and nursing non stop during the day! He's in his 0-3 month clothes and, after the last few come out of the dryer, I'm packing up his newborn cloth diapers ::insert sad face here:: Stella was in newborn diapers until she was almost 12 weeks old (she also wasn't 11 pounds until she was closer to 2.5 months). 

Stella absolutely loves brother. She's an excellent helper and she loves holding him.

Here are some pictures now to catch up :D

Little guy is a happy belly sleeper

Ian with great grandma Sherry & grandpa Ron

3 weeks old in the first onesie he ever wore

First ride on mama's back

Sleepy, smiley boy

Enjoying some naked time outdoors

His perfect little hair swirl

The one picture he's even remotely looked like me! 

1 week old

A week! How has is already been a week since this little guy entered the world? It seems like just yesterday, but a million years ago at the same time. I feel like I've known him all my life. We informally celebrated by having lunch with grandma Shelley yesterday. It was a very lovely day.

2am with a belly full of milk and a dry butt. 

He is an excellent baby. He's very calm and relaxed and everything we could ever ask for. He rarely cries. I know he's hungry because he'll fuss a bit. He doesn't care for having his diaper changed. He nurses about every 2 hours. His latch is beautiful. Night time is going well since he's not a crier. He wakes up between every 2 and 4 hours, nurses, gets a clean diaper and is fine. Sometimes he'll be awake still, but is content to just snuggle me while I go back to sleep. 

I feel like I have so much to say about him, but I can't manage to verbalize any of it. A new baby, a new addition to a family is such a beautiful thing: a gift, a journey, a blessing. I can't begin to describe the feeling of one's own heart growing to make more room for more love for a new person, but it's miraculous. I didn't know how it would be possible to love another baby the way I love Stella. I feared they'd have to share love, but I was absolutely wrong. 

Cloth diapering is going well (Erik's even been helping wash them!). He fits in all his newborn diapers and probably will for quite some time. Sweet pea has the chickenest of chicken legs!

On Monday, Ian had his first pediatrician appointment. He's perfect in every way (of course, I didn't need anyone to tell me that). He had a touch of jaundice and we did a day on the bili blanket. That was no big deal. His numbers were: 19 on Monday, 17 on Tuesday (after the day on the blanket), and 15.4 on Wednesday. He weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces (a very, very acceptable weight loss) and we discovered that he's much shorter than we had though. Sheryl measured him at 20", but at the doctor he was only 18 3/4". He's a shorty like sister. His head circumference is 12.25". He'll go back next Thursday for his 2 week check up. 

Monday, he also visited the chiropractor for the first time. She mentioned that he just had a slight rotation of his spine and got him straightened out. He slept right through his adjustment. Why do babies need chiropractic care?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 week post partum

153 pounds (-12)

(my memory card in my camera took a crap the day he was born, so selfies for the blog it'll have to be ::ugh::)

It's funny to look at pictures of me from the past week because from birth to now I get progressively more tired looking. We've been going to be kind of late and waking up with Stella around 7. The sleep I get is pretty good though. 

I think I can finally talk about cravings again. Since Ian's been born I've craved grilled cheese and apples, New York style cheesecake, Olive Garden and plums. I eat just about in the same schedule he does (every 2-3 hours). There simply is no hunger like that of a nursing mom. I try to drink 150 ounces of water a day. 

At my midwife appointment on Tuesday Sheryl said everything looks and feels excellent. My uterus is shrinking back down nicely and my vulva/bottom area looks wonderful. She commented that if another medical professional happened to look down there and I told them I had a baby a week ago they wouldn't believe me. My bleeding is incredibly light. Not even heavy enough to compare to a regular period. 

I felt like my regular self right away after birth, but if I over did it doing anything I could definitely tell. A week later I'm easing back into doing a little more and I still get tired. Erik was an amazing help the first 5 days or so while I was on orders not to do anything. He did everything without being asked and would tell me to go sit down if he caught me up doing anything. As I've jumped back in his help has diminished a little. I definitely still need help and will probably have to nudge him along with gentle reminders from now on. 

My belly is mostly down. It's just kind of wobbly and that's alright with me for now. I'm not worried about it at all. I wondered if I'd notice any new stretch marks after he came out, but I don't seem to have any. All that's there is what I got from Stella. 

I'll try to write my birth story soon.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy

Ian David

6 pounds 9 ounces 

18.75 inches long 

August 6, 2014 at 10:36 am

He is perfect in every way and we are so incredibly in love it is ridiculous. He's a very calm baby and an excellent nurser already :)

He arrived after a very short, rather loud, but calm labor in our bed at home into my hands. 

38 weeks

38 weeks

165 pounds

I'm sure glad I didn't gain a bunch of weight in the beginning of this pregnancy because I'd be seriously screwed right now! I think what I'm adding now might just be water weight  

I'm finally starting to notice my belly looking different from when I was pregnant with Stella in the last few weeks.

I'm starting to feel done. I'm not quite so full of energy anymore. I have plenty to do what I need to do, but not much extra. 

I woke up no fewer than 6 times to pee last night. I think I woke up about every 2 or 3 hours. (Maybe my body's way of getting ready for feeding baby?)That sucked. With all the layers on our bed it's been pretty uncomfortable. I've been sleeping alright other than waking up to pee. 

I'm still not having much swelling. If we're outside for too long when it's hot I notice it increase, but when I get back in air conditioning it goes down. 

Baby is definitely getting more cramped. It's starting to become a bit painful when he changes positions and gets his butt up in my ribs. Last night we were sitting in bed and he got so squished up in there I was having a hard time taking a breath.

Thursday after I posted about baby dropping, I got curious. I decided to see if I could check my cervix myself. I was certain it would still be posterior and I wouldn't find it. Much to my surprise, it was right there plain as day. I felt and a finger definitely fit in. It was very short (maybe 1 cm deep) and soft. Then, I felt something solid! It was baby's head! Holy crap, there really is a baby in there and he really is going to come out! I don't know how many finger widths are how many centimeters, so I can't even begin to determine that. I'm dying to hear Sheryl's official thoughts on it today. 

I've been having cramping here and there, off and on all weekend. It never gets regular and only happens once or twice throughout the day. I've definitely been trying to encourage this. I've sat on the birth ball a lot. I had to beg Erik to have sex with me Sunday night. Yesterday I was kind of nauseated all day. I was fed and hydrated, but I still just felt like I gagged whenever I ate or thought about food. I had some diarrhea in the morning   I'm never around people so I doubted it was the start of a bug. Things are definitely beginning to happen. I guess the less I have to do when the actual time comes, the better. 

My appointment wasn't until 1 o'clock today! Why did I make it for so late?! It was a pretty uneventful appointment. Sheryl doesn't think I'll make it to 40 weeks. I don't either. I don't think I'll make it to 39. Last week she mentioned stripping my membranes this week, but she didn't mention it today and I didn't bring it up. That's alright. He'll be here soon enough. 

• Blood pressure was good
• Baby is head down
• Dilation: 3
• Effacement: 80%
• Station: -2 

Did he drop??

I rested my hands on my belly and noticed a bigger slope than I'm used to. I'd say he's settling right on in there. I still don't feel any pressure like I hear people talk about. I never really felt the "bowling ball between my legs" feeling with Stella either. I think I made it 4-6 days after dropping before labor started. 

37 weeks vs. 37 weeks 2 days

Maybe he dropped a bit. Maybe he didn't. Maybe he's just snuggling down low today. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Here is when I dropped with Stella. It happened no more than a day before I took my 38 week picture. 

She was born at 38w4d.

((Technically, my dates were always 4 days ahead and she was actually born at 38 weeks exactly. So I dropped between 37w2d and 37w3d))

There is no logical, truth telling sense to any of that. I know every pregnancy is different and each babe comes whenever he's ready. I can ramble to keep my mind occupied, though! Just keep cooking, baby boy :) 

Home birth prep!

When thinking about giving birth, one usually imagines a hospital setting with all the instruments and whatnot. Of course, mom and dad don't have to provide any of that. They just show up, have the baby and don't have to worry about anything. When we (who am I kidding?) When I began planning our home birth, I scoured the internet looking at other peoples' birth kit lists and felt a little overwhelmed. I decided to hold off buying anything until I got Sheryl's recommendations for what was necessary.

Here is all my stuff:

1) 40 XL Disposable underpads (Chux) 30"x36" (for taping to the floor so it doesn't get blood/pee/amniotic fluid on it)
2) Plastic drop cloth to cover mattress
    -I bought three of these: 1 for the bed, 1 for under the pool, and 1 for extra
3) The biggest, baddest, most absorbent Poise pads available (mine are Target brand)
4) Roll of paper towels
5) Container for the placenta, with snap tight lid
    -This is a 13 cup 'family size' Glad container. I could probably fit half a lasagna in here. 
6) A few trash bags. Some for trash. Some for laundry. (I added these to the list)
7) Peroxide (to get blood out of anything it comes in contact with)
8) Flashlight with fresh batteries (for if I'm laboring/birthing at night and a light bulb or the power goes out?)
9) Complete set of clothes for mom
     - A nightgown
     - My favorite cardigan
     - Bra & Undies
     - A pad
10) Complete set of clothes for baby
     - A onesie
     - A diaper 
     - A pair of socks
     - Swaddle blanket

Not Pictured:
- 5-10 bath towels .. closer to 10 if I plan on being in and out of the water much
- Recording equipment
- Food and drink for mom
- Food and drink for labor team

But what if I decide to labor in bed? Remember I mentioned I got a drop cloth for that! 

Looks like a normal bed, doesn't it?

Here is how the bed is prepared: 

The bed is made with 3 fitted sheets right now. 

1) The green sheet (folded back) is what we'll sleep on until labor starts or my water breaks in bed, whichever comes first. I've got one of Stella's old underpads under the sheet on my side of the bed.
The light blue sheet is what will be exposed during labor.
2) It's kind of hard to see, but this is showing the plastic underneath the 'labor' sheet. This plastic is tucked up under the mattress on all sides and held in place by the sheet.
3) Here you can see the plastic pulled back. The dark blue sheet (because it's my favorite set of sheets) is what we'll all snuggle into after baby arrives.
4) This is the waterproof mattress pad we have on our bed all the time.

I'm sure I'll be lying with a few of those chux under me while I'm in bed for a week or so. I do NOT want to have to deal with washing/changing sheets with a newb.

So where is the pool? On the opposite side of the room from our bed.

 You can see the hose, air pump, (blue) tape, and extra top sheets sitting on the couch, too. 

I have some more work to do in the room to create my ultimate birth space. I'll probably hang up some birth affirmations where I can see them around the room. I'll have to update this post with pictures of those when I get them up.

37 weeks

37 weeks

163 pounds (yeah, that 3 pound increase was unexpected!)

I'm still feeling just peachy. I'm still full of energy, but I'm finding myself getting tired a bit quicker lately. Still lasting about 5 days pain free after adjustments. Thankfully, after I write this I'm headed out the door to be the chiro. 

I'm sleeping fine, once I get comfortable. It's not impossible for me to move around in bed, but it's definitely inconvenient and uncomfortable. I'm discovering myself waking up in the morning in the exact position I fell asleep in and I'm so stiff in the morning. I hobble to the bathroom and back and climb back in bed. Surprisingly, this entire pregnancy I haven't really woken up much at night to pee. I wake up when Erik leaves for work at 6 and then go back to sleep until I have to wake up at 7:15. My hips aren't bothering me too much. I'd say the quality of my sleep is close to excellent. 

I'm not experiencing much swelling. What little I do notice is very minimal and in my hands. It's probably helped that it's been beautiful and very mild weather. Very, very unusual for the end of July. 

I had another midwife appointment today and it went excellent. 

• Blood pressure was 110/76
• Fundal height was 35cm. Sheryl said that it seems like he's starting to move down because my fundal height measured a cm less that last week. I definitely don't feel like he's dropped and it's certainly not obvious visually.
• Baby is head down
• No cervical check today
• I'm group B strep negative!

Now, we wait! Since I'm 37 weeks, he can come at anytime and we can deliver at home. Everything here is ready (I'll talk more about that in another post). His carseat is installed, but I'm waiting on some parts for it to better accommodate a newborn. I'm actually afraid that if he's as small as Stella was that he won't fit in it, but we'll just have to see. If anything we can borrow an infant seat for a month or so until he's a bit bigger. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baby is the size of a winter melon.

18.9 - 20.9 inches 

6.2 - 9.2 pounds

He's gaining about 1/2 ounce each day.

36 weeks

36 weeks

160 pounds

Ugh... I feel like shit all of a sudden. Just kidding! I actually still feel pretty awesome. I'm not too tired. Getting through the day isn't a chore. I think I still have lots of energy! I last pain free for about 5 days after my chiro adjustments. I can't complain about that. 

I'm not sleeping as well as I was before. It's been pretty hard to fall asleep lately even though I'm very tired at night. When I am asleep, it's kind of fitful the first couple hours and I'm up to pee at least twice. I get my best sleep in the morning hours. I'd like to sleep in until 9 everyday, but that's not an option, so I do fine waking up at 7.

Still no swelling. It's been hotter than hell the last couple days with heat indexes in the 100s. We stayed inside Monday, but had to venture out in it a few times yesterday and it wasn't that bad since we were just in and out of the car. I'm still wearing my wedding rings :) 

I had a midwife appointment yesterday and that went well. I didn't ask what my blood pressure was, but it couldn't have been high or she would have said something. I go back in a week anyway, so I'll just find out then. Baby is still head down! My fundal height is right on track. I had a pelvic exam and Sheryl asked if Stella was born early. I told her that she was 2 weeks early. She said, "Looks like this guy might decide to do the same. I can tell by looking that you're dilated a little already." I was going to decline a cervical check, but since she was down there already I figured what the hell. She said very surely that I am 2 cm and my cervix is soft. Of course, that's not uncommon since this is my second baby, but it's still a little alarming! I was mentally prepared for her to tell me I'm still locked up like Fort Knox down there. I'll be elated with whenever he decides to come because he'll be ready, but I don't want him to come early! I want to be pregnant longer this time! Who knows, maybe I'll walk around continuing to dilate for 6 more weeks and he'll be late. That would make for an easy delivery! I'm an incredibly impatient person. I think I've been very good at suppressing that this entire pregnancy. The not knowing right now is driving me up the wall though! I'm not on the edge of my seat yet, but once 38 weeks is here I'm going to assume I'm having a baby anytime.

I can definitely tell baby doesn't have as much extra room as he did before. His movements are a lot more noticeable and it just feels like he's more confined. He's very much on a schedule. I haven't noted times during the day, but it seems like every night between 10:30 and 11 he wakes up and starts dancing around for at least a couple hours. I told Erik we're going to have a night owl on our hands just like his mama.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baby is the size of a honeydew

17.2 - 18.7 inches

4.2 - 5.8 pounds

35 weeks

35 weeks

159 pounds

There are only 35 days till my due date! When did that happen?! 

This is not a first thing in the morning picture, but I don't feel huge yet this afternoon so it must be pretty close to how I look when I wake up :) 

I still feel great. I'm not generally uncomfortable. I'm definitely not miserable. I'm still sleeping pretty well. I still have lots of energy. I know I keep saying that every week because I keep expecting for a wave of exhaustion to kick in. Thank goodness for staying healthy and active, I suppose! 

My hips are starting to bother me a bit and I'm having some crazy sacral pain, but my chiropractor helps take care of that. I feel really lucky that it's taken this long for any pain to really start bothering me.

I noticed a small bit of swelling starting the other day in my hands, I felt like my face was kind of puffy when I woke up and toward the end of the day my ankles felt tingly like they should be swollen, but weren't at all. I re-evaluated what I'd been doing and realized my water intake was pitiful. So, I started drinking enough water and the next day the swelling was basically gone.

I've been nesting like crazy lately. This is a good thing for my house! It's actually clean most of the time. I cleaned the entire upstairs this morning. I don't think our upstairs bathroom could be any cleaner than it is now. I kept thinking that the next time I clean up there will be the last time before baby is here. It was kind of eye opening that this is really happening! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baby is the size of a coconut.

17.2 - 18.7 inches

4.2 - 5.8 pounds