Ahhh, it's Monday. Our weekend was spent visiting friends from Northern California.
Did I ever post about attending two births in April and May? I was so short on sleep then and can't be bothered to look back now, but it was a whirlwind of a Spring in which I was on call for two dear women and their expecting babes. One birth went as well as could be for a hospital birth (as you know I have a thing about hospitals and birth) and labor went quickly and smoothly.
The second baby girl got off to a rough start with labor beginning at 6 pm one evening (an aggressive exam by my client's OB Gyn resulted in early broken water) and labor did not progress quickly enough. Mom received an emergency C-section about 24 hours after labor began and baby Mari stayed in NICU for 5 days (one of them being Mother's Day) on antibiotics. Thank goodness she was a robust 8 lbs because she lost a bit of weight in there. Here is Mari two days ago, well bonded and well nourished, despite her introduction to our world!:
Chris and Mariko June
My own pregnancy seems to be progressing well enough, and we expect to know boy or girl this Friday! I've had three boy dreams total and so I have my ideas about who's blooming in there. There is a lot of movement now and that makes this experience so much more real.
Creatively speaking, I can't do a thing but knit these days. Upon returning from Squam, I hit the ground running taking on 3-4 clients a day to get caught up on everyone I'd missed. I overdid it and now am having Braxton-Hicks contractions (more of a tightening sensation) which means I sit when I can for lengths of time that are most uncomfortable for a buzzy moveabout like me.
I found some beautiful chunky yarns at a local shop and set out to 2x2 rib a scarf, a newish pattern for me. I'm still loitering in scarfland, though I taught myself to Stitch n Bitch 4 years ago. When I was pregnant with Miles! Knitting and pregnancy just go together. So mundane and meditative, yet tactile and yummy (don't forget productive), too.
The yarns are: a fat wool in a grassy green doubled up with a sportier weighted Patagonia Nature Cotton yarn, kettle dyed in Chile by a mother and daughter team dedicated to introducing their tradition of hand painted yarn to the world. Environmentally speaking, the yarn travelled a long way to get to me, but my stubborn idealism limbered a little when I considered the artistic value. I'm such a sucker for women and community.
