Sewing baby layette

I went shopping a few weeks ago, looking for some memorable, adorable homecoming outfits for the girls. These are the outfits they would wear home from the hospital when they are discharged. I didn't find anything I really loved. So I decided to try sewing some outfits instead. There was a sale on at Joann Fabrics for Simplicity Patterns at 99 cents each. (Normally they are priced $9 to $12.) Keep in mind I haven't really sewed anything like this since junior high school. The only clothing I've ever sewed was a wedding gown for my barbie doll!

At the store, I looked through the Simplicity Catalog in the baby section, and only saw one pattern that I liked. Remarkably, it was a vintage pattern from the 1940s that they reissued. I am *pretty sure* that my mom once owned this pattern, lol. I then walked through the store selecting fabrics to use, buttons, lace, and other notions.

I decided to make one baby's layette in pink and one in purple. I also bought some cute pale blue toile and soft green toile (with bunnies) to make one of the simpler dresses on the pattern, perhaps as Easter outfits. But first, I need to focus on the homecoming outfits, which will include a short-sleeved dress, a jacket, a pair of booties, and possibly a bonnet.

I decided to start with the booties. They seemed simplest, as they only involved cutting out two pieces. But soon I was messaging one of my November Mom friends who sews little girls' dresses for her Etsy store, "Princess Crossing". What is a seam allowance, I wondered! (I still don't know if I sewed the booties correctly, or not!) When I finished them, Tim thought they seemed kind of big. I pulled out Thomas' plaster foot cast (!!) and put one of the booties on it. It was about a 1/2" longer than his foot, and he had long feet. So maybe they are a little big. But at least they are finished. They are made out of felt, embroidered, with contrasting ribbon.


On Saturday, I finally started sewing the dresses. I began with the pink fabric. I found myself running back and forth to the computer to Google so many things. I didn't want to start cutting until I really understood what a seam allowance was: was it built into the outline of a pattern? Fortunately, there have been others online before me asking these kinds of questions, and Yahoo Answers provided me with some clear direction! Feeling more confident, I pinned and cut out the fabric. I chose to go with the XXS size patterns - for babies up to 7 lbs. I even compared the pattern to some of the dresses hanging in the nursery armoire, and thought that size would be fine.

After cutting out the back, front, and two sleeves, I then had to do the embroidery on the front of the dress. I asked Tim for his opinion about the colors of embroidery thread to use, and he helped me select the green for the leaves in addition to the stems, and only one color (purple) for the flowers. I finally decided on using white for the centers of the flowers. After I added the white lace around the neck, that turned out to be a really good match.

If you notice, the flowers on the dress match the flowers on the booties. I do the embroidery by hand. It reminded me of the days when I used to do embroidery on my blue jeans when I was pretty young!

I then sewed pleats along the front of the dress. The iron came in pretty handy for this stuff. Tim had brought it downstairs earlier for me to use while sewing. Once the pleats were done, I moved to the back of the dress. I had to cut a slit along the back, where the head will come through, and sew similar pleats. Finally, it was time to join the two pieces together. Once they were joined, I sewed the lace around the neck hole, and lined it with white hem tape. I'm not completely happy with how that came out, though.


Next up was sewing the sleeves. It took me half an hour to figure out how to feed the elastic band through the end of the sleeve! Thank goodness for the Internet! After they were sewn, I showed them off to Tim. He found it amazing, it is cool that I can sew something like that!


By the end of Sunday, I had sewed the sleeves on, closed up the dress, and sewed two buttonholes! In bed, I sewed the little buttons on. This morning, I finished the hem with a slip-stitch. So here is the finished pink dress!

Front:


Back:


It isn't perfect, but it is homemade! And maybe they will only wear it once, but I feel like I've made a family heirloom for them to treasure. I never got to pick out a homecoming outfit for Thomas, so perhaps that is why I am determined to make sure these are extra special.

Next up: the purple dress! Then the jackets!

30 weeks excitement!

On Monday, I was exactly 30 weeks. I went in to the Labor & Delivery ward early, early that morning. Tim accidentally turned the wrong alarm on (clock has two), so it went off at midnight. We both had a hard time falling asleep, even though I replayed my hypnobirthing meditation CD. I noticed I was having frequent BHs, so at 1:45am, I got up and took 600mg of ibuprofen and drank about 12 oz. of water, and went back to bed on my left side. The contractions didn't stop; instead they started getting closer and lasting longer. I got up again at 2:20 and called the OB's office. I monitored them online, they were every 2 to 5 minutes, lasting a minute or so each. OB finally called back at 3:10 am and after talking for ten minutes with me, said I should come in, since I'd done everything I was supposed to, to stop them. (At that point, I had nine in half an hour!)

So that was interesting! Tim drove, and we arrived at 4 am. Even though I felt six BHs while laying there, only one registered on the machine. Babies did fine, although Baby B kept rolling away from the monitor. The resident on duty swabbed my cervix for the presence of some "placenta glue" - the fetal fibronectin test - and checked my cervix manually. My results: FFN was negative, cervix remains high, closed, hard. (She checked it again before I left.) The FFN is a test that when it is negative, is a good indicator that a mother will not go into labor for the next two weeks. My blood pressure was very low (but okay): 84/49 when I arrived, then normal 106/69 when we left, which was about 6am. Poor Tim had to go to work with only a few hours of sleep, whereas I got to get another four hours, before getting up for lunch.


And of course I had an appointment in the afternoon, my 30w0d limited scan and office visit. (Click image above to enlarge.) At a limited scan, they just check fluid levels and the cord blood flow. Babies are both head down, and the fluid levels around B are normal! So that was a HUGE relief. I asked the NP about policies around twin births, so that was helpful. She said that epidurals aren't required in twin vaginal births, but they are recommended. I think I will go ahead and do that, even though I still plan to try naturally. I asked how they turn baby B if she is already or flips breech and the nurse said they will either do an external version (they manually try to move the baby by pushing from the outside) or reach in and pull the baby out. She said that is pretty painful. I want the epidural in place in case I go into an emergency c-section; I don't want to have to have general anesthesia and sleep through the birth of a baby(ies)!

It is such a big milestone to me to make it to 30 weeks. Every day I stay pregnant is three days the babies do NOT have to spend in the NICU. A helpful book I've been reading ("When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads" by Dr. Barbara Luke) has photos of baby footprints. They just seem to get so much bigger from 28 weeks to 30 weeks, and then from 30 weeks to 34 weeks! I can tell they are getting bigger... their heads nearly completely fill the ultrasound screen now!

I have started nesting. I'm trying to get things in order with taxes, with having cloth diapers and small clothing on hand, preparing their homecoming outfits, etc. I've started listening to my hypnobirthing CDs, and will be meeting with my doula Lynn again soon. I will probably start packing a hospital bag in two weeks. I already have my list from last year. Things are getting exciting! They could be here anytime from six weeks to nine weeks!

Physically, I feel pretty good. I get breathless getting dressed, have terrible heartburn, and am worn out easily by running errands or doing housekeeping chores for more than an hour. I am wearing extra large maternity now, and weigh as much as I did when I gave birth to Thomas! I've noticed an increase in the BH contractions, and their strength. It is amazing to be in my seventh month, and the third trimester. Spring doesn't seem so far away!

Cloth diapering

I have learned a lot from reading pregnancy boards online for the past two years. One thing I was always interested in was cloth diapering (CD). These are not your mama's cloth diapers!

With the cost of disposable diapers for two babies in mind, I decided to try to tackle cloth diapering the girls instead. There is an upfront cost of several hundred dollars, usually, but then that's it. (Plus your water bill for the extra loads of laundry.) Tim just follows my lead on these things. ;-)

I surveyed twin moms to find out if they CD'ed and many said they did, and had very good results with it. So I mentioned online that I would be doing this. Within a week, one of my fellow November moms sent me a message that she would like to send me her cloth diaper collection. She had tried CDing with her daughter, and had loved it, but when they moved, the water in the new community changed so her daughter started developing rashes from the CDs. They had to switch to disposable diapers ("sposies"), she was sad to say. I offered to pay something for them, but she refused. She really wanted me to have them. There was no one else she would ever think of giving them to. I was thrilled!

Last week I received a box from her in the mail. The box contained eleven Bum Genius diapers, five small Fuzzi Bunz, and five Smartipants, along with a "wet bag" that you store the dirty diapers in until laundry time. When Tim got home from work, I showed them to him. He was relieved to see the velcro and snaps, as he wondered if they still used safety pins! Not for these fancy cloth diapers! He said that several people had told him that we were crazy to try it.



Many of the moms who do cloth diapering also make their own CDs. I'm not sure if I'll be motivated enough to do that, but there are patterns that people have offered me. We will still use the disposables as needed. They will probably wear sposies for the first week or two, as the meconium is very hard to wash out. And we do have a case of newborn diapers that Thomas got at one of my baby showers, so we will use those up. Sometimes they are easier to use if you go out of the house, or travel, or overnight, so we'll be playing it by ear what works best for us.

Tim also said, as he surveyed the collection, "Our girls are going to have big butts wearing these!" That's very true!

Test results

I received the test results yesterday from my glucose screening test. I passed! I scored 125, which is less than 140, the level at which you fail. I am very relieved, as that means I do not have to deal with changing to a restrictive diet or, worse, measuring my insulin levels three times a day and possibly taking shots, if I really did have gestational diabetes.

Here is a photo Tim took last night:

and here the belly is from the side:

Babies are practically moving constantly, these days. Since I am now in my third trimester, I'm supposed to increase my calcium and my Omega-3 fats. I am also going to start trying to do daily meditation, in anticipation of another natural birth. I skipped yoga today as I was a little sore from four days in a row. I'm now at 28 weeks - we're getting there!

Latest ultrasound and appointment

On Thursday, Tim drove me to my latest OB visit. The weather here was pretty bad, and I'm so glad he did. It took us a while to get out of our road since we had to go up a little incline, and the roads were slippery. I wore my long mink coat, complete with hood, since it is the only coat I own that covers my belly now, and was warm enough to handle the 4 degree temps and minus ten degree wind chill! Also wore my size 12 courdoroy pants that never fit me when I was pregnant with Thomas. Well, they fit me now! (Thanks, mom, for hemming them!!)

When I first arrived, I took the glucose tolerance test. This involves drinking a cold 8-oz. bottle of a super sweet orange drink in less than five minutes. It is not as fun as it sounds. An hour later, they draw the blood and check your insulin levels. Because the clinic is moving from the 2nd floor (same floor I gave birth to Thomas on!) to the first floor this weekend, I won't find out the results until Monday. REALLY hoping I passed. This is an indicator for gestational diabetes, which is more common in women carrying more than one baby, since each placenta produces additional insulin (or something like that).

Then Tim and I went in for the ultrasound. I was 27 weeks and 3 days on Thursday, at the very end of month six. (Today I am at the start of my seventh month, and officially in my third trimester. Woo-hoo! Time flies!) The tech looked at all the body parts, as usual, starting with Baby A then moving to Baby B. We just loved when the babies would bring their hands up and cover their faces, or do other equally cute things. Both babies are head down at the moment, which is always nice to hear. Baby A is laying with her back to the left side of my uterus, facing right, and Baby B is spooning, with her back up against her sister. Baby B's feet are tucked up underneath my left ribs.

Babies are measuring great: Baby A is 3 lbs 0 oz, heart rate is 133, measures 30w1d and Baby B is 2 lbs 13 oz, heart rate 144, and measures 29w1d. Baby A has very long arms and legs, so that is why she measures a week further than B. The OB says that the babies' weight gain trending means they will be about 6-1/2 pounds at 37 weeks, and 7 to 8 pounds at full term. He says that means I will be aching more. Oh well, I'd rather be complaining for the next 12 weeks if it meant nice large full term babies!

Here is my latest collage from some of the u/s pictures, my Week 27 belly shot, and a sketch of what twins look like at 28 weeks. Click to enlarge:


The only down note was that the OB said that the fluid levels around Baby B are a little higher than average. They prefer to see 6 to 7, and hers was closer to 9. I'm hoping it is just because she had all that room in front of her to measure it so easily. But the OB said it could be for a couple of reasons. It can be a sign of gestational diabetes. Or an indication that the baby has some webbing internally from the esophagus on down that prevents baby from swallowing enough fluid. So they will keep track of it and see if it continues to increase or not. We are hoping it is nothing.

I will now start going in for appointments every two weeks. At the next one, they will simply look at the umbillical cord doppler (to see where it is located, that it isn't wrapped around the neck, and continues to have positive blood flow) and check the fluid levels. These type of appointments will then alternate with a full growth scan. I start the NSTs at 32 weeks. The NST is the non-stress test, where they strap me down with three monitors: one for each baby that tracks the heart rate, and one to track any contractions I might have. I think they last twenty minutes long, and they want to see baby's heart rate increase twice during that time. It has been a while since I did this with Thomas, so I might be forgetting a detail or two. I will have to go in twice a week for those.

I remember finding it very hard to drive after 38 weeks when I was pregnant with Thomas. I am now measuring that size, and still have another 12 weeks to go. So I do worry a bit about all this driving, especially with this lousy weather.

As for the babies, they move and kick quite a bit. I still haven't noticed any hiccups, yet. They really reacted to the loud music and noises when we went to see the new movie, Avatar. It was pretty amusing. As for me, I alternate between having rib cage pain and low aching back. I wear a brace sometimes for the back, but then have to take it off when the ribs start killing. I try to do twenty minutes of prenatal yoga a day to help with the aches. I still sleep pretty well, though, knock on wood. I get the Braxton-Hicks every so often, but nothing unusual.

A few days before Christmas, I had some severe stabbing pain in my left butt cheek. Lennox, one of my fellow November moms who is a doctor, said it is called "sacroilitis" -- sacroiliac joint pain; I was thinking it was sciatica, but the pain wasn't radiating down my leg. I was hobbling around like an old woman, limping and dragging my left foot. When Tim would call me, it would take me so long to get to the phone, that he was usually leaving a message by the time I answered! I did not have this last year, and it was throwing me for a loop! It hurt me even in bed, all night long. (And Tim had to help me climb into bed.) I had a lot of weight in there in my uterus, and it was lopsided at the time, both babies seeming to be on the left. I asked my OB nurse and she said I could try a chiropractor if I needed to. So that is what I did. My chiropractor, who had closed the office that day, told me I could come in and he would treat me! (He was going to be driving by within the hour.) All he did was an adjustment on my lower spine, and within three hours, the pain was gone! I was SO glad he did that for me.

I seem to be moving slower these days, napping longer in the afternoon, and aching a lot more than I have been. I try not to complain, because it beats the alternative. But I laugh sometimes, wondering where I am headed in the next several weeks! It is so strange to feel full term, yet be nowhere near giving birth (hopefully).

Christmas Gifts for the Girls

Friends and family surprised us by sending a few things for the girls for Christmas! After we opened our gifts, Tim and I took turns opening theirs. Reading the tags was funny, too: "To Baby A and Baby B", "for Precious 1" or 2, "To The Twins".

Ama and Papa Daily sent matching lady bug 3-piece outfits (pink pants, polka dotted onesies, and ladybug bibs), crib shoes, and pastel socks. She also sent two pastel crocheted blankets made for our babies by a woman with whom she works in the Food Pantry, someone who we've never even met! Auntie Amy sent newborn sleepers decorated with cute little animals, and white with pastel trim socks. Auntie Jenni sent coordinating brown and yellow outfits (brown onesies that say "I love to giggle", yellow skirts, and solid and striped leggings).

The gift that brought a tear to our eyes, however, was from old friends of Tim, Laura and Mike Brewis. They sent pink little onesies that were embroidered with "Thomas' Little Sister" and satiny butterfly wings. They also sent white cardigan sweaters, pink tutus, and matching metallic pink shoes.

Everything they received was so cute and perfect. Looking forward to dressing the girls in all their adorable outfits! (Click on images above to enlarge.)

Oh, and coincidentally, all three of our children got candy cane ornaments for Christmas! Daddy bought the one for Thomas while he was in New England in early December, and Ama sent the girls two little candy canes, attached to one of their gifts.

Generous gifts for the girls

In July 2004, I had my first appointment with a reproductive specialist to help us figure out why we weren't getting pregnant. One of the things I was told was that I had elevated prolactin levels. So off to Dr. Google I went... in search of learning anything I could about it. I stumbled across a forum of message boards for women who were in all the various phases of their fertility, from trying to get pregnant, to being pregnant, and those suffering from infertility. I quickly joined to be able to share my journey with others in my shoes. It was probably the best thing I have ever done. Seriously.

Over the past five and a half years, I have become "internet friends" with so many women from all across the world. I have met two women in person, talked to several others on the phone, emailed many, and sent and received things in the mail with so many others. Countless women have provided me support in my lowest moments, from failed IVF cycles, to losing my son. They've cheered me on through my cycles, through my pregnancies, and all the waiting that has entailed. "Waiting" can do a real number on your psyche, by the way. Waiting to ovulate, waiting to test, waiting for an ultrasound, waiting for birth. And waiting to try again, when you feel all hope has been lost.

Some of these women became pregnant about the time I did, or had their babies while I was pregnant with Thomas. They were so excited for me, because you are always so thrilled when someone who has been suffering from infertility for five years finally gets to see their first positive pregnancy test! My biggest supporters were women who also had been suffering from infertility. But when Thomas' birth defect was diagnosed, I know that it wasn't just me and my family that was crushed. These women on the internet were, too. And after he died, the number of condolences that poured in was pretty amazing. They had been there with me through every step that Thomas made in my life. And to lose him was like losing a member of an extended family.

So ever since I became pregnant with these two girls, I've had my hand held online. The support, the prayers, the good thoughts -- they have been constant. These women want happiness visited upon my household like nothing they have ever wished for. It is truly humbling.

This fall, I got a message from one of the ladies who got pregnant with her daughter a month before I did with Thomas. We supported each other through all of our symptoms, the good stuff and the bad, in a small pregnancy forum. Shelia almost lost her baby too early, and if her opening cervix hadn't been caught on that particular day, her daughter would have been born too early to live. She went on hospital bedrest and did not have an easy pregnancy. Her daughter was born two months early, and spent quite some time in the NICU. So Shelia understood what it was like for us to be at the hospital each day visiting Thomas. And when we lost our son, she knew it echoed the fears she had of losing her daughter.

The message Shelia sent me was that she was planning to visit the Kansas City area with her husband and daughter in December, and would like to meet up. This would be the third time we would try to get together, so we were excited about it. Then she asked if she could give me some of her daughter's things. She said she had all of her six months clothing that she had grown out of, would I be interested? I said, of course! I also felt that maybe it would make this pregnancy seem more real to me, to be actually handling little girl clothes.

On December 9, a very snowy day here, I met Shelia, Bert, and Amanda at a local restaurant for lunch. Bert had driven their truck up from Florida that previous weekend, while Shelia and her daughter flew in. Weather-wise, they could have had a better week as it was brutally cold and very snowy! But they were here to visit their families before the holidays, and nothing could dampen their spirits. Amanda was a really delightful child, so well-behaved, and quite clearly the joy of her parents. Quite coincidentally, she was wearing a butterfly-printed shirt!

After lunch, Bert proceeded to carry over to my truck item after item! First it was useful things like a walker, jumperoo, and excersaucer! Then it was boxes and bags of clothing! Shelia had also thrown in some nine month clothing that Amanda had grown out of since the early fall. I was stunned by the seating things and all the containers.

We hugged each other farewell, then headed off in our own directions. As soon as I was home, I brought in each item and set them carefully in the living room. Tim was on a business trip, and I wanted to photograph the stuff to email him. I started laying out all the clothes in different piles: onesies, sleepers, dresses, pants, shorts, etc. There were sneakers and socks. And so many cute little two-piece outfits. And tons and tons of blankets and embellished burp cloths. I was so amazed and overwhelmed. I set up the seating items and felt so grateful for their generousity! Everything was practically new. (You can click on the images to enlarge.)


When I had talked with Shelia, she admitted that she just had felt so touched by our experience with Thomas, that she had been wanting to help in any way she could. Well I can tell you, I don't think we need any more six month clothing!! You can tell Amanda is quite as well loved as our Thomas was!

I did take quite a few close-up photos, but here is one of the couch with everything in their piles:

Two days later, a package arrived in the mail for me. This was from my friend Christina, one of my oldest friends on the forum. She has posted many times on Thomas' CarePages, and is the one who named a star for Thomas, after he died. Christina was expecting twin girls, due on April 6th (!) when I finally got my positive pregnancy test with Thomas. I was the last girl in our little group to get pregnant. What a relief it was! Her babies were born within days of my test.

Christina wanted to send me some clothing for our girls. She remembered the early days of life with twins! She suggested sending onesies and sleepers, the things infants basically live in when first born. So I said, yes, please! But I didn't want her to send too much. She had already given away most of the clothes, yet was able to send some cute dresses which (remarkably) match pretty closely some of the dresses that Shelia had sent. So it will be nice to have similar clothes to dress the girls in from time to time. One of the dresses is covered in beautiful pastel butterflies! I think it is my favorite item! Most useful of all, though, were the sleeper gowns and onesies in newborn to three month sizes.


After Tim returned home and saw all the beautiful (and very pink!) clothes, I sorted them into boxes for later months, and took the smaller items, newborn or 0 months to 3 months, and placed them in the armoire and dresser in the nursery. I even sorted Thomas' clothes, and stored them with the others, or kept them in the nursery, depending on their size. Although I washed some items, I will wait until March to wash everything the way you are supposed to for babies.

So if you ever come over to visit, be sure to ask to see the babies' clothes! It can be fun to see them hanging in the armoire or folded up in the drawers.

Next post: Christmas gifts for the girls!