Cloud Felt Mobile

Somehow I have gathered a bunch of felt in my stash and I figured I could make some simple, baby type crafts.

I remember seeing a cloud mobile somewhere in a magazine and a quick Pinterest search helped get the creative juices flowing.

I used white felt for the cloud (obviously), and then made 5 raindrops in the colours I had spare and arranged them in a semi-rainbow-type sequence.

To hang the raindrops from the cloud I just crocheted a chain of varying lengths, as well as one chain to hang from the top.

The mobile is 3D and the cloud and raindrops are filled with polyfill.

I machine stitched around all edges but to be honest, I like hand stitching on felt a lot nicer so next time I will hand stitch them.

Addison loves her cloud mobile which I have hung on the wall next to the change table. Every time she gets changed she looks over and gives it big smiles. I give it a gentle swing too so it is more interesting for her to look at. 

Lately

Lately we have been:

• Walking in parks

• Making new friends at Plunket group

• Trying to unblock a tiny nose

• Getting Addison dedicated

• Having playdates

• Learning to use my fancy new camera (Thanks Dave!)

• Sleeping for 5 hours at night! (occasionally)

Dear Addison - 2 Months

Addison my sweet girl, what a month we have had. This month had the longest nights, the loudest cries, the sorest tummies, the loudest farts, the most times Mummy cried, the most day naps refused.

But also, the most cuddles, the time you slept 6.5 hours, discovering the way your vision and eye coordination has improved, that you have ticklish feet, that you love to play and the smiles you are giving us (mostly Mum).

The days are going by so fast, 8 weeks will soon turn into 8 months, too soon I think! When I remember that, I spend a little extra time cuddling you because I won't get this time back. You are growing out of your newborn clothes and into 000 size. It seems so weird to be packing away clothes already, ready to be used by a future child - your future sibling! Way too soon to be thinking about that!

You have been guzzling your milk so fast that you swallow a tonne of air and even though most of it comes up as giant burps, some gets stuck in your tummy and causes you pain. You wake yourself up trying so hard to get it out and it cuts your sleeps short most of the time. We have tried so many things but the thing that works best is massage right now. We are hoping that your tummy will develop quickly and you will grow out of this phase!

When we take you out in the car, you behave so well, you enjoy all the cuddles you get from our friends. When we go for walks in the pram you cry for most of the trip until you eventually fall asleep.

For a week now you have been giving me smiles, mostly cheeky ones in the middle of night feeds. The last few days you have been smiling for me more and just tonight you had some big ones for your Dad which made me a bit teary.

There is so much more to say about you but mostly we are enjoying watching you grow and change before our eyes. Slow down time.

Bless you my darling girl.

Love Mummy

DIY Baby Play Gym

 Now that Addison is becoming more awake and aware of things going on, I realized I didn't have much in the way of visual stimulation for her. I love the idea of play gyms but not so much the price tag. Sure I could get one second hand but with no car during the day pick-up becomes tricky.

I mentioned the idea of making my own to Dave and he was excited because he got to go to one of his favourite places - the Hardware Store. He came back with a roll of thick wire and headed to the shed to make two lengths of double strength wire for me - about a metre each. He did that by tack soldering the two pieces of wire together at regular intervals.

Meanwhile I was at the sewing machine sewing together covers for the wire. Because babies are most attracted to strong contrasting colours, I picked a bunch of black and white and bright fabrics that I cut into strips and joined together to form long lengths. Before I sewed them into a tube, I added some ribbon. Two long pieces in the middle to tie the wires together, and a few ribbon loops at different intervals to attach toys to.

I then sewed down each length, turning them into two tubes, taking care not to catch the ribbon (I did, and had to unpick). Next I turned them right way out using a safety pin to help feed it through. I slid the tubes onto each piece of wire then set about making the base mat.

The mat is a polar fleece cot blanket I was given. It has a nice soft texture and a pretty applique butterfly in the corner so it makes a perfect place for a baby to hang out on. I turned the blanket into a square and cut off the excess fabric. I hemmed the edge I had cut so that it matched the other edges. With the excess fabric I cut four small triangles and sewed one to each corner, leaving the inside edge open. These triangles become the pockets that the wire lengths slot into and are held into place.

All there is left to do is put it all together. Each length of wire goes diagonally across the mat and fits into the pockets at each corner. The long length of ribbon in the middle of one of the wires is used to tie them together into an 'X' shape. Attach whatever toys you wish to the ribbon loops, lie your baby underneath and have fun watching them flail their arms about and accidentally hit them. It melts your heart, it really does.

The best part it that it all comes apart for easy washing and storage. I just prop the wires up in a corner and fold the blanket up.

It is also a cat entertainment system...