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...

Mama Made #1

 During the caught moments between Addison feeding and settling, when she finally gets to sleep, I try to keep myself sane by doing some quick crafts for my baby girl. It doesn't happen often, I am more inclined to have a nap or bake some tasty treats for midnight (and other night hour) snacks.

I made the bird onesie a while back when I was pregnant. Sadly it is already getting too small for her!

The pink tights were a quick job, I inherited some pink stretch knit fabric and traced around the pattern of some tights I already had. A couple of seams and hems later and some elastic threaded through and I had some teeny tiny tights! I see many more in the future, I just have to find some awesome stretch fabric.

 This headband, which featured in Addy's one month photoshoot, is a 3 coloured crochet flower with a button stitched in the middle. I made the pattern up myself which is always a bit of fun.

There are three things in Addy's bassinet that are Mama made:

The purple chevron fitted sheet is a piece of flannelette that I sewed elastic around to fit the mattress.

The pink and grey ripple blanket was my crochet project while I was pregnant. I used some scrap yarn and hoped it would be enough to make a decent sized blanket. I ended up having to buy a nearly-matching grey ball to finish off the border.

When we bought the bassinet we loved the turned rails around the sides but once we brought Addison home we realised that those rails were traps just the right size for baby arms. Even though we now swaddle her, I decided that I could whip up some sort of bumper to keep her arms in.

 I found the awesome fox fabric at Lincraft and lined it with some black cotton fabric. I attached some velcro straps along the top and sides to strap it to the bassinet. Now instead of counting sheep, she can count foxes!

I am looking forward to finding more projects to make for Addison over the next wee while!

Dear Addison - 1 Month

Precious Addison, how has a month gone by already? You are growing right before our eyes and becoming more and more interested in what is going on in your tiny little world.

We are still trying to figure out your personality, you are pretty chilled out but when you want something, boy do you let us know.

Sleep is a work in progress. You were born with your body clock around the opposite way, sleeping longest and best during the day and waking every 2 hours during the night. Now you are more alert during the day we are beginning to get 3 hour stretches during the night which is nice. You even went 4.5 hours last night but I woke up when you stirred after 3 hours but you put yourself back to sleep and I waited up thinking it would be any second you would be desperate for food. All that precious sleep I could have had!

I am coping ok with the whole sleep deprivation thing. It seems like if we have a bad night then the day is a lot better and I can nap through it. There have been a couple of nights when things just got too much and you wouldn't settle and there were tears. Your Dad is amazing though and always has a big hug for me and is able to give you big cuddles and will stay with you until you go to sleep.

You are growing really well, at your 3 week weigh-in you had just cracked 8lbs which is nearly a whole kg more than when you were born! We can see you getting more meat on your bones, your thighs, cheeks and chin showing it the most. Your tummy is also getting bigger and sometimes it seems like a bottomless pit!

You are now fitting your newborn clothes a lot better and I'm sure it wont be long until you grow out of them. I love how small you are at the moment, so easy to hold with one arm. A lot of people say that you look like a little doll, especially when you are asleep in your carseat.

Your favourite way to be held is up over our shoulders. It puts you to sleep pretty quickly, which doesn't help when you need to be in your bassinet but I absolutely love the snuggles I get with you when you are like that. I don't want to put you down!

We have no official smiles yet but I don't think they are far away. You have been focusing on our faces more and are trying to copy our expressions. You seem to like bath time and having no clothes on lying in a sunbeam on the floor.

Addison, you are a joy to have around. You keep us on our toes and are constantly reminding us that we don't have all the answers. We love being your parents.

xx Mum and Dad

Mothers Day - 22 Days In

I have now been a Mother for 22 days, although it's debatable if you count those pregnant days when you grow so attached to the unknown little dot in utero.

I now get to join the countless others who call themselves Mothers, as well as appreciate my own Mother a whole bunch more.

Here are a few things I have learnt about being a Mother so far:

• There is a switch. It is hardwired to turn on at some point and it will probably never turn off. The Motherhood switch controls your instincts - always subconsciously aware of where your child is, always ready to react if any sort of danger threatens. Always alert to any noise or cry and always having a hug at the ready.

• There is no better feeling of accomplishment like FINALLY getting your child to sleep after what seems like endless hours of fussing and crying.

• There is no limit to the amount of time you can spend staring at your child. 

• The same goes for cuddling.

I have learnt in my short time as a Mum, that there is nothing more scary, more daunting, nothing that makes you feel more out of control or out of your depth than having children.
But more importantly, there is nothing more amazing, more inspirational, nothing more worth your time than pouring everything you have (literally if you are breastfeeding!) into raising your child and watching them thrive on your love.

I have a lot to learn, but the learning will never stop.

Happy Mothers Day to all those who call themselves Mothers!

This is apparently is a trend called Baby Mugging - click on the link to check it out!