Baby Leg Warmers and Storytime

Originally, I laughed at the idea of baby leg warmers because 1) leg warmers are oh so 80's and I can't believe that they are back, and 2) baby legs are so short, so how would these really fit anyway?  I didn't want to shell out any cash for baby leg warmers.  However, as many nursing mothers can tell you, holding a baby close during feedings can feel like holding a little fireball next to your chest.  You get hot, and so I like to open windows.  But, then baby gets cold.  You could put on pants or tights over a onesie, but they do get cumbersome during diaper changes. I decided to give leg warmers a try.  But, as a knitting mother, I figured I could make a pair easily, cheaply, and ones that were custom measured for my baby's little legs.  Sooooo, here they are:

These are based on this pattern. Somehow, during late night knitting, I omitted row 2 from the pattern, but I like the way mine turned out anyway. Because I left out row two, the twist pattern is slightly different from the one in the pattern.  These took a few late night knitting sessions to make, and I imagine that someone who doesn't have to worry about a screaming baby could make these even more quickly.

I also recently got a shipment of Korean storybooks from my uncle in Seoul.  I read these to Emma.  My Korean is workable, but not excellent. Reading these Korean books to to her goes at a slow pace, but I don't think she minds.  In fact, she seems to like it!

The Face of Anger

It's an older picture, but you get the point...

Tummy Time

Little Emma is starting to enjoy her tummy time. She can lift and turn her head and smile already.

She also loves to sleep with one hand pressed up against her cheek, just like her mommy.

I have been putting my library card to good use these days.  I need something to occupy my time between 11 PM and 1 AM, the time of night when Emma is the fussiest.  She eats at 11 PM and then again at 1 AM and it just doesn't seem worth it to try to sleep for those two hours.  So, I have been reading a lot, mostly mysteries.  I gauge the success of a mystery novel by whether it can keep me from flipping to the end.  If the pace drags or the plot is just plain boring, then I flip to the end, find out the name of the killer and that's that.  I know, not the best way of reading a book, but just like life is too short for bad wine, life is also too short for bad books.  I like the mysteries by Elizabeth George, an American novelist who writes British mysteries.  She writes the Inspector Lynley mysteries which have been serialized on Masterpiece Mystery (one of my favorite television programs).  Her novels are not high literature, but they are engaging, move quickly, and are fun to read in the wee hours of the night when one might be trying to get a crying baby to go to sleep.

I also just checked out In the Kitchen by Monica Ali.  I heard a short segment about it on NPR, and it sounded interesting.  Ali also wrote Brick Lance, which was turned into a movie.  I am only about 1 chapter in, but so far so good.

Time Flies

Yesterday, Emma turned 1 month old.  It is amazing how quickly time flies.  She has already outgrown some of her newborn clothes.  The crazy thing is that we got so many outfits as gifts that she didn't even get a chance to wear all her newborn outfits before she outgrew them.

Here she is at 1 month old - the red blotches are her baby acne!  She has gotten a lot chubbier, and has turned into a good eater.  Right now, she is all head and tummy.  Sometimes, she gets a little bit of a deranged look on her face right before she gets fed.  I will have to try to capture that on camera...

She is also starting to enjoy bathtime.  This is great, because previously every time we gave her a bath, she screamed as if someone were trying to murder her.  Here's a picture in her little bathtime hooded towel.  Her red cheeks - you guessed it, the baby acne!

So This Is Where She Gets It From

Sleeping habits:  like father, like daughter, right down to snoring...

Emma has also developed a bad case of baby acne!  I won't post any embarrassing pictures of her face with her baby zits, but apparently this is a very common thing to happen and will pass soon (hopefully). She has also developed the very bad habit of biting me to let me know she is done feeding.  OUCH!  My mother gets a HUGE kick out of this development and laughs at my pain.  Apparently, I used to do the same thing to her when I was a baby.  To my mother, this is cosmic retribution.

Even though I wrote earlier that knitting is on hold, I started a VERY simple diagonal garter stitch baby blanket for one of our friends who is expecting a baby boy in December. 

I can't continue on any of my previous projects that I started before Emma's arrival, since they all have pattern rows and require concentration.  This blanket requires absolutely no concentration and I can drop it in the middle of a row if I have to attend to Emma.  I will probably alternate colors to make it more interesting, but haven't quite decided on the colors yet, other than the blue.  Of course, it has taken me quite a while to get as far as I have on this blanket (which is not far at all).  My life is now timed in an hour and a half to two hour spurts between feedings.

Bye, Mom! and Knitting on Hold

I am delirious from lack of sleep since Emma has not slept at night for the past two days.  I can't believe it is already September and time for my mother to go back to New Jersey.  She has been here for almost a month and will leave this Saturday.  It is a Korean tradition for a mother to come and help her daughter after the daughter's baby is born.  With my mother's departure, things will be a lot dirtier around the house, we will eat less and meals will not be as elaborate and delicious, and I will be even more tired.  I will also miss being able to talk to her everyday and ask her baby-raising questions.  I imagine it might get a little lonelier around the house, too.  I am sure baby Emma will miss having my mom around, too, since Emma gets along with her really well.

In any case, knitting has been on hold since the arrival of Emma.  Especially anything that calls for pattern rows.  I just don't have the concentration or time available right now.  I missed getting a scarf done in time for my friend's brithday. I started the Purlbee's Checkerboard Scarf for my friend, R.  It is made from organic cotton yarn, since R is a vegan.  I hope to finish this scarf sometime in the next couple of months, since people tell me that as Emma gets older, things will get easier.