kim through
   the looking glass

Wow. A knitting-related post. Have you picked your jaw off the floor yet?

I thought I’d go back and write about my last finished object. I have a good reason for not writing about it right when I finished.

See the belly in that picture? I finished this puppy on June 11, 2008. The day I went into labour. For scale, you can see my iPod Mini in the right corner. I’m standing on my bed trying to get a full picture of it and you can *barely* see the left edge. (Oh. And I love that you can see my sexy support hose. Oh baby, oh baby!)

I don’t remember very many details about this project. It is a prayer shawl for my Aunt Connie, who was, at the time, undergoing some very intensive chemotherapy for breast cancer.

It’s basically a big, purple hug.

Her favourite colour was purple, so I found a beautiful purple variegated cotton yarn, a fun novelty yarn, and a nice white yarn - Rowan All Seasons Cotton. The middle piece is double knit with the purple variegated and the novelty yarn, whereas the arm portions are some sort of patterned ribbin which I can’t remember.

To be fair, this was 7 months and a lifetime ago.

I knit most of it with my feet up on the couch or sitting on my bed listening to a LibriVox recordings of Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island, by L.M. Mongomery, timing Braxton-Hicks contractions that were coming every 5 - 7 minutes, and waiting for June Bug to arrive.

She was obviously waiting for me to finish this before she came.

Alright, this is a long, detailed version of my birth story. If you have a problem with blood or bodily functions, or body parts, you might not want to read this! Read the rest of this entry »

I absolutely cannot believe how quickly the time is flying. It feels like just yesterday I was still pregnant, and here we are, three weeks into my beautiful baby girl’s life. Three weeks ago today, Gwen came into our lives in a much more tangible way than she was previously. That little girl has turned our lives COMPLETELY upside down … and we couldn’t be happier! Read the rest of this entry »

Gwendolyn Eleanor Schellingerhoudt!!

She was born at 1:38 pm this afternoon in the comfort of our bedroom after 10 hours of active labour and around 45 minutes of pushing!! She weighed in at 5 lbs, 15 oz. and 19.5 inches long. Both Gwen and I are doing exceedingly well!

The birth story will follow in a few days. I’m a tired mama!

Well, both the student midwife and my primary midwife’s guessed dates for June Bug’s birthday (the 6th and 10th) have passed! My secondary midwife has guessed the 16th, so we’ll see about that! I know it was a long shot that I would go early, but they did so have me hoping!! The next full moon is at the VERY end of the month, so I’m thinking babes won’t wait that long - at least I hope not!! Maybe Friday, since it’s a Friday the 13th? That’s my next goal!

I had my 39 week check-up on Monday - heart rate in the 140’s, BP 124/76, no glucose/protein in the urine, fundal height of 38. June Bug has DROPPED!!! You can’t tell so much by looking at me, but I can tell, and Brad can tell, and my poor, getting-more-stretch-marked-every-day belly can tell =( I was soooooo hoping to make it through without them, but it looks like I’m SOL. Oh well - at least there’s a reward at the end!!! =)

So I actually did think that yesterday was the beginning of the end! I was having VERY uncomfortable Braxton-Hicks contractions ALL DAY - they started about 10 minutes apart and moved to 6 - 7 minutes apart the WHOLE DAY. But, I went to bed, didn’t feel any all night, and although I’ve had a few today, it’s nothing like the frequency yesterday. Oh well! I suppose June Bug’s not ready to face the world yet - although today would be a lovely day to labour - nice and cool outside =)

Well, I’m off to do some research about good snacks for labour - and off to make them!

p.s. For those of you unable to get to the link I sent for the game … type “expectnet” into Google and then search for JuneBugGuess for the game name =)

… or rather, when you’re growing a baby! Today is officially 6 days before my due date. 6 days!! Time used to go so slow in the first trimester. Third trimester? Time FLIES. Although talk to me after Saturday … apparently time slows to a halt after the due date, when you’re waiting =)

June Bug is around 21 - 22 inches long and just over 7 lbs - or so they say. He/she is doing wonderfully in my belly and making it dance around a lot of the day. So fun to watch … sometimes a bit painful to feel! But it’s always reassuring to feel that movement … and wonderful to know that within three weeks, I’ll be holding my baby in my arms! Read the rest of this entry »

June Bug is completely developed and ready to make his/her entrance at any time now. That’s just crazy! He/she weighs between 6.5 and 7 pounds and is around 20 - 21 inches long. Alllllllll curled up in there and comfy! I must admit, I’m now getting a wee bit antsy to find out who’s in there. Boy or girl??? Read the rest of this entry »

… said I to my husband last night as we went for a walk. “Slow down!”

(Yes. I call myself ‘waddles’. ‘Preggo’ and ‘preggers’ are also often used. Most often when talking about food, for example, “Preggers wants cake!” or “Preggo wants a hamburger!” I’m classy.) Read the rest of this entry »

** Warning: Photo heavy post **

Well, my dad came up today to finish up the sanding on June Bug’s room, so other than priming that wall (which should take no time at all and I might do tomorrow), it’s done!! Here’s our photo journey of the past week of renovations. Read the rest of this entry »

Holy crap, people! Do you know what that means? It means that June Bug could come at any time and we’d be having him/her arrive at home! Wow. Wow. Wow. Read the rest of this entry »