Why am I watching my third straight episode of Paris Hilton: My New BFF?  Please, someone help me change the channel! 

I can’t believe my little baby is already 4 weeks old! Time switches between zooming by and crawling when you’re stuck hibernating at home for 6 weeks while you can’t drive. I have some cute photos to share, and I hope to have a chance to get someone to hold Henri over the weekend so I can upload some photos here.

(Let’s not even get into the fact that I can’t believe my little 20 month old Jakob is a BIG brother. Words fail me.)

Updates to come, promise. Still adjusting to life with a newborn and toddler, especially the newborn who has his days and nights mixed up. Don’t have many waking hours with the energy to come and sort through photos and put together a coherent post…but will do soon! Happy 2009…

Everything is coming together. 

I’m officially on maternity leave, and am looking forwards to a little time off before the baby comes. 

Yesterday I got an email response from the Sandnes people about my request for errata- turns out there WAS a mistake in the pattern.  They forwarded the corrections to me, and I will be able to continue on Kayla’s Lace Cardigan without (hopefully) any more problems.

I also reached my LYS yesterday and found out that they had ordered in a bag of 20 balls of the purple Smart Superwash when I had requested the 3 I’d originally purchased.  I only need another 1, and I picked it up this afternoon.  The dinosaur will be done a lot faster than the cardigan, so I am going to work on that over the next few days to get another project knocked off my list.

I also had an ultrasound today. 

[If you don’t feel like reading a long thought-process ramble about c-sections vs VBACs then skip down to the last paragraph of this post]

I don’t see my doctor until tomorrow, but the gist of the situation is that they are predicting that I am having a large baby.  Because of that, the technician’s extremely strong recommendation is to have a c-section instead of risking a VBAC.  Part of the reason is, of course, the risk to me in terms of a uterine rupture.  However, more disturbing to me is their major concern of the risk that the baby’s shoulders wouldn’t fit and that serious complications could occur during delivery.

Now, I don’t believe the baby’s weight estimate is accurate.  I fully believe that the baby will be born at at least a full pound less than they think the baby currently weighs.  Regardless of how I feel about that, however, there are 2 things I am fairly certain of:

1.  I don’t believe my doctor will disagree with the ultrasound technicians.  Therefore I am positive that when I see her tomorrow, she will tell me to keep the c-section date that we’d tentatively scheduled previously.  I don’t think she’ll give me an option, say it is my decision, or weigh the odds.  I’m pretty sure she’ll say that this is what needs to be done.

2.  I believe that the hospital and the ultrasound technicians are confident in their results.  Meaning that whether or not the baby actually IS as big as they say, they are sure that the baby is large, and are making the best possible recommendations that they can, assuming that the baby is large.  

Taking both of those factors into account, I have decided that whether or not I end up having a choice, my decision has already been made to have an elective c-section on the date scheduled.  I am fully aware that many people have had successful VBACs with large babies, and possibly if I were to hunt around I could find a doctor or hospital that would let me try.  But it would only be a “try”.  I don’t know that I wouldn’t end up in labor only to have it not progress and end up with a c-section anyways.  I don’t know that in that circumstance it wouldn’t end up as an emergency surgery.  And I don’t know what the outcome would be.

I do know that by making this decision, I am actively doing what my hospital and the ultrasound technician feel is the safest route for me to safely deliver a healthy baby.  I am certain that this opinion is going to be shared by my doctor.  These are the people that I have trusted with my previous and current pregnancies, and my previous delivery, and I am not about to start doubting them now.

If they said I fell into a “gray zone”, an area of their chart that could go either way…suggesting a c-section but allowing for the possibility of a vaginal delivery…I think I’d be upset.  I would feel very unsure about making the “right” decision about what to do.  But after plugging all values into the computer I fall so far into the “vaginal delivery is not an option” category that I am completely comfortable with this decision.

Also helping me make my decision is the fact that the baby isn’t predicted to be large “at birth”.  It is predicted to be large NOW.  But with a VBAC they advise against being induced because of the risk of rupture when you go from nothing into strong contractions.  If I were to wait to go into labor on my own, anywhere from today to up to 10 days past my due date, the baby (who puts on about a half-pound per week at this stage) would be nearly 2 pounds heavier than the current estimate (which already states that there is a risk).  So why wait around and invite problems?

I wouldn’t say I’m “happy” about this decision, but I am completely comfortable and not un-happy with it.  There will always be a small twinge of disappointment for what I’ll never get to know, but not enough for me to deliberately choose to put my child in any danger just to satisfy my own curiosity.  I feel like this is my choice to do what is best for the health of my baby (and my own, should it come to that).

So…enough of the heavy stuff.  It’s all good!  Baby coming soon!  I stopped working!  I can keep knitting!  And between doctor’s appointments (I might have a sinus infection- thanks daycare!) and finishing arranging any newly re-unpacked baby toys, that’s exactly what I plan on doing- parking myself in front of the couch, knitting, resting and vegging during the day…and spending my evenings with my son, enjoying him while he’s still an only child and appreciating everything he brings to our life.

Almost there now!

The good news is that the sock is still progressing quite fast.  I’m about 12 rows away from the toe decreases, but am stopping for the night ‘cus I’m too tired to continue.

The bad news is that by the time I picked Jakob up from daycare he was really burning up.  He was so lethargic that when I took him out of his car seat at home, his eyes were unfocused and glassy, and when he laid his head on my shoulder he never raised it once until we got up to his room, not even during taking off his coat or mine or anything.  He’s never been like that before, and I decided immediately that I was not going to make him stay up and eat supper.  There’d be no point- he’d be passing out in the high chair, and why would I make him stay up the extra half hour and force food into him when sleep would do him more good?

Instead I brought him up to bed right away and gave him some extra milk to keep him from being hungry over night.  He got some Tempra too, and I put on the humidifier because his nose and eyes were running and he had an occassional dry cough.  The worst is the fever- I could barely stand to touch him because he was so hot!  At bedtime his fever had risen to 103.4 F, which is the highest he’s ever had.  He’s definitely not going to daycare tomorrow, and I’ll determine in the morning if we need to visit the doctor.  His (amazing) doctor’s office has late and emergency hours, plus a full clinic with access to his file.  I called them before putting him to bed and they said it would be ok to see how he is in the morning, and that it’s not so much the high fever that is a risk in kids, but how suddenly it comes on.  The Tempra would help to lower the fever so if he were able to sleep over night it would be good for him.  Luckily so far he’s been sleeping pretty soundly, with only the occassional whimper or cough.  I just went in and changed his diaper and refilled the humidifier, so hopefully he’ll be comfortable enough to sleep straight through the rest of the night without waking up.

This is what I have to get done (not counting knitting deadlines, life crap, and such).  The baby’s due date is just under 9 weeks away.  I’m feeling the pressure!!!

I’ve temporarily put aside my FIL’s Christmas socks.  I finished the first one Sunday night.  No photos yet, but picture a large, brown, plain, boring sock.  I was following the directions I’d written out 4 years ago for the first pair of socks I made for Yannick but I had to rewrite them because a) I took out 4 sts (1 per needle) for a slightly snugger fit, and b) it turns out my gauge had changed a boatload in 4 years.  With Yannick’s socks (knit on 2.5mm needles with Regia Color 4ply yarn) my notes said that after knitting 200 rows (from the cuff down around the heel and up the foot) I would be ready to work the toe decreases.  For Marcel’s socks, also knit with 2.5mm needles and with Regia 4ply yarn, 200 rows put me right about the arch of the foot.  NOT where the toes normally go.  Apparently I wasn’t always a tight knitter – who knew?  In any case, I finished the first one (as I said) and I want to wait for my in-laws to get home from Floriday, sometime in the first week of December, so I can get him to try it on and make sure it fits before I knit the second sock.  Kinda kills the surprise but saves me the time knitting something that won’t fit.

To avoid fit issues with my mother-in-law’s socks, I brought the yarn and pattern to the Montreal Knitting Guild meeting last night.  We had some new members there, and Barbara came by with some of her fabulous toys.  (I can’t stop raving about the bat, I’m in love!).  Our featured speakers didn’t show up, so I spent the night swatching for the socks.  I’m knitting the Queen of Cups pattern from an old issue of Knitty.

I’m going to spend tonight hopefully parked in front of the TV, working on the socks.  My needles (3mm), yarn (Regia 4ply in black) and gauge (for the larger size) worked perfectly, so here’s to hoping that the socks will fit. 

And you all know the other stuff on my never-getting-smaller list of stuff I have to knit; Kayla’s Lace Cardigan, Valerie’s Sweater, Mack’s Dinosaur, Brigitte’s Mittens…it’s endless!

So why am I weak?  Because all I can think about is casting on something for ME.  I really, really, really, really want to start Veronik’s Oblique (from another old Knitty issue).  I keep thinking about it.  I want to wear it. 

I’m resisting temptation so far, but it’s hard.  I wonder…would winding one ball of my Oblique yarn take the edge off?  Or would it bring me closer to the edge?

I came upstairs to the office to type this post and happened to glance out the window to see that it is snowing.  *sigh* 

Anyhoo…I didn’t yet have a chance to type up a proper review of the weekend, so in the meantime let me show off my latest new toy:

 I feel guilty calling it “new” since technically I’ve had it for over a year, sitting sealed in its box in the closet.  I don’t know why I tend to avoid using things I’ve bought- I don’t know if it is a fear of “wasting” it or what, but I do this a lot.  Last night I decided “no more!” for the steamer, and took it out.

It can do all kinds of cleaning stuff, but I bought it for one reason.  You guessed it- blocking!  I’m still knitting away on Jakob’s Halloween costume for this year and will most probably have it done in time.  No photos yet because if I decide to publish the pattern a lot of places prefer that it hasn’t been posted previous to publication.  Trust me when I say that while steaming the garment I had my doubts, but when I went to get my knitting tonight to keep working on it, I found it had done a wonderful job.  My knitting, even the stockinette stitch portions, lay flat and had a beautiful drape to it.  I think the steamer will be getting a lot of use around here!

Since those photos were pretty boring, here are some cute ones!  I took this photo of Jakob on Sunday evening when he was playing in the leaves before going to my parents’ house for supper.  Please ignore the funny hat- my parents gave it to him and he’s been wearing it until I get a chance to knit him a Winter hat.  I feel like it should have fishing flys hanging off of it, and I don’t know why he always manages to put it on with the pink tag in front.  I really don’t even know if it is a girl’s hat or boy’s or unisex…but he looks cute and silly all at the same time.

Speaking of cute and silly, here’s what you get when your toddler decides to feed himself chili.  He’s usually pretty good with a spoon- can feed himself almost anything with a spoon or fork and not make a mess.  This time I turned my back to put some groceries away and he decided that the chili would make an excellent finger paint.  I turned back just in time to see him wiping his fingers across his face.  I couldn’t help but laugh.  Before you say that I shouldn’t encourage such behavior, you need to know that his very next action was to grab a wet paper towel from the counter and wipe his face, hands and his high-chair tray.  Gotta love a kid who cleans up after himself!

I had to run up and check something in my email, but Jakob is demanding lunch and I’m not sure how much computer time I’m going to get today, so I just wanted to pop in quickly to say that the weekend workshops were amazing and I will be posting follow-ups and photos over the week. 

I hope you had a great weekend!