Pins, Needles, and 38 Weeks

Want to know the most boring thing in the world? Waiting around to go into labor. Everyone else in my life is excited. I'm bored, nervous, restless. Passive. It takes the patience of a saint to be so passive, and I am certainly not one.

Pins

I made a pin cushion for myself. Cute, huh? I've been needing one for my hand-sewing basket. Pin cushions are so fun and easy. I keep on squishing it, like a tiny pillow. Eeek! :o)

Needles
I've considering acupuncture to get labor started. But that would mean doing stuff, like calling for an appointment and leaving the house.

38 Weeks
51.5" around.
57.5 lbs gained.
1,000,000 items crossed off the list.
1 amazing journey.

I made it to my goal of 38 weeks (8.5 months) pregnant, and I feel DONE. I'm so glad I didn't have the frightening experience of pre-term labor and seeing struggling preemies in the hospital. But now I want nature to step it up already. Carrying twins past 38 weeks is considered just as risky as delivering early - not enough space to grow, placental break down, etc, etc. Plus, I'm uncomfortable and bored. Oh and whiny. And cranky. And, I'm sure, a real pleasure to be around.

Sigh. I'm trying to enjoy the moment - the end of pregnancy. The quiet house. Eating with two hands. But it's hard to relax when I feel so ready for this new beginning.

We are on induction stand-by today, so we call Labor and Delivery every few hours to see if there is space. If so, we dash right over and get things started. Meanwhile, I'm getting a pedicure and taking myself out to lunch on this beautiful September day.

Oh, and if we don't call you (immediate family) or post something online, and you are really, REALLY wondering if I went into labor, please visit this website for more info: www.haveyouhadthatbabyyet.com. :o)

37 Weeks

Yep, still here. The boys seem pretty content for now, but an eviction notice was posted by my OB today - next Tuesday is induction day if they don't get going on their own. I am getting pretty eager to meet them (and to be able to roll over in bed without the help of a crane), but every day in the womb is another benefit to their development, so I'm trying not to complain too much.

But when they DO get here...

...there will be a little quilt for each of them!

I finished the second baby quilt/play mat today. Did the weather cooperate for photos? Why would it? Overcast and windy, as usual.

As with all quick projects, there are things I question. Maybe white satin binding would have looked better? Or a more thought-out plan for the quilting? Perhaps skipping the basting was a mistake? All things a newborn child will notice, I'm sure.

I pretty much machine- and hand-quilted vertical and horizontal lines until it looked done. I placed them randomly and didn't mark them (hence the "straightness"), though I did attempt to get 4-5 lines horizontally and 3-4 lines vertically for each patch.

The back is a big piece of Kona Medium Gray. My hand-quilting is picking up speed. I'm kind of impressing myself, especially since everything else in my life is so slow!

I hope the two quilts are different without one being "better." I like them both a lot. Got to pop the new one in the wash to make it nice and softy.

Since my considerate little guys have outlasted my WIP list, I have a couple more ideas to keep my hands busy until they are full of babies. One is another fabric book, this time with different textures.

Corduroy, satin, velveteen

Another is a little pink and white dolly quilt. I have these bits already pieced from a baby quilt I made a few years ago for a friend, and I want to use them up and get them out of my sewing stash. Luckily I have a couple of friends with little girls, so it will have no trouble finding a home.

Or maybe I'll just sit back and enjoy the quiet before the storm. Hmm.

What about all those WIPs that I haven't been mentioning...the ones I ambitiously set out to complete in May? Weeellll...in the interest of transparency...

1. Quilt Bee  FINISHED
2. Brother Quilt FINISHED AND GIFTED
3. Mumu FINISHED
4. Scrappy Matching Pillows FINISHED
5. Spring Sampler - Sitting in a basket, neglected. Might become a dozen little items, or a full quilt if I regain steam. This was the last iteration I considered before becoming overwhelmed and shoving it back in the basket.

6. Emma's Trip Around the World - It's waited almost 70 years; it can wait longer.
7. Paisley Sunrise - I guess I will be tugging this out to soothe myself until the babies are 5 or so. Meh, what's the rush? I wanted it as a task more than a finished quilt anyway - something for my hands to do when they need it. So maybe the kids will actually be 10 20 before I experience that need again!

Proudly, I can say "the spool is half full" and I have finished more than half of the projects I set out to complete. Not too shabby.

I'll keep you updated on my progress, quilt friends, but it probably won't be for a couple of weeks. To tide you over, what does a 37-week twin-pregnant belly look like? Well, here it is, in all its glory:

And how do I feel about pregnancy coming to an end and getting to meet my sweet babies?

More stitches and fewer stretch marks over at Lee's:

36 Weeks!

It's like crossing the finish line. 36 weeks is considered full term for twins, and we have made it to this critical milestone!

This means our little guys are less likely to have extended hospital time and the developmental problems of preemies. Yay! Fingers (legs?) crossed that we can make it to 38 weeks, which is the optimal time for twins to be born.

Maybe the babies are just waiting patiently for me to finish my WIPs ;o) The list is steadily dwindling.

I completed the little ball this week (pattern from I Love Patchwork: 21 Irresistible Zakka Projects to Sew by Rashida Coleman-Hale). It is so cute! I love the feel of the linen, the interesting pictures in each hexagon, and the size, which is perfect for little hands. I also enjoyed making something totally by hand.

Right in the middle of taking pictures, Mr Awesome couldn't resist playing with the ball. What in the world am I in for with three boys in the house?

That book, White Butterfly by Walter Mosley, is pretty good, by the way.

Notice that my camera is "fixed"? Um yeah, I had it on the wrong setting. How pro.

I also finished up the Gobbi mobiles. What in the heck, you ask? They are part of the series of infant mobiles recommended by education pioneer Maria Montessori.

I've long been intrigued by Maria Montessori and her methods and philosophy. It resonates with my husband and me, and seems like a natural extension of the way we already live. While we'll probably not have a perfect adherence, it's been a wonderful inspiration as we choose purposeful ways to begin our parenting journey.

One thing I wanted to invest in from the start was the lovely infant Visual Mobile Series. I've bought two Montessori mobiles from the lovely bellascasa on Etsy, the Munari and the bell and ring. But I figured I could easily make the Gobbi and octahedron mobiles myself. Okay, so it wasn't actually easy...but they came out alright.

One of Montessori's key ideas is freedom of movement. Here is our babies' play space in the living room. It features a futon covered by a quilt (someday I'll do a post on that one), a low mirror, the Munari mobile, and a couple of low shelves with items that will interest the babies. The bookshelf is bolted to the wall, so it is earthquake-safe (a genuine California concern), and won't topple when tiny movers use it to pull themselves up.

The babies will have access to the toys on the low shelves (when they are able to creep and reach), and just out of their grasps are some beautiful picture books that we look forward to reading to them. Yes, including some of the Philosophy for Beginners series - Mr Awesome's picks :o)

My final WIP is the second baby quilt. I've started the quilting, some by hand with perle cotton thread, and some by machine. I need to make some choices about the quilting pattern - only horizontal like it's twin, or horizontal and vertical to match the piecing?

Celebrate more progress here: