Emma's Dress

This post is long overdue, but better late than never! I finally finished knitting Emma's Fiona Baby Sundress. I started this project in April, and finished on June 26th, just in time for Emma to wear her dress for her 18 month pictures on June 27th. This was a hard pattern for me to get started on. I ended up ripping it out several times before I got it right. The pattern starts at the bottom of the dress, and you knit up. The straps gave me a bit of trouble as well. I ended up attaching them too far out and they barely sat on Emma's shoulders, so I had to cut them off and knit new straps, and reattached them the night before Emma's pictures. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! The dress was on the big side, and I was concerned it looked like Emma was wearing a sack. So I knitted about an arm's length of the brown yarn and then threaded that through two places on the back of the waist to make a tie. That helped gather the skirt a bit and made it fit better.

I also got creative and crocheted a little blue flower to match the dress that Emma wore in her hair. The dress really turned out great and I'm really happy with it. Emma hasn't worn it again. It's a bit hot with the 100+ degree weather we have been having, but I'm hopeful she can wear it more this fall. And it's pretty long and with adjustable straps, so I hope she can wear it for a couple of years at least.

Yarn: 4 hanks of Cascade Luna in color Sky, 1 hank of Cascade Luna in color Chocolate.
Needles: Size 7 US 16" circular needle, size 7 US double pointed needles, cable needle.
Gauge: 5 stitches/5.5 rows per inch

Shy little Lillypoots!

First ripe tomato!

So I actually have tomatoes to eat now, and Emma loves them!

Weaning Update

The last week has been a difficult one. I have completely stopped nursing Emma when she wakes during the night. There were some rough nights with lots of crying, from Emma and Mommy. One night (or morning really) she was up from 3-5:30 crying and wanting to nurse. I tried to rock her and walk with her, and offered her water. I tried to explain that at night everyone goes to bed, and there is no nursing. But I don't think she can really understand that yet. But the last two nights she has made it all night without waking up.

After we stopped the night nursing, a few days later we stopped the morning nursing too. Emma is getting up pretty early, usually about 6:45. I bring her downstairs and offer her a yogurt drink and other food for breakfast. I do miss snuggling in our bed with her, but I know one day again we can do that when she is older and won't associate it with nursing. She still asks to nurse every morning and at various times during the day. But now we are down to just naptime and bedtime.

I do hope that my body will notice the decrease in nursing and stop making so much milk. I am still feeling so full and of course my left side is still an overachiever in the milk production.

Overall I think that Emma is adjusting well. I'm sad and miss the extra quiet and cuddle time that each nursing opportunity gives us. I am not at all ready to cut out another nursing session yet. I don't even know how I would do that, I think she will be very opposed to stopping our before nap and bed time nursings.

The "I Have" List

I am a list maker. Grocery store, Target, Mall, things to do, places to go, craft projects, home improvement projects; these are all lists that I make frequently. They are all wish lists in some way. Wishes for a nice home and yard, wishes for good things to eat, wishes for clothes, toys, etc. The goal is to make a list, then cross the item off when I get what I want. Lately I've been having a lot of "I wants". But when I get what I want, I still want more. So I'm making an "I Have" List. These things won't be crossed off; these are things that I wanted and now have, and I need to remember, appreciate and cherish them.

I have a wonderful husband who would and does so much for me!
I have a beautiful daughter that makes me smile and laugh everyday!
I have two sweet kitties that love me even if they never show it and always make a terrible mess in the litterbox.
I have a nice home that we do take care of and improve when we can, a little bit here and there.
I have clothes and shoes to wear everyday.
I have food to cook and eat everyday.
I have yarn to knit and make things with.

I write this not to brag but to thank the Lord for his blessings. We had a wonderful weekend with family and friend and for that I am very thankful!

Weaning

We are talking about weaning Emma, actually have been for some time. I have a lot of thoughts and feeling on the subject. I'm pretty conflicted about it. Emma is now 18 months old and I've been feeling pressure to wean her for at least 6 months. I would love to nurse her until she weans gradually on her own but we'd also like to have another baby soon, and the nursing is keeping that from happening.

So we have been cutting back for a few months. We now only nurse 3 times a day, and occasionally during the night if she wakes up. Just a few months ago we were still nursing 7-8 times a day and more at night. I think part of that was because she was teething. She got about 8 teeth with in two months so she wanted to nurse all the time. Even though we are only nursing in the morning, at nap time and bed time, she asks to nurse at other times in the day. It's hard to distract her from this but I am trying. I'd love to just cuddle her and give her some milk or water but it seems like she can't sit in my lap without wanting to nurse. And she does not like cow's milk at all. I've also tried soy milk but this girl just wants water or breastmilk!

I don't know why she still has such a great interest in nursing. I play with her a lot and try to bond with her in other ways but she still wants to nurse. I feel guilty for trying to wean her when she still has this great need. We worked so hard in the beginning to get the nursing to work so part of me doesn't want to let that go.

I am going to try to drop another nursing session this week. Not sure if the morning or nap time session is better, but I imagine either one will be hard. How do I get her to sleep without nursing? I can't rock her without her wanting to nurse. I wish my milk supply would decrease but it's still going strong. If I drop the morning session, I will miss snuggling with her in our bed as she nurses. She's so sweet and still when she nurses! She just looks up at me with her beautiful blue eyes and touches my face so softly.

I am afraid of really hurting her in some way by weaning before she's ready. I don't want her to harbor bad feelings toward me. But part of me feels that it is time, that I want to wean her. I just wish it would be easy. But it's not going to be, so I have to be strong and focused and just do it. But which part of me is right? See, I'm just conflicted in my feelings and it makes it very hard to figure out what is right, what I really want to do. I guess I really just need to pray about this and give it to God, and hopefully that will help me figure this out.

My Chloe Kitty!