Quick and dirty DIYs: sewing for baby edition

Lately I’ve been doing a little bit of sewing, which makes me happy.  I have a medium-sized sewing project to share with you when it’s finished, which will be soon I hope.  In the meantime, I’ve done a couple of super quick “sewing” projects.  I say “sewing” because technically I did very little sewing on one and no sewing on the other, but they involve fabric and sewing tools.  

I mentioned in a post about our diaper changing station that when we are at home, instead of disposable wipes, we use cloth ones wet with plain water and stored in our wipe warmer.  Trial and error showed us which materials we like best for wipes.  My favorite cloth wipes are ones I cut from an old pair of sweatpants, even though they roll up in the dryer.  Next best are terry cloth.  The worst are ones I cut from old T shirts; they’re just too thin.  I don’t have any more sweatpants lying around, but I do have more baby towels than we can possibly use, thanks to gifts, hand-me-downs, and freecycle.  There were a couple of towels received via freecycle bags-‘o-baby-stuff that had seen better days, so I cut one up into washcloths.  It only took a couple minutes using my rotary cutter and mat.  6 inches by about 4.5 inches fit nicely into the wipe warmer.  Bam, done.  Always nice to accomplish something so quickly.  We’ve been using these for over a month and the edges don’t fray, so there’s no need to finish them.

Next up, some strap protectors for the Ergo carrier.  We really like the Ergo.  Emmett likes it too.  Like any baby, everything that comes near his mouth immediately goes in and gets all slobbery.  See the wet spot on the strap:

The Ergo can be washed, but they recommend against washing it a lot.  Hence the existence of “sucking pads” on Amazon, “drool catchers” on Etsy, and a variety of similar products available to purchase online for around $20.  That seems a little expensive for something I could make in 5 minutes, albeit not as attractive, but still quite functional.  I have a whole pile of Bumkins prefold cloth diapers that I use for burp cloths and mainly to catch the milk that always seems to dribble out the corner of Emmett’s mouth when he nurses.  I thought one of these cut in half would be perfect.  So I cut it, sewed a zigzag along the cut edges, and used iron-on velcro patches.  Bam, done.  

They work very well, except one of the velcro patches didn’t adhere completely so I’ll have to iron it on again.  The same thing could be done to make another set to use as strap covers for the car seat.  I don’t worry about it for short trips, but on longer trips I’m always trying to tuck the sides of Emmett’s bib between his neck and the straps so they don’t cut in too much.  Maybe I’ll go ahead and do that when I fix the other one.

Next up, I took a freecycled minky baby blanket with some ink stains on one corner, and made a quick cover for the diaper changing pad. I just draped the blanket over the pad, pinned corner darts where it seemed appropriate, and sewed it. It’s not perfect, but it took about 10 minutes and cost $0. It actually stays on the changing pad pretty well just with a few darts around the edges and no elastic.

I love mini projects that are quick and easy.  It’s nice to get the finished result right away and move on.  Sometimes when I’ve been feeling stuck or overwhelmed, just getting something - anything - DONE gives me enough momentum to tackle something bigger.  I’ll show you the bigger project soon!

-Kelly

6 months!

Emmett is eating food, mastering an army crawl, and gaining other motor skills day by day.  He is very interested in small details and faces, and he often uses his pointer finger to touch a specific part of an object or drawing.  His pinchers are getting pretty good too.  He can almost sit unassisted, but falls over after a few seconds.

I have continued to take his monthly photos.  He is so big and mature compared to the first four months!

5 months:

6 months:

At his 6-month checkup, Emmett weighed 18 lbs, 4 oz (65 %ile) and was 28.5 inches long (98 %ile!)  He wears 9-12 month size clothing already and he is just about to grow out of his infant car seat.  We can’t believe how fast he’s growing and changing.  It seems like every day he makes a new sound or executes a new movement that he has never done before.  

And such a happy boy!

-Kelly

Emmett’s latest adventures

Petting the dog for the first time of his own accord:

Flying:

Seeing the world from new perspectives:

Grabbing his feet:

Looking out the window:

Tummy time fun time:

Knows something is up with cameras and looks right at them:

I’m amazed that starting at just a couple months of age, he really does pay attention to books when you read to him.  Here is one of our favorite bedtime books:

I found this picture from a fundraiser dinner at our P-patch community garden August 1 (Emmett was 2 months and a week old), and I can’t believe how different he was then:

For one thing, I don’t know if he’d fall asleep in our arms during dinner like that now.  And of course he is so much bigger now.  It’s a cliche, but it’s true: it goes by fast!

-Kelly

It’s never too early to start gardening

Emmett checks out the backyard garden.

Bean harvest and a few tomatoes.

Often, when it’s Matt’s turn to watch Emmett for a while, they walk to the P-patch and make a few loops in the stroller until Emmett dozes off and Matt gets a little gardening done.  A few other times, they have gardened together in the back yard.  Emmett already knows where his food comes from (mommy!), and now he’s starting to learn how real food is grown.  It’s never too early!

-Kelly

Happy 4 month birthday Emmett!

My how you’ve grown, little one!

Big apologies for our absence on the blog lately.  A month ago I started working again, and shortly thereafter Emmett started going to daycare.  It’s been an adjustment, but we’re finally settling in to the new routine.  Of course there are still kinks to be worked out, but I feel like we have it mostly figured out.

I did somehow manage to get it together enough to take photos of Emmett on or near his birthday each month.  It is amazing to see him grow physically, mentally, and socially every day.  He concentrates so hard when he wants to grab an object.  And the smiles just melt our hearts.

Emmett’s growth so far:

Birth

Weight: 8 lbs, 4 oz.  Length: 20 inches.  Full head of hair.  Skills: none.

1 month

Weight: 11 lbs (approx).  Hair falling out.  Skills: tracking moving objects with eyes.

2 months 

Weight: 13 lbs, 5 oz.  Length: 24 inches.  Mostly bald.  Skills: lifting head up when lying on tummy or upright, batting at objects, social smiles (occasionally), jumping (with daddy’s help).

3 months

Weight and height: unknown, but most 3-month sized clothing is too small for him.  Hair growing back.  Skills: head control, sucking on hands, playing piano with feet (sort of), lots of social smiles, batting at objects and trying to grab them.

4 months

Weight: 16 lbs.  Length: 27 inches.  Hair growing in nicely.  Skills: standing and sitting up with support, grabbing objects and holding on, interacting with other babies, TONS of smiling, some laughing, squealing, babbling.  Sometimes taking a decent nap at daycare.  Starting to be able to sooth self back to sleep when semi-awakened.

That’s the quick recap of our sweet little boy’s first four months.  He is the happiest, sweetest baby and we are having a wonderful time.

-Kelly