She's here! Elle est là...

Version française: cliquez ici (et décochez l'autre case)
English version: click here

Dear friends,

Our daughter was born of a sunny afternoon, on February 15.

Not quite 2 days old

She is doing superbly and everyone here is well - predictably exhausted, but utterly smitten with this little being - so strong and so vulnerable at the same time. Even P'tite Mignonne is in love.

(We have chosen not to share her name on the Internet - it was either that, or not sharing pictures here at all. We'll have to find her a cute nickname for the blog! :) )

This morning, a little over a week old

I'll try and write more soon, but on top of caring for a newborn entirely on our own, my computer fried a few days before the birth. Getting a new one is not quite at the top of my list right now! ;)

Amies lectrices, amis lecteurs,
Notre petite fille est née le 15 février, par une après-midi magnifiquement ensoleillée.

Pas tout à fait 2 jours

Elle se porte à merveille et tout le monde va bien ; nous sommes épuisés, comme de raison, mais émerveillés par ce petit être à la fois si vigoureux et si vulnérable... Même la P'tite Mignonne est sous le charme !

(Nous avons décidé de ne pas diffuser son nom sur Internet : c'était ça ou je ne montrais pas de photos...)

Ce matin, à un peu plus d'une semaine

Je vais tâcher de réécrire plus longuement un de ces jours, mais en plus de tout le reste, mon ordinateur m'a lâchée quelques jours avant la naissance, et j'ai d'autre priorités pour le moment que de m'en occuper... ;)

A few more knits for the Coming Home Outfit - encore des tricots pour la tenue de sortie de maternité

Version française: cliquez ici (et décochez l'autre case)
English version: click here

First off - thank you, thank you, for all the warm well wishes and friendly comments! They are so appreciated - and do encourage me to keep on blogging more (especially as there's no knowing how regularly I might keep at it once our little girl is here...).

Continuing with the handknits, and since I liked the previous white outfit so much - here's another white cardigan I made for the first few months. Again, I favoured a wrap style to make it extra warm and cosy.

This is the Small Things Sweater by Carina Spencer, knit in Lang Yarns Merino+ Superwash, in white.

I knit this in the 3 months size, figuring the baby had enough truly newborn knits as it was, and that since the sleeves can be rolled up thanks to the ribbed cuffs, she should be able to use it straight away anyway.

This is the matching cardigan to the Purple Romper (sweater pattern is included when you purchase the romper pattern), which is why I decided to use the same beautiful wooden buttons to make them a pair.

I decided both would be part of the outfit to come home from the hospital...

... Along with these booties (also shown on top of the bump, at top of this post ;)), which I knit in the same yarn - way to use up what was leftover from the last ball!

... And this cabled hat, knit in leftover yarn from the pyjamas (Rowan Calmer).

Otis Baby Hat, by Joy Boath (free on Ravelry).

The yarn is very stretchy (and the hat is knit exactly to gauge), but I'm concerned it might be too small. Consequently, I used up the veeeery last of the leftover Calmer yarn (zero waste on this one!) to whip up another hat just in case - a bonnet this time:

Super Quick Baby Bonnet, by Dilys Sutherland (free on Ravelry)

It doesn't look like much when laid flat. Here are a couple of pictures that may show its structure better, but I have a feeling it will look loads better on an actual baby head!

... And that is not the last of baby knitting. I still have a few finishes to show you! It's crazy how much you can get done when you're not working :) Knitting has been ideal to keep my feet up while feeling productive (total inactivity would drive me completely nuts and actually stress me out more, so I'm glad I'm still allowed to do a little!).

For those of you who may feel disappointed that I haven’t been sewing much... You know, I miss it too; but I’ll just have to say that c’est la vie ! I have been doing some sewing, and some machine embroidery to go with it; but in small doses, as cutting out and handling patterns and fabric usually triggers too many contractions than feels reasonable - not to mention they're not the best way to keep the blood pressure on the safe side. Besides, sewing with a heavy watermelon of a belly wedged between me and the sewing table has definitely been making things challenging!

We’ll see whether the baby leaves me any time at all to sew in the spring - I hope so, but obviously, I’m not writing any plans in stone for now. :)

D’abord, merci à celles qui prennent le temps de laisser des petits commentaires. C’est cela qui, bien plus que tout le reste, encourage à entretenir ce blog. Merci pour votre gentillesse et votre bonne humeur !

On continue avec les p’tits tricots aujourd’hui ; comme j’avais vraiment aimé le résultat de l’ensemble naissance blanc, j’ai décidé de faire un autre gilet blanc pour les premiers mois. Ici encore, j’ai privilégié un style qui se croise, pour qu’il soit bien chaud et cosy..

Il s'agit du Small Things Sweater de Carina Spencer, tricoté en Lang Merino + Superwash, en blanc donc (si vous suivez ! ;)).

J’ai tricoté la taille 3 mois, parce que je crois avoir suffisamment de tricots en vraie taille naissance ; et puis j’ai choisi de tricoter le bord des manches en côtes, ce qui permet des les rouler un peu, et devrait donc (je l’espère) convenir aussi dès les premières semaines.

Vous l’aurez peut-être repéré : ce gilet est le pendant du pyjama violet (le modèle du gilet est inclus quand on achète celui du pyjama) ; et j’ai donc utilisé les mêmes boutons en bois si jolis, pour faire vraiment un ensemble. Les boutons, comme la laine, viennent de La Mercerie.

J’ai décidé que tous deux feraient partie de la tenue de sortie de maternité...

... Avec ces petits botillons, tricotés dans le reste de Merino+ : comme ça pas de gâchis ! (ils apparaissent aussi en tête de ce message ;))

... Et ce petit bonnet torsadé, tricoté dans le reste de Rowan Calmer qui a servi pour le pyjama.

Otis Baby Hat, de Joy Boath (gratuit sur Ravelry).

Ce fil est très élastique, et mon échantillon était exactement semblable à celui du modèle (et tricoté en doubles-pointes pour ne pas fausser) ; pourtant, ce bonnet me semble sacrément petit. Alors que faire ? Prendre le tout dernier, dernier bout de Rowan Calmer qui me restait, et tricoter une autre petite capeline, juste au cas où :

Super Quick Baby Bonnet, de Dilys Sutherland (gratuit sur Ravelry)

Je sais, elle n’a pas l’air de grand-chose posée comme ça à plat. Voici quelques photos qui tentent de montrer sa structure, mais je pense que ça rendra beaucoup mieux sur une vraie petite tête de bébé !

La liste de mini tricots ne s’arrête pas là... J’en ai encore un bon petit nombre à vous montrer. C’est fou tout ce qu’on peut faire quand on est en congé ! ;) Le tricot a été l’activité idéale pour me permettre de me reposer tout en me sentant productive (je ne supporte pas l’inactivité totale, ça me stresserait plus que d'être un minimum active : heureusement que j'y ai encore droit !).

Pour celles qui sont déçues de ne pas voir plus de couture... Ben ça me manque aussi ! Mais c’est la vie. ;) J’ai fait un peu de couture, et de la broderie machine pour aller avec, mais à petites doses, car découper et manipuler patrons et tissus provoque plus de contractions que de raison, et puis ce genre d'agitation n'est pas bon pour mes problèmes de tension ; sans compter que coudre avec une pastèque géante et bien lourde entre soi et la table de couture, ce n'est pas facile facile ;) On verra le temps que le bébé me laisse (ou non ;)) pour coudre au printemps !

It's all ready...

The bed...

With its organic bedding and handsewn sleeping bag (more details on this one in a later post)...

Piles of handknit cardigans: early weeks on the right, later months on the left...

(There are still a few in there you haven't seen yet ;))

Onesies in organic cotton and some more handknit accessories (mittens, booties, hats, legwarmers)...

A bit of decoration (Dr Seuss books lent by dear Rebecca)...

Zooming in on the gorgeous banner Sylvie embroidered and sewed for us, thoughtfully using the same fabrics and sheep theme I chose for the nursery...

(Love it!)

Little pajamas (all organic or at least Ökotex-certified), along with a tiny handknit dress...

And the beautiful snowsuit generously gifted by our friend Sonia, which will be perfect to come home from the clinic and for the chilly first weeks.

Some more handmade decor and knitted goodness may be yet to come, but really -
it's all ready, baby!

Mixed Results: Puerperium Cardigan in Faux Fair-Isle

Hello, everyone!
Here's another cardigan I made for the baby's first few weeks.

The design, Puerperium, is very popular on Ravelry.

I think it's cute, but in retrospect, it may not be the most adequate sweater for a newborn.

First, it's supposed to have lots and lots of buttons, which I replaced with a snap bands - the grosgrain band adding some stability to the garter stitch edge, and snaps being much easier to handle on a newborn than buttons. However, this is a ready-made snap band, and it has the farthest-spaced snaps that I could find; but I still think there are too many of them. I'll be making my own snap bands from scratch next time.

The other reason why I'm not entirely sold on this for a newborn is that I realized afterhand that the yarn used for the main body (Sirdar Crofter), while lovely with its fair-isle effect, doesn't have a high wool content. I'm so kicking myself for this - I must have had a malfunctioning neuron or two when planning this and not checking the yarn's content better!
Besides, this doesn't really wrap around the baby, as opposed to the other cardigans I knit. It is simply a mock wrap, closing at a side to emulate regular wrap cardigans.

As a result, this isn't as warm as the rest of the wardrobe; it will therefore only be wearable after the first few days of adapting to room temperature, and in a well-heated room.

Ah well. It's still sweet, and it did knit up fast, for two reasons: first, it is knit in DK weight and on 4-mm needles, as opposed to the fingering or sport weight most baby cardigans are knit in; second, and more obviously, there was less fabric to knit, as there isn't this extra layer to wrap around!
It was also my first time sewing a band onto a handknit, something I'd been eager to try for a while, and I like the clean result. So I did learn something in the process.

Bottom line: fast and fun to make, but I probably won't be making it again. At least not for a newborn, nor for cold temperatures.

My project page with all the details is here.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone; and for those of you going through the same icy spell we've been having here - stay warm! :)

A few questions answered

Hello, hello friends!

I thought I'd write a non-crafty post to answer a few questions some of you have asked lately.

First - because a pictureless post can feel like something is missing - here's a bump update, from a little over a week ago (there's also a couple of silly pictures at the bottom of the post).

I was 35 weeks along in this picture; I'm currently 8 months pregnant. 

I am wearing my first version of Simplicity 3678, which I made 4 years ago. I've really enjoyed wearing it as a maternity dress, and since it's old (and the fabric cost something like 2 euro), I won't mind much if it doesn't snap back into shape later.

The big change from this picture is that the baby dropped a couple of days ago (boy have I been feeling it!), and the bump is now sitting lower. ;)

Now for the promised Q & A:

Regarding maternity leave: employed women in France are allowed 6 weeks of maternity leave before their due date (which is 1 week later than everywhere else in the world - see paragraph just below), and 10 weeks after the birth. The leave is longer though if you're having twins or if this is your third child (or beyond).

10 years ago an eleven-day paternity leave was also implemented, which I find is wonderful.

Due date: Term in France is estimated at 41 weeks. Since so many babies are born after 40 weeks, this was decided so that women didn't get overly frustrated or stressed out when they got past the symbolic 40-week mark. Of course this also means they'll induce you one week past your due date, not two, as in other countries!

I realized this when I was browsing English-speaking pregnancy websites and they kept giving me a due date 1 week earlier than in France. My "due date" is Feb. 25 everywhere except in France, where it's March 4. What I like about this is how much it shows that this is all to be taken with a pinch of salt. I am currently 36 weeks and a half pregnant, and the baby may come any time after 37 weeks and will be considered full term. Yay!

Hospital and what to bring: There are basically 2 systems in France. One is more public (hospital) than the other (clinic). Where I live, and because Montpellier has the most important hospital in the whole county and therefore caters to patients from a radius of about 100 kms, you are only allowed to go to the public hospital if you are having a high risk pregnancy. Happily that is not my case!

Were I in a public hospital, most if not all of the stuff would indeed be provided for the baby. I have friends who basically only had to bring the going home outfit for the baby. Not so much in my case. I have to bring absolutely everything, including diapers, and even towels for the baby and for me!

The big upside to being in a clinic, however, is that, being smaller than a hospital, it is much less anonymous and it feels much more... humane. (Note: I have absolutely nothing against hospitals, far from it. I work in the public service myself, by choice, and two of my siblings are doctors in hospitals). I take birth classes with midwives who work there, who may well be present on the day of the birth, and who've been able to tell me lots about the way everything would go in this particular clinic (and how respectful they are of your wishes). My gynaecologist will also probably be the one to deliver my baby, if he's not on duty in another clinic. I feel like I'm in known territory. That is immensely comforting!

So, all in all, I really don't mind having to pack everything for the two of us. Not to mention we'll actually be three: the father can stay every night provided there's enough room. How wonderful is that?

Also, the clinic is a 10-minute walk from our place. Who knows - I may even manage to walk over there on the big day (although that will of course all depend on how it really happens then!). As one of the midwives said, it could only help speed up the process ;)

I hope I didn't forget to address a question.

And now for a bit of silliness.
As it turns out, P'tite Mignonne is the perfect candidate to practise babywearing. 

(excuse my appearance - I was just out of bed and had only gotten dressed - hadn't even brushed my hair yet!)

She's a little heavier than a newborn, but not by much, she'll let me do anything to her, and once she's secured in the sling, she basically just stays there and purrs forever.

I just hope she won't mind when we get to carry and snuggle the baby. We've vowed to be extra attentive and cuddly with her once the baby's here, but honestly, her response to the baby's arrival is one of my biggest concerns - I know she won't be aggressive as she is fantastic around little ones, but I really hope she won't feel left out and withdraw in on herself. 

At least right now she's not freaked out by my bump and by the heartbeats and thumps she must be hearing (the baby still kicks around a lot and even Seb can hear actual thumps when he listens to my belly!). In fact it's been quite the opposite - she has been insanely cuddly with me. Here's to hoping she stays that way!