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June 29, 2008

Knitblogs

Okay - so maybe I exaggerate. And maybe the discussion of knitblogs being dead only occurs between Ann and I on a semi regular basis. And sure, things do slow down in the summer.

BUT, and this is MY OPINION (although one that is probably shared by many others) things have DEFINITELY changed in the knitblog community. The other day I received an email that the knitblog web ring was changing its ring software and you have to re-sign to be a part of the ring. When I first signed up there were very specific rules for joining the ring - for example, you had to post on a fairly regular basis and the posts had to mostly be about knitting. According to the knitblog web ring website, there were about 1300 blogs on the old ring and so far 44 people have signed up for the new ring. AND the rules have been relaxed. You only have to post once a month now. I'd be willing to bet that a significant majority of the blogs on the old ring wouldn't even be allowed to join now.

To me, that signals a dramatic shift in the knitblogging community.

Why? Of course, blogging is a fluid enterprise. People come and go all the time. Priorities shift, life events get in the way, but this seems to much larger than just the usual comings and goings in the community. For better or worse, IN MY OPINION Ravelry has had A LOT to do with it. There are many many blogs on my bloglines list that post very sporadically and when they do, they blatantly say they've been on Ravelry. It's MY OPINION that the interesting discussions about knitting and projects that used to be on the blogs have moved over there - instead of many in-depth posts about a project we generally get one wrap up post that says the details are over on Ravelry. No doubt, Ravelry is an extraordinary tool in this community, but the social aspects of it have had a huge impact on what I loved about knitblogs.

I'm not innocent by any stretch of the imagination. The knit part of my blog has suffered greatly since I got pregnant and the blog part of my blog has suffered as well. I still knit, for sure - I've started 87 projects in the last month - none of which are very satisfying. And most of my posts are about my baby. Yes. It's true. I'd like to think I was prescient in that I named my blog the very narcissistic January One - no knitting in that title. It's all about ME.

Maybe I'm just bored and knitblogs are still as vibrant as they ever were. Maybe it's true that the blogs I'm subscribed to have changed, but there are still knitbloggers out there ready to inspire. Leave me some blogs in the comments if you've got some you really love. My computer time is limited, but I'd love to laugh and be inspired. Who wouldn't?

Again - MY BLOG HAS SUFFERED. I am not holding myself out as some kind of paradigm perfect blogger. I'm as guilty as the next person. But I do think there's been a cosmic shift in the community - and maybe it's my own fault - but I can't help but feel out of the loop. The community I knew and loved has changed. (Although you could say it's been coming for awhile. I've felt a similar shift at the last few fiber events I attended as well.)

Go ahead. I'm ready for the shit storm. Remember, though, my computer time is limited. As evidenced by how my own blog has changed, the baby is my #1 priority.

Posted by Cara at 11:31 AM | Comments (108)

June 26, 2008

Bathing Beauty

Well, we survived Florida!

Again with the firsts! Meli was the consummate traveler, which made her travel loving father very very proud and her crazy mama very very grateful. First and foremost, I flew drug free. I can't tell you how HUGE this was for me. I took every precaution though - lots of pumped milk (which I proudly threw away when we got home - it was totally bad by then!) and a new Xanax prescription - none of which was needed. The flight down Sunday was delayed by weather - and when I say delayed I mean we were next for take off when an incredible storm came through. We were literally on the plane, on the runway, when golf ball size hail started falling all around us with 60 mile an hr wind shears and super lightning. I'm not kidding. It was a freaking monsoon. Then we saw the most gorgeous rainbow ever and took off. Craziness. Here we are on the very uneventful flight home:

I swear, my head's not that small and my arms aren't that big.

We flew Jet Blue and since my daughter is a bona fide couch potato, she either did this:

Or this:

I gotta say, if I'm not flying first class, Jet Blue is the best. They're all extremely conscious of the runway debacle last year when people sat for 8 hrs so you are guaranteed not to be sitting on the plane more than three now. And all they do is apologize for the delays and come on all the time to update you. And there's tv. Lots of tv. Which makes me feel like I'm sitting in my living room - at least sort of - and not like I'm stuck on an airplane. It was a very nice experience.

Florida was HOT. Stifling. Unbearable. But the baby definitely enjoyed the pool.

Meli is usually pretty good when she takes a bath, and the pool was no different. She was quite calm in the water. Besides the pool, we went for a quick dip in the Gulf of Mexico (water temp: 89 degrees F - my kind of water temp.) We can't wait until she's old enough to really enjoy the water. Both her dad and I love to swim.

She was quite the Kool Kat by the pool!

We went to Florida for a birthday party for a friend who hasn't been feeling so well, and while we were there Baby Meli got to meet Big Meli! And she took a few pictures for us!

All in all it was a very successful visit. Incredibly stressful, but successful. I'm so glad to be home. But that doesn't mean things will be quieting down anytime soon. Next week is my sister's annual 4th of July visit with her kids which can only mean there will be much fun and everything will be crazy hectic!

I hope to pop in before then. While the death of blogs - or at least knitting blogs - seems to be on everyone's mind these days - I still love mine and intend to keep it going. I hope you'll stay for the ride!

Thank you!
L, C

Posted by Cara at 03:09 PM | Comments (38)

June 21, 2008

The Exact Opposite of Relaxing

Earlier this week I wrote that my one wish for this weekend was to relax. Not go anywhere. You know - stay home and veg with my guy and my gal. Alas, it is not to be.

Tomorrow we are going to Florida. Yes. We're getting on a plane with our baby and heading south.

We'll only be gone a couple of days - we fly back Tuesday - and our reasons for going are both good and bad (everyone's okay.)

Like I said. The exact opposite of relaxing.

If I make it through the flight without popping a Xanax I may actually be cured. With all of these phobias dropping like flies, Annie says I will have completely lost my edge and be yet another suburban mom driving a station wagon wearing mom jeans.

So I made sure I scored a few Xanax from the doctor. I mean, carrying around narcotics in the diaper bag definitely makes me edgy. Wouldn't you say?

Wish us luck. Maybe you can relax for me.

Posted by Cara at 11:07 PM | Comments (15)

June 19, 2008

Family Resemblance

Last night my daughter slept nine hours straight, from about 10 PM until 7 AM.

I promise you, I'm not bragging.

More than anything, this feat makes me a bit sad. I used to love waking up to nurse her in the middle of the night. It was always so quiet, just the sound of her swallowing and her heavy breathing and Georgie's breathing beside me. Everything was calm and lovely. I never minded it at all - no matter what the hour and how little sleep I had before she woke. The first smiles came in the middle of the night. Same with the first coos.

Now it's just Meli and her dad snoring away. I sometimes wake up, but she doesn't. She's growing up. Growing away. I'm being a tad melodramatic, I know, but it's true. Everyday she does something new and better and that means I'm doing my job well, but it's not lost on me that doing my job well means that one day she won't need me - as much - I hope she will always need me for something.

It seems so long ago I was pregnant. So long ago that she was first born. It's true the whole time flies thing. And yet I can't wait until she's just a little bit older when she can do this or that or the next thing. A conundrum this parenting thing. Definitely a conundrum.

Meanwhile, she's been sleeping in her swing for an hour and a half already. Put herself to sleep there sucking on two fingers. Woke up once, but quickly fell back asleep. I pumped (one day I'll talk about pumping) and took pictures to prepare for this post and now I'm writing it. I'm experimenting with this nap thing. So far so good! I feel like a new woman with all this free time! YAY!

Anyway, last night my sister was telling me that the pictures I took of Meli the other day reminded her of some of my baby pictures. I thought I knew which ones she was talking about and it turns out that I have them, and they are of me at pretty much exactly the same age Meli is now. The date on the back of the pictures is April 10, 1970. You all remember my birthday, right?

(Sorry for the shitty pictures. My scanner's broken and this is the best I could do!)
What do you think? Here's Meli again, in case you forgot what she looks like:

Unfortunately, I don't have any real baby photos of her daddy, although the resemblance is definitely there. I have to confess, I was so relieved when she was born - relieved that she looked like us. From the minute I saw her there was something familiar about her. There was a picture I had in my head - a picture of me as a baby - that I thought was totally like her and I had my sister find it in my house and bring it to me in the hospital.

I was six weeks old in those pictures. That's my mom holding me. Here's Meli - maybe a week or two old:

This may seem odd to you, but given how Meli was conceived - an IVF cycle followed by a Frozen Embryo Transfer - it was really important to me that she look like us. Maybe some of you out there who did fertility treatments will understand, but I'm so glad there's a family resemblance.

Lots of people will tell me she looks just like me and lots of people will tell me she looks just like her dad, but I think she's a perfect combination of the both of us.

And now she's up. Which is really really nice because I've missed her.

Posted by Cara at 12:44 PM | Comments (45)

June 18, 2008

Three Months, One Week

For the past few days I've been writing a post in my head. It was all about how I've been restless lately - maybe even a little bored. Meli is such a dream to take care of and don't get me wrong I'm loving every poopy diaper and every late night feeding, but I still am having a hard time carving out some time in the day to do stuff. Nothing fancy - just stuff that doesn't involve holding a baby. I miss knitting. I miss blogging. I miss having a creative life outside of Mommy-ness. I think it's worse because she is so easy. It was going to be one of those posts, so be glad it's most likely not going to happen.

Of course, then, yesterday she actually took a nap in her swing and I was able to clean up a bit and we had a fabulous photoshoot and I was even able to process the photographs.

Meli is doing great! She had her three month appointment the other day and she's now 12 lbs, 24 inches which puts her right smack in the middle of the charts. Fifty percent across the board. And yet she seems so big to us. She's doing so many things - talking all the time. She can lift her head wonderfully:

Although tummy time still ends like this:

We're still taking our long walks most days and usually she sleeps, but she's also become incredibly fascinated with these two little toys attached to her car seat. She can stare at them one - going back and forth between the two - for an amazingly long time (for a three month old!) and she gets so animated, talking to them and kicking her feet. She loves to kick!

I've been trying to get her on video but every time we turn on the camera she clams up. Seriously. She'll be talking and laughing and on goes the camera and nothing. Turn it off and she turns it on again. Little stinker!

One thing she does that I just love is wring her hands. I've been calling her an old washerwoman - you know - wringing her hands - woe is me. My kids never call. The sky is falling. But then a few people actually said it looks like she's knitting! And these were strangers who don't know me at all! What do you think?

Maybe it's too hard to tell from pictures. I'll try to get some video - if Meli will cooperate. Another thing she just loves to do is chew on her fingers. She's been putting her fingers to her mouth since she was born, but now she can actually get them inside. Occasionally you can hear her slurping away on her fingers. She seems to prefer them over her thumb. But not really in any consistent way. She's still a paci girl.

Now that she's entered the Golden Age of Babyhood (all smiles, more sleep, still not mobile) I'm going to try hard to put her down more. She never liked the sling very much and she's good in the Baby Bjorn for a limited amount of time now that I can turn her out, but it's still awkward for me. I also think some of my crabbiness has come from being out too much. We were in Philadelphia three weekends in a row. (Twice Meli and I drove by ourselves! Cross another milestone off the list!) I'm so looking forward to doing NOTHING this weekend. Maybe some pool time. Maybe some knitting. I still haven't been able to seam those sleeves on her little sweater. Even if we just sit around as a family. That would be enough.

I leave you with more pictures of my girl. Thanks, as always, for indulging us. We so appreciate it!

Posted by Cara at 08:58 AM | Comments (67)

June 07, 2008

All is well!

Just crazy crazy crazy! In a good way! Today I was able to get about an hour to myself for a pedicure and everyone survived! YAY!!!!!

Tomorrow the baby and I are off to my sister's for a fantastic flip-flop themed five year old's birthday party and we're going to stay for a couple of days.

Meli is doing so well I can hardly stand it! She's talking all the time, well, babbling, but the two of us have very deep conversations by making gurgling sounds. We stare into each other's eyes and discuss everything under the sun. Have I mentioned my daughter is a genius? And she holds her head up so, so well. She's kicking and squirming and on Wednesday she'll be three months old. Can you believe it?!? I can't wait to see how much she weighs and how tall she is at her appt next week. My honey girl! She's INCREDIBLE!

I've haven't seamed her little sweater yet because I figured out that I can successfully knit with a baby in my lap - I've already started two more projects - a sock and a new sweater for her - but I can't quite sew a seam. Especially sleeves I have to maneuver into an opening. Also, I lost knitting. It kills me to write that but it's true. I can't find two projects - most likely they are together - anywhere. The last time I saw them was at the hospital when Meli was born and I'm 99.999% sure they came home with me, but now? Now they've disappeared. I can barely talk about it, it makes me so sad.

But everything else is great. I will be back with better posts next week! PROMISE!

Posted by Cara at 10:27 PM | Comments (13)