June 23, 2008Pattern Notes: Baby Bell BottomsI have gotten so freaking lazy about the blog and pattern notes in particular, that it is a little embarrassing. I've been even worse about visiting my pals' blogs and commenting, and I realize that staying in touch with all of you means catching up a bit here and making my rounds, both of which I want to do and have missed doing. It seems like summer is often the slow bloggy season for me, and this one has been especially slow with work, our trip to Italy, and most of all the impending baby. In a lot of ways I like that count down widget on my blog, but I have to confess that at other times it freaks the hell out of me! It's funny how predictable the phases of pregnancy are. First trimester is excitement, disbelief, and constant battling with morning sickness combined with an obsession to eat healthily and get the most out of every little calorie you can keep down. Second trimester is the honeymoon phase - which was well-timed for our honeymoon in Italy - you feel incredibly strong and sexy despite the fact that you are beginning to look like you swallowed a basketball - romance is in the air and you are one with the universe, mother earth as it were. Then comes the third trimester, and like clockwork, the panic of actually having to deliver the basketball sets in. Two weeks into my third trimester now, I look down and simultaneously think how great it is that the baby is growing so well and how much I hope that he grows only to the requisite 7 to 7.5 pounds because I can't even fathom getting him out of me now, when he probably weighs in at 3 pounds! I'm experiencing utter disbelief that this is actually going to work as intended, and words like "tear" and "contraction" cause me to immediately cross my legs and go into denial. I've been second-guessing the whole earth mama no drugs natural birth that I've been contemplating (I hesitate to say "planning," both because I am open-minded in terms of the epidural and because I know full well that babies do not allow you to "plan" anything!) I want to do it if I can, and I think that I can manage for the birth itself, but the thought of having an episiotomy without drugs scares the shit out of me. My doctor does all that he can to avoid them, but there's that no planning thing that comes into play, so I fear that I can't count on not having one.  It's a boy! And these are his pants! Anyhoo, I'm beginning the parade of finished but unblogged objects with a real favorite of mine - Alison Hansel's Baby Bell Bottoms. These are the second pair of baby bells that I've made, and the second pair that have gone undeservedly without pattern notes. They are an absolutely great and fast knit. Both times that I made them I was in a bit of a knitting funk, and both times they were the "go to" knit that pulled me out of the funk. Last time I made a pair for my friend Jen's impending baby Graham, and this pair is for our little baby boy. Oh yeah - did I say we're having a boy? We're having a boy! Kay was right on the mark. No pansy binky for us - I'm crocheting a 100% "pensie" binky! Baby Bell Bottoms
Modifications: In regard to the two-circular knitting: Try as I might, socks have never "soared" for me on circular needles. This has always been a sad thing, because I really like Cat Bordhi, and I would love to be all new-fangled in my sock-knitting. Not so shockingly, I am quite the traditionalist and do just fine knitting socks with four DPNs. (Not five - that bugs me, too!) My motto has been much closer to "Socks suck on circular needles!" Baby bell bottoms, however, are a completely different story. They are worked in the round after the legs are joined, and when I got to that point I realized that if I did have a pair of 16" size 3 circs I sure as heck did not know where they were. I was able to find two 24" size 3's however, and those did the trick quite nicely. Because one pair was inox and the other addis there was a .25 mm difference in the 3's, so in addition to having the chance to employ the two-circular method I was also able to verify Elizabeth Zimmerman's theory that it matters not a whit if one of your needles is of a slightly different size. Always good to know. Of course, you don't have to test out either of these methods to make the baby bells, it's just all by way of chattiness that I'm discussing them here. For the casing, I left the edge stitches live rather than binding them off and sewed down the stitches. It's more trouble for the beginner, but this is the only type of seaming I use on casings because it eliminates some of the bulk. Just a matter of preference.
Impressions of Artyarns Supermerino: Every time I use Supermerino it comes through for me. It's a great "rut" yarn and comes in fun variegated colors. Prior to this I used every bit of my stashed Supermerino in colorway 111 to make a Chevron Scarf. I loved it then, too. Impressions of Rowan's Wool Cotton: Possible substitute yarns: In baby bell bottoms | kiddie knits | main | pattern notes
Comments
The Baby Bells are so cute! I have a lot of babies to knit for this fall, and these might be one of the projects! Three baby showers, whew! Don't worry about the birth, seriously. I had three at home. That made it a little easier to have a drug-free birth since drugs are not an option at home, LOL! I have friends who wound up with c-sections, and it turned out fine for them. Either way, you wind up with your beautiful baby, and I think we really DO forget most of our labor. Nothing compares to looking at your baby snuggled in your arms for the very first time. :-) Personally, we had a FANTASTIC doula all three times (she is our midwife's assistant) and that helped a LOT. She knew what to say or do to help, and also knew when to just stand back. If you lived in the area I would give you her name! It's something to consider. If I had to deliver at the hospital, I'd still want her there. Posted by: Teish at June 30, 2008 08:29 AMI absolutely love those pants and must make them for my peanut on the way. I will start my 3rd trimester next week and I am having a lot of the same feelings. My counter only has 95 days left and I don't know where the time went. It has recently settled in that this is really happening and there is only one way out for him/her (we aren't finding out the sex)! I am a nurse myself (not in labor and delivery however) and have had the same worries about natural vs. epidural. I know everyone says that when you are in labor it is a relief of the pain/pressure when they give you an episiotomy, but the thought of being cut without anesthetic still scares me:) It is nice to see others have the same worries. Congratulations on your son (isn't that strange to say you will be MOM and have a son:), just tooo crazy!) Posted by: Christina at June 30, 2008 08:24 AMI totally did not get my own double entendre about pensees! ("Thoughts," i.e., pansies, in French. Not anything else.) Boy o boy! You look beautiful. Enjoy enjoy! xo Kay Posted by: Kay at June 29, 2008 07:57 PMOh golly golly Julia what a joy!!! love the pants. something about knitted baby pants that just makes you double over with cute. congratulations on boyness! and as to the birth: remember it's a day. good day, bad day, tiring day, exciting day, goes according to plan, doesn't go according to plan, but pretty much a day and you can get through any day and it pretty much doesn't matter how it goes. the baby, on the other hand, will stick around forever.
Hi... never commented before. I just wanted to say, you seem like a super fit person, and this will go a long way to having a healthy natural delivery, if that's what you want. I think it's good to be open to all the options. Try to have faith in yourself. There are things you can do to help. Perineal massage (not sure how to spell that)with oil, during labor, can completely prevent tearing. It's natural to be afraid about delivering that basketball. Doing squats and kegel exercises right now can help, as well. I just wanted to speak a few words of encouragement. Good luck. You will all make a beautiful family. Suzanne in Ohio Posted by: Suzanne at June 25, 2008 06:07 PMSorry for taking up more space, but as I was looking at your super cute baby bells and reading the comments I remembered I forgot to mention pressure episiotomies and perineal massage. I'm not sure how much you've read about those things, but maybe they'll comfort you a bit. I was really upfront about not wanting an episiotomy, but looking into those two things showed me other reasonable options. I don't know if it's weird to say, but the massage worked really well for me and I had no experience with it until the nurse did it at the hospital. Anyhow, I hope that helps. Childbirth is a scary thing, but you can do it :) Posted by: Alissia at June 25, 2008 04:57 PMi'm blogging less and reading blogs less too - but am still here and am still cheering you on and thinking about you. the baby pants are adorable. as for the worries - you're right everyone gets them and it's hard to not worry. but you seem smart and strong and i'm sure you'll be able to handle it all. Posted by: michele at June 25, 2008 10:02 AMi'm blogging less and reading blogs less too - but am still here and am still cheering you on and thinking about you. the baby pants are adorable. as for the worries - you're right everyone gets them and it's hard to not worry - you never know how it's going to go - can be a breeze or not. but either way you seem smart and strong and i'm sure you'll be able to handle it all. Posted by: michele at June 25, 2008 10:00 AMLove those pants. Cant think why I havent made any yet. I'll put them on the list. Okay: birth - you can do it! I did it, at home, in water, with no drugs at all, a small tear (but no stitches) and with an OP baby too. The best thing I did was read Ina May Gaskin's book about the farm (hey, why not go there to have your baby?!!) it's full of positive stories about women birthing their babies. It inspired me and my mantra during labour was 'I trust my body'. It worked. Good luck. [BTW, you could always say no if you are *offered* an episiotomy. It's your body!] Posted by: knitlass at June 25, 2008 06:35 AMSo freaking cute! I can't get me enough of these pants. They kill me! I'm so looking forward to seeing you!! Posted by: Nonnahs at June 24, 2008 10:47 AMI am usually a lurker but had to comment today to congratulate you on having a little boy!! I'm due with boy #2 in August and am going to make him a pair of the bell-bottoms too - they are so cute! I was terrified about giving birth too. It's great that you're keeping an open mind and realize that a lot of it might not be up to you. Just remember, this is what your body was designed to do. After I delivered my son I had this incredible endorphin rush. I have never felt so completely physically satisfied, exhausted, exhilarated, and mellow. It was in incredible feeling! And the mind gives you this wonderful gift of editing out the bad parts so all you remember is what an amazing thing you accomplished. Not to mention you get a baby out of it! All the best, I know what you mean about the 3rd trimester jitters. Try not to worry too much though. I had no idea what was coming so what helped me get some exposure to the whole thing (and I don't know if I'm just weird) was watching A Baby Story on TLC to see all the variations--scary or not. It kinda helped me realize that I got myself into this and there's really only one way out haha. And try not to second guess your desire for a natural birth. Why not try it out? And it doesn't say you don't care enough about your baby if you do end up going for the meds. I was really adamant about having a natural birth, but in the end the pain was too intense for me so I ended up having an epidural and stuff. I was kinda disappointed, but it made me realize two things: 1. I can handle quite a bit of pain, but not "down there" haha; and, 2. No matter how I had the baby I had a real, live, healthy baby at the end and I can always try going longer without medication for the next one. The baby won't remember the experience but I will, so for me I tried to make it as good and healthy for both of us as possible. Posted by: Alissia at June 24, 2008 09:24 AMCutie pants! I don't know if it helps, and I know nothing about your particular situation, but in case it helps: I delivered a 9-pounder, on pitocin, with no pain meds and no tearing and it was just. fine. Seriously. Don't count on anything, because babies have their own agenda, blah blah, but also don't worry too much about it. I didn't find it nearly as bad as everyone said, at least. Posted by: Amy at June 24, 2008 04:37 AMOh, and, I meant to say, you're right of course that all the planning can only be for the best case scenario. My aunt is an obstetrician and she told me, you never see a birth plan for a second child. Plan, or don't plan, you will get through it and at the time your adrenaline, your determination, your strength and your utter devotion to your child will be stronger than any fear (with distance and time we turn over the horrifying possibilities in our minds but when it happens, whatever happens, you will be so totally IN THE MOMENT that fear is a luxury you probably won't have time for). Don't be afraid. Really, it will be fine - you are in safe hands. Your baby knows what he needs to do to be born, and so will you. anna I don't know if you can get them easily over there but the 'Natal Hypnotherapy' series of CDs was amazing. They really made me feel more confident about the birth and I used the 'recovery' CD in the first weeks afterwards. Using the birth preparation CD I got to 8cm dilated and didn't even think about needing pain control. I really believe I could have delivered him naturally if the little stinker hadn't turned out to be extended breech. I wasn't emotionally or physically prepared for that, so it was EMCS under epidural. My friend used the same series and she delivered hers, her first, at home using just her yoga 'ohms' to get her through. Let me know if you want to borrow them. I'll be happy to send them over (but I'll need them back, in case, you know, we have a No. 2 here ;) anna Love the baby pants! It was one of the most worn baby items for us and they are fantastic for winter - all cozy and stretchy. Congrats on finding out you are having a boy! I went natural for my birth here in Japan. They actually don't offer any pain medication and my son jake weighed in at an impressive 9lb and 13oz. The female body is an AMAZING thing so no need to overly worry yourself about how you get the baby out...he's gonna come out one way or the other. It's mind over matter and having a really positive attitude about doing this for my baby and trusting in my body really helped me, oh and lots of back rubs. I was planning a water birth but my water broke early and contractions didn't start for over 24 hours. Nature is an amazing thing because although childbirth was the craziest most painful thing I've ever done, I can barely remember the pain now and am looking forward to number 2!!!! Posted by: kat at June 23, 2008 09:35 PMbaby bells are adorable! i started getting heavy contractions while shopping at nature mart. every time i go there now with felix, i tell him about it, but you know, he doesn't really get it. ha ha ha.
FWIW, my very slim sister is able to pop out 8 lbs. babies with little trouble at all, while I, with my "childbearing hips", have more trouble. A lot depends on the internal structure of your pelvic opening, which can't really be gauged from outside appearances. I ended up getting a low-dose epidural in the last stages of my second childbirth, and it was MUCH better than the "dead weight from the waist down" experience of my first. With this one, I was easily able to move about to different positions (hands and knees, squatting, etc.). I could still feel the pushing contractions quite strongly, too, which allowed me to work with my body and actually tell if I was being effective. Posted by: Katinka at June 23, 2008 06:40 PMYou will be fine! Your open minded and thats important. I also said I would only do an epi if needed. and ohh i needed it lol. I was induced at 7 days overdue. She was in a weird position turned slightly, nothing to worry about but thats why I think I didn't go on my own, and she was 8 freakin pounds, and had some 'drama' down there but to be honesty I didn't feel anything and it wasn't a big deal. Now 9 months later i would totally do it again. :) hah Posted by: pixe at June 23, 2008 04:33 PMWhat I find funny, is I was more scared with my second pregnancy, because I KNEW what was coming... I did both births naturally, and was lucky enough to be able to make that choice. With my son (first time around) I did actually ask for an epidural, but by the time they got around to doing it my water was broken and I could push, and that was all I needed. With my daughter, I knew that if I did it one time, I could do it again, and I did. Then again, if I'd been in more pain, I'd have gotten an epi. Posted by: Hattie at June 23, 2008 03:56 PMThe baby bells are so adorable. Love love the colorway. I can't wait to see them in person! And, as someone with no children, no plan to have children, who isn't a doctor and who has no authority to speak of the subject, I say you should have them knock you out now and wake you when he's 18. :) Posted by: Marnie at June 23, 2008 03:12 PMAs a doula, I think the best attitude for a natural hospital birth is to go in with a strong commitment and desire to avoid medication. That will help you get through the tough moments. But along with that strong faith that things will go well, try to cultivate acceptance for whatever happens in the moment. Guilt is useless, and there is no reason to feel bad if you change your mind and accept interventions you thought you wouldn't want. Sorry for the unsolicited advice. Take what's useful and ignore the rest. Posted by: Jamie at June 23, 2008 02:43 PMSo cute. Weeeeee bell bottoms! And it's a boy! Yay for finding out :) Now you can be knit-specific. I'm the same way about having mucho stash, but returning to some of the same yarns. Posted by: jillian at June 23, 2008 02:34 PMI love the pants, and will definitely be giving the pattern a try. Congrats on the little boy! How exciting :) Posted by: mick at June 23, 2008 02:07 PMYou hope for the best and plan for the worst. I think your idea of being open minded and flexible is the best option of them all. Trust your body and your instincts. You will amaze yourself! Posted by: LaurieM at June 23, 2008 01:56 PM |
