Baby girl quilt

I've just posted this little beauty off to a friend in Australia who had a baby girl the other week. I find working on girly quilts so much easier than sewing boys ones. I have one more quilt I'm working on (very slowly... who knew a toddler and baby would take up so much time?!) then I think I'll have a break from baby quilts and see if I can get stuck into a few cushion covers. I'm terrified of putting zips in but need to get some practice in.

Anyway, photos of the latest quilt below.

Baby.

So, the last post I made was counting down two weeks till baby number two arrived. Things however, did not go to plan.

Expecting to have an elective caesarean (after Child 1 was an emergency c-section I decided to opt for elective) it seemed baby had other ideas and labour began very quickly. Once the initial panic of getting Child 1 looked after and getting my husband to hurry home from work so we could dash to the hospital I realised I was coping with labour quite well... but welcomed gas and air, and the luxury of the epidural once things really kicked off. Due to my last birth I was monitored very closely but alas, everything ended up being quite scary again.

More scary than last time... which is saying something.

You know things are serious when the medical team whisk you off to theatre quickly, then start arguing and shouting at each other to "numb me fast or they're going for general anaesthetic". Baby needed to get out... and quick.

I'd like to say its all a blur but unfortunately its stayed with me quite clearly. Bent over the pillow so the spinal injection can go in; seeing my husband's pale face reflecting how scared we both felt; throwing up (just water as I hadn't eaten all day!) whilst the anaesthetist is shouting for an answer from me on what feels numb... as the surgeons are shouting at her for an answer, ready to cut me open and get baby out.  Terrifying to say the least.

Cue rummaging of my tummy and me trying not to shake with shock. With husband by my side we were looking at each other and heard a strange sound... was that a baby? Turns out it was... but it was whisked away before either of us could see it.

"Was it a boy or girl?" I asked. It took a long time for someone to get an answer back to us as they had whisked baby to neonatal... but it turns out we had a lovely wee boy. "Evan Matthew" I announced. Hubby and I kissed and cuddled as best as we could - delighted to have another boy.  The surgeons then spent a long time sewing me back together again. It seems Evan wasn't playing nice and slipped around when they tried to get his legs, and my uterus tore and bleed more than it should.

I spent all my energy trying not to shake (getting full body shakes in the first delivery was awful) and I talked about New Zealand and all sorts of mad things to the medical staff who, as I mentioned, were absolutely amazing. Then an incubator rolled by us and the my wee baby was in there... but all I could see was a wooly hat and blanket... then the tiniest part of his face when they removed his oxygen mask to show me. Gorgeous... but he looked so little in there. Wasn't this the time he was supposed to be skin-to-skin on my chest and we could coo and ahhh to our hearts content? Not watch my newborn being taken to neonatal without me. Hubby went with him and I didn't see him again until 1am when I was in recovery. It was another hour until I got to meet our new baby! Five or so hours after he was delivered!

Anyway, he was a wee cracker and we began our coo-ing and ahh-ing.

Alas, the fun didn't stop there. After one (nearly) full day with Evan he began screaming oddly late at night (Hubby had gone home for much needed sleep) and I asked for him to be checked. The midwife took him to the paediatrician and told me he was having a bit of trouble with oxygen so they'd keep him in neonatal again and I could get some sleep.

However, I was woken at 3am by the midwife who popped me into a wheelchair and said I needed to go to neonatal to see Evan as he wasn't well.

Wheeled into a dark neonatal room I didn't even register the tiny babies there... just saw that my little one was hooked up to all sorts of terrifying tubes and wires with a lamp over him. The staff gathered around and someone told me gently he had meningitis and was very ill. Cue a flood of hysterical tears from me and I can clearly remember what I said next.

"Is he going to die?"

A question no parent should ask about their child.

It was all too much for me and I was wheeled out of the ward, when I started to throw up in shock and cry. Hubby had been called and was in a taxi... terrified. I was transferred to a private room and waited for Hubby's arrival where, (after he'd been down to see Evan), we lay on the bed, hugging and crying. Never in my life have I felt so helpless.

It turns out we named our wee boy well. Evan means "warrior"... and that's exactly what he proved to be. With a very serious case of Group B Strep Meningitis, which he contracted in the birth canal, Evan was "hooked up" to machines, bells and whistles at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary neonatal department. He was heavily sedated due to brain seizures but was putting up a real fight, and slowly tubes began to be removed and drugs reduced.

Nearly a month after his birth we were allowed to take the wee monkey home to be with his big brother. A month of stress and worry, tears and sadness were at an end and he was showing such great signs of being a 'normal' baby. The tears of happiness began. Obviously, with meningitis and the effect it has on the brain, we won't know what effect it's had on Evan until he reaches certain milestones in his life but from what I've seen of him these past two months he seems like a normal healthy baby. We know this might not always be the case but we prefer to stay positive and take his smiles and coo-ing noises as a good sign. He's our little super baby and I like to kid with my family that meningitis has given him superpowers.

Even though its now January, I'm still shaken up by the whole incident(s) but count our blessings with every smile he gives us (and every dirty nappy he makes!)

Our wee warrior - Evan Matthew

As you can imagine I haven't had a chance to do ANY crafting... but once I get some sleep (never!) I hope to get back into it.

Baby Boy Owl Quilt

Another baby quilt blog! My good friend Helen had a wee baby boy (Ewan) two weeks ago and as the tradition goes I gave him a baby quilt as a gift. He was three weeks early (her first was seven weeks early so there is no mucking around to be done!) so he caught me off guard a little as I'd been planning on finishing the quilt when I was on maternity break (which is now... and yes, it's awesome). However, my first attempt was for a baby girl... thinking Helen was going to pop out a pink one! When I heard it was a boy I had to dive into my fabric stash and come up with something worthy of a strapping wee laddie. 

My owl fabric and matching patterns came to the rescue. I'd been saving this material for about a year, thinking it would make a good duvet cover or the likes. Turns out it makes a cracking baby quilt too... just when you need one!

I personally think the back is the highlight... I love those stripes!

Next baby will be MINE in two weeks - eek!!! (And no, no baby quilt yet. I'm going to see if it's a blue or a pink one first). 

Stripes!

40th birthday quilt

We've just returned from a lovely weekend down in Durham celebrating my sister's 40th birthday. It was a wonderful chance for our 2 year old to catch up with his cousins and run amok. I also had the chance to give a lovely quilt to my sister as a special gift. My first attempt at cutting up a layer cake and trying a tutorial I saw on YouTube.

I had so much fun with this quilt and will definitely attempt one for myself!

Criss Cross Baby Quilt

I've made another baby quilt for a friend who had a baby boy last week. She knew that she was having a boy so I scoped out blue colours and non-pink squares... which was actually really hard! I had to make this one quickly but discovered quilting criss cross was really quick. I loved quilting this way and look forward to trying it again. Plenty of baby quilts to make this year so no doubt I'll get lots of practice!

And an updated picture of Logan enjoying his Vegemite sandwiches:

Nom nom nom...

Our news

Baby number two is on its way!
Which gives me a chance to sew a new quilt for the new addition!!!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wedding quilt

We're just back from the glorious New Zealand... a whole month of travelling the North Island introducing our wee boy to his extended family and my friends. We were lucky enough to have my parents join us on the journey too, spending much loved grandparent time with the wee man.

One of the reasons we travelled to the other side of the world (other than see my family) was to go to a wedding. My hubby's brother decided that he'd like to collect himself a Kiwi wife too so the wedding was in the gorgeous Martinborough, where the bride grew up. It was a lovely wedding (once the weather sorted itself out) and we all had a wonderful time. The wee man wore his very first kilt!

Our wedding gift to the happy couple was a handmade quilt by me! I'd spent months working on this one... my first quilt which is larger than a baby quilt and NOT made from a charm pack. I LOVED working on this and miss it already, but know it's gone to a good home.

Below are photos I took before making my goodbyes to the wedding quilt. (It's amazing how attached you get to your crafts!)

Finishing the binding the night before the wedding!

Finished product, with the reception in the background

A quilt for the bottom of their bed, or to put over their laps in old age ;-)

Ta dah!