Too Many Hand-Knits on One Baby, Part 2

Really, the knitting can get out of hand. The adorable hat was made by my friend Karen. It's chilly this morning, so I stuffed Michael into his Baby Sophisticate as well, and tried to cover his kicking feet with his Zig Zag Pram Blanket.

Part One, in case you've forgotten, is his big brother five years ago:

Meet Michael Francis

On May 10, I went to the hospital for my scheduled c-section. Because of the pre-eclampsia, the birthdate had been moved up from May 24. The only cure for pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby, so it made sense that any potential risk of being born three weeks early -- and 37 weeks gestation is considered "term," not premature -- would be outweighed by eliminating the very serious consequences of full-blown pre-eclampsia.

The surgery went really well. My OB is a family friend who actually delivered my sister 28 years ago. The only hitch in the pre-op period was that I was too swollen for an IV, so the anesthesiologist had to come in and do it. While the spinal block was much scarier than the epidural I'd had with Henry, my blood pressure was low enough that I didn't need the magnesium drip I'd also had at Henry's birth. (The mag drip is to keep a pre-eclamptic patient from seizing and going into organ failure; it makes you nauseated, sleepy, and completely out of it, and I was glad to avoid it this time and be more present at the birth.)

Michael Francis was born at 2:21 PM. He weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 19 inches long. He started crying right away and my thought was "Well, there's nothing wrong with his lungs."

But there was something wrong with his lungs. When we got back to the PACU, the nurses remarked that the baby was wheezing and grunting as I tried to get him to latch on to initiate breastfeeding. I didn't think anything of it, as I thought babies wheezed and grunted. I made the nurse tell me what was happening. He was making those noises because he couldn't get air into his lungs quickly enough. He couldn't latch on because it interfered with breathing. After two visits from a resident from the NICU, they made the decision to take him to the NICU for evaluation.

At the same time, I started to bleed heavily, so what happened after that is still foggy. I'm so glad that before they took him to the NICU, we all got to hold him and be with him.

Later than evening, the nurses got me in a wheelchair and we went down to the NICU. Michael was in triage, on a ventilator, which was very hard to see. They treated him with surfactant, and took a culture and x-ray to check for pneumonia. I won't go into all the details -- I'm not sure that I'm ready to talk about the details -- but in summary, he did have pneumonia and spent seven days in the NICU on antibiotics.

The NICU is a scary place, but it's full of amazing nurses who I'm pretty sure are angels in disguise. If the Rapture HAD happened yesterday, I know they would have been taken instantly.  While Michael had some setbacks (for example, we walked in on Thursday to find he was put on a feeding tube when he'd been taking a bottle just fine the night before), he improved almost every day, and I knew that we were much, much better off than pretty much every other family in that NICU. Slowly, I got better as well, after a frightening incident on Wednesday where I almost fainted in the NICU as a result of my heavy blood loss.

We brought Michael home a week later. Because this is a knitting blog, I have to show you that he came home in not the romper I'd knit (too big!) but with the sock yarn scrap blanket I made.

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This is what happens when you don't cast on like a crazed weasel

Projects actually get finished. Note my use of the passive voice, like I have no control over the matter. But seriously, I have been hauling out some long-forgotten projects and getting them done and out of the way.

Thuja-eque Socks, in KnitPicks Risata.

• Start Date: May 2008
• Reason project was cast aside in disdain: Let's face it, the pattern is boring. I started them on KnitPicks Harmony circulars, which I just don't like anymore because they're too slow. They're Man Socks, so the foot is mind-numbingly long. 
• Solution: Switch to Addi Circulars to speed up the project, despite risk of changing gauge. 

Hedera Socks, in Socks that Rock Mediumweight, Rauen colorway

• Start Date: September 2008
• Reason project was cast aside: Lace pattern in black yarn. Uncharted lace pattern in black yarn (for some reason, I can't do lace without a chart. I just can't make my mind work that way). Thicker mediumweight Socks that Rock on size 1 needles; these socks could walk away on their own. 
• Solution: Just get on with it, already.

In other news, I am almost finished with the yoke on my Tappanzee Cardigan, which I hope to wear to Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. I have also applied the "just get on with it" approach to my Baby Moderne blanket, done in Dream in Color Smooshy. I finished two of the larger blocks and started the intarsia -- a completely new technique for me, so I am still Expanding My Comfort Zone. I will finish it. I will.

When I started this "Spring Cleaning" project, I had eleven WIPs on my Ravelry projects page. I now have eight!

New Skillz

The theme at the shop this year is Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone, but I'd like to think I did a little of that in 2009. Here are some projects that employed skills or techniques that were new to me in some way:

On Ysolda Teague's Hap Blanket (knit in Cascade Eco Wool, a truly wonderful yarn), I used a Russian Bind-Off. The pattern orginally calls for a purl-wise bind-off. On David's advice, I knit a row, then bound off with the Russian Bind-Off, which created a loose, flexible, yet sturdy edge.This blanket is now proudly on display at my brother and sister-in-law's house.

The Yarn Harlot's Pretty Thing  -- mine is knit in Pagewood Farms Alyeska, a luscious cashmere blend -- taught me how to do a sewn bind-off. It's easy-peasy and creates a neat, flexible edge.

Finally, Jared Flood's Habitat, here knit in Malabrigo Worsted, challenged my ability to do cables. This was the first time I'd done a cable beyond a simple right or left cross. I learned to color-code my charts (The Preschooler was dismayed that I used his crayons, but that's another story) to keep all the crossings straight. While cables still slow down my knitting considerably, the color codes keep me from continually having to peer at the symbols and painstakingly figure out what to do next each and every time.

2009 in Review

This year, I knitted (I mean, I finished) 56 things! 56!

Here's a breakdown

• 2 scarves (one Peaks Island Hood!)
• 2 cowls
• 15 hats
• 1 pair of baby booties
• 15 pairs of socks (hey, I won the employee division of the Summer of Socks and Lace!)
• 1 blanket
• 7 baby or child sweaters
• 4 dishcloths (2 ended up as blankies for The Preschooler's baby dolls)
  
• 3 sweaters FOR ME
• 1 felted bag
• 1 pair of mittens

And so the question becomes, how did I do with the Year of Selfish Knitting? In 2008, I knit only two things for myself. Just two! In 2009, most of the items listed above were for me, most noteably 14 of the 15 pairs of socks, all the shawls, and 3 sweaters.

So what are my goals for 2010? It's hard to plan for an entire year; looking back on 2009, the sweaters I outlined at the beginning of the year clearly did not go the way I intended, for example. In my case, to be brutally honest, a rapid and unexpected weight gain derailed a lot of my garment intentions. I also got bitten by the new trend in small shawls and wraps that hit in 2009. Who knows what trends will evolve this year? However, I just finished an article for the shop newsletter about resolutions for the year, and a common theme emerged: Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone. And so, I'd like to do the following:

• Learn new colorwork techniques and make at least one pair of colorwork mittens (you know, instead of just clicking "Buy It Now" on the Ravelry sidebar and having good intentions about them).
• Complete one pair of toe-up socks, perhaps my Discovery Sock from Cat Bordhi's Personal Footprints. 
• Learn once and for all to do a picot hem on a sock or a knitted hem on a sweater without turning to a coworker for help (Hi Yvonne! Hi Melissa!). 

Happy New Year!

Wedding Weekend

I guess I should have known better than to attempt a blog post every day during the same month as my brother's wedding. The weekend, however, did feature knitwear.

The Preschooler sports his owl vest, knitted by Carla, at the reheasal dinner.











I wore, between the ceremony and reception, a little cropped cardigan so kindly knitted by Lisabe.

And, while the bride and groom haven't seen this yet, I feel safe in showing it here, since I hope they are enjoying sunshine and snorkling right now. This is Ysolda's Hap Blanket, knit in Cascade Eco Wool. Due to some problems with the chart, I eliminated the last color repeat, and changed the purl bind-off to a Russian bind-off (which was a new skill!). I love the finished project and hope that the bride and groom do too!