Yarn Pirate Shop →

H is now 5 months old. He is a happy, giggly boy who loves to be tickled and splash in the tub. He is quite the talker and loves to babble and screetch at people, especially if they babble back at him. He has also morphed into some kind of crazy danger-baby. You would think it would benefit our species to have some sense of self preservation as an infant, but no. Maybe my baby likes to experiment with danger more than other babies. I don’t know. Here is what I do know- If I turn my back on H for more than 2 seconds he grabs anything and everything he can and tries to stuff it in his mouth. The cat’s tail. A handful of receipts. A dirty diaper. An entire down comforter.

Now that he’s slightly more mobile it’s even worse. Things that I assume are out of his reach, or at least out of his line of sight, are suddenly grab-able. The other night I had him smack dab in the middle of our bed, not a pillow or blanket within a 2 foot radius. I turned my back for a moment to change clothes and when I turned back around he had a pillow over his face. I think he was trying to cram it in his mouth but it also looked like he was trying to smother himself. Even though he can’t see stuff he remembers it’s there. Like his penis. I can change his diaper when he is sound asleep and his chubby little hands will start grabbing at it. It’s like they are magnetically attracted to each other.

He has mastered rolling over, but only in one direction. He can only roll from his back to his tummy. Have I ever mentioned how much he hates being on his tummy? This has thrown a wrench into our daily routine. He used to play happily in his crib for up to 45 minutes while I worked (with the baby monitor turned on). Now I’ll put him in his crib to play and before I even turn around he’s on his tummy and complaining about it. We’ve been making good use of the Baby Hawk. I don’t know how moms survive without slings.

It’s amazing to reflect back on how much he’s changed in the last 5 months. When he was first born he would only stare at my chest and smack his lips. Then he started flailing his arms around. Then he realized those arms and hands belonged to him, and he spent hours and hours contemplating them. Not long after that, he discovered that he could make his arms and hands do stuff. He made many practice grabs and started sticking his hands in his mouth. Now he can accurately reach for and hold things and transfer things from hand to hand. Even better? Those hands that used to flail around now reach up to touch my face when we’re nursing. His eyes meet mine and his face crinkles into a happy, milky smile.

(and then he chomps my nipple)

Hi everyone, Booty Club stuff is shipping today! I am in the middle of printing labels. I just noticed that all of the new subscribers’ email addresses downloaded as “verified” instead of the actual email address. Since there are 88 of you, I’m not going to be able to look all of your email addresses up in paypal and email you. Sorry about that! So let this serve as your shipping notice. If for some reason you don’t have your Booty by this time next week email me and I will track it down for you.

Oh, and I wanted to mention that some of the skeins have beed re-skeined. This is only because I have H in his sling a lot while I work. He’s getting grabby. One of his favorite things to do is reach out and grab yarn as I’m twisting it into skeins. Sometimes he pulls a couple of strands out of whack and I can’t make it look nice again. If you get a reskeined, uh, skein it’s because H thought it was worth grabbing. What can I say. He’s my child. He has good taste ;).

Don’t forget to check your tags to see if you won the treasure hunt!

xoxoxo

Do you miss Zen String as much as I do? Here are a few of my favorite ZS projects. I know I’ve posted a lot about how much I love Angelina’s yarn, but have I ever told you all how much I adore Angelina? I met her a couple of years ago when she was mostly selling on etsy. We clicked right away and had many friendly chats via email. When I told her I was pregnant I asked if she could recommend a good book about natural childbirth. She sent me a whole stack of books, including Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth which I read at least 6 times while i was pregnant. Angelina was my inspiration for having a home birth and she was incredibly helpful and supportive while I planned mine. Her life has been in a bit of turmoil lately. Some of her friends have put together an event to help her out. CLICK HERE for more info. Amongst the many wonderful things to buy there will be a lottery for a 6 month membership to the Booty Club. I hope everyone buys a lottery ticket! Even if you already have a membership you should buy one. It would be super easy for me to extend your subscription for 6 months. If you are the winner of the lottery I might even send you extra special treats each month…

Speaking of extra special treats, I have had such a great time putting together July’s treasure hunt! Seriously, if it goes well I think I’ll start doing it every month instead of every 3 months. Here is how the treasure hunt works. BOOTY CLUB MEMBERS!!! Please make sure you check the back of your tags when your July packages arrive. One person, selected totally at random, will have a secret word on the back of their tag. Email me the secret word (I’ll provide you with the email address) and your treasure will be shipped to you. Be on the lookout! Packages ship on the 16th.

Don’t think I’m going to send a bunch of cheesy, useless junk either. I’ve searched etsy for specific, useful items. Everything is handcrafted and unique. The total value is over $100. Do any other yarn clubs out there offer such awesome prizes?

Several weeks ago I had a contest. Remember that? I randomly picked a winner and she’s already been contacted but I forgot to mention it here. Jenna was the lucky winner! I’m sending her 2 manly skeins for her adorable baby boy.

H is cutting more teeth. I realized it this afternoon. I was wrangling a squirmy, crying H and wondering if someone replaced my sweet, mellow child with an angry badger in the middle of the night. Then I remembered I had wondered the same thing about a month and a half ago when his first two teeth came in. I didn’t even have to look in his mouth. I stuck my finger in and felt his poor swollen gums. He’s getting his upper incisors. I feel sorry for him, but not as sorry as I feel for my nipples. He’s still not getting the “We don’t bite mommy” concept.

Teething couldn’t save him from a little torturous picture time. Nothing cheers a baby up like being forced to wear a funny hat ;). Actually, he didn’t seem to mind it. Maybe it was the baby tylenol. See that picture up there? Notice the tennis ball next to the baby and off to the right the damn dog? He is forever soliciting H to play with him. Sometimes it’s cute. Sometimes… well, sometimes this happens:

That should horrify his grandmas. Mwahahaha.

Oh, and one more thing. This is actually a big deal for me. I sent off my application to become a certified Bradley Birth instructor today. Since H’s birth I’ve become a very passionate advocate for unmedicated birth. I’m excited that someday I will be educating couples about pregnancy and birth and helping them have the best possible birth experience. I have to go to a 4 day seminar in August and then complete a bunch of coursework and take some tests, so it is a serious commitment. I also have to cough up a considerable chunk of change to go to this seminar but I’m very excited to see where this takes me!