I started knitting because I wanted something I could do that was portable and easy to stop and start. First I made a bonnet for Bruno. I started it over several times and watched a lot of Youtube videos. I used a knitting pattern that they found for me at Close Knits on Alberta, but I altered it. I wanted it to have a smoother look, so I cut the ribbing from the edge of the bonnet. I now know that the ribbing was there to help the bonnet keep its shape, so Bruno’s is a bit wibbly.
Then I wanted to make a colorblock pom hat for Pete. I used this pattern. I altered this one as well. They do the main portion of the hat with one color, then a bit of the second color, and the third color is for the pom. I wanted all three colors to be on the hat body, with the pom the same color as the last color used.
The ribbing is the sloppiest part of the hat. I learned a LOT while doing it and was excited to try the pattern again. I thought it would be cute if Bruno had a hat that matched Pete’s. Unfortunately I didn’t make it tall enough so it was silly looking and I took it apart.
Then I started mine. I wanted a 2 color version. I did a mint green and a lawn green. Here it is pre-pom:
The lawn ended up dominating the hat more than I intended, so rather than do a lawn pom I did a mint pom.
I was able to make a much cleaner rib than last time.
Since we were going to be spending 9 days with my sister, I figured I’d knit her a hat and why not a matching one for Bruno? It was one of my goals for the trip. We hat this exchange about the colors:
We were typing at the same time with the same idea.
I am not sure what I will knit next, but it’s fun!
We had a very hot summer in Portland, and also were homebound waiting to go into labor, so we went frequently to the dog park to swim in the river. Not as gross as that may sound but not that nice, either. On a July Friday we went out to the dog park river to go swimming and I felt sure for the first time that what I was feeling were contractions. It was such a good night to go into labor. We decided to go out to dinner at this Italian restaurant we wouldn’t normally go to, but it seemed like a thing to do. (Carbs?) On the walk home, I felt so special.
We did a flurry of nesting chores Friday night. Full clean, bedding refresh, I think I wiped down the surfaces of our bookshelf? Deep, deep chores. I slept in spurts. I wanted it to intensify but it didn’t. Saturday we just sat around waiting for me to Go Into Labor. It was maddening. I texted people a lot. We went to a different dog park and I walked the hills there and did squats but the contractions had stopped. I cried about it.
By Sunday we accepted that it was nothing and moved on with our lives. We went swimming at the dog park. (Ha!) Once again, the dog park gave me labor pains. They were more intense this time. There was a pattern. We started timing them. We went for a walk and I had to stop every few minutes to sink into the pain. We had our bags ready to go. We texted our dog sitter to warn her. I had wanted to “labor at home for as long as possible” until I was actually in labor and then I wanted to GO GO GO. So we went.
On the drive over the river I looked at the crescent moon in the darkening sky and thought, baby boy, this is the way the moon looked the night you were born.
The nurse who greeted us at the hospital was way too calm. She sloooooowly set up the fetal monitor and the contraction monitor and checked my cervix. Only 1cm dilated so she unhooked me and told me to walk around for an hour. We walked laps around the maternity ward and I wished I were in more pain. When I lay back on the table my contractions had slowed down until like 15 minutes apart. So they released us. Krystal, our friend/dog sitter was already asleep at our house. It was midnight-ish. She had locked the handle of our front door to which we have no key, and she had locked our back gate. I took a pill they gave me and it made the pain recede so I could sleep. In the morning Pete asked her to leave. Lesson learned! Don’t text your dog sitter until you’re ADMITTED to the hospital.
I slept through the night and a lot of Monday. (That was the last time I really slept!) Monday evening the contractions came back. I was up all night with them. I let Pete sleep until 4 am when I woke him to press on my back. I am not going to try to explain the pain because explaining pain is futile but it was painful. Supposedly you have a break between contractions where you shouldn’t feel pain. Some people are able to actually sleep in the few minutes between, but for me I was in different pain between contractions, more like joint or muscle pain. I felt no relief. I lay writhing and moaning in our guest bed dreaming about the epidural I was suddenly certain about getting. Also feeling so daunted about how far away that probably was.
Around 9 or 10am the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart. I was scared to get discharged from the hospital again so I was hesitant to believe it was real. That first nurse had said not to come in until the contractions were identical to one another, which these were not. We were supposed to see my OB at 1:45 to talk about a potential induction, so Pete called the office to ask whether we should still come to the appointment. When he called the nurse who answered asked if it was me in the background screaming. She was like, “Um your wife is in labor. Go to the hospital.” I WAS SO HAPPY.
Pete gathered all of our stuff and made a sandwich which he took the time to TOAST. I still can’t believe that. I was really loud at the hospital. The man who wheeled me up from the ER was trying to make small talk and I couldn’t believe him. He probably toasts his sandwiches, too. This time several nurses met us at Labor and Delivery. The first one who saw me said Oh yeah. This is real. I cried buckets about that. I realized, I’m meeting my baby today!
We got whisked into a room and transferred to a bed. Cord and arms everywhere strapping things to places. My only job for the last week had been to keep myself ready to deliver a baby, aka rested and fed and hydrated, but it was so hot and I had been up for so long that I was dehydrated and exhausted and hungry. I was 5cm dilated and I cried from joy again.
They asked about pain management and I was like, epidural, please! My assigned nurse (Shawna) asked if I wanted fentynyl to ease the pain until the epidural. She said, It’ll feel like you’ve had 2 glasses of wine and you’ll feel it immediately. Yes, please!
The ENTIRE energy of the labor changed at that point. The fentynyl hit me and I blissed out. Probably one of the highest points of my life. I was comfortable, I was in bed, I was going to meet my baby, all I had to do was wait for him. Once my epidural was in they advised me to nap but I was so excited it was difficult to fall asleep. Pete ran across the street to get Khao Soi. He snuck me some odwalla drinks and a bar, since I hadn’t eaten.
Shawna pulled up a chair and the three of us HUNG OUT. She was very cool. Our room was peaceful with a view of Forest Park. hey checked my cervix every couple of hours, and I just felt complete peace about that. At the first check (post epidural) it hadn’t really dilated, so they were like, lets open your hips. And I knew it would work. I felt him move deeper in my pelvis. Then I was at 7cm, but the baby was twisted a bit, and they were like, let’s lay you on your belly with your leg on a peanut ball. The nurse and Pete moved me, because of the epidural and my mostly useless legs. I felt SO CARED FOR. I had absolutely no issues with being splayed out, helpless, in a crazy new situation. So they set me up with the peanut ball and told me to sleep, and I dozed off and felt the pressure, which had been pointing slightly off center, move into dead center. I knew he had shifted his head and was ready to be born. When the doctor came in to check me, I knew before she said it. “You’re complete!” So then they were like, okay, it’s on! They started getting everything set up for the baby.
My doctor had passed me off to another doctor from her practice. She estimated I would give birth in the middle of the night and she had a big patient day the next day. I have no hard feelings, but I was a bit nervous to meet the new doctor, especially when I was told her name is Dr. Doom. When she came in to meet me, I was like, OOOOH. I LOVED her. It felt like an upgrade. She had a cool, athletic vibe. Young, cool glasses. So chatty. We had a good time!
So now they’re ready for me to push and I just started shaking uncontrollably. I felt really guilty about it. I kept trying to hide it from the nurses, and asked Pete to help me do deep breaths to calm down. My main nurses had switched at this point, and my new nurse, Carleen, I LOVED. God, I am so attached to these people. She said shaking was totally normal at this stage, and it didn’t mean I was too weak to push (my fear) or that anything was wrong. We took off my hospital gown, they dropped the end of the bed, put in the stirrups, etc. I felt unbelievable excitement. The doctor and peripheral nurses left the room, and it was just me, Pete, and Carleen. Carleen said we were going to do some practice pushes, and she explained how to wait for the beginning of the contraction and then curl my head up my chest, but keep it loose, keep my face loose, grip my legs, pull up, but try to keep everything loose except push like I am pooping my brains out. I pushed one or two times and she said that I was a really good pusher and she pressed the intercom button and had the doctor and nurses come back in. She said pushing usually takes a long time so the doctor hangs out outside the room until it’s closer to real, but they were all like, you’re going to push this kid out immediately.
I didn’t. Ha. He has a huge head! It took an hour and a half, and they were like oh, nevermind, he has a huge head. We worked it out slowly. Carleen drizzled mineral oil on his head, once it started coming out. It was incredible. They brought the mirror out for me to be able to watch, and I loved watching, but I had them take it away because I felt like I was too caught up in watching his head that it was making me a worse pusher. I always sort of thought you pushed the baby out, and the doctor caught him, but it was more like she wrenched him out of me. She was actively opening my vagina, and really pushing into it. The most I felt it was the ring of fire. Every single push I pushed as hard as I possibly could. The motivation was so real. Maybe this is the push where I’ll see him. Maybe this is the push. Pete was STOKED. He was so into it. He kept telling me, you are incredible at this. All of them were so encouraging. It was exactly the enthusiastic, sporty birth experience I wanted. I felt so supported. I even dislocated my shoulder at one point and popped it back in. Classic Britt!
Eventually there was a series of pushes that seemed to move him mostly out and they kept shouting and even though I was out of air and exhausted I just kept pushing and then I saw him. He was glowing. He was so beautiful and perfect. Pete remembers it totally differently, that he was purple, and slimy, and scrunched, but I saw him as this glowing golden boy held up above me. The doctor said, here, take him, and I felt almost shy. Like, really? I get to have him? I can’t describe. So soft. So sweet. I took him on my chest and he was squirming and wrinkled and tiny and so beautiful. So so beautiful. I had been so worried my whole pregnancy about his health but when I saw him I knew he was perfect.
People were in go mode. Everyone had their tasks, and I just lay there in the center of it, holding my boy. The doctor was puttering in my vagina, examining it all. They thought I was going to tear like crazy bc of his big head, but I hadn’t at all. She described it like a skinned knee, but my vagina. Pete was right with me. We just couldn’t believe him. Pete kept saying, my god, he’s just so cute. He had been texting our families throughout, and he texted them a picture and said “wowowo” and he got the nice camera and took some pictures. I couldn’t think about anything, I just looked at him. I didn’t cry at all, which I thought I would. I felt so happy.
For a long time after his birth I felt wistful about, conscious that every day was moving me away from the day he was born. It was the most special day of my life.
We just got back from our first camping trip with Bruno. Just as in I am wearing socks because my feet are so filthy but I had to sit on our white bedspread to nurse. It was so good and also so hard! As I always say, the most stressful part of having a baby is having a dog!
Bruno:
-was very relaxed in a canoe -was very cute in a PFD -loved looking at the sky and trees and water -slept normal -smiled a lot
Jessie:
-freaks about the canoe. We make her swim because she abandons the canoe and nearly tips us every time. So we made her swim but of course then she tries to climb in the canoe and it is stressful -didn’t sleep at all and so neither did Pete and I -barked a ton at people in the parking lot -barked and whimpered a lot in the car -knocked the wine bottle on my cozy pants so I had to sleep in linen pants with a million buttons like a potato farmer in the 1800s
Anyway. Otis is Bruno’s middle name. It’s not that it’s our favorite outdoor spot, but it’s our favorite outdoor spot that makes a good middle name. Even so, it was special to bring Bruno Otis to Otis, Oregon. The forecast was BANANAS this weekend so we knew we had to go. It’s kind of an ordeal. You canoe across a river, then haul all your stuff around the bend to the beach. It’s a massive beach but empty because of that little bit of boating you have to do to get there. Otis also has a great cafe - Otis Cafe.
It was, and always is, special to see Bruno outside. He loves it. His eyes get so big. Taking him outside usually cures his fussiness. We take a lot of walks, hang in the yard, and take him hiking, but getting to spend all day and night outside was so special and I am excited to do it again but maybe with a different dog we rent from the Good Boy Dog Co.
Someday I’ll have time to write more words but, this is my kid!!! Bruno came out just before midnight on July 17. We went to the hospital with a shortlist of names but when they pulled him out of me and he had such a scowly little face, Bruno was the obvious choice. He is very fun and I love him a lot!
once upon a time our second bedroom looked like this:
we slept in it while we painted our room. I was not okay with the fake wood and so then we took it down several notches to this:
yiiiiiiikes. This was our first real adventure into home improvement and it was crummy. We had no idea what we were doing and it just got worse and worse. Somehow we repaired the walls, painted them white, and as long as you take your contacts out, they look perfect!
This is a kid room now. We got a big bright rug and a thick rug pad, so now all the dogs want to be in this room. We got the smaller version of our dresser (bc metaphor. JK, i just like it.) My sister got us this awesome swaddle but I loved it so we made a frame for it and hung it on the wall.
I call this the Appleton shelf. My mom made the fruits and veggies illustration, and until recently it hung in my grandparents’ house in Virginia. My grandma made the needlepoint thing. And my mom painted that pink heart for my room when I was born. Also there’s an amethyst on the shelf my sister bought a few weeks ago in Portland because I had one as a kid and she buried it in the yard and has felt bad all these years. Wanted to loop those vibes into this room.
Eventually where the couch is will have a crib. But for now it has a couch (which in it contains a bed! que miracle.)
Friday
night we got Timmy and Kelly from the airport and grilled up some food and then
cracked the seal on our new fire pit. Saturday was Kelly’s 30th
birthday so I put her wrapped presents on the coffee table, and decorated with
streamers and balloons. I had gotten some newsprint and two colors of tempera
paint for making wrapping paper. I like it as a wrapping paper system. It’s fun
to paint big on cheap paper, and it makes nice looking gifts.
Our
goal was to walk our neighborhood, and go in all the little places we never go
in, including Pip’s for their free birthday doughnuts. Their policy is within 7
days of your birthday you get a free dozen. Since both Kelly and Pete had
birthdays, that’s 24 doughnuts. The line was long but we had a good time.
At
the hardware store on Fremont Pete got a locking system for the garage, since
the garage broke. When we got back from our walk, he and Timmy set to work on
installing the new locking system. Took them a long long time. Kelly and I
baked her birthday cake, and put together a fabric wall hanging that we found
on Pinterest. And walked the dogs.
We
were puttering and ended up using the wrapping paper as a table cloth, and
making little rose bouquets from the yard, and putting the balloons in the
umbrella hole of the table. It was all accidental but it made for a festive table
that I feel stupid talking about. Liz and Summer came over and we set up Suzy
Sticks in the yard. Pete grilled salmon that he’d been marinating all day. I
had a separate meal because I am a child and I don’t like fish. The dinner was
so so good and then we used the fire pit again. I built an enormous fire that
wasn’t appreciated in its own time.
Sunday
we drove out to Lyle, Washington to hike Swale Canyon. We’d never been before.
It was hot and deserty and beautiful. Then we had dinner at Rack & Cloth
and rented Black Panther at home. Kelly rubbed my feet the entire drive home
from Rack & Cloth (about 40 minutes.) Black Panther is bad! We all thought
so.
Monday Pete left for Vermont. Kelly, Timmy and I waited in
line for Pine State biscuits, and did some Portland snooping. Then we spent the
afternoon hanging in the backyard. We assembled some baby stuff, and read and
ate. Mollie stopped by. It was an awesome visit and Jessie would like to know where Kelly and Timmy went and can they come back?
We had huevos rancheros and then drove to Otis to canoe across the Salmon River Estuary to the beach. Jessie jumped out of the canoe and then tried to climb back in. She is so so so cute in her life jacket but I had my camera in a waterproof case, so no pictures of that. We saw a lot of hawks and bald eagles, also seals. The beach was empty, windy, and awesome. We got a loaf of pumpkin bread at the Otis Cafe on the way out of town. We ate it all and Pete said, “We ate a loaf of dessert.” Pete’s 33 now and a good good man.
When you have your own kiln / patience you do a lot of glaze tests. Like you would always do a glaze test before using a glaze on a finished piece. I NEVER DO THAT. Pretty much everything that comes out of the glaze kiln is a total surprise to me. I always send my sister pictures of every single item with an explanation of how it’s different than it was supposed to be.
I have been trying to be more patient, though, and do glaze tests. For Jon’s dish set I could not figure out how I wanted to glaze the insides of everything. The point if it is to leave the majority of it raw, since it’s 5 clays mixed together and every item is different and it looks so good raw. But for it to be food safe and less breakable I need to glaze the insides of the bowls, mugs, and plates. I did a test with a glossy white, a matte white, my fav blue, a rusty red, and clear gloss, and none of them were right. I was proud of myself for doing that initial test so when it came back bad I was like, oh crap, i have to do ANOTHER ONE. It means waiting a whole week to finish the set while the stupid test is cooking. Ugh. Fortunately I had 7 bowls, and only need 6, I spent some time in the glaze aisle at Georgie’s and settled on this Terrazzo one:
I thought it would look earthy and cool, and would fit with the look.
Guess what: I LOVE IT
And I am SO GLAD I didn’t just blast through this project with some second rate glaze concept. I think it’s going to be a really good looking set of dishes.
Nesting bowls for a commissioned wedding gift. I’m excited! My friends who commissioned it are going to come over to glaze it. I love getting people in my clay studio clutches. It’s rare! I need more friends who do this type of thing!
