Month: March 2010

Planning a Garden

Marie Haigh6 Comments

Can you picture a bed of flowers on a path separating 2 garden beds?

Amongst the flowers are stepping stones inviting you to walk through. The garden bed to the left is a sea of white flowers. The garden bed to the right has more mature plants from evergreen shrubs to azaleas.

Can you see it?

In my dreams, I can. Hopefully, by the time Elly is old enough to remember such things (say 4 years of age), it will look exactly like I envision.

In the meantime, I am using my plethora of sweet gum seed pods to kill the grass in the pathway. It’s the lazy man’s approach to ripping out a section of grass; grass is much easier to rip out if it’s dead first.

Pure Survival

Marie Haigh4 Comments

We made it! Elly is now 7 weeks old. Amazingly, not only is she still alive but Dan and I are still thrilled to be her parents despite the sleepless nights, spit-drenched clothes and bruises from her cute habit of head butting.
Some of us are more exhausted than others from the experience.

It wasn’t all for naught. We’ve learned a few things about Elly along the way: she grunts to communicate, she dislikes having to go to bed (thankfully, she isn’t old enough to whine and to beg to stay up just 10 more minutes), and she loves watching wrestling with her Dad.

Just this week, it has felt like a fog has lifted. Elly isn’t eating any less or requiring any less attention. And no, Elly isn’t sleeping longer than 2-3 hours at a stretch in the night. Hopefully, longer stretches of sleep will come soon.
Rather I am finally learning how to adjust to life with a newborn. True, very little gets accomplished outside of nursing, changing diapers and holding her. Still I have found little windows to accomplish the hobbies that I hold dear.One of the first things I found time for was my daily walk with Jake. After a few failed attempts at different times in the day, I learned that it was best to squeeze it in after Elly’s noontime snack. The timing works perfectly because Elly can take her afternoon nap snug and secure in her Ergo baby carrier.

While waiting for Elly to drift off to sleep after a big meal, I find time to knit a row or two. Elly only objects when the yarn drapes across her face.
At night when Dan is home, I sneak off to the kitchen or the sewing room while he enjoys quality time with his daughter. Though this project was supposed to be Dan’s birthday present (his birthday is the 28th), it is looking more like a Christmas present.

Another joy of having a newborn: things take longer to accomplish.
I wouldn’t change it for the world though. Elly is wonderful.

Month Report

Marie Haigh9 Comments

A little over a month has passed since Elly was born yet still normal life still has not yet been resumed.
There has been no knitting, sewing, or card making. Only 3 dishes have been cooked up: bread pudding, rice pudding and pancakes. All were made within the last week.
My main focus has been nursing Elly. Sometimes I manage to catch sleep in between her feedings. Sometimes I don’t.
I persevere through the long hours because this is my reward.


Sheer bliss.

At Elly’s most recent check-up, the doctor confirmed what we had guessed: Elly has gained a lot of weight. She now weighs 11 lbs and measures 21.25″. You can really see the difference in her hands and her face.

Of course, I am thrilled with Elly’s continued good health. On the other hand, I am also chomping at the bit to resume some of my hobbies. Maybe soon, but I don’t want to rush things. Elly will only be this age once. I am trying to savor every moment.