The Day Before

For my own memories, and with my lack of vanity, I wanted to publish a photo of my largest point of pregnancy: The day before labour started. At the time, I didn't feel that large, but now... OMFG. That's a LOT of baby there in that photo.

I remember having my midwife check up that morning, and during her visit I had a contraction that was different to the (Toni) Braxton Hicks types. As we were given 4 due dates during the year, Baby Darling ended up being born on one of them!

The dress is my Sew Weekly creation from earlier in the year, and it got so much wear all the tummy area became worn out, you know how knit fabric gets all baubly? (It pills, or whatever it's called?)

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Spring Break: Big Belly

My basketball under my dress attracts a bit of the old head turning along the streets. I'm only 4 eleven (you guys must remember that by now) so it's a bit funny to see I guess.

Here we are waiting at the airport to pick up Mum.

xoxo

Sew Weekly: Nursing the Wild Side

While I was doing a bit of this on the couch for most of this week, I also pottered my way into the Sewing Room. WTF, I KNOW! As you've probably noticed, I'm not really in the creating mood this year, I've been tired, busy and doing the grown up thing of actually slowing things down while I grow a real life human child. A VERY different pace of life for me this year. And how great do I feel (beside the heart burn, weird pelvic tingles and puffy feet) for it? GREAT!

But with a little nudge from some online friends, I also got a little inspired to take my time and make a few things this week. The first, this WILD dress which only came about because the lovely Megan Nielson sent me the BEST maternity pattern... the Perfect Nursing & Maternity Top and I turned it into a little/large dress for to wear now and after birth.

The Sew Weekly theme this week was about being inspired by literature, and Husbie and I have been feeling a little in love with children's books at the moment. My work sent me a great collection of darling children's books to start our library for the new addition, and we've always had a really beautiful hardcover edition of 'Where The Wild Things Are'... it might have been a subconscious inspiration to our new kitchen wallpaper as well...

Anyways, so great inspiration from Megan's pattern, some fun and totally cheap fabric from Spotlight and a fun Sew Weekly challenge brought about the dress and this hilarious photo shoot in the kitchen. All my Sew Weekly details are up on Mena's blog and this week I'll post the little Max costume I made as well, thanks to darling Nikkishell's baby patterns!

I do LOVE Meg's nursing pattern, it was really so easy to make up and I can imagine I'll be making it again once I work the whole breastfeeding thing out. I've been wearing clippy bras through my pregnancy, as I can't stand underwire or anything tight (I ripped off some tights this morning that were just way too clingy) so I just hope they're big enough to accommodate a milk filled boob as well, who the hell knows!

Anyways, today the neighbours decided the bump shape was definitely a boy shape, and I know some of you have had your pick too... I wonder what he or she will be like! Now that the Little Darling is 38 weeks old in utero, birth could happen anytime. The midwives again say it's head down, fixed now, and its little back is along the front of me... so perfect birthing possie. At the most recent heart beat monitoring, the midwife told me the myth was that at full term if the heart beat is a certain number it means a boy and if it's another it means a girl. My little fetus was still being a trickster, and gave us a heartbeat reading of first a boy, then a girl, then a boy. I love not knowing, it's so funny thinking of who they'll be and so amazing knowing they'll be in our lives and we'll love them no matter what. SO MUCH love and gush in our house at the moment!

Have a gorgeous weekend and I'll hopefully see you here soon! xoxo

This.

Yep. Just this.

Last Week of Work: Friday

My last day at work started off very early (but not so 'bright' as in bright and early, right?) as I produced the breakfast show boys! And it was SO gorgeous and fun! A perfect last day... You might be like, WHAT? Producing BREAKFAST RADIO is perfect? But as I don't do it all the time, it was really great working with the boys again and Friday's radio shows are always really great, uplifting etc.

Husbie took these photos at 4.45am, and I couldn't see him (nor him, me) so please forgive me for I look like a startled bunny in the headlights, but I didn't want to blink or stand outside for long because it was COLD.

BUT, it's a new handmade dress (I KNOW!):

The Facts

Fabric: Some sort of wool blend stretch knit (from Lincraft) and about $8 or $9 a metre
Pattern: Self drafted, but using Built By Wendy's Sew U Stretch techniques, with a scoopier neckline for future breastfeeding days.
Notions: just thread
Year: 2012
Time to complete: 1.5 hours
First worn: August 2012
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: $10



It's a long sleeves tshirt dress, and I made the neckline thicker but looser for the breastfeeding option (so you just pull it and unclip the maternity bra... not that I know yet, but I'll report back). My maternity dresses have just been long tubes, rectangles for front and back, usually for my frame I curve them to fit, but to stretch out for Le Bump now and to be a baggier dress for post-birth, a rectangle should be ok.

Here's how dark it really was, no flash:

Hope you've enjoyed seeing my pregz fash outfits from my last working week! It's a bit selfish, because it's kinda for me to reflect and show my little Bunny Boo later (oh the pet names our little human has already, I could write a book)... but thanks for all your kind notes and wishes through the week!

Have a great weekend! xoxo

Last Week of Work: Thursday

Last Thursday was a ker-razy day at work. KER-fuffles and things to fix, a problem solving kinda day, and I was thinking "Please universe, I have to leave work, I have to go on maternity leave... just let me go..." because I felt like everything was stirring and sad that I was leaving so it threw all kinds of shit that hittith the fan. You know what I mean. But, we overcame all obstacles AS ALWAYS (even though some lasted til Friday too!) and all was good in the world again.

And FINALLY, here's another stretchy T shirt dress I made last month that's been a gem to wear as the body expands....

But these photos make Le Bump look smaller than Wednesday's photos... how WEIRD.

And the info for the new handmade dress (how little I have made this year compared to last year, OMG):


The Facts

Fabric: Light stretch polyester blend of something, Spotlight $7 a metre
Pattern: Self drafted, but using Built By Wendy's Sew U Stretch techniques, with a scoopier neckline for future breastfeeding days.
Notions: just thread
Year: 2012
Time to complete: 2 hours
First worn: July 2012
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: $14

AMAZING. Thanks again for your lovely comments! And love the guesses on the baby's gender... I WONDER so much more these days... but still no vibes either way.

P.S. A few maternity leave questions have popped up recently in my comments... just thought I'd get some info out here... Yes in my area of public service/government organisation, I had to take maternity leave 6 weeks prior to the due date... (and for you feminists, they actually called it 'confinement date' not due date. How I gnashed teeth and even tried to call it parental leave - to no avail) ... you CAN stay longer at work, if you get a Doctor's approval. My Dr approved an extra week, so that's why I've wrapped up work at 35 weeks pregnant... which gave me a little less than 4 weeks with my Sept 12th due date. I could have pushed for more, as I've been totally healthy and happy throughout the pregz (morning sickness and heartburn was my only worry) but just thought I should get into a different mindset for birth and post birth life... which has been good so far this week.

Yep, we get 3 months paid maternity leave at my work, and nup, I'm taking 6 months at half pay... which combined with my 3 months Long Service Leave at half pay ... gives me just around 12 months... So quite the break from work, but as I'm looking at parenthood as my new 'role' and like a job (just a different job), I don't see it as a 'break' or a 'holiday'.

Anyways, hope that's cleared a bit for you guys asking... I know it's different for everyone, and I'm extremely luckily 12 months can be paid (even on half pay) leave for me...

Last Week of Work: Wednesday

It was an absolutely freezing day last Wednesday, and yep that's why I look pained with my smilez but why the big old teddy bear jacket had to return! Luckily I was inside for most of the day at work... but how much bigger do I look on the side here:

Gigantic! Every Wednesday or Thursday is our new 'week' so these photos show me as 35 weeks pregz, and TOTALLY showing it. I also think after wearing these undies and tights together, I had really puffy legs, as I've gone up 2 sizes in undies, but sometimes I forget and wear my old ones. YES, I'm talking underwear on my blog, and yes, that is a photo of my undie curves on my blog. #NoFear here my friends.

You've seen this pregz fash dress before, I made it a few weeks back from leftover stretch knit my friend gave me, and it might be on it's last legs already this week or next... we'll see if I get any bigger up front.

Op shopped scarf with that 80s nautical look (I've had it for at least 5 years I think, so not a new op shop purchase) and the jacket was a present at least 12 years ago from my flatmate. And good old Melissa shoes in jungle print (do we say jungle when we don't know the animal responsible for the print? Or is it just 'animal' print?).

xoxo

Last Week of Work: Tuesday

Yep, purple and black! I made this stretchy dress last year during Sew Weekly 2011 for the Spanish Harlem theme and it's so comfy as pregz fash this year. Totally one of my faves to wear, and I've 'teamed' it up here with my op shopped cardi (a lovely wool blend one I found recently - great!), a bit of leftover stretch knit that turns into a scoopy, loopy scarf cowl thing and my velvet or velveteen op shopped jacket (a recently QLD op shop find!).

Again, it's early in the morning so Husbie snapped these quick photos for me in the freezing cold. I actually can't remember (one week on!) what happened at work this day. I know I went there, I know I must have worked... but that's how weird my brain is at the moment, I just am so fluid going with the flow... each day as it comes and I've already forgotten last week... SO pleased we took these photos now though, I love how cute I look here! And weirdly so much larger than the Monday outfit!

xoxo

Last Week of Work: Monday

Thank you all for your lovely well wishes about my mat leave! My last week of work turned out to be super fun but super busy (especially Wed/Thurs/Friday - which I should have predicted) and now it's the first Monday of my Maternity Leave! I should have explained Long Service Leave a bit better (but thanks for your gush Oona!)... For you darlings not working in Australian public/government jobs, our organisation offers Long Service Leave for employees who have committed over 10 years of service to the organisation... Whilst I've been at different parts of the ABC, it's around 11 or 12 years (as I was part time for a while at the start when I was a little radio producer)... so after 10 years, the deal is you get 3 months paid leave. ASTONISHING. But also something I'd recall my teachers getting when they were like 55 years old, so hence my dorkiness for staying at the same place through my twenties.

BUT! Not that there's been a life plan in place, I'm pretty happy with my career, my achievements and the amazing people I've been able to work with through that whole time. GOSH, SO REFLECTIVE and it's only really the third day of mat leave! Better not cry!

So last week, Husbie helped me grab a cute little photo each day of my pregz fash, because at 35 weeks, these are the best of the best outfits (that fit me)!

Monday I wore a wooly op shopped swing dress, op shopped tights (these ones were new in the packet!) and my new Melissa shoes (a present to myself for being happy n healthy at 33 weeks, so my GP wrote me a note to stay at work an extra week) from Mandrake and Willow (a GORGEOUS little shop in Yarraville - I'll write more about later!).

The swing dress accidentally ended up in a warmer wash cycle, as don't we all love that when 50% wool items get heated... but luckily it didn't shrink too small for the bump, as I stretched it out and stopped the felting of a few areas when it was wet. I have to wear little shortie shorts underneath, but I love how 60s Mod it looks and it's super warm. Most of these morning photos are around 7.30 or 8am so it's kinda 8 degrees C - and my smile looks more like a grimace to me!

Happy Monday to you!

xoxo

A Saturday Morning Walk

Hey! Here's an idea for a perfect Saturday morning: sleep in, relax, cuddle, eat fresh fruit, have a hot shower, wear really comfy clothes, pin hair up, wear no make up or sunscreen and take the dog for a walk with gorgeous Vitamin D bringing more cuddles with the winter sun.

This week I was back at work, with lots of energy from my time off, so happy to see everyone again and kept busy but not too busy. But it was cold again, overcast and I was stuck with what to wear each day that was comfy and lovely and my style... so after 5 work days, I embraced my cushy comfy attired as much as Doris Day loves the grass and sunshine!

We're 32 weeks, perhaps? Someone in utero is upside down, hanging out comfortably with head in my pelvis... which makes sense why I'm getting kicked around so much on the top of my bump! I had a couple of check ups this week, with the midwives all happy. And now we're catching up every 2 weeks, which makes things a bit more real. Only 3 weeks of work as well, until my maternity leave kicks in. Um, Where The Fuck has the time gone?

Wishing you a lovely weekend and hope you get some Vitamin D too with the sunshine in Melbourne! xoxo

OK OK, the best tights ever!

OMG, here's what I look like at 30 weeks pregz!

Last weekend we had a mini break to Sydney, to see some lovely friends, but also to get outta the house as Husbie has been working so much since he got quitted from his day job and has become a freelance movie guy. (He's a film colourist, in the real world)

I'm so proud of him that his work has taken off, he's in demand and we're saving money (for let's face it, we have a deadline coming up that could majorly change our financial situation)... but when you're working for yourself, there's so much more to think about! The poor darling has hardly time to invoice, so voila! I employed myself as his bookkeeper and am learning online software so our accountant doesn't go ballistic at us! "BORING!" you're yelling at me, right? I'm such a nerd about some things... I love being the bookkeeper.

ANYWAYS, Husbie finally took some time out so we could have a little holiday AND he took some photos of me in Newtown, wearing my darling darling darling friend Emina's orange bamboo tights.

Yep, she makes the best tights (and these ones are on special at the moment!) and sells them at her darling darling darling store OK OK in Sparta Place, off Sydney Road in Brunswick. I also bought some woolie ones, some ribbed ones, and some ... brown/tan ones that look great with floral stuff... so if you're stuck for original looking tights this winter, Emina has a pair for you. When I was in last week, she was having a clearance sale on clothing, but if you check up with her Facebook updates, you'll see what's going down as she always has great stuff going down.

OK OK blog

OK OK website

OK OK on Facebook!

But you know I've blogged about Emina at OK OK before, especially because she stocks the best range of .... MELISSA SHOES. I'm wearing my brogues Melissa's here in the photo too! The dress is a Country Road (wait for it) dress I found at the op shop, that appears to be a normal batwing dress, but is PERFECT for my roundness and shortness... I am wearing a cowl scarf with it (a scoop loop cowl of course!) and I was surprised for in Sydney (during the day) ... one does not need a jacket! OMG!

xoxo

Pop! It's A T-Shirt Dress

Someone just got a little bigger!

Here's my self drafted T-Shirt dress, which is actually nothing special, or maternity focussed... but terribly comfy. Because I haven't made anything for freaking ages, I'm going to follow our old Sew Weekly stats:


The Facts

Fabric: Hand-me-down stretch knit, gift from my friend
Pattern: Self drafted, but using Built By Wendy's Sew U Stretch techniques
Notions: just thread
Year: 2012
Time to complete: 1 hour
First worn: June 2012
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: $ZIP/NIL (how thrifty!)


Usually when I make T-Shirt dresses (like this one) I narrow the waist line on both the back and front pieces, or use the bodice and skirt pieces like the Sew U Stretch book suggests (to allow for my waistline)... but for this T-Shirt dress, to allow for the bump, I cut straight down from the bust, thinking that the stretch of the fabric will be ok for the bump, and then my hips. So it's really rectangular, so curves or shape at all... just a tube from the bust/underarm curve. Make sense?

So what tends to happen (and if you were a strict designer or seamstress, you'd scoff) is that the side seams are actually about an inch or two towards the front, instead of right on the sides... because sadly my tush hasn't grown at all, it's all up front with the bewbs and belly... but I'm not strict on myself with sewing, and no one will even be staring at the side seams... especially with this bulge out front!

Here's how I wore it one day to work, it's so super flexible I might make another:

By around 28-29 weeks along, things are getting rounder, heavier and WAY pushier. The human inside is growing a LOT and pushing outwards ("Too soon, babes," I tell it) and reacts to a LOT of outside world stuff. Conversations I have or things I see, spreads emotions or hormones to my fetus, who moves around with excitement. It's SO interesting and weird growing this human!

Thanks for all your lovely comments about my dog walking outfit! Too hilarious!

Mid Winter Holiday

I'm really excited as I've scored 2 weeks away from work, as a little Mid Winter Holiday... but of course it's been freezing, windy and all things terrible as I caught a cold! My immune system is shot, but I'm laying low... watching all the episodes of Masterchef (you know you can watch them online, catch up tv is the BEST) and crocheting in my warm little house with Doris Day the Dog.

My pregnancy is full of little mantras and they pop up here and there... Easy Does It... That's Perfect ... This is Such a Short Time in Your Life... Find the Time... and lots more...

Little sayings that when I feel a stress or an urgency or a dilemma, I repeat these little things to myself (some are from my Doula, or my hypnobirth cd or just things that come into my brain and maybe it could be as the baby grabs hold of its first brain waves...) and it makes things ok...

Today we're going for a little holiday to Sydney and you could say that I am NOT packing the above clothing... however cute that little jumper is. My friend Lindsay gave it to me last year (He's got a great op shopping eye for detail!), and I can think of nothing more hilarious that a fetus covered with poodles... so I wear it out walking the dog.

Happy Friday and stay warm!

xoxo

Pregz Fash: Long Sleeves & Long Bodies

For the first time in a while, I went to Big W and bought something other than underwear. New clothing? Against my grain entirely right? I bought long sleeve, long bodied thermal things. I think you're supposed to wear them at night as sleepwear (as they were with the pyjama section)... but they're darling for my tum and keeping me warm.

I haven't bought many new things since I started blogging, part of my ye olde Wardrobe Refashion pledge was to attempt to make everything I needed to buy... and since I've been blogging for over 5 years, I think there's been a few instances (a trip to Bali & Singapore - travel makes me impulse buy more) where I've bought off the rack clothing.

But through this pregnancy, my mood to sew and DIY has shifted just a little! A few Saturdays ago, I needed a long list of new items (size 12 underwear, yep that's 2 sizes larger than what I usually take - but my usual undies are WAY too tight and uncomfortable) so stopped at the Salvos first, and what I couldn't find there, I then headed to Big W knowing I'd get those Bonds maternity bras and undies there (which are VERY comfy btw). When it's cold, with a changing body shape, I just gotta get shit off the rack and quickly!

Pregz Fash Featured:

- Light grey thermal top from Big W

- Mini Skirt - Handmade back in the Sydney 100 Outfits Era! (I wear it under the belly, low on the hips and with the longer top to cover, seems to look cute enough)

- Long and wooly-ish cardigan from the Salvos - thrifty!

Bump:

See? Small again! It goes up and down a lot! This photo was about 2 weeks ago, but a week after the 90s dress up day at work... where I thought the bump was way bigger! Oh well!


Hope you've been having a lovely week! I'm on holidays and living it up, getting over ANOTHER cold (oh the immune system has broken) but looking forward to a couple little mini breaks I've planned during the holz!)

xoxo

Pregz Fash: Dress Up Day at Work

This is a subtle pregnancy photo really, taken in our office on a dress up day while my friend finished her artwork.

Yes, I know... I bet you guessed it right away! I'm a dead ringer for the ultimate trinity of grunge and 90s: Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love AND Frances Bean all rolled into one. Yep, it was a 90s dress up day!

I'm back again today, because I have 2 weeks break from work. VERY excited to have a little rest, recharge my batteries and catch up on a lot of things (I had a series of blood tests this morning, and a midwife catch up on Wed... and need to spend a lot more time relaxing in the bath)...


Pregz Fash Featured:

- Husbie's brown cardigan (Kurt Cobain wore one a LOT)

- Handmade long sleeve tshirt dress, nice and stretchy... I got a better photo (at 28 weeks - I tried to remember for you) so will go into the details later, amazing that I actually sewed up something.

- Docs!

Bump:

Probably around 26 weeks here, but it'd go up and down in size a lot around this time... depending on what I was doing, what exercise I was doing and what I was eating...

Hope you had a lovely weekend and I'll probably see you tomorrow as I'm in the writing swing of things, being on my break. I MAY even sew this week, as have been eyeing of the Sew Weekly themes for a little bit of motivation, and thinking about what's in my stash! xoxo

Pregz Fash: Exercise

BACK AGAIN! I'm getting on a roll again!

Being a thrifty family, and a DIY extremist, we don't shop that often... I plan ahead for things I need ( for example, right now, we need cushions for our new couch & I want them to match Doris Day's lounge room dog bed, so I'm slowly waiting for a big old winter wooly blanket - grey - to appear on ebay or at the op shop) for myself, for the house and sometimes for Husbie.

Now that I'm pregnant, I've been surprised at how many different things I've needed to keep covered, to keep warm... and I've got zero motivation to sew up the new things... my usual Gung Ho-ness is replaced with tiredness, or the need to have more baths and relax a bit more...

But, when I'm in the right frame of mind, we've been getting up a smidge earlier and braving the Melbourne cold for a walk. It's harder being active in wintertime, but with a little yoga here and there and a little walking (plus the busy times at work), I'm feeling very healthy!

Pregz Fash Featured:

- New Gumboots for the rainy days, I got a size bigger (did you hear that your feet can grow a size during pregnancy?) but wear wooly warm socks with them

- Hand me down stretchy maternity tops! I'm in love with so many of my friends who are keeping me thrifty! A darling friend shared several stretchy and warm long tops that I wear a lot as under garments at the moment.

- Neck Muff - with any spare stretch knit fabric, I make neck muffs, so this is a purple one left over from last year's Mother's Day Theme at Sew Weekly.

- Old Lumberjack jacket that will never do up over the bump, but still is very warm with that lining!

Bump:
This was early June, when I started have regular growth spurts... for the first 5 and a half months, I'd feel the fetal movements, and the skin growing gradually and my uterus was always under my belly button... from around this time onwards, I noticed every Wed or Thursday a little growth and heavier feelings across my belly... but also a few more growing pains crept in over the weekends...

So weird to be feeling so much growth happening!

xoxo

Pregz Fash: Petite & Baby Doll

Hmmm.

If I were tall and it were summer time, the swishy baby doll cut dress would perhaps suit this little pregz Mumma-To-Be. After wearing this outfit, I worked out that I was more of an M.I.A type pregnant figure, and not a Heidi Klum type pregnant one after all. (Have I told you that occasionally that I feel that Heidi Klum and I could look like twinnies?)

ANYWAYS, M.I.A was gorgeous pregnant, so I'm quite happy having a new twinnie!

The hipstamatic photo above is at the National Gallery of Victoria, where we took Husbie's Mum to see the Napoleon exhibition.


Pregz Fash Featured:
- Red quickie dress I made in 2010 for the music conference I spoke at (not that you remember, but I always remember what I made my clothes for... the original event! WEIRD) and yep, the baby doll style is a traditional maternity wear cut, but for short arses, just doesn't look as nice. 


- The stripey cardi I made for Mother's Day theme at Sew Weekly 

- Little brogue heels I bought from ebay, only $13, but just nice with a little pregnant appropriate heel

Bump:
Again, over 5 months... not too uncomfortable, the usual fetal movement but I think around this time we could SEE more movement up front... ALIEN! I was so surprised to see the child is strong enough even at 5 months in utero to push and make my outside skin move around. WHAT?

Pregz Fash: Stretch Knit is Your Best Friend

Just remembered that we've taken a few snaps on my iphone over the past month or two! How time has flown! I'll bring you up to speed on the growing fetus. First up some Fash Posts, as apart from growing a human child (that's my number 1 priority!) the biggest thing about being pregnant is how to be comfortable.

My first four months were rocked with nausea, which is like (for me) being hungover everyday, all day and having waves of feelings of throwing up. I kept busy, because being distracted with work and seeing a lot of comedy festival shows kept that feeling away... so by May, where you see me above I was finally feeling comfortable.

During my fourth month, I lost my waist so all my 50s/60s fitted frocks were out, packed away until next summer... every week it felt like more and more of wardrobe was getting packed away! I borrowed some stretchy dresses from my darling bestie Amy, who seems to have a neverending cupboard of clothes (never throwing anything away helps!) as we all know I haven't been sewing! BUT, for my expanding mid section, I hit the op shops!

Pregz Fash Featured:
- The grey dress is long sleeve, hooded and stretchy and from Savers in Footscray and yep, stretch knit is my best friend right now. A lot of people have mentioned how fortunate a September baby is... so we (the babe & I) aren't overheating in the Melbourne summer... but being warm is tricky too. This dress is stretchy enough, but also a nice warm cotton knit. I always love wearing my dresses, so far they've been most warmest and comfy-est! This one might have been $4 thrifted.

- Melissa Shoes - Flats for the normal work day

- Autumnal scarf - a new present from my Mother in Law

- Teddy Bear Winter Coat - an old school present, I've spent more money on dry cleaning that this coat ever cost my friends to buy.

Bump:
Over 5 months in this photo, so over halfway! And the fetus is moving around like CRAZY! Very alien and awesome!