Looking at the future, perhaps

We had the 20-22 week scan a while back, for as you know, we're expecting around here at the Darling Household. We decided not to find out the gender of the unborn child, for a few reasons... but what we did find out about the darling little thing is that it all appears healthy, and we managed to see some really lovely moments in utero.

One time, in profile, the darling was chit chatting away... getting that jaw all ready for chomping or chatting ... a little foot and a little hand made us a bit gushy... and another profile shot showed a very similar little upturned nose like mine... and as my baby photo above shows me at only 3-4 days old, my little human may be sporting that same 'ski jump' profile.

It's so weird thinking about genetics and similarities that will be in appearance and personality... I know so well the characteristics I have in common with mum and dad... so it'll be so interesting seeing how little Darling grows with Husbie and my genes.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! I've got a few little get togethers planned, but seeing the Flight of the Conchords tonight with my bestie... should be great, and I can't see why anyone will stop me from singing along, right? They're both such cute boys, but I'll always settle on Jermaine. He's so funny looking and good looking at the same time!

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!

What to Wear for Winter: A few more weeks

The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, has become a big deal for me and I'm so happy it came around this week. I'm not sure if it's living in Melbourne that makes me see it as a 'turning point' in winter, or if it's a marker that half the year has already passed? It always feels to me that July or August is 'mid year' for some reason, so I love the reminder that our days will get longer and less dark.

Anyways, it was also my week of entering the third trimester! I've been given 4 due dates in September throughout this pregnancy, and I haven't really been fussed to focus on the weeks because of those changing estimates. The baby will be born when it's ready to be born, but the medical system needs a due date! My midwife investigated and locked in September 12th, if you're wondering... and that's the same due date as NZ blogger & seamstress Kat! HOW funny, and I love a good qwinky dink! She's been sewing heaps of maternity gear this year along with the Sew Weekly themes, so you should go and check out her stuff.

As for me, I probably have a few good weeks of these warm winter jackets (pictured above at the train station) but I have a spare larger handmade jacket to don once these don't do up. My first handmade jacket was always too big, but I don't have the heart to ditch it because it took a lot of time & effot and the fabric was quite expensive at the time (a brown herringbone wool, that matched my red boots). Hopefully our freezing and darkest days are behind us as this year now turns with the passing of Winter Solstice.

Can you tell I've been watching Game of Thrones? I'm so wistful at the moment, and searching for poetry.

ANYWAYS, you may laugh, but I have been planning & thinking about some In Utero updates for you and I *have* been sewing (and a little op shopping) lately... as always, pinning myself (and Husbie) down for some daylight photographs is tricky. What's been really interesting, however, is that my sense of control & organising & producing is becoming more carefree, and fluid... and the hormones & feelings with this pregnancy tells me to just 'Let things go', 'relax' (I love that one) and a bit of 'This too shall pass'... so I'm kind of following my feelings and not pushing things. Just going with the flow...

And why not? Time moves so fast, it's just so lovely to go slow and enjoy these life changes.

xoxo

Too busy eating

Hi there! I'd love to share with you my busy gorgeous tripping-the-light-fantastic stories about being pregz & glamourous, rubbing shoulders with the stars... and sewing up my dreams ... but you know what I've been doing?

E A T I N G

Nom nom nom! When I'm not cooking at home, I choose anything off the menu, and my unborn child and I am happy. Before I was pregnant, I usually am quite picky about what I ate because I'm so small, I hate making/ordering larger portions and wasting foods. But like the pancakes above, there was nothing leftover! I'm not a diet-er or anything usually, I'm just careful about portion sizes, what's the variety of foods (as we mostly eat vegetarian) I'm getting... but I am a food lover. Just never this extreme!

What's going down well? Sweeties, like donuts and icecream... but of course not everyday... I try and stack up apples, prunes, strawberries and grapes instead... but as I'm heading to yoga twice a week and getting some great dog walks in... I also figure a donut every now and again won't hurt!

This pancake stack is from the Brunswick Foodstore, and we'd totally recommend stopping off there! Delish, and a varied menu! xoxo

Hope you've been well! I'm so feeling the ups and downs of pregnant life, but I hope to bring you some updates soon. Everything is super gorgeous and healthy, but my foetus is very active! It's not even 6 months and I'm getting kicked and pushed all over!

xoxo