Thanks everyone for your advice re the croup, the steamy shower thing seemed to really help and Anna is all back to normal now thankfully.
Is it wrong to play dress ups with your baby like she is a doll? I went through Anna's clothes trying them out for size since she has outgrown so many now, and tried a few different outfit combinations. I took a photo of her in the little dress I made for her to wear in our family portrait taken last Saturday since I didn't take one that day.I used an OOP Butterick 400, which is a basic pattern for babies. I made the basic tunic view C, which even though I have heaps of patterns for this style this is the only pattern I have this small. It is marked 'one size only' so I went off the measurements this time so it is a much better fit, but it is hard to know how much ease to allow for given that Anna is still sitting frog legged and has a big nappy bum as well! But I made it to the pattern measurements hoping for the best and it fits ok, although I lopped a few inches off the bottom and it could probably lose a little more length still.
It looks a little baggy and long when she is standing up, but fits just fine when she is sitting down which is most of the time so I'm happy with it. I made from a baby blue corduroy, and used a cotton polka dot facing, with matching fabric covered buttons and a band across the front finished with pink ric rac.
In case you're wondering how I manage to get such serene looking photos of Anna, here's what goes on during the process (ordeal):
First she had a tanty:
Then she looked one way:
Then she looked the other:
Then she finally looked straight ahead!
Thank god for digital cameras I say! And did you notice that one tooth she has? Well she has been putting it to good use, biting on everything she can get her hands on and she has literally been biting the 'hand' that feeds her if you get my drift! She bit me so hard the other night she drew blood, so if she keeps this up she'll be going on formula soon. I hope this doesn't mean she's going to be one of those naughty kids at school that bites everyone LOL!
Hi - I recently found your blog looking for maternity pattern alteratons...
ReplyDeleteAnyway - I too experienced that biting the "hand" that feeds you, too often, and have the scars to prove it with our first. Giving her a cold washer to chew on first seemed to reduce the frequency.
Good Luck
The little tooth is the first thing I saw!
ReplyDeleteAnd then the dress, that is really pretty.
Cute dress, patterns for babies are so big, so I always go down a size. I never had success at nursing directly due to circumstances, so I pumped and bottle fed, but I empathize with you on the teething...
ReplyDeleteShe is getting so big...
Love that dress! The polka dot contrast is so cute. Biting...Ahh one of the joys of nursing motherhood. Brings back such memories (some I wish I could forget :))
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing the candid pictures of Miss Anna! She is growing up so quickly. You will get the sizing down for her as you sew more for her...and yeah the doll dressing thing is very common straight through the start of school. You kinda lose it when they start to listen to their peers...so enjoy it while you can!
ReplyDeleteShe is so cute, especially the tantrum picture.
ReplyDeleteNot wrong to dress up the baby in all her outfits!! Once they start walking, they start hating to let you dress them in more than one outfit per morning!!! Sometimes my girls look really dressy to be spending the day at home - but that's the only way I can get them to try on new clothes - one outfit per day!!
ReplyDeleteReally cute jumper!
YOu bring back such fond memories of my childrens babyhood ( they are 15, 12 and 10 now.all girls ) -sleep deprivation and biting. Does Anna turn her head while still feeding and stretch your nipples several cms. That is another fond memory. Anyway teenagerhood is turning out to be as much fun now ! Janine
ReplyDeleteI had trouble with the BIG 4 sizing. I discovered Top Kids Magazines sizing was much better ( they go by height of the child not the age ) They also have really cute `pumpkin patch` styling features . If you have any magazines then I highly recommend them. ( and I know you are used to BWOF so Top Kids shouldnt be a problem. )
ReplyDeleteHow CUTE!!! She is adorable - I'm so glad she's feeling better... Happy sewing :)))
ReplyDeleteI nursed my last one until she was 3 & 1/2. Flicking my finger on her cheek and immediately unlatching when she bit me stopped that behavior in pretty short order.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen this pattern made up before, so thanks for showing off! I've got the same one, but haven't tried it yet.
ReplyDeleteLoved her red dress too! You'll have to have another portrait done when she fits that one.
Wow, it's a gorgeous dress. She's too cute in it! You can try pulling her off immediately and telling her sternly to not bite and sometimes that's enough to get them to stop.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to try to keep her from biting down - calmly press her nose into your breast when she bites. She'll let go of you so she can breathe. Usually takes doing this twice and they learn biting means no air.
ReplyDeleteCute cute cute! I have a million photos of the back of a baby's head myself, trying for a good one!
ReplyDeleteRe biting, I've been there. My eldest drew blood, and it took at least a week to heal from memory. One thing that helped (after the bite) was to feed him "underarm" so the pressure when he sucked wasn't in the same spot as the bite. Awkward, but well worth it. When he actually bit me I hit the roof, yelped in pain and plonked him unceremoniously on the floor. I didn't yell at him or smack him or anything, but my reaction obviously gave him a fright and he never did it again. (He was about 8 months old at the time and we carried on with no more drama till he was almost three) Nicholas nibbles now and then, but has yet to draw blood. A lot of babies try out their new teeth on EVERYTHING. It isn't fun.
I don´t wonder how to get her photo looking face, I wonder how you have time to sew with a baby so small!
ReplyDeleteShe´s adorable with that dress!!!
Wow, adorable dress, and you may as well dress her up while you can, she will develop a mind of her own soon enough, just take the pics to prove that once you could pick her clothes!! On the biting thing, the other advice here is fine, just to add it may be a sign that there are other teeth coming through, biting relieves the pain, and the teeth usually come in fours...
ReplyDeleteEither way, she look gorgous, well done mum!!
Gorgeous dress and photos.
ReplyDeleteI think dressing your baby up like a doll is one of the great pleasures of motherhood!
My babies all bit whilst feeding, with the first tooth. I found that unlatching immediately, and putting the baby down for a few minutes each time was an effective lesson. It did not take too many repetitions before they got the idea.
Reaction is everything! They so want to bite/chew everything in sight... and yes, sometimes your what's in sight! It does but you in a volnerable situation! As our kids got older... as like 3 or so... and if they bit someone then... we bit them back... and the rule was always if someone bit you you had the right to bite them back. Let's just say, they never did it again!
ReplyDeleteYep, if the kids kept it up... nursing stopped... and out came the bottles/cup.
The dress turned out very cute... don't worry she will grow into the length b/4 you know it!
Too cute for words. Love the shoes ;)
ReplyDelete