Childbirth Ed Kit

I'm a birth nerd. Since college. You can thank the Reproductive Rights conference, and my roommate, Maggie, for first telling me what a Doula is. I'm been obsessed every since.

At the beginning on this year, I finally registered and started my training to be a Childbirth Ed instructor. It's been so awesome, and I'm so excited to start teaching.

And with every new life project comes one inevitable question ... What can I make myself? There are great instructional baby dolls and pelvises, but they're pretty expensive.


This kit costs nearly $200. blah. A little much when I'm just starting out.

And what do I say for everything?  .... I CAN JUST MAKE THAT!!! So I'm designing my own!

Challenges:

The correct proportions.

 

From http://www.fibergypsy.com/common/children.shtml

Newborn 5-10lbs
Chest  18"
Waist 18"
Hip 19"
Back Waist Length 6 1/8"
Across Back 7 1/4"
Shoulder (neck edge to shoulder point)  2"
Neck (width) 3 1/4"
Sleeve Length to Underarm 6"
Armhole Depth 3 1/4"
Upper Arm Circ. 6 1/2"
Wrist Circ. 5"
Head 15"

Average Newborn Stats:

Weight - 7 pounds
Height - 19 inches
Neck to shoulder - 2 inches
Arm Length - 6.7 inches
Top leg - 3.5 inches
Bottom Leg - 3.5 inches
Head Circumference - 13-15 inches
Chest Circ. - 18 inches
Hip Circ, - 18-19 inches
Upper Arm Circ - 6.5 inches
Lower Arm circ. - 5 inches
Upper leg Circ - 7.25 inches
Lower leg circ - 5 inches


The correct weight and feel.

You may have seen these "Reborn" baby dolls, dolls painted to look exactly like a newborn (sometimes a specific baby, alive or not). They can be creepily real, and part of the big draw is that FEEL like real babies -- the weight is real and they're properly floppy. There are a few videos online about how the doll-makers create the weight in their dolls. Many use glass beads, sand, or even fish tank gravel (may be a cheap option for my first try - since no one is buying these).



However, I still can't find and to this question: I know a newborn's head is 1/4 of its body (in size). But is it 1/4 of its body WEIGHT too? (as in for a 7 lb baby, 1.75 lbs is his head, and 5.25 lbs is the rest of his body?) I guess I'll just have to play around and see.

Babies are very bendy when newborns, which works to my advantage using yarn and stuffing. However they also tend to be very tightly packed in the uterus, so when they first are born they still hold their arms in tightly and their knees bent with their feet in the air. So my challenge is to keep the arms tight but flexible.

(Fun fact, breech babies tend to still keep their legs up in the air or near their heads. It's freaking adorable.)

All the "Accessories"

Umbilical cord
Cords have two arteries and one vein.




They're spirally and colored (where these is still blood in there). I'm thinking spiraling i-cords in different colors, maybe inside a stocking. There's a special way to make an icord where it spirals on its own.

And attach at the baby by a belly "button" or a magnet or snap.

Placenta



There are two sides of a placenta: the rough side lying against the uterus is made up of small lobes; the side facing the fetus is smooth.



Love this one. Especially the color.

and the spirals on this one.


The smooth side will be easy. The rough side, maybe bobbles?


Maybe Velcro-ed to the inside of the Uterus.

Uterus

There are tons of knitted uteri out there, mostly because they're pretty simple and appropriately stretchy.

I'm trying to decide if I should should the different muscle layers. There are the muscles that go around, go up and down, and spiral around.


I'm thinking overlapping cables?


That may be a little much for the first go, but maybe for a later version.


Stay tuned for the results and possibly the patterns!

Knitted Anatomy

During my lunchtime google-break, I may have uttered the words ... No ... Effing ... WAY!!!

http://knittinganatomy.com/

That is a freaking knitted (half of a) pelvis.

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for!!!

My "knitted Childbirth Ed Doll" post has been in draft for, um, a year a half, but I'm still working on it, I swear. (Meaning that I picked up the pattern after a year, realized I had lost my place, and may need to start over, but that's still "working on it" ... also I lost one of the doll legs. It's in my house, I swear.)

I have plans for a knitted uterus/cervix/vagina, and I would LOVE to do a knitted pelvis (mainly so I don't have to buy one). I was worried it would be too difficult because what sort of pattern could I use?! Who else has done this that I can copy!? Oh, look, there's a whole blog called knittinganatomy.com, and this is what she does. And it's amazing. Check out the spine. I die.



Thank you, Christa, for the inspiration. You're a knitting rock-star!

All aboard the Baby Gift Train

Two of my co-workers at TeenNick/NickMom are due around the same time, so I made them cute onesies so they can brag to all their new mom-friends about 1) their awesome job, and 2) their incredibly crafty co-worker.

Using my Crafting for Good

Not that it's usually for evil, but you know.

A co-worker is pregnant and due in a few weeks. She's been on bedrest for MONTHS already, so she did not have a chance to do any childbirth ed or breastfeeding classes. As a self-proclaimed Lactivist, I felt a strong desire to help out as much as I could.

Lately I've been giving my child-bearing friends a "Postpartum Survival Kit" as their baby gift -- things they'll need in those first few weeks that no one remembers to tell them about. Things like Overnight Maxi Pads (because the ones the hospital gives you are crap), hemorrhoid pads (cause let's face it, you don't want to have to ask the guy at CVS where they are), and those cotton multi-purpose pads (cause they're awesome). Depending on the mom, I'll also include breastfeeding stuff -- breast pads, nipple cream (because you can never have enough, and it's sort of expensive), those microwave sterilization bags (cause boiling water is HARD!) Sometimes I'll get stuff off their registry, and usually I knit them something too. Sometimes I'll put it in a little basket that can double as a portable diaper caddy, but I didn't get around to that this time.

This time I went one further. Because my friend wasn't able to do any education (and actually seems to be a little overwhelmed to do research on her own) I decided to make a really easy Breastfeeding Cheat Sheet. I made six 3x4" cards (front and back), and put all the basic information one would need to know to get started -- positions, latch "rules", common problems and what to do, and the number for a Lactation Consultant and the local LLL chapter.

I feel really good about including this in her Survival Kit, and I hope she'll find it useful.


... Plus I got to use my laminator, which alone makes it a good. day.

On Lake Time

For Christmas I made my dad this great pillow for the family lake house in New Hampshire. We make fun of him that he does not "fritter" any time, and that vacation time is no different than work time. He can sit still for approximately 90 seconds, and then has to fix something. I found a few cute "On Lake Time" signs on Etsy, but they were a little too expensive and I couldn't find one the size I wanted. So I decided to change up and make something more functional (and suggestive that he sit down and take a break every once in a while).


Design:






Materials:

Size H Tunisian Crochet Hook
Fabric for pillow form
18" pillow form
Yarn:

Vanna's Choice Demin Mist


Vanna's Choice Seaspray Mist


Vanna's Choice Brick


Vanna's Choice Scarlet


Vanna's Glamour Platinum


Read Heart Camouflage


Vanna's Choice Black



Pattern:

Follow grid and include 3 stitches of black as a border. When finished, weave in ends.
The piece may curl a little, but we will fix that when sewing on the backing.



Embroider the letters with the Platinum yarn.



Pillow Cover: http://sewing.about.com/od/freeprojects/ss/envelopepillow.htm

Cut fabric. Watch out for puppies. I used some old curtains that got paint on them. They match the cottage :)







Sew around edges so they don't fray.


Sew pieces together.

Sew pillow cover to Knitted piece, leaving black boarder sticking out.


Insert Pillow form into cover.


Put head on pillow and relax.

Travel Carseat Desk

Next week we hit the road for our Summer vacation! Up to MA for 4th of July, then to NH to the lake house, a quick jaunt up to Maine with just me and the hubby for a few days w/out the kiddo, back to NH, back to MA, and then back home.

Problem: This will involve a lot of time in the car for our city kid, which usually involves a lot of crying, several boxes of Goldfish Crackers, and anywhere between a little bit to a lot of vomit.




Solution: Lots of activities and a DYI travel desk to keep those activities in order. We've tried balancing a book on his lap before, with varying results.




Inspiration: I mean, Pinterest of course. But more specifically ...

DIY Travel Lap Tray by Pretty Prudent


DYI Magnetic Travel Tray by Craft, Interrupted


Lap Desk by MerMag



Dilemmas: His carseat has big arm-rest/cup-holders, so this has to sit on top of those. Our "bad" cookie sheet isn't long enough, and I don't want to destroy our "good" cookie sheet (the above ideas involve putting velcro strips on the cookie sheet itself or drilling into it).




Plan: Attach the cookie sheet to the lap pillow in a non-permanent way by 1) putting non-slip drawer liner material on the pillow top, so the cookie sheet won't slide so much, and 2) attaching a tie to the pillow that can tread through the (already there) hole in the cookie sheet (I have no idea why there is a hole there. May want to drill a matching hole on the other side, which won't affect the cookie functioning of the cookie sheet.)


Materials:

• 1 metal cookie sheet (mine is 17"x11" on the bottom, 19"x12" to the top with the handles)
• Non-Slip Drawer liner material, cut to fit bottom of cookie sheet (in this case, 17"x11")
• Fabric for Lap pillow. I'm making mine a little wider than the cookie sheet, to fit the width of the carseat (21"x12", two pieces)
• Fabric for pockets, to hang over the sides of the carseat (2 pieces 12"x7", 2 pieces 12"x8")
• Stuffing for pillow
• Ribbon for ties
• Hot glue or Fabric Glue
• Sewing stuff (needle/machine, thread, scissors, measuring tape)

Steps:

1) Measure and cut fabric. I had some leftover from R's Baby Doll Carrier, so I used the Blue for the top of the pillow (where the cookie sheet will sit) and the backs of the pockets, the Striped for the bottom of the pillow, and the Lions for the front of the pockets. Cut non-slip drawer liner.




2) Pockets. On front panels, fold down top edge about 1/4" and sew. Pin front and back panels together with wrong sides showing, and sew right, bottom, and left edges (leaving top edge open). Turn right-side out. Repeat for second pocket.










3) Pillow. Pin top and bottom panels together with wrong sides showing, and sew top and bottom edges (leaving side edges open). On side openings, fold down edges about 1/4" on both the top and bottom pieces (make sure the top and bottom pieces line up when you "close" the pillow) and sew around on each side. Turn right-side out.








4) Attach pockets. With the Top of the pillow facing up, insert the top 1/2" of one pocket in a side opening, facing up. Pin the pillow opening closed, securing the pocket. Sew that side edge closed.
On the other side, insert the top 1/2" of the other pocket (facing up) in the other side opening. Pin it to the Top panel only, and sew across to attach the pocket but NOT to close the side opening (because we still have to fill the pillow).








5) Attach any ribbons, straps, or strings before filling pillow. (not shown)


6) Glue non-slip drawer liner to the Top of the pillow. (you will notice from the pictures that I did this step earlier. In fact, I tried sewing the liner onto to the fabric. Bad idea, if you're a beginner like me, because it stretched and my fabric puckered and it didn't line up right. And it was a pain in the butt to maneuver around because it was so grippy. Just glue it toward the end. I used hot glue).




7) Fill pillow with stuffing until desired fullness. Sew final side opening closed.






8) Pack up the toys and hit the road! (hopefully this will work and I'll a great in-action photo to post here next week!)