Pink socks, take 2

(Still pregnant. Counting down: 8 days until due date.)
So the Rock & Weave socks are basically done, except that I'm not sure I'm happy with the toes, so I'll have to rip a few rows back (and un-graft the finished one) and re-do them. However, there is a big problem with doing that right now. I can't reach my feet. Well, I can, kind of, if I sit on the floor, but it's definitely not the optimal conditions for making socks that fit properly. So, I've moved on to the Resurrection of the Pink Socks! I went down a needle size (to #0), cast on many more stitches, and picked a nice stretchy pattern: the simple Garter Stitch Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. So far they're looking good, I think, and fitting well, and it's a very easy knit, which is just what I need right now.

We have a new neighbor! She's settled in on top of the electrical meter on our back patio and has been sitting there for a few days now. I'm hoping we'll have baby robins eventually.

Flowers!

I'm still here, baby's still on the inside, and I haven't been doing that much knitting lately. Quite honestly, my arms get tired now that they have to reach all the way around the baby to get to the knitting! I did pick up the felted slipper that had been languishing for, um, a year or so, and it's nearly done (just have to cast off and sew up the sole), and hopefully its twin won't take quite so long to finish. The second Rock & Weave sock is well past the heel and should be done soonish, though I'm thinking maybe it would be smart to have another pair of socks started so that I'll have something easy and brainless to work on when I'm all sleep-deprived!

But since I have no knitting pictures to share, I took garden pictures instead. The crabapple tree in the back yard is blooming. So much pink! There are three lilac bushes in the back yard, and they're almost there... just a few more days of sunshine and they should start opening. I have my pruning shears all ready to cut some and bring them inside.

There are some red tulips and a couple of taller yellow ones, and the grape hyacinths are taking over the lawn, which is fine with me. :) The front yard is sadly lacking in spring bulbs, so I have grand plans involving a huge order from Breck's this fall. (Crocuses, grape hyacinths, and a whole lot of those miniature daffodils.)

I'm not sure what these two trees are, but they're pretty!

Sickness and socks

The rockin' socks are more than halfway done! Considering that I only started them a couple weeks ago, this is pretty impressive by my usual standards. However, I've had both motivation and opportunity. Last Wednesday I started feeling sick to my stomach. I had tea and toast and stayed home from work, but by 9:30 that night I wasn't keeping anything down, including water, and I was feeling like absolute hell. We called up the hospital and fortunately my wonderful doctor was on call that night, so she told me to come on in and get some IV fluids. When we arrived they set me up in one of the really nice labor & delivery rooms, hooked up my IV, and attached some monitors as a matter of routine. A few minutes later, the nurse looked at the monitor screen and pointed out that I was having contractions every few minutes.

Well, no wonder I felt so terrible. Contractions! At 34 weeks! Not good! We knew that dehydration could cause preterm labor, but I hadn't realized it was already almost happening - I thought it was just more stomach pains. So I stayed in bed with my nice IV and had three liters of fluids, a dose of anti-nausea meds, and a shot of anti-contraction meds. My doctor determined that I wasn't dilated or effaced at all, so I wasn't in labor for real and the baby was probably going to stay put for a while longer (though he is Extremely Active and apparently likes to throw dance parties in there). After four hours in the hospital I was feeling a lot better, and we decided that the contractions had eased up enough that I could go home, but I had to stay in bed all day Thursday and drink more water than I had previously thought possible.

So, I stayed in bed on Thursday, and spent most of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on the couch with my knitting. I'm feeling fine now, or at least as good as I can feel at 35 weeks pregnant, but I'm still taking it easy, working at home, drinking tons of water, and so on. When I started these socks I was struck with the realization that if I wanted to finish them in a timely fashion, I'd better do it before the baby arrived - now I know that could be earlier than expected, but I actually have more time for knitting, so I'm hoping to have a pair of socks soon, and a healthy baby a few weeks later. :)