sewing for babies

I am titling this post ‘all of the things’ because that is literally what we have been doing – all of the things! Every since I got back into sewing and started my little side baby biz, every day seems to be jam-packed with things to do. Whether it be for that, or for playing catchup on getting housework done (yuck, who needs that), getting ready for baby boy, or simply having fun with Hallie. Life has been BUSY! Makes me wonder how much busier it can get when the second baby arrives but I am trying not to think too much about that. Now that we are living in Kamloops too, the weather is much warmer than on the coast. It feels like summer as already arrived. It was 20 degrees this morning on my back patio. As I hide out under the patio table umbrella mid-afternoon, it is actually a scorching 32! It’s only a couple days into June too! July and August are going to be much hotter. I foresee lots of beach time and water parks in our near future.

So a little recap on the business and life with a crazy toddler!

I do not have a website or an Etsy page yet (YET!) but I have started a Facebook page. Please feel free to wander over here and check it out, or my Instagram feed here. Even without a huge social media presence, things have been picking up nicely. I have had a number of online orders and am getting some action by participating in the weekly Farmer’s Market. So far the response has been great and people are LOVING what I am making. Here’s hoping it just gets better! Once I square away some free time (that doesn’t exist) I hope to set up a website and have a proper ordering system. If you have done this, message me tips! Help a fellow mama out! It’s all very new to me and I often feel like I am fumbling my way through the dark. Fun & scary!

Trying to manage all of that with a toddler certainly has been interesting. Every single day that child is more full of life and personality than the day before. She is WILD too! Her current obsessions include closing all of the doors in the house, jumping on my bed and burying herself under pillows, screwing and unscrewing lids to squeeze pouches, watered down iced-tea, bananas, and helping pick up dog poop. In keeping up with her love for dogs, her favourite show appears to be Paw Patrol and choice of music still appears to be hip hop. We are hanging on by a thread to spoon feeding though I see the end of that happening soon enough. Miss independent love to feed herself while simultaneously launching food across the kitchen at my head. Each mealtime is it’s own adventure, full of messy surprises. With all of her development and total toddler craziness comes a whole lotta love. She is so affectionate and obsessed with mummy and daddy. Loves to cuddle and hold hands. Sometimes I wonder how my heart will grow bigger and fit MORE love for another baby. I am told it happens quite naturally. Can’t wait to experience it first hand! Only about five more weeks to go and I will be knee deep in baby love for TWO kiddos.

The pregnancy is going well I guess. Not as enjoyable as my first. This time round there is a lot more discomfort and overall body pain. There was way more ‘morning sickness’ that occurred all damn day and night and in general, I have complained a lot more. My husband has been a saint of sorts. But we are the final countdown and I have been healthy throughout so there is absolutely no reason at all to be such a whiner. My doctor even offered to do a sweep at 38 weeks, thinking I am probably ready to get this party started. After weighing the options, I am all for it. Maybe baby boy will be a little bit early.

Last but not least is the life adjustment of having my mom living close by. By close by, I mean downstairs! I love having her here. Boy does Hallie love it too. There is something to be said though about another ‘parent’ around. Sometimes I feel there are now three adults trying to raise my kid. It can be quite trying on my patience actually. I keep telling myself that God helps us through these situations but giving us the opportunity to BE more patient. I think Oprah has said that too. Moments where we can really stand up, look deep into who we are, maybe bite our tongues a bit and smile through it LOL! I think it is easier to do that too with a bit of wine, which I plan to have plenty of help from this summer. Anyone else back to living close to their parents now that they are adulating with their own family? Feeling like a teenager again? I would love to hear your experiences, the good the bad and the ugly.

For now, back to juggling it all! My next post I am so excited to share some home projects I have been working on as well as getting the back patio ready for some serious summer lounging. Hope the sun is shining where you are and you are enjoying the day, and all that it brings!

My it has been a busy spring so far! I am not sure if I mentioned it recently but I have been working my pregnant butt off on the sewing machine lately. I love sewing! Finding the time to get projects done, well that is an entirely different story. I find that if you set a deadline though it definitely helps get the ball rolling. Which is exactly what I did. Back in winter, I enrolled my already registered yet slightly inactive company in a craft fair. It was supposed to be a really big one too supporting the BCSPCA (animal rescue, care and adoption). I figured enrolling in winter with the deadline of the fair being May 1st, I would have plenty of time to get organized and create a bit of inventory to sell. It is a dream of mine to make money off of selling baby creations that I make on my sewing machine. If I am being totally honest, I knew deep down inside I would probably get nothing done until my mum moved up to Kamloops as it is next to impossible to use a sewing machine around a curious toddler. Do it when she naps right? Oh yea my kid doesn’t nap regularly! So that was fine. Wait for Grandma to babysit and that would give me exactly one month to get things done. Well that in the end turned into three weeks. But I did it! I had everything from bandana bibs to receiving blankets, to large throw & crib bedding blankets and even some baby mobiles and headbands! I LOVE the items I made – so much it can be hard to put a price on them. But I did and was ready to sell! So that is what was keeping me busy over the weekend. Participating in the craft fair and getting word about my little baby business out. I would absolutely LOVE it if you checked it out too.You can visit my Facebook Page HERE and coming soon will be Instagram and maybe even a website. I know in starting these sort of things it is best to be organized and get all your ducks in a row before releasing it all to the public and online. I now disagree with that. I thought that way forever and I was just never really STARTING. With this baby line, DEER BABY, once I started one thing it sort of domino rolled into the next thing and before you know it, I was in full swing of getting shit done! It may have been done a little sideways but the important thing is that things are happening and I am trying. Next I need to look into tackling Etsy and how I can sell online….. but quite frankly I am a little nervous! Also planning to set up at our local farmers market. So there is A LOT going on over here! Not to mention that darling little angel of mine! She is a mile a minute these days. So chatty, though not quite speaking English yet. Just full of smiles and giggles and curiosity too. Baby Boy has been busy in my belly too; kicking up a storm all of the time and getting rather HUGE. I was at the supermarket today and the cashier flat out refused to believe that I had two more months to go in this pregnancy. Apparently I look ready to pop already. Lovely! Well that is it for me tonight as it is late and I am still exhausted from a weekend of craft fair-ing. Check out some of the debut items though! I would love to hear your thoughts. There are just pictures I took from the craft fair; there are some fantastic product shots on the FB site. Good night everyone!