McKayla Camille Sommerfeldt

McKayla was born on Monday, December 5 at 12:39 PM in Timponogas Regional Hospital in Orem, UT. The drama proceeding her arrival is as follows:

Thursday, December 1 I had a routine doctor visit. I was dilated to a 3 and all appeared to be well. I asked the doctor about his policy regarding induction so I would know what to expect. He said he can do an induction as early as 39 weeks and that he would already be at the hospital on Sunday (my 39 week mark) performing an induction. He would be leaving town on Monday, so if I wasn’t induced on Sunday I would likely deliver with a doctor I had never met. I had asked about his induction policy as a point of interest and had assumed I would go into labor naturally with this baby, so I was surprised by the offer. I expressed some uncertainty and asked what effect an early delivery would have on the baby. He said that assuming the estimated delivery date was accurate, baby would be fine and possibly do to better at 39 weeks because it is less likely to pass a stool in-utero.

It was exciting to have the option of delivering a week early, but caught me off-guard, so he suggested I think about it and call back with my decision. I texted Bruce, then called Bruce to get his opinion. Then I called Sarah and then my mom. Everyone seemed to think it was a good idea, it seemed to be good timing for Bruce’s school schedule, and Hailey’s induction went well.

It seemed a little unnerving to choose when to deliver, particularly if anything were to go wrong, but I decided to be induced. I called his office to tell them of my decision. They told me the hospital would call me with details. I expected a call that day, but didn’t hear from the hospital. I called the doctor’s office Friday afternoon, but they could not give me any details. They referred me to the hospital.

I called the hospital and a slightly irritated nurse told me that I would have to wait until Saturday after 6 PM to know what time I would be induced. She explained that elective inductions depended on doctor and room availability. From that conversation, I understood that the doctor schedules the induction time with the hospital and assuming the hospital has room, the induction occurs. So I waited for details and as I waited I became nervous. I read about induction, but all information was about inductions after 40 weeks. I could justify the decision- it was convenient; if the doctor thought there was a risk he wouldn’t have presented the option; lots of babies are born naturally at 39 weeks or less….- but I still felt uneasy.

By Saturday night I wasn’t sure that I wanted to call the hospital for details. I felt committed but also felt nervous. Finally, the nerves subsided and I called the hospital. They told me I had been scheduled for Monday morning. I told them that was fine and we made arrangements.

Monday morning Bruce and I arrived at the hospital at 6AM. We completed the necessary paperwork and met our nurse, Erin. Erin started me on a bag of IV fluids and measured me at 4 1/2cm. Around 7AM Erin asked if we knew that our doctor was out of town. I was surprised. I had considered this situation could happen, but I also thought that the doctor scheduled inductions, so I assumed that he would not schedule an induction while he was gone. However the misunderstanding came about, we were at the hospital halfway through a bag of fluids and needed to decide if we were going to stay and have another doctor deliver me, or if I was going to pay for an NST (I don’t know what it stands for, but it means you were admitted to the hospital and didn’t go into labor). I was torn. I didn’t mind having another doctor deliver, but I wouldn’t have considered an induction originally if I knew my doctor wouldn’t be there. I wanted to experience going into labor naturally, but Hailey was already at the babysitter’s, Bruce had made arrangements with school, and everyone, including me thought that I was having a baby. We stayed.

Erin started the pitocin to induce labor. A half hour later I was in tears. I wanted to go home. It was too late, they had started the induction and I was committed. A half hour after the meltdown I was excited, glad to be having a baby. And an hour after that I was in tears again. Bruce was supportive, but undoubtedly confused. I went to sleep. When I woke up we played Phase 10, watched some TV, and Bruce called the phone company to activate his new iPhone. Around 10AM my contractions began to intensify and by 10:30AM I had to shift positions during each contraction. I was going to go without an epidural as long as I could.

Around noon, I called for a nurse. Erin came in to measure me as the anesthesiologist prepared. She didn’t tell me what I measured, but I was in enough pain that I didn’t care how much or how little progress I had made. I was shaking and so cold. Erin told me I was in transition, which had I known what she was talking about and had I been in less pain, I may have pressed on without an epidural, but alas, I did not and was not. The anesthesiologist came in a few minutes later, administered the epidural and left. As the epidural started to work I asked how dilated I was before the epidural- 7cm.

Erin measured me again as soon as the anesthesiologist left and I was 9 1/2 cm, but she felt something on top of the head. She phone for a doctor to come investigate. Luckily the doctor who would deliver was already at the hospital and came in. He confirmed that it was a hand on the crown of the head and told me that if he couldn’t get the hand to drop I would have to have a C-section. (When he felt for the hand he inadvertently broke my water). I was dilated to 10 cm. The doctor instructed me to push while he attempted to sweep baby’s hand off her head. He was successful and we narrowly escaped a C-section.

The doctor then asked the nurse to set up for delivery and as three nurses rushed to get the equipment, he attempted to get on gloves and a gown before baby slid out. McKayla was born moments later- fewer than 15 min following the administration of the epidural. Thank goodness epidurals act quickly- I would hate to pay for an epidural that didn’t work before I delivered.

 

 

I held her before the nurses weighed, measured, and bathed her. Over the next 24 hours McKayla’s body temperature was low so she had to be bundled and wear a hat. She was a healthy 7 pounds and though I worried some that her low body temperature and hairy ears were product of an early induction, she was healthy and well.

Hailey, Grandma, and Grandpa came to visit us. Hailey was excited, but a bit confused and certainly did not know all the ways her life was about to change. Ryan and Jen also visited that evening. Bruce took Hailey home for the night and the following day came back for us. We left the hospital 26 hours after delivery.

A few days later, my Mom came to help. We enjoyed her company and especially appreciated her watching McKayla while Bruce and I attended the wedding ceremony of Ryan and Jen Sommerfeldt. 

 

Hailey's Developmental Record

Just getting rid of things and found a calendar with the date Hailey first did some things:

January: New things Hailey can do this month: Smile. Stand or play in Johnny Jump Up. Ride in front pack. Crys almost every day after 4 pm.
January 17: First smiled. Smiled at Bruce
February 19: Rolled over in bed (did not repeat)
February 26: laughed when Bruce tickled her under the chin while we were in Cedar City, UT where Rachel presented her undergraduate research
September sometime: walked

Hailey, etc

Hailey

Hailey is a bundle of energy. She loves spending time outside on walks, at the park, or anywhere that she can run. We are starting to see some strong-will and stubbornness show. These traits are particularly evident in sacrament meeting at church when she would prefer to play with her friend Emma, run down the isles of the church, and climb over the benches. She actively resists being put in her car seat- every time we get in the car, and asks to sit in a "big girl seat."

Her speech has really emerged in the last month or two. She can ask for most things that she wants and what she can't ask for, she just climbs to.

Hailey has been able to open doors for a month or two and one morning when I came back from a 6AM run, the front door of the house was open. I don't lock the door when I leave because Bruce is home, and I'm only gone for about a half hour, so I wasn't sure if I left the door open, or if a stranger had opened the house, or if Hailey had opened the door, but I was alarmed and nervous. Thankfully, I found Hailey on the half-asleep on the couch and no strangers lurking in my house. Visions of Hailey wandering outside at 6AM have motivated me to deadbolt the door when I leave the house.

Hailey love going swimming. While we were training for the Kokopelli triathlon we went to the Provo Rec Center pool about twice a week. She loves to play on the steps in the 3-foot deep section, and has recently discovered that she can touch the bottom of the pool. She doesn't much care for it, but she can. She loves to ride the inflatable shark and doesn't like to share with the other kids at the pool. Thankfully she like to play other games in the pool like "Motorboat, Motorboat" and chase- where she hold on the wall and goes hand-over-hand to catch me further down the wall, so we can distract her when it’s time to share the shark. She likes to wear her cap and goggles- sort of. She does like to wear one of my old caps that has a rip in it, and she puts on goggles, but the goggles only stay on for a few seconds.

Hailey also enjoys playing with her friends in the ward. We go to playgroup on Tuesday and Thursdays and after a short lesson about a letter, the kids play. She's beginning to get the concept of letters and sounds and knows that playgroup happens regularly during the week, but we're still a bit away from actually knowing the letters and their sounds.

We go to the devotional in the Marriott Center each Tuesday with Bruce and Hailey always points to the speaker and says, "Grandpa." We laugh because Scott does sit on the stage behind the speaker, but the people around us must think she's talking about the speaker which would make Elder Cecil Samuelson, Elder Neil Anderson, and other well-known individuals her grandpa. Haha.

Hailey has had some trouble sleeping so we were locking her in her room at bedtime, but we've made some progress and she now sleeps with the door unlocked. Still on the floor, rather than the toddler bed we made for her, but at least it's in her room. Yeah!

Triathlon

Bruce running from the swim to the transition area.

We travelled to St. George, UT to compete in the Kokopelli Triathlon on September 16. Bruce, Scott, and Ryan all did the Olympic distance race. Jen did the Sprint distance.

Eric, Lisa, and I did the Olympic relay race. Eric swam one mile, Lisa biked 20 miles, and I ran 6.2 miles. Eric and Lisa did awesome, but I ran sooooo slow. My belly has been getting fatter and I've been getting slower, but I was hoping to run the race between a 9:30 and 10 min/mile pace. I actually ran it in about an 11:15 min/mile pace. The only good news is that the doctor told me not to run the race because my core body temperature would get to high. He said that if it was 80 degrees or cooler, if I ran an 11 or 12 min/mile pace or if it was 3 miles instead of 6 miles, he would be okay with it- well, he got his wish. It was a bit above 80 degrees and I ran at his recommended pace (though not intentionally).

Bruce did well in his race. He wished he went faster on the run, but improved on his overall time from last year. His swim was 36.19min, his bike was 1 hour 13.54 min, and his run was 1 hour 4.02 min.

Baby

So far all is well with the unborn baby. I have a glucose test this week- hopefully I pass.

I’m still running three days a week with a friend from my ward. My pace has slowed some, but I just got a new belly bra and notice less strain when I wear it to run. I plan to run for about another month, and then take the last month off, but if I’m still feeling well, I might go until I deliver.

May- August 2011

We've had an exciting summer.

May

In May we mowed and Bruce started Spring classes.

June

In June we mowed and Bruce finished Spring classes and started Summer classes.

I worked a few days doing water checks- I sub when people go out of town.

We saw Kevin and Laurel in Utah.

We enjoyed a vacation to Bear Lake with Bruce's extended family. The weather was poor at Bear Lake so we never actually got in the lake, but we enjoyed seeing Ben & Michelle's family, swimming, runs, tennis, and other activities. Canada, one of Bruce's cousins planned a family 10K which I ran in less than an hour. Not bad considering I'm generally a pretty slow runner and 3 months pregnant. :) Hailey loved the attention from all the cousins and 2nd cousins.

Bruce did a sprint triathlon in Utah Lake, in Provo, and did really well.

I chose a OB/GYN in Orem and saw him for my first visit. We had an ultrasound at the first visit and saw that baby is alive and well. I 'll be delivering at a different hospital than when I delivered Hailey because of a change in my insurance provider, but it's too many months out to really consider.

I taught the 2nd week Relief Society lesson and it seemed to go well.

We went swimming at Provo Rec Center often. We bought passes so we usually go twice a week. Hailey loves the water and jumped into the pool from the deck a few times in June.

Ryan, Bruce's brother returned from his LDS mission in Barcelona, Spain. I was particularly excited about this because it meant less mowing for me!

 

July

We spent the 4th of July in Tulluride, CO with Bruce's family, celebrate Ryan's homecoming. We enjoyed a hike to a waterfall, a gondola ride, swimming, church, and 4th of July celebrations. Hailey again enjoyed time with he cousins, and we all enjoyed hearing a bit about Ryan's mission. We attended the 4th of July Parade and watched an impressive fireworks show.

Two week later we had a family reunion with my family in Steamboat Springs, CO. We stayed in a condo near the ski slopes and enjoyed activities including mini golf, a human maze, swimming in the condo pool, riding the Alpine Slide, and watching the rodeo. It was fun to have the whole family together!

The rest of July passed as a blur with key events as follows:
A failed attempt to sell cotton candy and snow cones at the Mapleton 24th of July parade- we took a generator, but ran out of gas before we made any sales.
Braden Waite's wedding.
Triathlon training.

 

August

Bruce went to Disney World in Florida for an E&Y Intern Conference the first week of August. I was surprised how tired I was after taking care of Hailey all day without Bruce’s help, but all went well. Bruce enjoyed the conference overall. He stayed in a Disney Resort and was able to go to Disney World one afternoon. He bought Hailey a Baby Minnie which she loves.

Eggs:

One day while Bruce was gone, I was in the bathroom when I heard a familiar noise. At first I couldn't place the sound, but then it came to me- cracking eggs. I bolted for the kitchen to find Hailey squatting over half a dozen cracked eggs. I couldn't help but laugh. I bathed Hailey and mopped the floor and was glad that eggs are relatively cheap. She's really quite the kitchen helper.

The following week, Bruce took summer class finals and a welcomed three week break from classes began. We spent a few days of the break working on the footboard and side rails for our bed. The finished product is beautiful.

Someday we'll make matching nightstands, but for now our project budget is depleted.

I also started recovering our loveseat. I picked up some fabric at a Home Fabric store here and will recover the loveseat and the couch for our future living room.

My mom came out to visit in the middle of the break and we enjoyed a variety of activities with her.

Friday

Friday we did my grocery shopping and other errands.

Saturday

Saturday we went to yard sales and then Eric joined us canoe the Provo River. That night Mom and Eric babysat Hailey so Bruce and I could celebrate our anniversary with dinner, a walk, and ice cream.

Sunday

On Sunday we had church and dinner at Scott and Lisa's house.

Monday

Monday we stopped at the Down East Outfitter Clearance Center in West Valley City and stocked up on shirts. They have tons of shirts for $2.50, so whenever we go there I stock up. I also got stockings for Christmas. They have names embroidered on them (not our names, mind you), so I bought them knowing I would have to rip the names out, but they are nice (Pottery Barn), only $1.75 each, and saves me the trouble of making stockings.

We then drove to Layton to visit family. Jeff and Sherrie were also in town so we had a family dinner and enjoyed the time with everyone. Hailey loved the swing set in Grandma and Grandpa Waite’s backyard.

On Tuesday we attempted family photos (Hailey is a difficult subject. She’d rather climb on the rocks, run on the grass, and collect flowers than sit still and look at a camera).

Then we went to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point. Hailey enjoyed looking at the animals, loved climbing in and out of the window of the "Country Store," and had fun "planting" a garden. Her favorite activity was riding a pony. After the three circles around the arena she said, "More horse." Now she begs to watch"horse movies" which are 3 min videos of horses on YouTube. She also loves looking at the picture of her riding the horse at Thanksgiving Point. We get horse books from the library, make note when we drive by a horse, and otherwise humor her new obsession. Tuesday afternoon Eric watched Hailey while Bruce, Mom, and I went to the temple. That night we went to DQ for ice cream.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning we attempted family picture again with little better success. Mom left mid-morning and Bruce and I went to Mapleton to work on a sprinkler installation job. We rototilled, trenched, and spent Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday installing the sprinklers.

Classes started for Bruce on Monday and life has formed a new routine. Bruce spend most of most days at school either working, studying, or in class. Hailey and I go for lunch with Dad two days a week, have preschool two days a week, go to library story time once a week. We clean house, shop, work on projects, and go for long walks (Hailey loves to push her stroller, so we travel very slowly and stop to pick flowers, dandelions, sticks, rocks, or anything else that catches her interest) in the remaining time.

Back in Utah

Hailey wearing her sunglasses.

We left Texas in mid-late March, drove 16 hours to Colorado. We stayed one night with Ben and Michelle, and another 2 days with the Waite’s before continuing to Utah. We went swimming with Michelle and her kids, and toured the Budweiser Plant in Fort Collins, CO with the Waite’s. We then drove 8 hours to Utah.

Bruce does not start classes for a few more weeks, so we’ve enjoyed spending most of every day together. We have been aerating and mowing lawns, and working on other projects.

Headboard

The first project we completed in Utah was a headboard for our bed. We designed and built the headboard ourselves. It’s made of oak and looks great on our bed! Thanks to my Mom and Dad for funding the project.

Desk

A few years ago we found a free desk on craigslist. It’s a large, heavy desk, and has been great, but also had some cosmetic imperfections. We sanded and refinished the desk.

Hailey

Hailey loves playing with her friends in the ward and might learn to share, someday. She wants to do whatever Mom and Dad do, so she has become a Cricut cutter expert, a master dishwasher, and an outdoor enthusiast. This will be her first week in Nursery at church. We are all so excited!

Oh, and Hailey got a new onsie. We made it for her with my Cricut and some acrylic paint. It says, “Big Sister Dec 2011,” yes, that is an announcement.

School & Work

Bruce accepted the job offer from Ernst & Young in the Houston office. Bruce will begin work in 2012 after he graduates.

Bruce will start another semester at BYU in a few weeks and will go to school every term until April 2012.

January- March 2011

The other post outlines all the excitement of our first day in TX, so I'll only indicate that we went downtown, had a picnic, visited the E&Y office building, saw the underground tunnels, and went to the zoo.
Bruce went to work the on the next day, I stayed home with Hailey, and so it has continued since.

Work
Bruce enjoys his work. He has worked on two clients, Swift Energy and BP Wind. He generally enjoys his work, and his hours have been fairly good. He works 45-50 hours on a normal week and commutes about 45 min each way. He says that sometimes the traffic is really bad, and I believe him believe him because every time I ride in the car with him I feel like I am going to die of a heart attack and he assures me that "traffic is light."

Projects

Tile
We love having the boys around on the weekends, but recently they have been busy laying tile in the master bathroom.

Quiet Book
Laurel and I have had some of our own projects. We made a list of projects and have not finished, or even started all of them, but have made good progress on many of them. We finished a Quiet Book that I started a few months ago. Laurel sewed the cover for me, that's why it's so cute! You can see each quiet book page on the March 4, 2011 blog entry (Quiet Book Link).

Recover Loveseat
We began recovering the loveseat. Laurel recovered he couch a year or two ago and intended to do the loveseat, but never got to it. I helped remove all the previous fabric and learned a little about furniture construction. She sewed all the new covers and had been stapling the fabric to the frame. It's been a good learning experience, but it's too much work (or too important and too detailed of work) for me to try to do it by myself.

Paint Table
We painted the tabletop. She refinished the table and it seems to be an endless battle to keep the paint from chipping. Turns out table tops are used and abused. We slapped another couple layers of oil based paint to try and cover the chips in the old paint and to prevent further chipping. So far, it's faired better than water-based paint, but still occasionally chips. (We have the same problem with our table in Provo. I welcome any suggestions).

Paint Game Room
We painted the game room (an open room, usually located upstairs, common to homes in this area which is a sort of 2nd family room and is often used as a toy room) tan.

Alter Tee-Shirts
Laurel taught me how to alter tee-shirts to make them cute shirts, so I altered 2 shirts that she had started.

Other Happenings
Playgroup, Story Time, Preschool
Laurel and I have gone to a few playgroups with people from their ward. It's fun to get out and meet people, and especially fun to do it in 70 degree weather! We've also gone to the library a few times for "Toddler Time." They are not as animated as the Provo storytellers, but I've also heard that the Provo storytellers are fairly renowned. We started doing preschool with Claire (Laurel's 3 year-old), but haven't done it recently. Hailey would join in but usually just distracted Claire. Whoops. :)

Outside
Hailey spends hours outside, walking around the neighborhood, collecting nuts from the sidewalk, and pushing the doll stroller or the lawn mower.

Claire and Hailey Riding the Bike together.

It's the perfect age to spend winter in Houston! The weather has been mild, and occasionally chilly, but always warm enough to go outside with a light jacket. We go for walks in the morning, wander in the afternoon, and make it to a park once or twice a week. Today we even washed the car!

Ears Pierced

Laurel talked me into getting my ears pierced, so I now have a pair of blue titanium studs in my ears. I wanted something a little more subtle, but this was the cheapest, so I'm looking forward to the 6 week mark when I can put in something that's not blue. When I was looking for somewhere to pierce my ears I was worried about sanitation. I did my research (I am an exercise scientist, after all) and didn't want to contract HIV, Hep A, B, C, D, E or any other strain they might find. Piercing guns can't be properly cleaned to eliminate the spread of infections, so I called and called looking for a doctor office to do it. There was one pediatrician, but they would only pierce their patients ears'. Anyway, I ended up going to the mall, filling out the papers at one place, asking if they use a gun (I had already called and they said they did not), she said they do (why did they tell me that they didn't on phone- I do not know), so I wouldn't let her pierce them. She was annoyed, but it's a matter of personal safety here folks. I asked at Claire's, she said they don't use a piercing gun, so I called Sarah, asked the tech again (you need to be certain about these things), and decided to do it. Laurel brought the kids in, and 2 min later it was done. It didn't even hurt, just a little pinch, and they haven't gotten infected yet, and they are almost healed.

Exercise
The weather has been great for winter training. I haven't always been motivated to put on the mileage that I could (good weather, only one kid, and no time restraints means I could, and maybe should work out for hours. But I want to be in shape, not an Olympic athlete, and there are other challenges in Texas to overcome before you can run all day, like NO SIDEWALKS and 40 mph traffic!). Laurel and I do a walk/jog combo three times a week. I try to run by myself 2-3 days a week, and Bruce and I work out together on Saturday. We usually run or do a run/bike combo in preparation for our Sprint Triathlon in April. (Did I mention that Scott and Lisa are doing it and Lisa is particularly excited, so be sure to talk to her about it.) Because there are no sidewalks on major roads, I have found some very creative routes through neighborhoods, discovered a partial trail around a lake (or drainage pond, it's hard to know which), and run while Hailey is asleep if I want to run along high-traffic, no sidewalk areas.

 

Jaron Homecoming & Nana's Death
In January Hailey and I flew back to Colorado to see Jaron home from his mission. It was great to see family again, and especially good to see Jaron after 2 years. While in Colorado, Nana's health took a turn for the worse and she was moved to Hospice. It was wonderful to be able to help around the house and to stay the night with Nana a few nights so my Mom could get some rest. I flew home as planned, and Nana passed away two days later.

December 2010 Recap

December 2010
Hailey and I had a few adventures I thought I would include.

Hailey turned one year old on December 2! She enjoyed opening presents, but was easily distracted by the toy inside the gift, so we helped her along by hiding the toy after she opened the gift. I made her a caterpillar birthday cake.

Hailey opening presents.

Hailey and her cake. Yum!

Caterpillar Cake

Bake a chocolate cake in a Bundt pan. Cool cake, then cut in half. Use the half for the main body, and cut the second half into half again. Use one for the head and one for the tail. Frost and decorate.

 

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She can take her necklaces on and off all by herself.

 

Christmas Prep

Hailey and I took a trip to Maceys (grocery store) to take a picture with Santa. Hailey was relaxed and excited to see other kids while in line, but as soon as I turned to hand her to Santa she got the most frightened look on her face and screamed. I have never seen such an expression before, or since. Santa was very understanding, so we took a picture with Hailey on my lap and me on Santa’s lap.

As Bruce finished the semester of school, I prepared the house for our extended absence by deep cleaning. When he finished finals, we prepared the house, pack most of our clothes and any personal belongings we would need over the next 4 months and drove to Colorado. We spent a few weeks in Colorado. We visited my family for Christmas and saw Ben & Michelle's family for a few days. The trip was relaxing, productive, and enjoyable.

Christmas in Colorado
Bruce and I did some work in the downstairs bathroom: ceiling patch, texture the walls, and painted. I recovered the kitchen chairs with cute fabric and plastic for easy clean up. I was teased about the plastic until someone tried to wipe their hands of the chair, and found plastic preventing and effective wipe. Turns out you need plastic to protect fabric even when the children are all teenagers. :) We repainted the kitchen to match the chairs and made plans to decorate it with a saying written in vinyl. Laurel (my sister-in-law who we live with while we are in TX) helped me write and cut out the saying.
We enjoyed a trip to the newly renovated Chilson Recreation Center. When I was growing up my parents would wake all the kids up and take them to the pool at 6 AM on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so it was fun to see the brand new layout and additions. Hailey enjoyed being in the water and especially having cousins around!
Christmas morning was as crazy and overwhelming, as usual, and it was great to celebrate with so much family! I'm most excited to use the card table fort that Grandma Waite made, and to use my Cricut to do some serious scrapbooking.
A day or two after Christmas we went to Denver to see Ben and Michelle. Scott and Lisa were also visiting, so we were able to send Scott & Lisa with some of our presents, enjoy more time with more family, and go roller skating, .
Back to Loveland to visit my family. It's been too long now, so I don't remember what we did for the days we stayed, but I'm sure we enjoyed it. :)
Then back to Ben & Michelle's for church the morning we drove to TX. The drive went very well. Hailey slept for long stretches of time, and was cheerful when she was awake. We stopped somewhere in TX for the night, and drove the next day to get to Katy, TX, a suburb of Houston.

Quiet Book

Cover.

The polka dots were hand quilted with felt as the batting. There are 2 handles (the green fabric to the right of the book) The letters were cut with a Cricut machine and appliquéd on. 

 

The Barn

Finger puppets were made using felt bodies (sew the ears before you sew the body), a button nose, and seed bead eyes. Left to right the animals are a sheep, a cow, a duck, and a pig.

 

 

Braiding

The face is all sewn to the page. The hair is secured at the top of the head, but free-flowing down the face. It can be braided, or fixed with bows, etc.

 

 

Clock

The numbers were embroidered on the face of the clock, and the foam hand were added (secured with a brad) before the face was sewn to the page. Hailey just ripped the hand off, so I’m looking for something studier than craft foam. Any suggestions?

 

Mailbox

I reinforced the mailbox by sewing two pieces of felt together. The flag is felt, and secured with a brad. The mailbox is a pocket, so you can place “mail” in it. The lid can open and close (secured with velcro).

 

Overalls

I sewed an old pair of overalls to the page. Perfect for practicing buckling. I’d like to add a belt around the waist to practice another kind of buckling.

 

Cell Phone

The numbers are attached to the phone by snaps. Numbers were hand embroidered, and felt is two layers thick for stability. The “screen” is clear vinyl which allows you to put a photo of the child in the slot.

 

Velcro Shapes

Small shape is sewn to the page. Velcro is on top the smaller shape and allows the larger shape to be secured to the smaller shape for practice with shapes and matching.

 

Flower Buttons

Each colored button coordinates with a colored flower. The button is fastened to the page, and the flower is completely detachable. Child can match the button and flower color, or just practice buttoning.

 

Potato Head

Mrs. Potato head clothes include a purse, hat, pink heels, and red lips. Mr. Potato head had a hat, natural mouth, and yellow shoes. All potato accessories can be stored in pouch on the lover half of the potato.

 

Mom’s Purse.

A flower button secures the flap. A treat, or activity can be stored in the purse.