Baby Shower Gifts

 

Much like last week's post of the wedding dress, this post is months overdue. I kept forgetting to post about it because the photos are so absolutely lame. Sorry in advance. While we were in the States in August, I was able to attend a baby shower for one of my best friends, Julia. We grew up a house away from one another and given that she is only six months older than me, we were friends since the time I can remember.

 

She told me when I was visitng the States last March that she was expecting. I was so super excited for her and even more stoked that I would be able to attend the baby shower during my next trip home - what luck!

 

I had decided to make my wrap when I came to the conclusion that everyone can use an extra wrap. I had two when K was little that I used on a daily basis since he HATED his stroller until he was nearly a year old; and I still occasionally use this one when necessary - although it is nearly comical given how big he is now. Since I fell in love with it, I bought enough fabric to make a wrap for my friend as well. I did it the exact same as mine, except I made hers a tad bit smaller and also made a band to keep it nice and tidy when it is in the diaper bag. Mine sometimes gets unfolded a bit or small items (cars) get hidden in the folds, so I figured a velco band would keep it all together.

 

 

After making this, I'd asked Julia what she wanted and she told me that a nursing cover would be nice. I have one that was given to me by another bestie when I was pregnant with K. I loved it and used it often. It was so nice to be able to nurse without flashing passersby. I figured just to be on the safe side, however, I would use google to find a pattern. Seriously, it is a rectangle, so this is super unnecessary.

 

Once I found the pattern, I set out to find a great fabric. I ended up with one that I think is absolutely adorable, although I didn't take any real photos of it (see what I mean about this post being crap when it comes to photos?). You can kind of tell what the fabric looks like from this photo of the straps.

I wanted to put some pockets in it, because I almost always nursed while catching up on emails or Facebook, but when it was time to switch sides or stop, I had no where to put my phone. Pockets would have been handy. I settled on this cute little elephant material for the inside pockets.

The only time I strayed from the pattern was when I attached the D-rings to the straps. It seemed it would be easier to just thread the rings and then sew the strap such, as opposed sewing the strap shut, opening the D-rings, threading them on, and finally closing them up. I didn't have any issues doing it beforehand.

The only challenging bit was sewing in the boning, since it kept wanting to curve, forcing the fabric to unfold. Pin it up really well and it should be fine!

The final step was to sew on the pockets.

Seriously this is a simple thing to make and quite handy for any new mom. K was pretty anti-bottle, but the few times I did use one with him in public, I often used the cover - not for privacy, but so he wouldn't get distracted, taking ages to eat. I loved my cover and I hope Julia loves hers, too!

As above, this post has been on the backburner since August, but once weeks had passed, I decided I would just post about it when the baby was born and...Julia had her baby last month!! Wahooo!!! It's a beautiful little girl and I am so super stoked. I love that so many of my friends this year had baby girls - making things for them has been such fun. I whipped up a few things for this new baby girl and dropped it in the mail this morning. I cannot tell you how excited I am for this package to arrive!! It is easily the cutest package I have ever mailed off. It should arrive in a few days (I just checked the tracking and it's already on an airplane). Once it arrives, I show you what I have spent a few weeks making for this little pumpkin.