Turn A Shirt Into A Romper. Quick.

Does exposing your belly really cause gas? Old wives' tale or not, I still hate it when my baby's shirt or dress rides up. So I bought some white cotton shirts to turn into rompers. And this one's very simple and quick. Everything is hand sewn! The shirts I got came in a pack of three. I looked for these in the kids section because the ones for infants are too small. The shirts have to be the right length, not too long. 

The bright one-piece above is one of my favorites and it's my inspiration for this project.

I started by fixing the closure. I don't have snaps so I used buttons. Instead of buttonholes, I sewed loops of elastic. Now for the legs. Make a tiny slit in the hem, right beside the snap or button or whatever you're using. Make the size of the slit just enough for your elastic to pass through. Now you have an elastic casing! Use a safety pin to thread the elastic. Keep threading until you reach the closure on the other side. Make sure it's not too tight around the baby's thighs. Sew the ends, do the same on the other side and it's done!

I added some embellishments using scraps of cloth. There! Sleeveless rompers for the hot weather.

D.I.Y. ring slings

making ring slings

My first ever sling which I ordered when my daughter was around two months old could do with some modifications. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there were parts about it that I didn't like. I found it difficult to adjust, the fabric was stiff and rough and a little too narrow for me. I searched on how to make your own ring slings and there came up hundreds of blogs and sites. The rings were available online. They come in either aluminum or nylon. My first sling had aluminum ones but I chose nylon because I thought it would make adjusting easier and I didn't like the aluminum rings clinking, although the nylon looks chunky. I purchased the trial pack that had one pair of each size (small, medium, large) which came out a lot cheaper. I found several tutorials on how to make a no-sew ring sling (Here's one.) and so I tried it using my lavender shawl. Okay, I did make a few stitches but only to keep the shawl in place because it was short and I didn't want to keep on checking if it might be sliding off. 

For the second one, I bought a cotton fabric that was soft, not too light, just thick enough. I made it wider but shorter. Before I used any sling, I thought the long tail would look cool especially as it swayed but turns out it was a bother. 

Sewing a ring sling is very simple. I just decided the length and width of my fabric (1.9x.0.80M), finished the raw edges, folded the pleats on one end and then secured the two rings by sewing the pleated end together.

The no-sew sling is easy to make if you know how to thread an ordinary sling. Basically, you just thread both ends of the fabric. What could make using this difficult is the space between the rings. This sling is my alternative when the other ones are in the laundry. 

breastfeeding with an inverted nipple

In my post about breastfeeding problems last month, I sounded like I was only whining about the difficulties of breastfeeding. This time, however, I want to talk about the bigger problems I had when I started to breastfeed.

Let me start with a very brief description of how I dealt with the most common ones that most, if not all, mothers face. The initial latch is always a challenge. We just dribbled formula on the breast until the baby was sucking continuously. It was only after five days when I actually saw milk of my own, which leads me to the issue of low milk supply. I breastfed as much as I could but there were times when we gave my daughter formula, for many different reasons. She was about two months old when I started breastfeeding her exclusively.

So having a condition known as the inverted nipple just aggravated the situation. I've always noticed it, I just didn't know that there was a name for it or that it would someday lead me to cursing the world in general. I thought it was nothing but an inconsequential feature, much like lopsided ears or something. It was only after I gave birth when I learned about what it is. The condition isn't rare though, about twenty percent of women. There are commercially available products by popular brands (None of which I tried.) to help fix this factory defect, as I once liked to call it. Even the degree of nipple inversion varies. Some are deeply inverted while some are simply flat or what some people call 'shy'. And every mother in my family and even among friends belong in the 'normal' eighty percent. There was no one with whom I could relate. Well, it actually wouldn't have made any difference but it would've been nice to have someone share it with me. Then I read about using a syringe. Basically, the method uses the syringe's suction to draw out the nipple. It did help I must say. Still, my daughter and I struggled for weeks. The silicone breast shields didn't work out well for me. They reduced the pain a teensy weensy bit, so not worth the trouble of holding it while nursing and because there's space between the shield and the breast, milk (and blood!) gets pooled in there. I also didn't rely on the pump because I was still having trouble with milk supply. It was hard to watch her strain and then cry after many unsuccessful attempts. 

What is the nipple for and why is it difficult to breastfeed with an inverted one? Okay I'm not an expert but with my experience I have observed that the baby holds the nipple between her tongue and the roof of her mouth to hold the breast in place so without that, the breast just flops out. I helped her by pushing her head toward me until she's had a good latch on her own. Also, I found it easier to feed her on the 'good' breast first then when she's not so hungry anymore, I would offer the inverted nipple side. That way, she's not very impatient. Eventually, the problem got fixed.

Easy Hand-sewn Nursing Tube

I now rarely get the chance to craft. When I'm not looking after the baby, it's either chores or sleeping. I decided to try making a nursing tube because I don't like the usual bra with clasps and the bandeau I purchased wasn't a good fit. I came up with this after combing the internet for designs and tutorials. It's like a hybrid of the overlay top and the nursing bandeau/tube. And since I only had nuggets of time to do this, I made the process super simple and sewed by hand. I didn't even use any measuring tool.

This works with stretch fabric. I used the one I bought for my wedding dress's lining, which the seamstress said was the wrong kind. Luckily it's stretchy. 

Here goes. I determined the size by stretching the fabric tight across the bust area. (Fig.1) I made it go all the way down to the belly button. That should make a rectangular or square piece. Then I cut three of that. (Fig. 2) This is a good time to deal with raw edges before moving on. One piece will become the back part while the other two will go in the front, which I ruffled by using running stitch on the sides. Form the ruffles by pulling the thread until the cloth is about two-thirds of its original length. (Fig. 3) I assembled the pieces, concentrating the ruffles in the middle part, where the opening should be. (Fig. 4 is an elevation and my best attempt to illustrate how the layers go. Hope that helps.) I back stitched them all together then turned the whole thing  inside out. (Fig. 4 and 5)

This is one of the few things I made that I actually was able to use. I'm planning to make another using  a better fabric and with more polish. 

There's this thing called babywearing. It's believed to have a lot of benefits for the baby. I never thought of it that way. I always regarded it as assisted carrying, thus the baby carrier. Whenever I use the sling, it's when I'm otherwise carrying the baby. It's not like I'm one of those women who work in the fields with an infant in tow, just like in the photographs. So I can't say it's because of the supposed benefits of babywearing, unlike the decision to breastfeed and use cloth diapers. We've tried the stroller but she didn't like it and it can be cumbersome anyway. I have two carriers that were lent to me and one ring sling, none which I have already got the hang of. The carriers are a bit bulky to put in the bag when not in use. As for the sling, I think it's OK, not really super happy with it. Maybe I need more practice or it's the kind of fabric. It's frustrating when I can't adjust it because the fabric folds and gets stuck in between the rings. The one problem I'm having the most trouble with is the red marks that appear in her thighs and the back of her knees. I still hope I would be more efficient at it. She seems to like the closeness.

just a quick sketch I did weeks ago

If I were to talk about breastfeeding three months ago, I’d be emotional. Since I’m writing this in retrospect, I don’t sound as passionate. My biggest mistake was believing that breastfeeding will be easy and natural. I should have prepared myself for the worst so I wouldn't be too disappointed. I did lack preparation, was even too confident. So clearly I had some personal issues with breastfeeding, and I’m not talking about real problems that most mothers encounter like low milk supply, etc. These might seem petty, but I got to a point where I just hated breastfeeding.


The pressure to breastfeed. Sure, no one’s forcing me to breastfeed. If I can’t do it, there’s always the bottle. So why did I feel so guilty whenever my baby was given formula? Everywhere, you’re being told that your baby has to be breast fed. There’s so much comparison between breast milk and formula that you begin to feel as though formula is poison. Certainly no one has ever said that it is, but with all the info touting breastfeeding, you just feel like a terrible mother if you’re giving the baby milk other than yours. Although I somewhat understand people’s zeal for breastfeeding. My mother said that in her province many years ago, some women chose formula over breast milk because formula was thought to be better, and it also became some sort of status symbol. But that was a very long time ago. I have yet to hear about anyone who gives her child formula out of sheer preference. So relax already. And I haven’t really seen an advertisement by a formula manufacturer that seems to thwart the efforts of breastfeeding advocates. There’s no denying that breast milk is far superior to anything and the benefits are invaluable, but the way some people push it seem to say that breast- or formula-feeding our children can seal their fate. I wonder, in a group of adults, can anyone really separate those that were breastfed from those that were not?

The pain. Breastfeeding is painful. Most moms I talked to experienced pain that lasted no more than three weeks. Mine lingered on until after a month and I kept asking whether it was normal or I was doing something wrong. Not only are the breasts sore, but my back, neck and butt suffered too from staying in one position for a long time. In my case, the slightest shift can upset the baby’s latch causing sharp shooting pain. Then images of breastfeeding mothers in a tender and joyful moment flash before my eyes and I think, ‘really??’

Only I can breastfeed my baby. That means it’s pointless when someone volunteers to be on baby duty.

It’s such a fuss feeding a baby when you’re out. Too many stuff to deal with.

The barrage of advice coming from all places. Good intentions abound but it can all be overwhelming.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't be the happy blooming nursing mom in the photo. Breastfeeding wasn't pleasurable at all. To me it felt more like a task that had to be done. And even THAT made me feel guilty.

My daughter is four months as I’m writing this and her last intake of formula was two months ago. I can definitely say that breastfeeding does get easier.  Her feedings are less frequent and the pain is almost gone. As you go along, you learn things. Am I totally loving it? No. Some days are better than the others and there are still situations when I want to use the bottle.