Second Petticoat...Done! Whew!

I'm finally finished with the second petticoat - the one that will button on to the first petticoat ("underdress"?) for extra warmth. And to "protect baby from world, and the world from baby" as Elizabeth Stewart Clark put it. :) I made this one fuller -- about 80" in circumference -- for no other reason than I seemed to like the extra fullness...plus I can shorten it later if need be and still have a nice full petticoat or petti-chemise.


I made this one out of plain ol' muslin since the batiste was on the underdress and will be next to baby's skin. I've already washed the muslin a couple of times and it's not rough or anything, so I'm not too worried. If I ever use this petticoat as a short dress petticoat or petti-chemise, it should have had plenty of washes by then to be nice and soft against little legs. I just couldn't afford yards of the really nice fabrics for the petticoats and thought this should work well.

I hope everyone is doing well and happily today! I've been feeling many more kicks these days, although they're still rather intermittent. I do feel several a day at least. I was told that sometime in the next month or so, the baby will begin to settle into a kind of routine, with "wakeful" and "nap" times and I'll start seeing little bits of a personality coming through.

This whole experience has been so wonderful. Despite all the morning sickness and general feelings of discomfort and the sensation of having my body invaded, I'm really enjoying pregnancy. I know there are people out there who hate the pregnancy part and just really want the baby part; but when you're 36 years old and have desired a baby for a long time, you take all those discomforts with a kind of thrill. An awe that God has blessed you with the carrying of a new life. Even if you do have to complain from time to time, because -- after all -- you are only human. :)

I look through the clothes that have been kindly donated to me (thank you Kerri!) and study the tiny socks and diapers and onesies. There is a real sense of excitement...anticipation...fear. It's hard not to worry how your life just won't ever be the same; and what if it's not what you wanted after all? What if all the hopes and expectations you have for yourself as a parent don't come true and you turn out to be wretched? I suppose this is where I let go and trust in God to guide me with His hand -- through this pregnancy, through labor and birth, and through the wonderful journey beyond.

What an awesome and humbling thing it is to be a mother.