50 Gifts Sent out!!!!! And.... 27 weeks!

I just got back from the post office mailing Sweet Savannah Knit's 50th gift!!! I can not believe that I have sent out 50 packages to the beautiful babies. It has been so wonderful being able to do something nice for the babies and their parents and I look forward to the next 50!!! As always thank you who have helped me to make this happen!! Here is gift # 50! This hat, along with a teddy bear and book, was sent to a baby girl weighing in at 3lbs 3oz and was born at 28 weeks. I hope the hat brings comfort to baby girl and her parents, the teddy bear brings cheer/warmth to the NICU room and the book helps provide lasting memories between baby and her parents!!!!

 

On the Baby D2 front I am currently 27 weeks pregnant!!! We had our 27 week ultrasound on Tuesday and it went great. I could not be more happy or relieved. Our doctor did a thorough check on the little guy, his organs, cord, fluid and he weighs 2lbs 5oz already.  I was extremely nervous going into this ultrasound but left on top of the world. I thank God everyday for giving me this blessing.  Other then my belly getting bigger and little guy moving all around there is nothing really new.  I spend a good portion of my days with my shirt lifted up watching my belly move all over the place. It's pretty amazing!  Here is my 27 week belly shot and little man's ultrasound picture!

 

 

 

We are still busy busy busy working on the nursery! We have painted, installed new carpet and now getting ready to put the crib together. Putting the crib together is a HUGE step for me and I'm so excited to finally be in a place where I can be excited for this.  Here is our progress:

 

Stripes!!

 

Built in closet built by Scottie himself!

 

Aqua painted walls!

 

New carpet!

 

 

Nursery chandelier!! This was the very first nursery item we purchase and installed for Savannah so I wanted to keep it in baby boy's nursery as well. After taking this picture I later noticed the pink circle. There is my sweet Savannah already watching over her baby brother. I LOVE YOU!!!

We also painted an "S" in a special place in the nursery with the original paint color (color we had chose for Savannah). We want to make sure we keep special things in there for her!!!

So, we still have things to do in the nursery to finish but we are getting there. I've already bought curtains, wall hangings and wooden block letters but we can't put any of that up until the crib is built (which we are doing on Sunday). I'm in crazy nesting mode, its ridiculous!!

 

 

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Busy Week!!!!

Hello there!!! Well I am about 24 1/2 weeks currently. Crazy I know!! The baby is about 12 inches long and about 1.5 pounds. It's hard to believe that this little peanut is about the size that Savannah was when she was born.  Nothing really new other then he kicks and wiggles like crazy in there!!! I've been feeling pretty good!! Here is my belly shot:

He's getting big!!!

 

I've been a busy bee with three orders that I recently sent out!!! The first set went to a 2lb 3oz baby boy. He was only 1lb 4oz when he was born so he has already come a long way!! Here is his special gift:

 

 

And BREAKING NEWS for Sweet Savannah Knits is I ordered and received more/new teddy bears to send along with the knits!!! Haha, its really not breaking news but I was still excited over them. I just received them the other day.  The teddy bears are just an extra little touch to brighten up the babies NICU rooms. Thank you for all the donations recently that allowed me to purchase 20 bears!!!!

 

Cute little guy huh??

 

The second set I sent out last week was for a very very special baby girl. This baby is not even born yet but she was recently diagnosed with Triploidy. Her story has really touched my heart because she has the same disorder that Savannah had. Her mommy is about 27 or 28 weeks pregnant and wanted something special to dress her in. She's currently 14oz.  I feel blessed that they found my website and that I can help in any way I can. My heart breaks for them as Triploidy is a devastating diagnosis but this baby girl is a fighter, just like our sweet Savannah...

 

 

 

The third set that was sent out this week was for a little boy weighing about 3lbs 7oz!!! I hope they love it!

 

 

Along with knitting for all the beautiful NICU babies I've also added a couple projects of my own to my list. My most recent one is BURP CLOTHS!!! I found a sewing pattern online and I haven't been able to stop making them since. I just used cloth diapers I bought from Target and then sew a cute fabric to the middle of it. I keep finding cute fabrics so I'm having a hard time stopping haha!! Here they are:

 

 

 

 

With the baby coming in about 15ish weeks, I decided it was time to start focusing on the nursery design!!!! I picked out this great bedding from New Arrivals, Inc. We have yet to purchase the set we like but I did order the swatches so we could paint. I just adore the colors!!! As some of you know most of my house is tan and blue so it's no surprise I picked aqua and tan for the nursery haha!! Scottie boy painted today actually!!! Thanks Scott!!  Here is a picture of the swatches and the bedding from New Arrivals, Inc's website.   We are doing the same tan and white striped wall for the crib wall and the other three walls are the aqua color. I'll be sure to post pictures when it's done! I can't wait!!!

 

 

 

 

I just adore stuffed animals so I thought it would be cute to collect as many as I can before the baby is born to add to the nursery.  I then thought, hmm... I'm going to need something to put them all in so I decided on a huge wicker basket! Here is what I found from World Market. I love it!! Oh, and the tan and white striped blanket is the one I had been working on for awhile. I finally finished it!!!

 

 

And that's as far as we have gotten on the nursery design. I can't wait to see it all together!!! Whatcha think???

 

For awhile now I've been trying to think of other items I could get to send along with my knits to help bring comfort to the babies and parents. I've come up with teddy bears and baby books. Does anyone else have any other good ideas? I'm always open to other suggestions on how Sweet Savannah Knits can help!!!

 

Until next time....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BIG Thank You To....

I want to start this blog off thanking a few people who have made such generous donations to Sweet Savannah Knits!! I would first like to thank Annabelle and Brian for their donation!! They are getting married soon and decided that they wanted to donate to SSK in lieu of giving out party favors to their guests. Such a meaningful thing to do and it will help more then they even know.  Thank you sooo very much for helping me to send these gifts to the beautiful NICU babies and their parents. Your sweet boys are so proud of you!

I would also like to give a HUGE thank you to Nick Barts!!! Nick decided to start a little fund raiser in order to raise money for SSK.  He was growing his beard for the Black Hawks play offs a little while ago and people started betting to see how long he would grow it. They said they will give him money to donate to his favorite project. He chose us!!!! Thank you Nick for doing this. Your efforts and donation will make an ENORMOUS difference!!!

And lastly but certainly not least, I want to thank everyone else who has made a contribution to SSK in any way!!! I wouldn't be able to make the donations I do without all your support!

As most of you know, Scott and I are on the marketing team for the SHARE Walk To Remember that will be in October.  The months prior to the walk the coordinators have a few bake sales in order to raise money for the walk and help support the SHARE organization.  A couple weeks ago was the 2nd bake sale and I want to give a BIG thank you to Sue Peltzer for all her donated baked goods!!!! She owns a bake shop called Delicious Creations (http://deliciouscreationsinc.com/) and she is amazing. BEST banana bread EVER. She makes wonderful and beautiful cakes too. Thanks Sue!!!

Last week I sent out a cute little set to a baby girl from Oklahoma. She currently weighs around 4.5 pounds and is in the NICU. She is expected to receive her gift sometime today!  Here is a pic! I hope it keeps her snuggly warm!

 

And an update on baby boy D2!!! I will be 23 weeks tomorrow. Baby is doing great and is kicking like a wild one in their. His little punches and kicks keep getting harder and harder. I'm able to feel them on the outside with my hand now and you can even see my stomach bounce around when he moves. I love every second of it and am soaking it all in. We had a doctors appointment last week and his heartbeat sounded very strong and great.  Our next appointment will be In 2 weeks and I'll be getting the glucose test done. Then we get another ultrasound at 28 weeks. Our doc plans to do two extra ultrasounds only because of what happened with Savannah. He's just keeping a close eye on things so he wants to check the baby's growth two more times. I'm not complaining that's for sure! I love ultrasounds and count the days until we get our next one!!! Keep on growing little guy!!!!

Savannah's Gift to Babies in Honduras!

A while back, after Sweet Savannah Knits was in the Chicago Tribune, I had received a very nice email from a lady who has a daughter who is a doctor in Honduras (did you all catch that haha?). Her daughter and her family were going to be in the States this summer and she asked if I would be willing to donate some hats that she could bring back with her. They are always looking for hats for the tiny babies and they like to send each baby home with a hat, onesie and blanket.  I loved the idea of making them some cozy hats and decided I'd purchases some goodies to go along with it!!! I do wish I could have finished more hats but I can always send more later = )  I included a 2 packs of 3 hats for boys and girls, 2 sets of 3 onesies for boys and girls and 2 sets of 4 receiving blankets for boys and girls!!! And of course 4 hand knitted hats!! I feel so blessed that my sweet Savannah can send over LOVE to other countries as well!!!
             
                                                      Here is Savannah's special gift!!!

 

 

 

Like always, I want to thank everyone who has donated to SSK!!!! I wouldn't be able to make donations like this without your generosity!!

 

 

1st Knits For Our Baby BOY!!!

Hi all!!! I hope everyone is doing well. I wanted to share a picture of my most recent set sent out to a very special baby boy from Florida.  He currently weighs a little over 5 pounds but at birth he was much smaller. He has come a long way and I know his Mommy is so proud of him!! Here is a picture of his gift (picture taken from his amazing Mommy when she received it in the mail):

 

I've been very anxious to get started knitting some special items for our little bundle of joy. I didn't want to start too early as I was nervous (for obvious reasons), plus I wanted to wait until we knew boy or girl. Well, since our anatomy scan went so great, and we know this little wiggler is a boy, I've decided its time to start knitting away!!  Another reason why I was so excited to start knitting for him is because I feel like it is another way to include Savannah in this pregnancy. I know she's always here and watching over but I only learned to knit because of her. I feel like everything I knit is a gift from Savannah, not me. This includes all the sets sent to the NICU babies and the items made for her baby brother.  It's just another way Savannah will be in the nursery and surrounded around her baby brother always!

 

  I have completed a pair of mitts to keep his little fingers warm. He is going to be a winter baby after all.  A December baby just like his Mommy = ) !!! Here are his little mitts:

 

 

The picture makes them look huge haha... But in real life they are super small!!

 

I ordered  a lot of yarn online last week as I plan on making a few blankets that will keep our little guy snuggly warm and that I can display in his nursery. Nothing makes a room more homey then some handmade pieces!!  Here is the start of his first blanket:

 

 

 

For some reason, when taking pictures of it, the tan color turns out looking darker then it really is.  The tan is really a very soft light tan color! Little boy's nursery will be a light blue and tan so this will match great. I can't wait to finish it!  If you haven't noticed I really like stripes ha!!!

The pattern I used for the mitts and  blanket are from a book called "Knit in a Day For Baby" by Candi Jensen.  I love love love every pattern in this book!!! I'm always drawn to a chunkier look and this book has many patterns that use bigger needles. For this blanket I'm using 6 weight super chunky yarn and size 11 needles!!!

 

I also bought baby yellow and a seagrass color yarn (its a green blueish color) so I'm excited to get going on those.  I'm not sure what blanket pattern I will do with those colors. Any suggestions??? They are also in  super chunky 6 weight.

 

I turned 20 weeks two days ago!! I'm half way there and it is so hard to believe. Our little man is always kicking and wiggling and I enjoy every moment of it. When I was pregnant with Savannah I rarely felt her move. Since that was my first pregnancy I just thought it was normal or that I had a very "chill" baby.  I'm assuming she did not move much because she was so sick.  So with this baby I am really enjoying every little punch, kick and flutter!

 

If anyone has any cute baby knitting patterns please send them my way!!! Not only for our little peanut but for the NICU babies as well. I always love trying new patterns!!

 

Take Care.... XOXO

 

 

 

 

 

Savannah is going to have a......... Little BROTHER!!!!

We had our anatomy scan yesterday morning at 19 weeks exactly!!! Guess what????  We are having a cute wiggly little BOY!!! The ultrasound went great. Baby is measuring right on schedule and is looking perfectly healthy. Thank goodness!!! He was moving all around!! No wonder I feel this little peanut all the time = ).  We are thrilled!!! Here are a few ultrasound pictures!

Baby Boy's profile. He is looking down and head is to the left!

 

No denying that he is a HE!!! = )

 

Little hand! See the 4 fingers?

 

Last night we had our immediate family over for the big reveal! We decided to do a balloon launch so I made this box and we put BLUE balloons in it! It was so fun and exciting.  I want to give a big THANK YOU to our family for coming to our party, the cute gifts and for making the day special! And thank you to our beautiful angel Savannah for always looking over here little brother. I felt you with us all day yesterday and always!

 

 

 

 

My "almost" 19 week baby bump

 

Since I last wrote I have sent out one hat and am currently working on a set! The little hat was sent to a beautiful baby girl who was born with Trisomy 18. She is home with her family and I hope she and her mommy and daddy loved their gift.   Currently I'm working on a teddy bear hat set for a 5 pound cutie who has been in the NICU awhile. I can't wait to get it finished and sent off to it's new home!  I want all the Babies, Moms and Dads, that I've sent gifts to, to know that I'm always thinking of you all!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Triplet Girls!

Hi everyone!!!  This will be a quick blog but I wanted to share these adorable teddy bear hats!  These hats went to TRIPLET girls weighing from 2.8 to 3.12 pounds. How blessed their family is!  I decided another great gift to send along with my knits is a baby book that the parents can read to their babies in the NICU and when they come home.  I think this book is just perfect!  I hope the triplets and their parents love their gift!

 

Update on Baby D2:   I will be 17 weeks tomorrow!!! We had a doctors appointment last Tuesday (a week ago from tomorrow) and we heard the baby's heartbeat with the doppler. Music to my ears!!! LOVE. New developments is that I've been feeling little bitty kicks for the past two weeks. They are not very strong, of course, as baby is only about 5 inches long but it's definitely the little peanut moving around in there.  I love that feeling. Keep on kicking me little one!!!   2 weeks from tomorrow that we find out baby's gender! Any guesses???