RELAX! NOW! DO IT!

Well, best laid plans, etc, etc. Today I have neither returned to work nor full sanity/ease of mind. Sigh... But on the upside, look at the lovely crochet I did last night and this morning! I think I'll be able to get this cardigan finished today (if I can work out the three stitches I don't know how to do that are needed to add the sleeves and button border) and then I'm going to choose some really lovely wool and make a few more. This is really my first time following a proper crochet pattern (as opposed to a repeated pattern like the ripple blanket or a granny square) and it has all been surprisingly straightforward. So far I would definitely recommend the pattern (available here for just £2) if you have any babies to make for - it has been really easy and is already looking ridiculously gorgeous in real life, even in the cheap wool I decided to use for a first attempt. And it would have taken me weeks to make the equivalent of this in knitting. Discovering crochet has definitely been my craft highlight of 2011.

So last night was not a lot of fun. After trying so hard to relax all evening (and I was getting there!) I climbed into bed and instantly started bleeding everywhere. Poor bleary-eyed Graham's requested early night was ruined as we had to jump in a taxi and make our second hospital trip of the day. We were there until the wee small hours of the morning before being told everything was fine and we could go home. I am trying hard to trust this diagnosis, but it is hard not to feel a bit uneasy still. Last week I was really enjoying how cosy and secure the baby felt bobbing around inside my tummy. Now everything feels a bit precarious :( But there's not really a lot we can do, having been thoroughly examined and told by people who know a lot more than us that things are OK. And the baby has been reassuringly head-butting my bladder all morning, so things could definitely be worse. Plus last night's hospital trip was the first time Graham had heard the baby's heartbeat, something he'd been really curious about.

So I haven't had much sleep and I feel a bit... meh, but I am going to carry on crocheting and giving myself reassuring pep talks for the remainder of the day. And I have a week's annual leave starting tomorrow, so this relaxation can carry on for a full eight days now. Hopefully everything will return to "normal" soon and I can stop worrying that the baby will fall out every time I stand up! How annoying that everything went pear-shaped just as I vowed to blog every day, eh? Onwards and upwards.