No Sew Teepee!

While cruising on Pinterest, I realized I was late to the teepee party. With Emily at the perfect "let's build a fort" age, I decided to fulfill one of my own little dreams: a girly teepee. (I also needed something to fill that space in our living room.) Everyone wins!


I got the party started by picking up six garden sticks (5 feet) at Home Depot for about $2.50 each. So cheap. I wish they were a little bit taller... I wish I was a baller. Sorry, I had to:-). But seriously, I do wish they were about a foot taller, but it's good for the girls. Emily can stand up in the teepee, and that is most important.

I then dug out some fabric from my ever growing stash. I used three yards of cream duck cloth. I was dreading the moment that came next: drilling a hole in each pole. Since every room in my house contains some sort of power tool, I went on a drill hunt. I'm still not sure I used the correct attachment, but nothing caught on fire (although there was some smoke), and I got the job done. I measured eight inches from the end of each pole and made a mark. I then went to town on drilling the holes to run the twine.





Once the holes were drilled, I strung them all together with twine. This was a little tricky, but just keep arranging the sticks until you have a teepee shape. I wanted a girly teepee, so pink ribbon came next. I brought the teepee inside and used the ribbon to secure the sticks (not through the holes).

Once the frame was set, I simply draped the duck cloth over the sticks. I was going to call it a day, but I saw a Michael Miller floral fabric screaming to be made into bows to hold it all together. I cut two slits in the cream duck cloth, cut a strip of floral fabric, and I tied a bow (repeat). I'm happy I completed this extra step as it adds a little something extra, I can make matching pillows to throw in there, and it securely holds the duck cloth in place and helps to stabilize the teepee. I also knew Emily would appreciate the bows- so cute.

The project took a total of 30 minutes! Emily loves it, and Mary hung out in there for a while too. It also fills a formerly lonely space with some personality. Poor Ryan has a floral accented teepee in his family room; I'm pretty sure he is getting used to these types of shenanigans. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section!

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Mary Beth

She is the mostest! 

Weighing in at six pounds 12 ounces. 

Born April 4, 2013 at 10:17 AM

See below for the good stuff... or skip if you don't like birth stories from a hippie point of view.

 

I believe with my whole heart in natural birth whenever possible. When I say "natural" I mean no medication. Just you and your birth team. My birth team was Ryan, Mary, and Pita. I feel so lucky to have met these three people:-). Mary and Pita were our midwives with Emily as well. When we found out we were prego again, we knew we needed to get hold of these ladies ASAP.

 

I thought I was going into labor the night before it actually happened. I was on spring break, and we had moved into our new place the weekend before. We also had a contractor coming in the morning to finish our hardwood floors. We seem to remodel when we have babies... not doing it a third time (the remodel, not the baby). So, when I woke up at 5 AM with contractions, I thought it best to not wake Ryan. I timed them instead. The contractions were kinda strong and 10 minutes a part. I thought I was just having some joint pain. This was a common sensation the second time around. However, the "joint pain" was fairly consistent. I decided to wake Ryan when they were eight minutes a part. Good thing too. The contraction were quickly 7 minutes, then six, then... you get the point. We called Mary.

 

Correction: Ryan called Mary while I called my mom to ask if we could have a baby in her living room. I laugh as I type this, because it sounds so crazy. I couldn't have a baby  in our new house because I wanted those floors finished ASAP. My mom said to come on over. I packed our bags, jumped in the shower, and prepped for having a baby (mentally). It's all  mental, folks.

 

With Emily in the back of the truck and our birth tub right beside her, Ryan hightailed it to my mom's house. My ma took Emily out to breakfast and to play while Ryan got set up. The night before I had bought the jammies for after labor so I put those in the wash. I started to have stronger contractions, but nothing wild. This labor was so manageable and dare I say... easy? I'm not sure why, but I didn't feel the contractions were strong enough to have the babe anytime soon, and I started to worry around 10AM that we had called Mary too soon. Not the case. As Mary, Pita, and their intern sat at my mom's dinning table chatting, I felt a different sensation with the contraction: my water had broke. I had a sudden feeling of panic and (what felt like a shout) said, "something is happening!". Mary rushed over in her calm way and told me my water had broke. I promptly replied, "What do I do?". Pita laughed and said, "Have a baby". These women are amazing. Birth is so normal and natural to them. I wonder if they ever panic?

 

Have a baby we did. Not one minute after my water broke I had to push. I stayed in the same position in the tub the entire 20 minutes I was in there. Within three minutes of pushing, Mary Beth was born. All I remember is Mary (our midwife, not the baby) telling Pita that the head was born, and then she talked me through the next push. It was an amazing moment. We didn't know we were having a girl, and all I could do was cry. I was so happy to have two beautiful girls. Mary Beth looks so  much like Emily. Emily is the best big sister. Ryan is getting used to lots of kisses, pony tails, and talk of all things girl. We couldn't be happier.

 

 

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