learning a new skill

Today, I visited Ian for about an hour in his new pod. He is now rooming with just one other baby, and there is a bit more space by his bedside. One downside is that there is no window/view in his new pod. No sunlight for him until he is near discharge I guess.

During my visit, I cut his fingernails and watched him sleep (as usual). Because he had just transitioned, I chose no to try and hold him. It is depressing to watch him with all of the tubes hanging out of him. He is awkward to hold. It always feels like I'm going to dislodge something important.

I got hungry and decided to eat. On my way to eat, I stopped by the Social Workers' office to see if I could schedule a knitting lesson. It turned out that she was scheduled to teach another mom in about fifteen minutes. As soon as I had finished eating in the NICU waiting room, she came to retrieve me for our lesson.

The social worker was a very good teacher, patient and appealing to my visual learning style. Additionally, although she is not assigned to our case, she took this time to engage me in dialogue about who I was, what my experience has been like with the NICU, where I am in life. I dare say it was a bit therapeutic.

Despite my tendency to get turned around with my stitching if I get distracted or during a transition, I think I picked up the basic stick pretty quickly. I am excited to continue practicing and to complete the "lovie" I've begun for Ian. The lovie will be a small item that I wear for a little while that gets placed in Ian's bed with my scent. After seeing how knitting works, in basic form of course, I am somewhat mesmerized about the possibilities that lie in stitching. I want to run with it, but clearly I have to learn to crawl, then walk efficiently first.

Here is a picture I took a few hours ago showcasing the progress on my very first knitting project.