Hello!
I've been crocheting for a few years, but I taught myself out of a booklet and there are a lot of holes in my knowledge, especially regarding anything the slightest bit complicated that involves counting. And now I need some help with what I'm sure is a fairly simple pattern.

Here's the deal: I planned to make a baby blanket for a friend who was due in a month. But I had to scramble to find a smaller project when she had the baby unexpectedly this weekend. (The nerve of that baby, upsetting my plans! :) )

I found a pattern for some bootees, but those cute little bootees are becoming the plague of my life because I can't read the pattern correctly. There's a flat rectangular base, and then it's worked in rounds and that's where I get flummoxed:

Round 1: Chain 1, 7 sc, 14 sc along side of sole, 7 sc along toe, 14 sc along other side of sole and join with a slip stitch into 1ch at beginning of round [42 stitches].

Round 2: Chain 1, sc to end, join with a slip stitch into 1st ch.
Repeat Round 2 twice.
Round 5: Chain 1, 20 sc, skip 1sc, 7 sc, skip 1sc, 13 sc, join with slip stitch into 1st chain. [42 stitches]
Round 6: Chain 1, 20 sc, skip 1sc, 5 sc, skip 1sc, 13 sc, join with slip stitch into 1st ch [40 stitches]
Round 7: Chain 1, 20 sc, skip 1sc, 3 sc, skip 1 sc, 13 sc, join with slip stitch into 1st chain. [38 stitches].
Etc.

OK, Round 1: 14+7+14+7 = 42. But what about that chain stitch to start out? Doesn't that make it 43? Or does the slip stitch to join eliminate the chain, so to speak? If so, I'm slip stitching incorrectly.

Rounds 2, 3, 4: Again, is that chain at the beginning of each round adding to the stitch count or should I continue to have 42 stitches each round?

Round 5: This round starts to skip stitches in order to pull in the toe of the bootee. But if I'm skipping 2 sc in this round, how am I'm supposed to still do 42 stitches? The numbers don't add up for one thing (20+7+13 = 40). Have I been adding to my stitches in the previous rounds with those chain stitches? Is that even what the "42 stitches" in brackets means?

As you can see, I thoroughly mixed up. Sorry to be so long and detailed, but if anyone can straighten me out, I would be so grateful!