great idea!

Great idea #1
My little sister gave us burp cloths for BabyGirl for Christmas. She took cloth diapers and sewed two ribbons down them to dress them up to use as burp cloths. I thought it was such a great idea that I'm making six each for two friends who are due a month or so before us.



Then, I stacked them up and tied them with some of the left over ribbon.



This great idea has a second part to it. My sister told me to use washable glue stick to hold the ribbon in place while sewing. I had no idea I could use glue sticks! It worked like a charm. The shinier ribbon is harder to sew and keep in place.

Great idea #2
I was showing off my laundry room photos to a friend E works with. She countered with pictures of the bed her husband made. Very talented. Very nice. His "shop" is whatever space he can steal in their laundry room. She said that whenever he finished a project he gets to buy a new tool. Great idea! I told E I thought I should get the same deal. I finished the laundry room last weekend, I was due for my new tool. Since one of my next projects will be painting an old dresser to use as a dresser/changing table in the nursery, I chose a new random orbit sander to get the dresser ready for paint.



Great idea #3
Okay, this one might not have been a great idea, but it was fun. E and I went to the Big Box R Us store last weekend to register for baby goodies. When you register, they give you a little "welcome" box with samples in it. One of the samples was a newborn diaper. Many websites recommend getting your dog ready for the baby by introducing the dog to baby blankets, smells, or even carrying around a baby doll to get the dog used to all aspects of the baby. Well, I used one of the dog's favorite toys as a baby and put it in the diaper. There was some nervousness at first. Then she settled down.



However, she would not play with that toy while the diaper was on it. It laid around for days before I finally took the diaper off and she played with it again.

***

Those are my great ideas. Other than that, we are continuing to watch E's belly and our BabyGirl grow. I can easily feel and sometimes see the kicks and punches as BabyGirl does her daily calisthenics. E is doing a great job of eating good food, getting lots of long walks and plenty of rest. She is providing an excellent home. We have a list of things to do before the baby gets here, and we work on them and check them off weekly. We are having a great time.

m

Mud Room

We can't believe we actually started a project on Saturday and finished it on Sunday. Quite impressive. Not much else to do when the high for the day is 4 degrees. Below are the before and afters. It will be painted in the spring which will make it look even better.... M did most of the work. I was in charge of managing the tools and telling her how great it looked.

It was a functional room before, but it was a wreck. We just piled crap in there. M added another row of shelves, sewed the curtains, installed the curtain rods, and clipped everything together. She is very talented. I am very happy not to stare at bleach bottles anymore....

Our sweet babygirl

We went to the doctor's this week and everything is going well. I am measuring right, strong heartbeat, and a hefty weight gain. We talked a little about pain relief during labor and we are all on the same page. Go as long as you can without anything, sign up for the IV drugs, and then pull out the needle and numb me.

I have been up since 4am. I woke up after a long dream (it was like a full length movie) and realized I couldn't feel babygirl. Normally when I wake up at night it is because she is kicking me, but she was silent. I moved around to wake her up and nothing. Moments of panic, fear, etc... Then, of course, she woke up and started her morning dance class. M leaned over and put her hand on my belly and just giggled every time babygirl kicked. M then rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

Babygirl continued to dance, move, kick, roll, etc for two hours. Every time I was almost asleep she would start dancing. It was somewhat distracting, but also very cute. She is now perfectly asleep and I am wide awake on this frigid day.

We have a three day weekend so we will tackle another home improvement project. The mud room is our goal for the weekend.

E-

moving quickly along

While E gets bigger and BabyGirl kicks and rolls more and more, we've also been working to get things ready. Last weekend we went on a hospital tour. It was good to see where all the action would happen. E was freaked out once we got into the birthing suite and there was conversation about how the end of the bed comes off when labor begins. I assured her that by the time that happens, a) she will probably have drugs and b) she will want that baby out no matter what it takes. The hour-long tour included about 10-12 couples. We were the only same sex couple. The tour guide, an RN who works in obstetrics, repeatedly referred to mothers and dads. I leaned over to E and said, "I guess I'm the dad." The guide caught herself a couple times and said partner or support person. E thinks it stinks that you have the baby at the Holiday Inn (birthing suite) but they move you to the Super 8 (regular room) a few hours after the birth. Overall, it wasn't the most exciting tour, but at least we know what it will look like.

A friend with a minivan and a strong back helped us pick up our crib. We had no idea a bed for a little human would be so big (about 4 feet square in the box) or weigh so much (134 pounds). I took a bit of teasing for weighing less than the crib...not true...however, I held my own getting the crib in the van and then up the stairs once we got home. We set it up last night and we love it. We got a convertible crib, so we figure we're set for the next 15 years or so. It makes me want to paint the room right now, but we're going to wait for spring so we can open the windows to get rid of paint smell. Since we're having a girl we're going pink. Several friends have asked what we're going to do if a boy pops out. If that happens, he'll enjoy all the pink until we repaint and buy more blue.

Today we met two friends for lunch who are going to throw a baby shower for us. We made a list of people to invite and realized that we have a very eclectic group of friends. It should be a great time. We feel very blessed to live in a place where it's not a big deal that we're lesbians and having a baby. Our friends and coworkers have been great. People we consider acquaintances are excited and want to be invited to a shower because they have things for the baby.

She is loved.

m

22 Weeks

I still feel GREAT! I eating pretty well and sleeping soundly. I am almost full time in maternity clothes. I have one pair of regular jeans I can still fix up with a rubber band and bellaband. The maternity pants are still a little big on me, but they are sooo comfortable. I also broke down and started wearing maternity shirts to school. The children are starting to notice and are asking questions, which is very endearing.

Well, I can tell I am packing on the poundage this month. I am supposed to gain half of the total weight gain from weeks 18-28 and I think I am doing that. However, I know that some of that weight is going right to the baby because babygirl is getting bigger and stronger everyday.

Babygirl kicks, moves, and rolls all day long. It is an amazing feeling. M can feel her now too -- which is tons of fun. At school yesterday Babygirl was awake/moving all day long. I think she enjoys the noise and activity of a school. I would be mid-conversation and get distracted because I was focusing on feeling that little girl kick the crap out of me....;)

This weekend we are having brunch with friends, taking down the xmas decorations, and on Sunday we are touring the maternity ward at the hospital...woohoo!

E-

Long Post - lots to say....with pics!

It has been a very exciting xmas vacation. Finding out that we are having a girl has been a wonderful gift. Knowing that "she" is in there and is doing well has given us the green light to start the nesting. Having never had a child before, we have a lot to do. Now, I know that we would be fine if we brought the baby home and had nothing (except breastmilk and some cloth), but we live middle-America and have access to lots and lots of choices to make our lives "easier." (??)

Christmas was wonderful. Babygirl got many gifts including:
*the softest blanket from my friend L
*a handmade sweater from M's sister
*handmade decorative diapers from M's other sister
*lots of onesies with my father's alma mater from my mother
*car organizer from my mom and little sister
*M's mother made me a stocking and a gorgeous afghan for the baby
*my older sister gave us a very generous contribution to the nursery fund which will help buy a great rocker for the room

I am sure I am forgetting a few things, but overall both of our families were so generous and giving. Babygirl is already deeply loved.

The Crib
Well, one would think that you want a crib and you go out and buy one. It could be that simple, but we chose the road less traveled. We read the crib reviews, we looked at four different stores and on the internet. We bought one and then we couldn't fit in the car, so we returned it right there. It wasn't meant for us. We finally found a great crib -- high ratings, great color, beautiful design, converts and best of all -- my mother has graciously offered to buy us the crib. Woohoo! We know babygirl will love it and grow into it for years and years. The crib will be here within the next week. We ordered the mattress online.

The Room
Babygirl's room has been empty since we bought the house, and we have always referred to the room as the nursery. Well, it is time to actually make it a nursery and not just a room with tan carpet. First, I had to remove my extra clothes from the closet (they now live in the guest room closet). Second, M used her powertools and did her magic with closet shelves. She has expanded our closet space in every single room in the house, and she does a great job. We bought great on-clearance baskets from Target to complete the organized closet. Third, we decided to paint and reuse an older dresser for babygirl, and we think that M's father, who is a master craftsman, will make a changing table top for the top of the dresser -- he is also making a toybox for babygirl. Finally, we are on to the bedding. We have fallen in love with a design from PotteryBarn, but we don't want to spend a fortune so we will be picking and choosing which items we want. We hope to focus on a valance, crib sheets, dust ruffle, and small blanket for decoration. Painting will occur when the windows can be opened....months away...maybe spring break.




Man, this has been a long post. Finally, our sweet puppy has had an adventurous xmas break. She started it by finding her present. We bought her a new toy and hid it inside a gift bag on the stairs. We were in the kitchen and realized that the dog was acting strange...excited...running around...and then totally silent. We walked around to the stairs and found her head in the gift bag reaching for the toy. She couldn't wait for xmas.

She also spent some time at the kennel, which she loves. We went to pick her up last night and they tried to give us the wrong dog - twice. They brought out every female golden in the joint and we just kept saying, "Nope, that's not her." We were panicked they lost our dog. Then M looked in the grooming room and said, "There she is.." The kennel owner wasn't happy at all. Someone had switched the collars. She did get a free bath out of it.



Have a Happy New Year!

E-