27 WEEKS!

We saw our doctor yesterday for the last of our once-a-month checkups (from here on out, we’ll go every two weeks for a while and then once a week until Button comes). R had to take a one-hour glucose tolerance test and a urine test. We won’t have the blood work results back for a couple of days, but the urine test was instant and sugar-free (gee, sounds like I’m talking about a beverage or something).

Both the nurse and the doctor measured R with the measuring tape and she’s measuring at 29 weeks, not 27 weeks as she should. Dr. A said she wouldn’t record it as officially two weeks ahead of schedule just yet. She wants to wait until our appointment on October 8th to check it again.

We got to hear Button’s heartbeat and although I can’t recall the exact number, it was high and her heart sounds really strong! Dr. A wants R to put on at least 10 more pounds between now and delivery. Now that the third trimester is upon us, it shouldn't be too hard for R to do.

MYSTERY PURCHASE

We’re registered at Target and as we manage our registry, we’re able to see online what has and has not been purchased from our list. It doesn’t tell us who purchased the item, it just shows that the item has been bought by someone.

Well, I registered for a $20 Eddie Bauer mini diaper bag. I liked that it was big enough to hold the necessities without being too big that it would be awkward to manage. Keep in mind that I despise even the thought of carrying a purse, so I'm doing good to settle for this small bag. (Plus, they'll give us the freebie diaper bag at the hospital and I can always use it if I end up needing something bigger.) Anyway, I noticed that someone purchased the diaper bag, but I have no idea who! It’s a mystery!

It’s been checked off the list for quite some time now, back before we had the baby shower for R’s dad’s side of the family. We thought for sure at the shower that we’d figure it out, but nope, the diaper bag has yet to make an appearance. A couple of friends have given us random gifts, but nope, no diaper bag! It’s kind of maddening. haha!

KICKIN' AND QUILTIN'

During the night, at about 3:30 this morning, Button woke me up by kicking me in the back! R was lying with her stomach right up against me and Button was going nuts in there. I was lovin’ it. I don’t think R even noticed because when I tried to say something, she just grunted and kept on sleeping. Anyway, it was very neat!

Well, I ended up giving our niece the last bandana quilt I made for her 3rd birthday. I won’t lie, it was hard to part with after all that work, but I am so very happy that she likes it so much. R asked me to make another one for Button, so I’m working on it now! I’ve already completely finished piecing the quilt top. See?


I think I like the color arrangement on this one better

On my niece's quilt, I used black fleece for the backing and binded the edges with black velvet ribbon. It was super-cute, but I think I’ll change it up a bit for Button’s quilt. We’ll see…

PLAYING CATCH-UP

100 days left and counting! Wow… I just can’t believe we’re at the 100-day mark. The time has flown by and while 100 days seems so long in so many ways, I know it’s not. Everything is moving right along!

I’ve been sick all week with strep throat and a cold and I’ve tried my best to keep R from getting sick, too. Lord knows, she doesn’t need this mess because she wouldn’t be able to take anything for it. Of course, all of her kids at school have also been sick, so my efforts at home might be for nothing. We’re taking all the precautions we can -- ie, no kissing, sleeping in seperate beds, lots of hand washing, etc.

We got an offer on our house and we’re in negotiations. The whole thing has been kind of strange and we don’t know if it will actually work out, but we’re really hoping it does because we want to move! We found a house we really like that is move-in ready, doesn’t need any improvements, and is vacant. It would be great to settle in and start working on a nursery for Button. However, we just found out within the last hour that the owners for that house are also in negotiations with buyers other than us. They should know something about their house by Tuesday and we should also know something about ours. So, everyone, keep your fingers (eyes, legs, etc…) crossed for us!!!

Our next doctor appointment is on September 24th, which somehow seems like an eternity away, even though it’s just over a week away. We're just dying to see our little Button up on that screen!

CLOTHING MUTHA-LOAD

R's friend from college, Shelly, and her sister, who both have daughters, were kind enough to loan us tons of 0-3 and 3-6 months baby clothing. We picked them up on Wednesday and had so much fun when we got home looking at everything. The best part is that most all of the clothing is just right for the season when Button is born. There are even a few Christmas things thrown into the mix, which is awesome because Button will be a Christmas baby! There are only a couple of things that might not work, but even at that, I doubt we'll be needing much else for a while. We are so damned excited!

ANYONE ELSE?

How many of you out there have or had leaking breasts early on in your pregnancy? Yesterday, R was taking a nap and when she woke, her breasts were leaking! Some clearish liquid came out of one and straight-up milk came out of the other. We were like, what the heck?! It wasn't much, though -- not enough to start feeding or anything like that, but still!

I hit the internet immediately, which confirmed this was normal, and R put in a call to the doctor, who also confirmed it's normal. It's not that we mind the leaky breats, but we wanted to make sure this wasn't a sign of something wrong. Apparently, some women start to produce as early as four months into pregnancy, while others don't start until after birth. R happens to be one of the early ones at not quite six months along.

As the doctor said, the bad news is that it will continue for the rest of her pregnancy and the flow could increase from the few drops she has now to something more intense. The good news is that she will be a milk factory and not have any trouble breastfeeding.

WEDNESDAY RAMBLINGS

Not much new news on the baby front. Things are going well and R's tummy is getting bigger every day, even though she's gained only around three pounds or so. She looks great!

R's been sleeping a lot and I get bored, so on Monday night I decided to start a new project. I'd been saving up some old bandanas to use for something, but never could decide what to do with them. Suddenly, it hit me -- a bandana quilt! I got out my rotary cutter, cutting mat, and went to town cutting up squares from which to quilt.

Then, last night I went to town piecing it all together. The time flew by. It certainly didn't hurt that I had all of my squares organized into the order I wanted them to go in. At any rate, here's the finished product of my quilt top:




here's a close-up

All I have left to do now is to sew the backing on and I've decided to use fleece for that. Fleece works well because it's easy to manipulate, is really soft, and it keeps me from having to worry with batting, basting, etc. I also like the casual feel of it. After I do that, I need to quilt the darn thing. I think I might machine quilt it rather than doing it by hand, but I can't quite decide.

R thinks I should give this to my niece for her 3rd birthday on September 1st and make a second one for Button using different fabric. I'm not opposed that idea, but I do love this bandana quilt, so parting ways with it might be difficult.

On the house front, our open house went really well and traffic has really picked up. We also found a house we really like that is move-in ready, so we hope ours will sell soon! Wish us luck.

One more thing -- I bought this adorable Christmas fabric, but I don't have a clue what to do with it! Any suggestions out there? Keep in mind that I'm not much of a clothes sewer (I'm a beginner) and I have only a yard of the fabric. Here it is:

MORE PHOTOS!

Here are some sonogram images from our appointment on August 14th. I would have posted them sooner, but didn't have a chance to scan them until today!

Just look at these first two -- amazing! Look at those long legs!





In this next photo, if you look closely, you can see a line/shadow running down the top of the head to the forehead. Our sonographer says this is where the bones in the top of the head are fusing together! Button's arms and folded upward and she's resting her hands behind her head. I guess she must be feeling relaxed in there!





These next two photos are traditional images (not 3-d) and I think they are so sweet. Just look at that profile! And in the second image, Button's looking right at us.





This last image confirms what we already knew -- we're definitely having a girl! (Thank heavens because we've already been buying "girly" stuff.)

WEEK 21 VIDEOS!

Because our sonographer was unable to get an adequate look at Button's spine the last time we went in, she had us come back in today for a 21-week exam. We can now officially say that Button is as healthy as can be! (Not to mention just beautiful... and I think she has R's nose!)

Since they don't seem to have the capability of saving video to disk for us, I took my digital camera (which has a video camera built in that will record only a few minutes of footage) in and recorded a few scenes.

This first scene shows Button's little face pressed right up against the screen! Linda (the sonographer) zooms in on the heart and you can hear it beating -- so exciting! I could listen to/watch this all day.



This next scene shows in detail Button's heart beating like crazy. See that flashing black hole, opening and closing? Well, that's her heart! Linda also shows us the blood flow, which is blue and orange on the screen. Check it out!

BUY OUR HOUSE!

We've had our house on the market for almost a month, with no luck and no interest. I know the market stinks right now and all of that, but we really need for this to happen. We really love the house and are selling it only because we need more room, pronto. There is a part of me that is happy that the house isn't selling and that we are sitting in it. But then there's the part of me that is aware of all the changes coming up and that part is ready to move.

We picked out a new house (Shelley, it is just like your mom's!) that we love and think would be a good house long-term. We're having an open house next weekend and I am hoping that it goes well (and that the amazing heat wave breaks a little by then)! It is hotter than hammered hell right now!

In other news, my aunt gave us an early baby shower last weekend. All I can say is that my family must be excited about the baby because we got tons of nice (and actually useful) presents. And the family christening gown and bonnet were given to us for safe keeping.

My mom has very sweetly offered for us to have a housekeeper come a few times when the baby is really small to help me out. Evidently, she is anticipating that I will be overwhelmed and she is physically unable to help. The other option is that she fears my housekeeping skills.... hehehe. Either way, I'm thrilled!

SWIMMING RIGHT ALONG

Time is swimming right along! R's now past the halfway mark of pregnancy and our doctor says everything should be "auto pilot" from here on out. And speaking of swimming, R's taking a maternity water aerobics class at our local YMCA, where we're members. Class is each Saturday at 9:30. Before she left the house, I just had to take a photo of her in the bathing suit she's wearing. How cute!

WHAT DO Y'ALL DO?

R's an educator. This year, she's split between two schools. One of the schools is the same where she worked last year and the other is new to her. As it turns out, her assigned "mentor/coach" at her new school is an older (meaning late 50's) lesbian who we sorta know because she's friends with all of the old-timer lesbians where we live (we like to call them the "lesbian mafia").

Anyhow, on Friday morning, this woman gave R a big speech about how she's not "out" and how she recommends that R not tell anyone she's gay, either. R was like, "Well, the fact that I'm visibly pregnant will make it a little difficult to avoid the questions about my life and my 'husband', etc." I mean, R can either look like an unwed floozy, or people can know she's gay and in a commited relationship. And even if R chose to remain in-the-closet, chances are that our kid will out her one day on their own -- ie, "I want my other mommy!", or something like that.

Well, R, after being bombarded with a million questions on Friday afternoon, finally came out. It went fairly well, no big deal. She happened to talk to her coach today and mentioned what happened and Friday and said that she'd outed herself. Surprisingly, the coach was pretty supportive. However, she did say one thing that was really sad to us.

R was explaing that our kid, at some point, would probably say something about her mommies or whatever. Her mentor said, "Well, it all depends on what you train them to say." We were horrified. I mean, why would we teach our child to be ashamed of us, or to lie about who we are?

So, this prompts the question -- how do y'all handle the two-mommy thing? What names do you use to designate who is who (both being called mommy can be confusing)? Do you encourage your child to refer to you as something else? etc, etc, etc... details, please.

DONOR SIBLING REGISTRY

Anyone out there signed up with the Donor Sibling Registry? If so, what's your experience been like? If you don't want to write it in comments, you can just email us at twogeorgiamommies-at-gmail-dot-com.

CURIOUS...

Of those of you who have given birth, how many of you attended childbirth classes? How long before your due date did you take the classes and what did you think?

CHECK IT OUT!

Upon request, photos of R's belly:



She is so cute, if I do say so myself! The funny thing is, she hasn't gained any weight yet. But she's really short-waisted, so the only place for the baby to go is straight out!

I HEAR YOU!

I got my hearing aid this morning and now I can hear everything! As soon as the doctor placed it in my ear, I could hear papers crinkling, my keys clanking as I nervously played with them in my hands, the air blowing out of the cushion when the doctor sat back down on his stool, etc. When I left to go to my car across the street in the parking lot, I could hear cars far up the street approaching, the leaves blowing in the trees, and the birds chirping! Amazing! The best part is that I know I won't have to miss out on all of Button's coos and giggles or if she's crying, I'll actually know it! It is such a relief, that's for sure. I am so grateful for this technology.

As you can see from my photos, it’s not really all that noticeable. The straight-on view hardly shows a thing and I usually wear my long hair down, so you can’t really see it from the side, either. I pulled my hair back for the photo.

ENJOY!

A lot of you out there might enjoy this:

baby onesie (will open in new window)

WE'RE HAVING A...

Click on the photo to find out! (photo will open in a new window)



We're so excited, words cannot describe it! Our sonographer, Linda, did a detailed exam of all the organs and Button is in tip-top shape! Now, it's time to start working on names...

WE DID IT!

Well, our little blue house is now officially on the market. We’re kind of sad about this, as we love our home, our neighborhood, and our neighbors/friends. However, our house is just too small anymore and we need more room for Button!

We’re hoping to sell within a reasonable amount of time because we’d like to be in a new home before Button arrives. We’d especially like to begin work on a baby nursery. We’ve been working our butts off to get everything perfect for an open house on Tuesday, the 24th — the same day we go to the doctor to learn Button’s gender!

Stay tuned for more…

WE HAVE MOVEMENT!

I felt the baby move this morning! R was lying there and said she felt it, so she put my hand on her stomach and I swear, I felt it, too! It was the best thing ever. That's all!