21 Weeks

So by now, if you read this blog on a regular basis, you've may have noticed that we have skipped a week.  Before today, I was waiting eagerly to jump to the halfway point and now, I'm a week past it.  This week, Scott and I had our ultrasound, where we learned that our new due date is a week earlier than what we expected.  Now, it's July 9th and no, we did NOT find out the sex of the baby and we're just not telling you - neither of us really know (despite the desperate attempts to look on my part).  Time is creeping closer each day and I find myself daydreaming about the moment that I will first hold the little one.  Already, I can't imagine life not being pregnant and I will assume, that I won't be able to remember what life was like before the little one got here.  Right now, I'll just enjoy the kicks and turns that subtly wake me up in the middle of the night and hope that he or she comes out with the patience of my darling husband and my witty sense of humor (but if they get that from my husband - I guess it will be alright).  I also changed the background of the blog to initiate the theme of the nursery, which will be owls.  Hoot Hoot!

So, on to the ultrasound.  We got all of our measurements and shocker - the baby has a ginormous head.  Now, this may be a surprise, but really, have you seen the man that I married?  Let me just say that I'm hoping for a Caesarian just looking at his noggin.  I couldn't imaging squeezing that through my you-know-what.  The baby measured at 21 weeks and the head, 22 weeks.  Yikes.  You'll see below.  You can see more pictures on my Facebook page, linked to Scott's, if you're interested.

So this week, we will do a few OWTs about me.  Technically, the are mostly all about me since I'm the one carrying the Bambino(a), but maybe next week I'll do some for Scott (yes, Dad specific ones).  Speaking of Scott, God Bless him for dealing with the crazy monster he now shares a bed with.  I'm definitely more emotional than before and I am having one heck of a time finding clothes that actually fit me.  I had to breakdown and buy some maternity jeans today, one pair of which, I own in non-maternity fashion.  Is that bad?  I'll gladly take any opinions or suggestions regarding finding good clothes that I will still be able to wear after the fact that I'll be pushing out a watermelon in about 4 months time.  And if you can, try to stray from those God-awful maternity stores that will put me in horrendous patterns and a different decade than the current.  Now, back from the tangent.

OWT #1 - French tale tellers look to the Mom's legs for their clue.  It's true that legs can put on weight during pregnancy.  If the Mother's legs are starting to look like tree trunks, it's a sure sign of a BOY.  And if the Mother's legs are just as trim as before she was pregnant, parents should look for a GIRL at delivery time.  Well, considering that my jeans still fit me (with respect to the waist) but they are getting tight throughout the legs (it could be due to the fact that I regularly lift legs and run still) - I'll claim this one to a BOY.  For the record, my thighs still do not touch.

OWT #2 - This one is probably one of my favorites - it's called the "Back-end Blues" OWT.  If the Mother notices that she is having increased weight gain in her rear, aka - more Junk-in-the-trunk, she can count on a GIRL being delivered.  If there's not any weight gain in the back, then a BOY is on it's way.  Well, considering that when I bought my maternity jeans today, I remained a size 27 (hooray!), I will admit that this one will also go to the BOY.

Girl - 8
Boy - 8

Week 19

So this week, the cravings of cheeseburgers and french fries continue and I continuously look for new and exciting places to go, but somehow, this baby will always bring me back to the same place at least once per week - In and Out Burger.  Double Double, animal style with no lettuce or tomato and easy on the sauce, please.  At least I know what I am having for lunch today - sure sounds good.  I'm also having a lovely craving for Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards, for which my husband has, at least 3 times, left home in the late hours of the night to go and find.  At least some of my jeans still fit and I'm eating a relatively healthy breakfast and lunch, so when these cravings occur - I'm pretty balanced....or I can just keep telling myself this and maybe someday, I'll believe it.  I do also find myself going through 2 very large containers of Cottage Cheese on a weekly basis.  I should have bought stock in dairy companies before getting pregnant.

So, It has been very difficult to convince my husband that I am not picking and choosing the OWTs that I want to ensure that they tell you that we are having a girl.  So, since he is an engineer, I thought we would do the PURE science OWT that he can physically see and confirm whether he thinks its a boy or a girl.  I don't know if you have heard of this one, but if you are pregnant, consider yourself warned.  This is the WORST smelling OWT yet, all of the others have been pretty calm so far.  I'm sure that at some point, I'll have to breakdown and eat a clove of garlic, but that probably won't compare to the awful stench that was in a red solo cup this morning.

For this familiar American test, add one tablespoon of crystal Drano (which is VERY hard to find, I found it at ACE hardware) to a small amount of your first-of-the-morning urine, and wait a bit to see what happens.

If the mixture turns a bluish yellow color, it signals a BOY and if the mixture changes a greenish brown, you can count of a baby GIRL.

I had my darling husband look at the cup and he confirmed that it was indeed greenish brown and that signals that we are going to be having a GIRL.

Now, back to the ones I can skew my way...

Girl - 8
Boy - 6

P.S. A pic for you...as you've requested!

Turkey Sandwich

So, I have to write about this.  For all of you ladies (or gentlemen) that have been pregnant (or had a pregnant wife), you know that pregnant ladies can have some serious insomnia leading to some seriously whacked out dreams.  No joke.  Being pregnant is great and all, but i'll give this little treat up in a heartbeat.  I don't think I've had a good night sleep in about 15 weeks.  Ok, so onto the random Monday post.

Last night (I swear to you that I didn't eat anything before I went to bed - as my Mom always said this will give you bad dreams) I dreamt 2 things of interest.

1.  This is my second dream that I'm having a boy

2.  I'm just going to tell you the dream.

So, Scott and I were back in Racine, Wisconsin in the 3rd house I ever lived in growing up.  It probably was one of my favorite homes - the Stuart Road house.  We were upstairs in my bedroom, yes, my bedroom from when I was 12-17 years old and I was smack-dab in the middle of birthing our child.  Thankfully, my subconscious neglected to add the parts of blood, guts, and placenta and graced us with a wonderful 2 YEAR OLD child who was not only vocal with an impressive vocabulary, but potty trained (the dream gets better).  The baby boy, who was a mere 3 feet tall, was clean as a whistle and a spitting image of his father and repeatedly said "dadda, dadda, dadda!"  When asked who I was, the baby stated "momma!" (all going as expected) and then...I asked him what his name was and he said "I don't know, you haven't given me one yet" and I said, "well what do you want to be called?"  He replied "Brian*, Brendan*, Brandon*, Jennifer* or.....Turkey Sandwich."

I said, "Turkey Sandwich?  Really?  Okay - if you insist."  Then I proceeded to look out the window where I saw this amazing tornado, grabbed my child, pushing over my elderly Grandmother down the stairs (with whom I lived with during those 5 years) and headed to the basement with my husband for safety.  Needless to say, this was one hell of a dream.

I called Grandma today, and she seemed fine, so it was no premonition of her of any sort.

Per my RN friend at work, who happens to be Korean, she says that an OKWT (Old Korean Wives' Tale) states that if you have good, sweet dreams, you are having a GIRL, and if you have scary nightmares, you are having a BOY.

I'll give this one to the BOY without any question.  Weird = bad to me.

Girl - 7
Boy - 6

Maybe it means I'm having a boy.  Or as my Mom states, dreams mean the opposite, and maybe I am having a girl.  I'll leave it to fate.  Perhaps right now, it's up in the tornado with the rest of the munchkins enjoying Oz (aka, Hotel Uterus) before it comes to reality.

*names have been changed to protect confidentiality of future baby names.

Week 18

Another Sunday morning blog comes around and I realize that we are nearing the halfway mark.  This week is really all about wonder.  Since I've been feeling the baby move quite a bit more (even Scott got to feel it this week), I start to wonder about the little one inside my belly.  I wonder what he or she is going to be when they grow up (probably either a gymnast or a soccer player based on the movement), what they are going to look like (will they have my husband's bright blue eyes, or a delicate shade of turquoise like mine - and for sure it's going to come out with red hair, I just know it), what are we going to name them - since the name will stick with them for their entire life, or at least until they turn 18.  I wonder why the baby starts doing flips every time I eat a cheeseburger and fries, since that has become my staple restaurant food of choice (I've had 3 this week!).  I wonder if there is anything we can do to change an outcome that always has a possibility to be challenging (what if there's something wrong with them, they have 7 arms and 4 eyes) and I realize, there's not a thing I can do about it.  And then I wonder, what does God have in store for us?

I'll leave it a mystery for the next 22 weeks and we will embrace whatever comes out with open arms.

So this week, we'll take a look at my hands and the OWTs.  There are 2.

OWT #1 - Looking closely at my hands, I have to determine whether they are rough or smooth.  Now, being that it's the dead of winter, you would think this is an OWT that truly is going to have an advantage in the cold and blustery months.  But - I live in the desert and my hands should not change all that much with the changing of the seasons (i.e. from 60 to 80 degrees).  I've notice that my knuckles are dry and cracking (even with a little bleeding), despite the manicure I treated myself to yesterday) and that indicates that I will be delivering a BOY.

OWT #2- Looking even closer at my hands, I also have to determine whether or not my nails are growing faster.  To be honest, they appear as though they are stronger, but they are not necessarily growing faster (I have to cut them about every 7 days still - which is NOT any new occurrence).  This indicates that I will be delivering a GIRL.

Girl - 7
Boy - 5

Week 17

Ah, another Sunday morning blog.  I remember the Sundays when all I wanted to do was sleep because I was out too late the night before.  Boy, that sure is changing fast!  In bed by 9pm on a Saturday night and up by 8am.  Unfortunately - I'm not sleeping all that well through those glorious 11 hours of possible sleep and every time I wake up, my heart is pounding.  I must be having some crazy preggo dreams!

So, something happened *I think* this week.   I felt the baby kick for the first time, or what I thought was a kick.  It felt like something someone lightly pushing against the inside of my belly.  I don't feel a flutter or butterflies, but just a little bit of light pressure.  I don't feel it very often, but when I do, it makes me smile.  Scott says he wishes that he could feel it, but I told him that soon enough he'll be able to not only feel it, but see it.  We're also looking for a nickname for the little onion this week.  On thebump.com, every week, it gives the parents to be a fruit or vegetable that is near the size of the fetus.  Well, this week we have an onion (I did look for a second opinion on babycenter.com, and they said it was a turnip - not much better).  Good thing is, we have an onion - I like onions, but not when it comes to describing our baby.  Bad thing is, it's an onion.  Seriously?  Maybe we'll name her Vidalia.

I have been waiting 2 weeks for this week's OWT.  Scott has, however, told me that I am "rigging" the OWTs to say that we are having a girl, but some of these are hard to fake.

It's all about hair!  We have 2 involving hair this week.  The first OWT, everyone has heard of.  The Mother is supposed to stay at the mirror and brush her hair for a bit.  If her hair is getting more shiny and full bodied day by day, Swedish folklore states that the Mother is having a BOY.  If her hair is getting thinner and stringier with each day, the Mother is having a GIRL.  I am seeing absolutely NO change in how my hair is (i.e. it's still as stringy and dull as a Raggity-Ann doll) which means I am having a GIRL.

The second OWT took me about 10 days until caving.  So, here it is.  If the Mother's leg hair is growing faster now than before, she is having a BOY.  If the Mother's leg hair growth is the same as before or less, she can expect a GIRL.  Well, since I was able to go 10 days without shaving and not even noticing a stub, I'm going to chalk it up to the little GIRL growing in my belly.

Boy - 4
Girl - 6

She'll be an Aaron Rodgers fan for sure!  Go PACK Go!

Week 16

Scott and I went to see our favorite person on Monday - Dr. Sodoma!  She's our loving and very sarcastic OB-GYN.  She told us that the baby seems to be doing fine, I am growing appropriately and that we will be able to have our ultrasound in about a month (when I'm 20/21 weeks).  She took the doppler, placed it on the right side of my belly and clear as an Arizona day, there it was..."woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh woosh."  Probably one of the best sounds that I have ever heard in my entire life.  It solidified the fact that there was something inside of my belly and the melon shaped protrusion coming out of my abdomen was really growing a tiny little person in there (or, at least something with a heartbeat).  Dr. Sodoma then asked us if we wanted to know the sex of the baby when we went to get the ultrasound next month and Scott promptly stated "NO!"  Dr. Sodoma looked at him, then she looked at me, and then she looked at him again and said, "Really?  You are going to make me wait another 25 weeks to find out what you guys are having?  You're crazy!"  I then explained to her about this blog and she said, you'll probably come out 50/50 - but it's going to be interesting.  And then she looked at both of us with our giant smiles on our face and said "You're crazy."  With that being said, Scott pulled out his magic phone and googled this week's OWT.

A heart rate of under 140 beats per minute signals that a boy is to arrive and a heart rate of over 140 signals a girl is to arrive.

Since the baby's heart rate was a high 150 (but still completely normal), this tells us that we are having a GIRL.

Boy - 4
Girl  - 4

Week 15

So, my book of OWT's finally arrived!  You can find it here if you are interested in seeing it and ordering it for yourself.  From now on, we'll concentrate on the OWTs in this book.  And for the record, the chinese calendar in the back of this book states that we are having a GIRL.  I'll add one to the girl column for this matter, but I won't take one away from the boys, since the bump.com and this book are equal in my eyes.

This week, I'm worried about a few things.  We have a doctor's appointment on Monday (which I'm not worried about, I just am my usual cautious self) and My puppies continuously jump on my belly - and am looking for some tips to stop this.  I'm quite afraid that they might give our baby a traumatic brain injury.  I'm finally starting to feel human, given the fact that I haven't thrown up for almost 3 weeks time and I can stay up past my first trimester bedtime of 6pm.  It's pretty rad if you ask me.  This week, I'll be doing 2 OWTs for you, seeing as they both have to do with my eyes.

#1 - OWT comes from the Germans and they recommend staring into a mirror for at least one minute, but not more than three minutes.

If the Mother's eyes dilate, it's a boy and if they don't it's a girl.  Upon staring into the mirror for 90 seconds, my eyes do not dilate, so this OWTs predicts a GIRL.

#2 - OWT states that if the Mother pulls down her lower eyelid and looks at the whites of the eyes to see if there is a broken blood vessel in the shape of a "V."

If the "V" is in the lower half of the right eye, you can count on a boy and if it is in the left eye, you are expecting a girl.

My broken blood vessel is smack dab on the bottom half of my right eye, which means we are expecting a BOY.

So, adding to the columns, we have the running total of...

Boy - 3
Girl - 2