Survey Says?!

IT'S A GIRL!!!! A GIRL!! A Girl. a girl...
A GIRL?

Oh my! I was certain it was another boy! (Perhaps because that's what I'm familiar with.) What do we do with a little girl?! It's a good thing I've developed a healthy tolerance for the color pink as I've gotten older. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of it in the near future. Hubby, Jason, is from a family of three boys and so far all the grandbabies have been boys. I can't wait to tell my mother-in-law! I'm almost convinced she's hiding a secret chest somewhere with cute baby girl clothes she's been collecting for 35 years (since the birth of her first son).

We got the news from two separate ultrasounds over the course of two days (I'm switching insurance and, therefore, doctors). Today we had a veteran sonographer at the helm. She seemed very confident that we could paint the walls pink (probably won't happen--in fact I'm contemplating putting her in Nate's bright blue racecar bedroom until we figure out where we'll be in two years). Anyway, with her vote of confidence, we broke the news to Nate (our 2 1/2 year-old son). Jason said, "Nate, you're going to have a little sister. What does that make you?" Of course, Daddy was fishing for the answer "a big brother." But Nate flashed his dimpled grin and shouted, "Happy!"
How sweet is that?!

Here are the specifics from today's appointment: heart rate 144 bpm, estimated 80th percentile for weight, growth is right on-track for the first week in April 2008. She threw a few punches in the ol' uterus while we were watching, but I didn't feel it. (I'll feel her kick every now and then--usually at 1, 2, 3 o'clock in the morning--but not as much as Nate did. Give her time, I suppose.) We also saw her swallow, stick out her tongue and watched her eyes move--all via today's ultrasound!

I'm almost 21 weeks--half-way through this gig. I feel great! The nausea left a little over a month ago and the exhaustion left soon after that. I'm back to my regular yoga routine and I think the house is back in order (it's close anyway). So far I've gained 12 pounds (not that you care, but people always ask me how much I gained with Nate and I can never remember--so I'm writing it down this time.) Textbook is a 10-pound gain at this point. I guess I'll hold off on my third helping at Thanksgiving dinner this week! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

In the Beginning (Let's Get You Caught Up)

Well, here it is...our arena to help all of you who care stay up-to-date with the saga of our expanding family. Here's what you might have missed so far:

07 Aug 07 (6 weeks): Found out I was pregnant with a home pregnancy test while on vacation at my parents house in Minnesota. Hubby, Jason, was still in San Antonio. I decided to keep it a surprise.

10 Aug 07: Surprised Jason at San Antonio airport. Nate (DS #1) was wearing an "I'm the Big Brother" T-shirt when we got of the plane. Result: Jason thoroughly confused. I explained, Jason was near tears with excitement.

17 Aug 07 (7 1/2 weeks): Started feeling pretty nauseous. Later found out I did indeed have the flu on top of this preliminary morning sickness (the fever & chills gave it away in the end).

22 Aug 07: "The Scissors Incident." OK, I just needed to be horizontal and have my eyes closed for 15 minutes. "'Bob the Builder' is on, that should hold his attention for the duration," I reasoned. I told Nate (the 2-year-old), "Mommy just needs to close her eyes for a little bit." (It was certainly a physical need.) He proceeded to climb over me on the couch as soon as he saw my eyelids drop. No matter. I was so tired, I slept right through it...until that "mommy instinct" kicked in. He was climbing over my head, but something felt wrong. I threw my arm up toward my head (eyes still closed) and felt something out of place, but couldn't place said object. I opened my eyes to find Nate running a pair of scissors (the big, adult kind) through my hair. Suddenly I was wide awake. I scanned for both of his eyes and both of my eyes--CHECK! Our hair? Still in place. We came through unscathed. "Bob the Builder was still on, so I hadn't been out for too long. How quickly chaos ensues...

27 Aug 07 (9 weeks): Very nauseous. (This time due only to "morning sickness.") Can only eat white bread (especially Mexican bolellos and English muffins) and pineapple juice.

4 Sep 07 (10 weeks): First OB appointment at Wilford Hall--just paperwork & bloodwork

7 Sep 07: Road trip to Corpus Christi--beach & aquarium (Baby likes swimming in the ocean!)

17 Sep 07: Joined gym. Baby is now doing yoga with Mommy 3x per week!

20 Sep 07 (11 1/2 weeks): OB Appt. Nurse Practitioner didn't believe I was 11.5 weeks (I told her I carry LOW), scheduled bonus ultrasound to check dates! *Cravings: add white cake & donuts--especially the mini chocolate-covered ones!

1 Oct 07: Made the big announcement to friends in cyberspace via photo on Nate's webpage.

4 Oct 07 (14 weeks): First ultrasound. It looks like a healthy baby--very active. Apparently I was having a contraction during the exam. I couldn't feel a thing, but the tech said she saw it on the screen. Who knew?

8 Oct 07: Cravings: watermelon, strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, cereal, sour things (grapefruit, lemonade, etc.) Most nausea gone; now just left with the exhaustion!

23 Oct 07: Broke out the maternity jeans today (had been getting away with my knit gauchos, but wanted a change). Also felt first flutters of quickening this week.

26 Oct 07 (16 1/2 weeks): Nate got to hear Baby's heartbeat at OB appointment. His response: "Mommy, that's loud." The appointment was supposed to be yesterday, but the line at the commissary was 40 minutes long! I was forced to chose between buying my family groceries (after spending over an hour strolling the aisles with a toddler) and being on-time for my uneventful appointment. I chose food. They chose to cancel.

4 Nov 07 (18 weeks): Jason and I felt Baby's first good kicks while lying in bed.

07 Nov 07: Cravings: ham sandwiches with butter, apples and string cheese, lemonade, orange juice, carrots, oatmeal and, yes, pickles!