Guess what we made...

Sorry that I didn't get this done yesterday when we went in for our ultrasound - but I'm doing it now (since Sarah called me and lectured me)!!! Much to my shock, but not Ed's, we're having a little boy! I guess my mommy intuition is off or something because I thought for sure it was a girl, though I was hoping it would be a boy. So now I'll be outnumbered but I am more than okay with that! Baby is measuring ahead (18w3d when I'm 17w4d) and he is super super active. The u/s tech even remarked at how active he was. Baby hid his face for pretty much the entire 3o minutes we were in there, but the tech did get some other pictures. Baby was not shy about showing us what gender he was - he let it all hang out for everyone to see....already reminds me of his daddy! He is measuring well and his bone growth looks good so far - so although we do not have a diagnosis of osteogenesis imperfecta, we are keeping up our hopes that we might have dodged that bullet. We'll know more the bigger baby gets, but keep him in your prayers!

We went ahead and registered at http://www.amazon.com/ and at Target. Please don't think I'm telling you this to direct you there, I was just mentioning it because I wanted to talk about how hard it is to decide what to get the baby. Holy cow there are so many choices I literally got a headache from trying to decide! What brand of car seat is good? What kind of bottles will a breastfeeding mommy need? Onsies, gowns, bathtubs, diaper bags, diapers, etc....it was a little bit overwhelming....okay - a lotta bit overwhelming. Since we've been on this journey for a little while there are things that we have picked up along the way, just to spread the cost out a little bit. We already have a crib, mattress, dresser, changing table, stroller, some clothes (mostly camo), etc....but who knows that kind of pacifier baby will like? If Ed had his way he'd just pick out everything camo....and I'm starting to think that's not a bad idea...at least it will be easier that way! Today we picked up a camo romper that says, "I make my own stink bait" - tacky but it totally gave me the giggles. And if baby boy is anything like his father, he will be a stink master.

Hey out there!

SOMEONE named babybert KICKED me today. I was sitting at work proofreading a report and I felt the coolest tap right above my pubic bone. I have no doubt what it was. I can't hardly wait to feel them all the time. babybert made me jump even - it was so out of the blue! Just thought I would share - since it made my day!

17 weeks O' gestation!

I had to do it! All of these crack me up. The first one is me slouching - Ed was kind enuf to catch that for me before I was ready. The next one is of course, me from the front. The last one is just my normal bump - or better yet...my trying to look like a baby bump. Why is it that I look like I'm pregnant from the front but not from the side? Isn't that kind of backward? Irregardless, it looks like babybert is trying to make a break for it.

As for babybert....let's see what he/she is up to...As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to their overall height-- making them nearly half a foot long! Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week.

Week Seventeen
By week 17, your baby weighs about 4.97 ounces (140gm) and is 5.12 inches (13cm) long.
He or she has a much more normal "human" appearance now. She holds her head more erect and her body and limbs are longer in proportion to her head.
Pads are forming on his tiny fingertips and toes. Soon those individual swirls and whorls will be apparent.
Her eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed.
Meconium (composed of products of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid), is accumulating in the bowel. This black gooey substance will become your baby's first poop!
The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger and continues to rush blood and nutrients to your growing baby.
If your child is male the prostate begins to develop.
Her skeleton is tranforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier.

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So since we're getting close to finding out I thought I'd the old wives tale thing just to see what it says....http://www.childbirth.org/cgi-bin/boyorgirl.pl
You have a 30% chance of having a boy. And you have a 69% chance of having a girl.

And Here's Why...You are carrying the extra weight around the hips and bottom, so it's a girl.

The hair on your legs is growing faster during pregnancy, so it's a boy.

Girls are carried high. You are going to have a girl.

Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the north indicates that you will be having a boy.

Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl.

You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.

Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.

The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born.

You had morning sickness early in pregnancy, so you are expecting a girl.

You are looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks.

Your chest development has been quite dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a girl.

Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is an odd number, it will be a girl.

A needle on a thread held over you belly moves from side-to-side, so it will be a girl.

Your urine is a dull yellow color, so you will have a girl.

You have a craving for salty or sour foods, which means that it is a boy.

Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl.

You have been craving meats or cheeses, so it is a boy.

Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.

You must have orange juice every day, so it's a girl.

You are having headaches, so it's a boy.

Your belly looks like a watermelon, so it's a girl.

You show them the palm of your hand, so it's a girl.

You use the handle of a coffee cup, so it's a boy.

OB Appointment

We saw the doctor yesterday for a regular baby appointment. Went ahead and did the triple screen test (i.e. trisominy 18, etc...) which is just blood work. Doctor found babybert's heart beat quickly and easily - and measured it at 164! Still nice and high! I think it's slower for me because I'm taking it in the morning after I wake up and the doctor is getting it in the middle or end of the day. He said baby sounds active - I had to agree! :) At our ultrasound next week we'll start measuring bone growth to see if we can diagnose baby with OI in utero. I'm more nervous for that than the results of the triple test - and to find out the gender. Baby having OI wouldn't be a bad thing, but it's not the ideal of course. There are some parts of me tha I want to pass on - but that is not one of them. So say a prayer babybert is extra healthy!

Our gender ultrasound is scheduled for Friday January 25 at 10:30 am. It is still somewhat early - so if we don't get a gender for sure that's alright. :) We will try again later. So - make sure you vote for a hotdog (boy) or hamburger (girl).

Week 15! babybert is now the size of a softball. He/she is some kind of olympic swimmer though - I'll find him/her on the right side of my belly button and then the heart
beat will be gone. Then I'll find it on the left side of my belly button. He/she likes to get around in there! My new favorite thing is real fruit popsicles - like the strawberry ones from Dreyers or whatever. YUM! I also have a new affection for nacho cheese corn nuts. Don't let my Mom read this - she banned me from Corn Nuts a long time ago....they are hard on my teeth - but dang do they hit the spot! I called Ed today and he went to a gas station on duty and got me a couple of packages of them for me. He takes good care of me and my odd little cravings.

Ed's birthday is in less than a week. I don't know if he visits the blog or not - so I can't tell you anything I'm doing. Oh wait - I haven't come up with anything to do yet! It will be his day off - but I'll have to work. I'm tired of getting tired of not having any any days off with my husband. Our schedules are opposite days off, but we do have part of the evenings off together. When I'm not working on homework that is...

Other than that - things here are pretty good. We had a good wind storm the other day and for some reason we decided to take the dogs out for a run in that - to wear them out and because they've been pretty cooped up. When we got home half of one side of our fence had fallen completely over. There is no chance we're going to get it built back before spring - but thankfully we have a kennel for the dogs. We were hoping to replace it with chainlink this spring or summer anyway....but not this soon!

I think I hear that last popsicle calling my name now...

Oh Cracklin' Oat Bran....how I love thee...

First of all - thank you to my SIL Hez for the suggestion of Cracklin' Oat Bran - not only does it taste good and make a good snack - it keeps me nice and regular (TMI? Too bad). Yum Yum Yum! The guys at work have taken to calling it my kibble - since it does kind of look like dog food. None of them has been brave enough to try it though - they know better than to mess with a pregnant girls snacks.

The other night I was having some weird pressure in the left side of my abdomen. It wasn't gas, since I have experienced that once or twice already. I assumed maybe it was a cyst acting up (since I do have at least one on that side) but when it didn't go away I decided, just for the heck of it, to grab the doppler. Babybert has not been very cooperative with me when it comes to the doppler so far. I put the thing right when I was feeling the pressure on my left side - and lo and behold - it was baby! His/Her little heart was beating like mad - I measured it at 162! Every time I've tried to find him/her with the doppler since then I've found baby in a minute or less. The heartrate has stayed right around 160-165. It is so reassuring to be able to do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I see the doctor again on the 17th for a regular checkup. I'll be 16.5 weeks by then, so we've got to make some decisions on what prenatal testing we want to do. I have already decided not to do the amnio - mostly because I'm not at a risk because of advanced maternal age - and because if something is wrong - knowing this early isn't going to make any difference because it's not like we would end the pregnancy anyhow. There is a small risk of miscarriage from the amnio as well, and I don't see any good reason to chance it. The doctor is going to start measuring bone growth at the next ultrasound, and so we should be able to get an idea within the next ten weeks or so if baby is going to have osteogenesis imperfecta or not. I think we're going to wait until later (like 28 weeks or so) before having 3d/4d ultrasound done. Insurance won't pay for those, but there are some reasonable packages at the local women's clinic.

So...there is my update for now.

Mooooooooo......