Old Wives' Tale #4

The next gender predictor I am going to try is the Chinese Gender Prediction Chart. Legend states that the Chinese Gender Chart was buried in a royal tomb near Beijing over 700 years ago. The original is allegedly currently in the Institute of Science in Beijing. Rumors have it that this chart is over 90% accurate when used properly.

Now if you didn't notice that I used the words legend, allegedly, and rumors. : )

Here is the chart:

Based on this chart at the age of 25 and with baby conceiving happening in November, our baby will be a boy. Actually when looking at the chart it is more likely to be a boy when getting pregnant at 25. My friend Heidi based on this chart is predicted to be a girl and that is what she is having...

Here is the updated graph and chart based on the fourth predictor:

Speaking of the State Fair...

There is a chance that having this baby may knock out the State Fair for me this year. : (

Though it is barely spring I can already feel my State Fair food favorite cravings kicking in. Those cravings would include:

• French Fries (the good kind right by the entrance)
• Corn Dog (no Pronto Pup for me)
• Cheese Curds (orange cheese please)
• Lemonade
• and whatever else sounds remotely interesting enough to try (last year John and I tried the chocolate covered bacon, definitely not a fan but at least I know now!)

This revelation has made me begin to hope for a delayed due date or even to have the baby on the day it is due (8/27/09). If that were to happen then I definitely could make it to the first or second day of the fair. In all truth if I am still even partially mobile by that point I will definitely be heading over to St. Paul on the opening day of the State Fair, and probably go into labor while I'm there! : )

At least I'll have the french fries!

Carribbean Barbeque

If ever in the Stillwater area around lunch or dinner time, John and I would both suggest trying out Smalley's Carribean Barbeque. It is on main street at the far end of downtown. We decided to drive over to Stillwater on Saturday for the heck of it and were surprised at the amount of restaurants that have popped up in the town, I swear a couple of years ago there were only a few!

Anyways, we had the pulled pork and the jerk chicken, yum. My favorite had to be the jerk chicken but they also beer batter their fries which are awesome!

Month Five Belly Shot

As promised I have finally been able to get around to taking another belly shot. I previously decided to do this every four weeks. Since the last one was posted in month four at 14 weeks, it works out that this one is in month five at 18 weeks.

I have felt a lot of stretching lately, and though it might not look like much it sure feels like its sticking out there for all the world to see. Unfortunately though I think it still looks like I ate too much for lunch (I swear this is what I look like heading home from the state fair)!

Enjoy!

Headaches

So ever since we have gotten back from vacation I have been getting these awful headaches. They don't usually sprout up until early afternoon, but then it seems that I can't shake them. Before I got pregnant I was not a fan of taking medication of any kind, mainly because I didn't like the way that it made me feel. Plus, doesn't it make me tough for waiting it out through the pain? : ) Anyways, now that I am pregnant it is even harder for me to take any medication knowing that anything and everything I ingest will affect the baby.

Tylenol is supposed to be safe to take when pregnant and I did try that on Saturday, which worked. Since then though I have been basically just working through it.

Talking with a friend yesterday she thought it could be because I am not getting enough food. I guess when you are pregnant and the baby starts growing like crazy most women have to switch to six smaller meals a day instead of three normal ones. I thought it might also be because at times I forget to take my vitamin, bad I know but I have always been bad at that sort of thing.

I made sure to have a good snack yesterday afternoon and it seemed to work. I still had a headache, but compared to previous days I could barely tell it was there. So I am hoping that going forward it will get better. If not, then it is obvious my body is just protesting the fact that I am no longer on vacation! : )

Post-Prego Diet

I think that this website may help me in deciphering which foods not to eat after the pregnancy when I am trying to lose the baby fat!

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

Old Wives' Tale #3

The belief used to be that if a pregnant woman's husband puts on weight during pregnancy that the baby will be a girl. If he does not put on weight, then the baby will be a boy.

So far I do not think that John has put on any weight since I have gotten pregnant. Even with what we ate on vacation I think that we walked so much each day we both probably lost weight!

Based on this old wives' tale then, the baby will be a boy.

Week 17

Week 17 started while we were in sunny and beautiful South Carolina. The only differences that I have noticed dealing with me are that my stomach muscles are almost constantly stretching which at times can be slightly uncomfortable. Also, I cannot eat bacon or any fish that has any fish flavor, kind of a bummer while we were at the ocean!The baby this week is about the size of an onion. This week the baby's skeleton is hardening which means it is making the transition from cartilage (your ears/nose) to bone. The baby is also starting to accumulate fat around those bones. One really cool thing that is developing this week are the baby's finger prints. It's pretty amazing to think that the baby already has identifiable prints!

Week 16

We have gotten to week 16 out of 40 of the pregnancy so far.

This week the baby has grown to about the size of an avocado, yummy!

We also may have to start watching what we say as well, just kidding. This week the baby's inner ears are forming and it can now begin to start hearing noises even from inside the womb. Some other things that are forming are eyelashes (maybe some as long as my sister's), hair and taste buds.

Supposedly at this point there is even a chance that gender could be told during an ultrasound, but we are waiting a couple of weeks to find that out. I think that the doctor said the longer you wait the better chance you have of being able to tell accurately.

On Our Way...

Tomorrow we are leaving the cold and snowy Minnesota for Hilton Head Island in South Carolina!

We are both really excited to get a break from the weather and work, and cannot wait to get to the beach. I will be sure to post pictures of the trip when we get back!

Week 15

I just realized that week 15 is almost over and I haven't done the weekly fruit post.

The baby is now at about the size of a large naval orange. I held one up to my stomach at the grocery store the other day and its pretty weird to think it is already that big!

The growing baby is definitely starting to affect some other things inside my body including my stomach. I think that it is getting squished because I cannot eat as much as I could before, which is sometimes not such a bad thing. : ) The only bad part is that I worry I am not getting enough food into my body for the baby, especially since breakfast usually fills me up pretty much for the rest of the day.

Anyways, this week the baby is learning how to breath by practicing the movements associated with taking in and releasing breaths. The baby is also starting to look a little more human (supposedly) because its eyes and ears are migrating to their correct positions. Finally, the baby is starting to wiggle its finger and toes. Pretty cool.

I haven't felt any movements yet, which is normal since the baby only weighs like a few ounces. I can't wait until that happens though!

New Car

So we were successful in buying the car last night! It is a lot bigger than anything we've ever had before, but thankfully it still fits in the garage. : ) It is pretty manly, but that is probably why John likes it so much!

There will definitely be plenty of room for baby! (and Nora and Puller)

A Car for Baby

So tonight we are hoping to purchase a car for the baby. Technically for us, but our main reason of going bigger (and I mean bigger) is for the baby, oh and the dogs. : )

I will post pictures of "The Beast 2" once we have it. I am slightly nervouse about parking it though as I will be driving it.

Old Wives' Tale #2

So I guess there are a lot of people out in the world who believe that a pregnant woman's cravings are caused by the sex of the baby. The rule that they created states that if you crave sweet you are having a girl and if you crave sour you are having a boy.

What if I crave chicken salad (exactly what I have been craving all week)?

But basically so far I have been craving sweets and desserts more than normal. I actually have been craving them enough now to have John automatically ask when we are grocery shopping if we need to pick up a dessert or if we have something at home (such a good guy!). So based off of the second tale we are having a girl.

Here is a graph showing the results so far:

Old Wives Tale #1

Scouring through the Internet I came across a huge amount of information on old wives' tales having to do with pregnancy. I thought it would be fun to go through each of them one at a time to see how the prediction matches up to the reality (sex of the baby).

The first tale has to do with the baby's heartbeat. Today at the appointment our baby's heartbeat was in the 140's (which sounds high, but is perfectly normal). Supposedly if the baby is a girl the fetal heart rate will be above 140, and if it is a boy it will have a heart rate below 140. Scientists though have done extensive research and have found no correlation to heart rate speeds and the sex of the baby (science always seems to ruin stuff).

Anyways, based on this tale since our baby has a heart rate above 140 we will be having a girl (as if the thought of a baby in general doesn't scare John enough!).

We have an appointment for an ultrasound on 4/9/09, and hopefully at that time will be able to find out the sex of the baby. Until then though, it is definitely fun to guess!

Second Doctor's Visit

Today I had my second doctor's visit in Maplewood today. Everything is going great and the baby is still right on track for the August 27th due date.
I finally gained one pound, which definitely makes me feel better. That might sound crazy to some, but ever since I have found out that I was pregnant I have been losing weight. This is probably due to the fact that I am eating healthier and exercising more, but it made me nervous that I was losing too much weight. I definitely blame this one pound weight gain on "Restaurant Week" because some co-workers and I have had wonderful and high-calorie lunches at both Barrio and Vincent A Restaurant this week, including dessert!
At today's appointment I was able to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time, and let me tell you that it has to be one of the most amazing things to hear! It is kind of hard to believe that the sound of a heartbeat (and a couple of kicks) is coming from my belly, but it is definitely a comfort to know the heartbeat is there and everything is going fine so far!

Symptoms

I think that I may be one of the luckiest pregnant women out there, especially after hearing of the symptoms two of my good friends have had to go through with their pregnancies. I have had no morning sickness, thank goodness! My only food aversion at this point is coleslaw, which will be a bummer in the summer but not such a big deal right now.

The only symptoms I have been dealing with are the lovely skin issues, which is a hard one for me beucase I have never had skin issues until now (I was one lucky highschooler!) The other symptom that I have been dealing with is lack of energy. I think that it has definately affected John as well since he told his family this weekend that I sleep for 14 hours a day, totally overexagerating! : )

Thankfully now though I am getting my energy back, and not picking up any more symptoms in its place!

Finding Out the Sex of the Baby

One of the most common questions that people have been asking me lately is if we are going to find out the sex of the baby beforehand. Well if anyone knows me, they know that I am horrible with surprises and I think that bad habit may be rubbing off on my husband the longer that we are together! (We always do gifts before the holidays or birthdays even happen.)

I am also a planner, but John is not. This gives me free reign to plan whatever I see that I feel needs planning, and then he decides later whether or not to follow the plan. : ) It is a system we have figured out that seems to work well for us!



Anyways I have put together some pros and cons about finding out the sex and not finding out the sex:



Benefits of finding out:

• You are supposed to feel a deeper bond when you know the sex and can mentally picture a little boy or girl.


• You can prepare an older sibling for the arrival of a new little brother or sister (not an issue for us).


• You can narrow down your list of baby names.


• You can pick out a gender-specific nursery theme or baby clothes, if you want to (the amount of unisex clothes out there is = not a lot).

Benefits of waiting:

• John and I will have a surprise on the day I give birth (again, not a huge fan of surprises).


• The desire to know whether the baby is a boy or girl might motivate you during the toughest parts of labor.


• There will be no mistakes - what you see is what you get!

At the end of all of this I think that we will be just as surprised and excited at 5 months finding out the sex as we would at the birth of the baby.



We are definately finding out, and cannot wait!

Week 14 Belly Picture

Here is a picture of the teensy bit I am actually starting to show. It definately feels a lot bigger than it looks from the side. For some weird reason, it also looks bigger to me when I look down at it then it does looking from the side (thanks Chris for pointing that out, it sometimes makes me feel better!).