I forgot to mention in my last post: We're taking bets on gender!
So far we have:
my mom: "a determined girlbaby"
my dad: "Do you really want to know beforehand?"
Mike: BOY
me: girl?
Any other guesses???
Please leave a comment with your prediction...
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
gender predictions
Mike and I are hotly debating whether we are going to have a boy or a girl. (Needless to say, we are hoping to find out for sure at our 20-week u/s!) In the meantime, I thought we could tally up the predictions from all the old wive's tales, many of which were from this site.
1. Baby's heartrate
Supposedly a heartrate over 140 means girl and under 140 (obviously) means boy. At about 10 weeks, ours was 160.
GIRL
2. Cravings
Supposedly craving sweets=girl and savory=boy. Hmmm, cheese and carbs?
BOY
3. Belly shape
If you are carrying high with a big, round belly, you are having a girl. If you are carrying low with a smaller belly that sticks straight out, it’s a boy.
TOO EARLY TO TELL
4. Ring test
Using a string, hang your wedding ring over your pregnant belly. You are having a girl if the ring swings back and forth and it’s a boy if it swings in a circle. (We couldn't find string so we used dental floss. Hopefully that's close enough!)
BOY
5. Moodiness
If you are really moody, you are having a girl since you have another extra girl hormones in you. Your pregnancy will make you smile and be more happy if you are having a boy because there’s a little penis inside you. (Seriously?!?)
BOY
6. Bread
If you eat the bread loaf ends, it's a boy. (ew, bread butts!!)
GIRL
7. Activity
A very active baby on ultrasound = boy
(according to some. According to others it's just the opposite. Go figure.)
BOY?
8. Nosebleeds
Apparently nosebleeds mean a girl? Crazy that I just came across that, as I just had my first nosebleed in literally decades just last week.
GIRL
9. Chinese Gender Prediction Chart
There are a million different versions of this one online. This one predicts...
GIRL
10. Amount of morning sickness
All day = girl. Little/none = boy.
GIRL
11. Mom's beauty
Apparently girls will suck all of mom's beauty away, whereas women still look beautiful if they're carrying a boy. Since this is completely subjective, I will choose to believe that I'm still just as pretty. :)
BOY (ahem)
12. Grace
Clumsy=girl, graceful=boy. Well, I've already started dropping things (started? maybe continued is a better word).
GIRL
13. Sleep side
If you prefer to lie on your left, it's a boy. Right=girl
BOY
14. Necklace test
Have someone hold a necklace over your hand. If the necklace swings back and forth, it’s a boy. If it moves in a circle, it’s a girl. (Just the opposite of the ring test above.)
BOY
15. Feet
Colder feet during pregnancy = boy. Feet staying the same temperature = girl.
GIRL
And the verdict is....
GIRL=7
BOY=7
TOO EARLY TO TELL=1
Argh!
1. Baby's heartrate
Supposedly a heartrate over 140 means girl and under 140 (obviously) means boy. At about 10 weeks, ours was 160.
GIRL
2. Cravings
Supposedly craving sweets=girl and savory=boy. Hmmm, cheese and carbs?
BOY
3. Belly shape
If you are carrying high with a big, round belly, you are having a girl. If you are carrying low with a smaller belly that sticks straight out, it’s a boy.
TOO EARLY TO TELL
4. Ring test
Using a string, hang your wedding ring over your pregnant belly. You are having a girl if the ring swings back and forth and it’s a boy if it swings in a circle. (We couldn't find string so we used dental floss. Hopefully that's close enough!)
BOY
5. Moodiness
If you are really moody, you are having a girl since you have another extra girl hormones in you. Your pregnancy will make you smile and be more happy if you are having a boy because there’s a little penis inside you. (Seriously?!?)
BOY
6. Bread
If you eat the bread loaf ends, it's a boy. (ew, bread butts!!)
GIRL
7. Activity
A very active baby on ultrasound = boy
(according to some. According to others it's just the opposite. Go figure.)
BOY?
8. Nosebleeds
Apparently nosebleeds mean a girl? Crazy that I just came across that, as I just had my first nosebleed in literally decades just last week.
GIRL
9. Chinese Gender Prediction Chart
There are a million different versions of this one online. This one predicts...
GIRL
10. Amount of morning sickness
All day = girl. Little/none = boy.
GIRL
11. Mom's beauty
Apparently girls will suck all of mom's beauty away, whereas women still look beautiful if they're carrying a boy. Since this is completely subjective, I will choose to believe that I'm still just as pretty. :)
BOY (ahem)
12. Grace
Clumsy=girl, graceful=boy. Well, I've already started dropping things (started? maybe continued is a better word).
GIRL
13. Sleep side
If you prefer to lie on your left, it's a boy. Right=girl
BOY
14. Necklace test
Have someone hold a necklace over your hand. If the necklace swings back and forth, it’s a boy. If it moves in a circle, it’s a girl. (Just the opposite of the ring test above.)
BOY
15. Feet
Colder feet during pregnancy = boy. Feet staying the same temperature = girl.
GIRL
And the verdict is....
GIRL=7
BOY=7
TOO EARLY TO TELL=1
Argh!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
What a day
I found out this morning that my coworker just lost her baby. She was 25 weeks pregnant. I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this. I mean, I know that a loss can technically occur any time, even at full term, but this just seems so cruel of the universe! It isn't supposed to happen to nice people who have been through everything because all they want is to have a baby! And I'm having a hard time reconciling that I was just starting to relax a bit, and now I feel like I have to keep my guard up again. Life is so unfair sometimes. I'm hoping the autopsy will reveal some reason -- she had all the tests in the world done (amnio, etc.) and everything looked great. It just boggles the mind to imagine how something like this can happen, and why the universe would make it happen. I'm also just trying to remind myself that just because I know about this terrible (and extremely rare!) event, that doesn't mean that anything terrible is likely to happen to me. If you have any to spare, I could certainly use some good vibes/prayers right now, and my coworker could use them even more.
Really? The Claim: Holidays Can Affect When Expectant Mothers Deliver
Maybe we can try to have an Earth Day baby?
THE FACTS
Researchers have long suspected that holidays and culturally meaningful events can play a role in medical outcomes. Some believe that terminally ill patients, for example, can hang on to life for religious events, birthdays and symbolically important occasions, though decades of study of the question have yielded mixed results.
It has been unclear whether a similar holiday-postponement effect could be seen in pregnant women. In a study published this month, however, researchers at the Yale School of Public Health reviewed millions of birth certificates and found a 5.3 percent dip in spontaneous births on Halloween, suggesting that a mother’s mental state may play a role in when she goes into labor. The researchers also noted a 16.9 percent drop in Caesarean births on Halloween, perhaps indicating that many women avoid scheduling the procedure then.
The scientists looked at all births in the United States over an 11-year period that occurred within one week on either side of Halloween, adjusting for variables like day of the week. The 1.8 million births revealed a clear reluctance to start labor around the festival of the dead.
But would a more symbolically positive holiday have the reverse effect?
To find out, the researchers studied 1.7 million births that occurred within a week of Valentine’s Day over the same 11 years. They found a 3.6 percent spike in spontaneous births on Valentine’s and a 12.1 percent rise in Caesareans.
THE BOTTOM LINE
New research suggests that women may be able to control the timing of spontaneous births around certain holidays.
Really? The Claim: Holidays Can Affect When Expectant Mothers Deliver
By ANAHAD O'CONNORChristoph Niemann
THE FACTS
Researchers have long suspected that holidays and culturally meaningful events can play a role in medical outcomes. Some believe that terminally ill patients, for example, can hang on to life for religious events, birthdays and symbolically important occasions, though decades of study of the question have yielded mixed results.
It has been unclear whether a similar holiday-postponement effect could be seen in pregnant women. In a study published this month, however, researchers at the Yale School of Public Health reviewed millions of birth certificates and found a 5.3 percent dip in spontaneous births on Halloween, suggesting that a mother’s mental state may play a role in when she goes into labor. The researchers also noted a 16.9 percent drop in Caesarean births on Halloween, perhaps indicating that many women avoid scheduling the procedure then.
The scientists looked at all births in the United States over an 11-year period that occurred within one week on either side of Halloween, adjusting for variables like day of the week. The 1.8 million births revealed a clear reluctance to start labor around the festival of the dead.
But would a more symbolically positive holiday have the reverse effect?
To find out, the researchers studied 1.7 million births that occurred within a week of Valentine’s Day over the same 11 years. They found a 3.6 percent spike in spontaneous births on Valentine’s and a 12.1 percent rise in Caesareans.
THE BOTTOM LINE
New research suggests that women may be able to control the timing of spontaneous births around certain holidays.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Many firsts!
This has been a weekend of firsts for us!
1. Friday night we ventured into Babies R Us for the first time. Scary! Did you know they make special $7 plastic cups to rinse your baby off in the bath? I can only imagine what other "necessities" are in store for us!
2. Yesterday we got our first baby present for this little one!
Thanks to Emily, Jason, Claire and Ella!
1. Friday night we ventured into Babies R Us for the first time. Scary! Did you know they make special $7 plastic cups to rinse your baby off in the bath? I can only imagine what other "necessities" are in store for us!
2. Yesterday we got our first baby present for this little one!
Thanks to Emily, Jason, Claire and Ella!
3. Last night we also ordered our first baby item: a stroller! It should come in the mail on Wednesday. Exciting!
4. Today I started organizing a registry on Amazon.com! We're thinking we'll do the big stuff there (since it's much cheaper than in stores) and the little stuff at Target. This is starting to feel more and more real...
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
due date statistics
This website is pretty interesting: http://www.dogfish.org/chris/fun/delivery.html
It shows a distribution of when babies are born relative to their due date:
And this show the cumulative rates:
Mike's response to the first graph was, "Wow, a fairly Gaussian distribution!" And to the second was, "Interestingly though, 50% of the babies are delivered by sometime in week 39, not 40."
This is fascinating stuff for us statistics nerds! :)
It shows a distribution of when babies are born relative to their due date:
And this show the cumulative rates:
Mike's response to the first graph was, "Wow, a fairly Gaussian distribution!" And to the second was, "Interestingly though, 50% of the babies are delivered by sometime in week 39, not 40."
This is fascinating stuff for us statistics nerds! :)
Monday, October 17, 2011
Good news!
We had our 12-week appointment today (a little late, since we're actually 12w5d), and we got lots of reassurance that everything is going well. That is, we got our reassurance after we had a terrifying few minutes of my doctor being unable to find the heartbeat with her little doppler machine!!! Thankfully she was immediately able to wheel in her little portable ultrasound machine, and we immediately saw why she was having difficulty with the doppler: our little bean was dancing and flipping like crazy! I think we're going to have our hands full with this little one. :)
So, normally we would only get two ultrasounds (one at 8 weeks and one at 20 weeks), but today we got another "bonus" to make up for the nerve-wracking few minutes of (seemingly) no heartbeat. And the upside was that we got to see our little one dancing, and everything looked perfectly formed according to my doctor. Yay!
I realized today that I've been buying myself little rewards after each milestone appointment. After we got past 8-9 weeks, I bought a journal and some magazines. After we heard the heartbeat last time I bought myself a bellaband. Today I just ordered a copy of Baby Bargains so we can start thinking about registering!
Now that it's slowly starting to sink in that we're actually having a baby, I'm realizing just how much work we have ahead of us: registering, choosing a daycare, deciding on cloth vs. disposable, etc. Whew! So we're just taking it one step at a time (while armed with multiple lists that I've already created!). First up: telling my boss after my annual review tomorrow. Wish me luck!
So, normally we would only get two ultrasounds (one at 8 weeks and one at 20 weeks), but today we got another "bonus" to make up for the nerve-wracking few minutes of (seemingly) no heartbeat. And the upside was that we got to see our little one dancing, and everything looked perfectly formed according to my doctor. Yay!
I realized today that I've been buying myself little rewards after each milestone appointment. After we got past 8-9 weeks, I bought a journal and some magazines. After we heard the heartbeat last time I bought myself a bellaband. Today I just ordered a copy of Baby Bargains so we can start thinking about registering!
Now that it's slowly starting to sink in that we're actually having a baby, I'm realizing just how much work we have ahead of us: registering, choosing a daycare, deciding on cloth vs. disposable, etc. Whew! So we're just taking it one step at a time (while armed with multiple lists that I've already created!). First up: telling my boss after my annual review tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Divine retribution (and two other updates)
(Warning! Grossness alert!)
If there's one thing I hate (other than vomitting), it's burping. It totally grosses me out and, actually, kind of makes me want to puke when I hear other people doing it. Ew, ew, ew.
So what's my number one first trimester symptom (behind all-day nausea and fatigue)?
That's right, it's burping.
(Seriously, pregnancy gods?!?)
It's absolutely disgusting. I make these deep, puke-inducing burp sounds every few minutes. I am soooo gross!!!
I can only hope that this "delightful" symptom passes quickly.
*******
In other news, I finally caved yesterday and bought some sea bands (i.e., acupressure bands for motion sickness and other types of nausea) and sea bands ginger-flavored gum. I don't know if it's a placebo or if it's just that I generally feel better on the weekends (since all I do is rest), but I've been feeling MUCH better for the past 36 hours. Still definitely not 100%, but at least approaching human. Yesterday I even made a pumpkin soup (spiced with lots of fresh ginger) and last night we went out for Vietnamese food -- not a cheesy carb in sight!!!
Let's hope the combo of acupressure and gum (and lemon drops and lemonade) will help get me through work this week...
*******
Finally, just wanted to let you all know that we have our next doctor's appointment tomorrow. If all goes well, I'm planning to tell my boss on Tuesday. Fingers crossed!!!
If there's one thing I hate (other than vomitting), it's burping. It totally grosses me out and, actually, kind of makes me want to puke when I hear other people doing it. Ew, ew, ew.
So what's my number one first trimester symptom (behind all-day nausea and fatigue)?
That's right, it's burping.
(Seriously, pregnancy gods?!?)
It's absolutely disgusting. I make these deep, puke-inducing burp sounds every few minutes. I am soooo gross!!!
I can only hope that this "delightful" symptom passes quickly.
*******
In other news, I finally caved yesterday and bought some sea bands (i.e., acupressure bands for motion sickness and other types of nausea) and sea bands ginger-flavored gum. I don't know if it's a placebo or if it's just that I generally feel better on the weekends (since all I do is rest), but I've been feeling MUCH better for the past 36 hours. Still definitely not 100%, but at least approaching human. Yesterday I even made a pumpkin soup (spiced with lots of fresh ginger) and last night we went out for Vietnamese food -- not a cheesy carb in sight!!!
Let's hope the combo of acupressure and gum (and lemon drops and lemonade) will help get me through work this week...
*******
Finally, just wanted to let you all know that we have our next doctor's appointment tomorrow. If all goes well, I'm planning to tell my boss on Tuesday. Fingers crossed!!!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
week 12: plum
http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/first-trimester/articles/your-pregnancy-week-12.aspx
Baby's now the size of a plum!As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of her systems are fully formed.
Baby's now the size of a plum!As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of her systems are fully formed.Monday, October 10, 2011
Dangers lurking everywhere
I'm trying to stay away from What to Expect When You're Expecting since it's such a fear-mongering book, but even reading more "neutral" pregnancy books makes doing just about anything absolutely terrifying.
I'm usually pretty laid back about these things, but now I'm deathly afraid of:
-accidentally ingesting too much caffeine
-the apparent dangers of (some) artificial sweeteners and other food processing
-using a cleaning supply (not that I clean that much anyway...) that could damage the baby through its fumes or through its contact with my skin
-not cleaning enough (!) and accidentally getting toxoplasmosis from scattered kitty litter or from the remains of our raw cat food
-not heating my lunch meat enough to kill any possible listeria that might be lingering (I know it needs to be heated to steaming, but for how long? and how can I be sure it was steaming enough?)
-not washing my fruits/veggies enough to get rid of the small chance of listeria (anyone else bothered by the cantaloupe and spinach and sprouts recalls recently? I never would have been, except now that I'm pregnant I've apparently gone crazy.)
-accidentally eating cheese that hasn't been pasteurized (does anyone know if I can eat unpasteurized cheese as long as it's cooked? They had cooked queso at Costco the other day, but I didn't sample it because I didn't know if it was pasteurized, even though it was steaming hot.)
-eating too much fish and getting mercury poisoning (seriously, there are all sorts of rules about how much is okay per day/week/month depending on the type of fish and where it was caught - it's enough to make me avoid fish altogether, except...)
-not eating enough fish so I'm short on omega-3s (because the supplements can only do so much and I apparently need the real thing too)
And now last night I read that wireless signals may disrupt development so I should be careful to keep my cell phone away from my abdomen and we should turn off our wireless router at night?!?
Ugh. I'm ready to go back to blissful ignorance, please.
Addendum
Less than two hours later, and I thought of a few more fears:
- non-stick pans (due to possible links to autism/PDDs)
- heating frozen lunches in their plastic containers (due to concerns about possible endocrine disruption)
I'm usually pretty laid back about these things, but now I'm deathly afraid of:
-accidentally ingesting too much caffeine
-the apparent dangers of (some) artificial sweeteners and other food processing
-using a cleaning supply (not that I clean that much anyway...) that could damage the baby through its fumes or through its contact with my skin
-not cleaning enough (!) and accidentally getting toxoplasmosis from scattered kitty litter or from the remains of our raw cat food
-not heating my lunch meat enough to kill any possible listeria that might be lingering (I know it needs to be heated to steaming, but for how long? and how can I be sure it was steaming enough?)
-not washing my fruits/veggies enough to get rid of the small chance of listeria (anyone else bothered by the cantaloupe and spinach and sprouts recalls recently? I never would have been, except now that I'm pregnant I've apparently gone crazy.)
-accidentally eating cheese that hasn't been pasteurized (does anyone know if I can eat unpasteurized cheese as long as it's cooked? They had cooked queso at Costco the other day, but I didn't sample it because I didn't know if it was pasteurized, even though it was steaming hot.)
-eating too much fish and getting mercury poisoning (seriously, there are all sorts of rules about how much is okay per day/week/month depending on the type of fish and where it was caught - it's enough to make me avoid fish altogether, except...)
-not eating enough fish so I'm short on omega-3s (because the supplements can only do so much and I apparently need the real thing too)
And now last night I read that wireless signals may disrupt development so I should be careful to keep my cell phone away from my abdomen and we should turn off our wireless router at night?!?
Ugh. I'm ready to go back to blissful ignorance, please.
Addendum
Less than two hours later, and I thought of a few more fears:
- non-stick pans (due to possible links to autism/PDDs)
- heating frozen lunches in their plastic containers (due to concerns about possible endocrine disruption)
Friday, October 7, 2011
sick of feeling sick
I'm still in a little bit of a state of disbelief, but I'm starting to believe that my "morning" sickness is not all in my head. My doctor and Mike seem very convinced that I'm not feeling ill because I'm eating crappy, but rather I'm eating crappy because I'm feeling so ill.
For the past ~5 weeks or so I've subsisted almost entirely on:
cheese pizza
mac&cheese
grilled cheese
cheese tortillas
crackers and cheese
Italian dunkers
cheese fries from Outback
Noticing a theme? I'm getting so tired of cheese and carbs, but absolutely nothing else sounds good! I'm really hoping that my prenatal vitamin is making up for the fact that I haven't had a vegetable (unless you count the sauce on my pizza) for weeks. Ugh.
All my pregnancy books tell me that my "morning" sickness should be at its peak about now (week 11) and starting to decrease. I know I'm going to worry once I don't have this symptom any more, but I'm also really looking forward to feeling human again! I'm starting to think that working as an eating disorders psychologist (where my clients all talk about food and puking all day long) is one of the worst possible jobs to have in the first trimester!
Thanks for letting me vent :)
For the past ~5 weeks or so I've subsisted almost entirely on:
cheese pizza
mac&cheese
grilled cheese
cheese tortillas
crackers and cheese
Italian dunkers
cheese fries from Outback
Noticing a theme? I'm getting so tired of cheese and carbs, but absolutely nothing else sounds good! I'm really hoping that my prenatal vitamin is making up for the fact that I haven't had a vegetable (unless you count the sauce on my pizza) for weeks. Ugh.
All my pregnancy books tell me that my "morning" sickness should be at its peak about now (week 11) and starting to decrease. I know I'm going to worry once I don't have this symptom any more, but I'm also really looking forward to feeling human again! I'm starting to think that working as an eating disorders psychologist (where my clients all talk about food and puking all day long) is one of the worst possible jobs to have in the first trimester!
Thanks for letting me vent :)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
week 11: lime
Baby's now the size of a lime!Your fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.
http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/first-trimester/articles/your-pregnancy-week-11.aspx
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Good news!
I think we're actually going to have a baby! We went to the doctor again this morning and we still have a heartbeat! We were able to hear it through the doppler today, not just see it on the ultrasound. My NP said that this means our miscarriage risk has gone way down. So I think we're actually having a baby!!!!!
This is the wonderful card my mom send us, and which arrived yesterday. (You all know my thing about penguins, right?) Thanks, Mom!
(Sorry I can't figure out how to rotate pictures from my phone.)
P.S. According to the ridiculously incorrect old wive's tale about fetal heart rate and gender, our baby's heartrate of 160 means that we're having a girl! Or course, this old wive's tale is only correct about 50% of the time, but it's still fun. :)
http://www.in-gender.com/Gender-Prediction/Fetal-Heart-Rate.aspx
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