another gender prediction test

I started reading a fascinating pregnancy book last night, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies.  Here's the description from Amazon:

Brain Candy for expectant parents! 
Pregnancy is an adventure. Lots of books tell you the basics—“the baby is the size of [insert fruit here].” But pregnant science writer Jena Pincott began to wonder just how a baby might tinker with her body—and vice versa—and chased down answers to the questions she wouldn’t ask her doctor, such as:
• Does stress sharpen your baby’s mind—or dull it?
• Can you predict your baby’s temperament?
• Why are babies born in the darker months of the year more likely to grow up to be novelty-loving risk takers?
• Are bossy, dominant women more likely to have boys?
• How can the cells left behind by your baby affect you years later?

This is a different kind of pregnancy book—thoughtful, fun, and filled with information you won’t find anywhere else.


It's super interesting so far. Anyway, in the second chapter the author writes about many of the various influences on sex. One turns out to be parental (especially maternal) personality traits! So of course we took the on-line quiz (here). 

Our results?

Out of ten possible categories, your score put you in Category 5.

Of all the women who have taken this test so far, 15% have had scores that put them in Category 5.

Of those women, 65% of them have conceived and given birth to boys, and 35% have conceived and given birth to girls.

So for you we would predict, if you become pregnant within the next 4 - 5 weeks, you would be 35% likely to conceive a girl and 65% likely to conceive a boy.

another milestone

We had our 16-week doctor's appointment today. Everything went well! I'm hoping we're on a trend of good doctor's visits now! :)  We not only had a healthy heartbeat (low 140's this time - right in the middle of the normal range from 120 to 160) but she also "medically confirmed" my baby bump! So I'm really not just getting a beer belly (or, should I say, a cheese and carbs belly?). Woo-hoo!

week 16: avocado

Baby's the size of an avocado!

Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.

many updates

I haven't posted many updates recently, so here goes!

1. I'm back to about 95% of normal. It's sooooo nice to have some energy and to enjoy food again!! I'm still not enjoying waking up to use the bathroom every morning around 4:30-5am, but I know I'm probably going to look back on this complaint one day and yearn for that many hours of sleep.

2. We picked a daycare! That seems crazy to me. I can't even imagine having a kid, much less imagine where I'd feel comfortable leaving said kid while I go to work. Also, did you know that daycares fill up the second you get a positive pregnancy test? Note to the wise: don't be like us and wait until you're 13 weeks pregnant to start calling around! But I think it all worked out for us because we now have a spot reserved at a reasonably priced (it's all relative...) place that's only a few blocks from our house (so we don't have to get a second car). Furthermore, they provide all the foods (formula and jarred food for infants, table foods for older kids) as part of the tuition, the foods are all local/organic/homemade (as much as possible), they are 100% okay with cloth diapers, they have a separate (darkened) sleep area for the kids, they try to take the kids outside every day (even the infants!) and they have an indoor play area for cold weather, and they don't charge anything extra for field trips / music lessons / science classes / etc as the kids get older. The only drawback to the deal is that their next opening isn't until November, unless a surprise opening happens sooner. Assuming our little one arrives on time in late April, that gives us about 4 months after my 12-week FMLA to hobble something together. But we'll make it work!

3. We've been collecting more baby things! I think I told you all about the stroller we got, which I am super excited about. We also have gotten a shirt, 2 stuffed penguins and 1 board book. Also, Mike picked up a free exersaucer!  (FYI, I already checked to make sure there were no recalls on it, and it looks safe to use!) So pretty soon we're going to have to start truly converting our second bedroom into a nursery, because right now the baby stuff is just piling up! That makes it all seem a little more real.

4. I've moved on to a new phase of anxiety. I mean, I still worry irrationally about having another missed miscarriage, but now I'm specifically worried because I no longer have any "morning" sickness, yet it's too soon to feel any movements. I keep googling things like "when do you first start to feel movement when pregnant" and sadly the answer is always the same: any time between 13 and 25 weeks (earlier for multiple-time moms, later for first-time moms). I'm really not good at waiting. Or at reminding myself that just because I feel fat but not pregnant doesn't mean that I'm not actually pregnant. The way my anxiety now manifests itself is in constant body checking. Pretty much every 5 seconds I feel my stomach to see if it's expanding, but since I'm checking so often, clearly I'm not feeling any differences. Mike has repeatedly tried to reassure me that he can tell that my stomach is growing, but so far that hasn't really sunk in. Which brings me to my next point...

5. I've started getting a few comments on my body, which weirds me out. (And gives me new sympathy for all my patients who hate when others comment on their weight/shape!) So far I've gotten the following:
"Your stomach looks just like mine before I started biking all the time and lost weight!"
"I can totally tell from your face that you're pregnant."  (my fat face?)
"No, you don't look pregnant. You just look like you've gained weight. I guess you're in the muffin-top phase."
I can only imagine the comments I'll be getting in the future! :)

6.  And finally, I got "outed" at work today. I've started telling a few of my colleagues that I'm pregnant, although I haven't told everyone yet, and I certainly haven't started telling my clients. (I chickened out from announcing it at our monthly staff meeting last week, which is where people usually spread the word.) But on Mondays I co-lead a "yoga and body image" group with one of our yoga instructors. (I think it's the coolest group ever! We do about 45 minutes of yoga, then process the experience for about 45 minutes. Each week we have a different topic, like "grounding" or "the breath," and we always talk about body image each week as well. Super fun.) Anyway, the yoga instructor obviously knows I'm pregnant and she sometimes gives me little modifications to make poses easier/safer. Well, today she forgot that this news is still on the DL, and she announced in class that "this is the pose...or you can do this modification...or, if you're with child (at which time she looked pointedly at me) you can do this modification!" Groan. So I was officially outed and had to explain to everyone during the process section of the group why she had made that comment. I really hadn't wanted to tell anyone until at least next week! I was hoping to get through one more doctor's appointment (scheduled for Friday!) before starting to break the news to people. Oh well. I guess I'm going to have to start being more flexible, right?

So now it's just counting down to Friday's doctor visit. Assuming that all goes well, we're planning to finalize our registries this weekend!

Thanks for all the positive energy you've been sending our way!!!

pregnancy brain

I'd heard before that pregnancy can make women more forgetful, but for some reason I assumed that would never happen to me. (I know, I know.) So now that it's happened twice in a row, I'm starting to get worried that I'm cursed with this affliction.

Example 1: I was supposed to be volunteering at the library's book sale last night. I even confirmed it with my friend Marcy after we both showed up to set up for the sale on Tuesday night. But did I show up? Nope. Did it even occur to me that something was on my calendar that I might be missing? Not at all.

Example 2: Mike asked me last night if I could pick up some of the ingredients for cat food after I toured a daycare this afternoon. Of course!, I replied. Generally I wouldn't need a note to remind myself to do one thing the very next day, but apparently the circumstances have altered. Because did I go to the butcher? Nope. Did it even occur to me that I was forgetting something? Not at all.

Sigh.

I really hope this isn't a new trend that will continue, because I really, really value my memory and I'm not a fan of forgetful - especially when having an event on my calendar (see: example 1, above) doesn't even guarantee that I'll now remember it!

week 15: naval orange

Baby's the size of an orange!

Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

P.S. Gender Predictions

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...