Everyone is healthy!!

Had my 12-week ultrasound today, and it's all good news - baby is healthy, mom is healthy, and everything is on track.

Just me, lounging around.

Today's ultrasound was just about the craziest thing I have ever seen.  Baby was moving around like a gymnast.  If it was the 1980's you would have thought Jazzercise was happening in my stomach.  Paul and I were totally stunned.  Apparently, 12-14 weeks tends to be when the baby moves around the most and is the most active...but the baby is too small for me to really feel anything. It's a shame because it's chaos in there. AND the baby's heart is going at around 157 BPM now.


WITNESS THE CUTE BABY PICTURES!!!

No more tail!  That big thing behind me is the umbilical cord.

Look!  I have arms!  I call this one "Wax on, wax off"

So that's little baby.  We're really happy that everything is moving along as expected. 

Some measurements of the Neural Tube were taken today, and they don't see any signs of what I call "The Big Scary Diseases"...things like Spina Bifida, Downs Syndrome, or Trisomy 18 (I really don't know exactly what that is, but it sounds scary).  They also took some blood to check a few other things.  If I don't hear anything back on that blood work, no news is good news.  In another two months they'll probably do some additional tests, including Amniocentesis (which involves a long needle) and some more blood draws.  

My waistline continues to expand, and my wardrobe choices get smaller and smaller every day.  On Tuesday I went to a client meeting and felt like I was there in my pajamas (because I don't have a maternity suit yet).  I think I may have to go shopping for one rather soon because it felt really awkward, especially since I really don't look all that "pregnant" yet.  I just look "plump".

I finally gave in and bought some 'sensible' shoes the other day...meaning shoes that don't have 4-inch heels.  They're kind of boring,  but it's probably better that I don't teeter around in sky-high heels as I continue to become more top-heavy.

That's all for now.  I just realized it's almost 9:00.  No wonder I'm so tired.  Quite a day!

Boy or girl? Home tests and superstitions provide conflicting results

SO, as impatient as I am...I don't want to wait another month to find out the sex of the baby.  I want to know if I'm buying blue or pink things!  SO, I've tried out a couple of things.


1. Intelligender test.  Bought at Rite Aid for $29.99, this handy at-home gender test is yet another in a series of 'pee on this' or 'pee in this' tests that I'll have to contend with throughout being pregnant.  So, I followed the instructions and conducted the test first thing in the morning, went step by step, and here's what I saw:

That color looks like a match to me!

No match here!

According to the company, and the articles I read online about this test, it's 90% accurate after the 10th week.  I was at the end of my 11th week, so I'm curious to see if I will fall into the 90% or the 10%.

2. Needle test.  A couple of my coworkers insisted on having someone in to perform this gender prediction test on Friday.  Basically it's a needle stuck into the end of a pencil, attached to a string and wrapped around a finger.  You then take the contraption and hold it above your wrist.  If it swings one way, it's a girl.  The other, it's a boy.  It went in the direction of a girl.  Who knows.

Update - I just Googled this thing, and it said if it goes in a circle, it's a girl, and if it goes side to side, it's a boy.  This one went side to side.  So, again, who knows.


3. Chinese Calendar gender prediction.  I have decided that this is absolute hogwash.  Depending on which calendar you look at, you can get the answer you want.  I realized this after I looked at one, went to another link, found another calendar and got a completely different result with the same input.  Whatever.

Boy or girl?  Who knows.  I'll believe it when I see it.

Well, I suppose it's time to make this public.

As most of my close friends and family are aware...I'm pregnant!  I'm just about at the end of the first trimester, and I've been fortunate enough to not have to deal with any typical first-trimester issues...which mainly means - NO MORNING SICKNESS.  I think I'm close enough to the end of my first trimester that I can say that out loud without having to feel like I have to knock on wood immediately for fear of jinxing myself.

The pregnancy so far has been relatively uneventful...which is a good thing.  Well, let me rephrase that.  Not completely uneventful, but nothing bad has been going on. 

My waistline has started expanding, I'm hungry all the time, and I am getting up at least once (if not twice) a night to pee.  My doctor says that's a good thing because it means I am staying hydrated.  It feels like my body is punishing me for trying to be healthy.  Oh well. Speaking of being healthy...

Eating healthy is EX-PEN-SIVE.  Every time I go to Wegman's I spend at least $80.  Between all the fruits, vegetables, and dairy I am supposed to consume, along with all the whole grains...it adds up quickly. There are a lot of convenience foods I am supposed to skip (like macaroni and cheese - how I miss thee) and meats and veg are supposed to be all organic.  Truth be told, I skip the organic on a lot of stuff, but not on the meat.  I can always wash the fruits and vegetables really really well, but you can't wash the hormones out of a chicken breast (gross).

Doing my best to eat healthy.  The staples of my diet are water, Vietnamese Food, Chobani yogurt packed with fruit, home made trail mix and low-fat string cheese.  But sometimes this girl just wants a handful of Cheetos, or half a dozen chocolate chip cookies. Below is a picture of my water cup that follows me everywhere and is the reason I have to get up multiple times at night to pee.  Friend or foe?  You decide.

Friend or foe?

The first ultrasound was a few weeks ago.  It was an interesting experience...we got to hear the heart beat.  It was amazing because this tiny tiny heart was racing at around 138 BPM.  No wonder I'm so exhausted all the time!!  We got a few pictures...they're really fuzzy and it's hard to make out what the hell you're looking at, but oh well.  Figured I would post it anyway.  I should be getting some better pictures this coming week when I go in for some scary, but necessary, tests.

Tiny, tiny baby!  Just under 1 inch at this time. Don't laugh at my tail!  You had one when you were this small, too.

Since this picture was taken, the baby has now more than doubled in size, has human-like features (fingers, toes, arms, legs, knees, elbows, eyes, nose, ears,) and is moving around like crazy...thought I can't really feel it just yet.

Boy or girl?  Don't know yet...but I have tried a few tests to figure it out.  I can't wait to find out, hopefully they'll tell me next week.