Baby Arrival

*EDIT* I wrote the on sept 9th, but really haven't had a lot of time to proof read and post new entries until now. So it is a little late, but better late than never :)

Our little SweetPea has arrived :) September 7th, 2010 at 2:43 pm.

Tuesday morning at 8:30 am the phone rang. Dr. Cooper was on the other end, asking if we could be at the hospital in an hour!!! An hour?!? Crazy! Daddy and I brushed our teeth, slipped on some clothes and threw a bunch of stuff in the car. We drove to the hospital, found parking right out front... (thanks to Daddy and his bad leg)
We signed in, went up to the labour and delivery section and were told they didn't have a room ready for us, so we had to wait. Wait and wait some more we did. We were taken to our room and waited some more.

Around 2pm they came to get me. We walked to the operating room, where I was separated from Nenad and my mom and taken in to the operating room. The nurses talked to me, tried to distract me from the reality of surgery as they prepared everything.

Dr. Cooper felt my tummy and reaffirmed the fact that you were still breech. Thankfully Uta was there to hold my hands as they prepped my back for the spinal. I started crying  when they were cleaning my back. I think it was out of fear. Fear of the needle, fear of the surgery, fear and excitement that I would have a baby in less than 30 minutes.

The needle went in. It wasn't painful, just a bit of a cold sting, mostly felt like the anesthesiologist was pushing on a bruised muscle. After the first needle, the anesthesiologist asked for a second needle... I didn't feel that one at all. My feet started warming up, then my legs and then they lied me down. I quickly started feeling faint, then nauseous with cold sweats. I couldn't keep my eyes open. They swiftly put something in my IV and with in 30 seconds I felt good as new. I guess my blood pressure dropped to fast.

I was nervous about the catheter. Uta asked me if I could feel something on my stomach, I said no, and she said she was pinching me, and just like that the catheter was in and Nenad was brought in.

Nenad comforted me as I felt some pressure on my stomach. Then the doctor said that with a c-section sometimes babies don't cry right away, and they aren't always pink. He warned me that I was going to feel a lot of pressure on my chest as he pushed the baby down, another doctor told me it would feel like someone sitting on my chest, and then the docs sort of disagreed with each other on that description. I felt some crazy pushing and tugging and then they held up our baby girl very briefly. She cried right away and she was the perfect pink :) She was absolutely perfect and ready to enter this big bright world.
I turned to Nenad with tears rolling down my cheeks,  my voice crackling, I barely managed to say "she is so beautiful." I honestly was so full of emotion. I had so many feelings going on. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.  I cried , I laughed, I even sort of snorted. She took my breath away. I seriously lost control of my facial muscles, I can't explain it, but Im sure I was not a pretty site. I guess that is the true meaning of being overcome with emotions.

Nenad brought Sophie over to see me. My one arm was strapped down so I couldn't hold her but Nenad held her close to me. Then Uta held her and pressed Sophies face against mine. She was so warm and soft. I nuzzled her and kissed her. I worried that my rough chapped lips would be soo scratchy against her perfectly soft, smooth, fair skin. Her complexion was flawless.

They wheeled me to recovery.  I held my little baby girl. Her temperature wasn't warm enough so as they cleaned me up, they put Sophie under a little heater. Mom and Nenad were there with me. When I could wiggle my toes, they allowed me to go back to my room.
They put these compression leggings on me. I was itchy itchy itchy from they anesthetic, so they put a shot of benadryl in my IV. I felt a little trapped, being hooked up to an IV, compression boots, and a catheter! The compression boots felt interesting for a while. After a few hours, the sound of them, the compressing of them, and the fact that i couldn't get under them to scratch my itchy legs was a tiny bit bothersome, but who could be bothered by anything when you are holding your baby girl.

All but one of the nurses were amazing! The pain wasn't as bad as I expected. I took a couple extra strength Tylenol. I spent 2 nights in the hospital. My Mom and Nenad took turns staying with me. Sophie slept in my arms both nights. I was doing so well and Sophie was gaining weight and latching well, that they let us leave a day early.

Motherhood is amazing. I love Sophie so much. She is just like her mommy.... her favourite hobbies are sleeping and eating :) Looks wise, I think she looks like her Daddy.

So much to share

              

            I am now 39 weeks and a few days pregnant. Nearly there!!!          

Today Nenad and I decided to spend the day out, exploring. We had high tea, quite fancy indeedy! Im not much of a tea drinker, but I have to admit, it was pretty darn tasty, plus it was just a fun, different thing for us to do. We then walked along the pier, admiring all the local artisans work. It was a relaxing and enjoyable day, just the two of us.

This blog post was going to be dedicated to the baby mobile I made and the new paint colour in the nursery, but something else ended up happening today that definitely deserves mentioning :)

                                                                                 

Nenad knew I wanted more pics of my pregnancy. It is drawing to a close and well, I have to admit, I am one of those women who absolutely LOVE/Loved being pregnant. I heard so many pregnant women complain, who just wanted it to be over. I am/was not one of those women. I will miss it. I will miss my baby kicking and rolling around in my womb, I will miss knowing that right now she is all mine, I will miss the whole feminine, womanliness of this experience. Ok Im getting off topic... So Nenad and I went to this spot on the beach, where we have gone a few times. He took a million pictures, I was his muse lol. Then when we were all finished, he pulled out a box, and asked me to marry him. He managed to smoosh the ring on my swollen, chubby, pregnant finger, after both of us wondered in confusion which was my left hand lol. I started to cry and sort of jumped into his arms. With his bad leg, this probably wasn't the best of ideas. He stumbled a bit and I was so worried that I was going to knock us over that my tears stopped. Oh boy we are engaged. The ring is absolutely the most beautiful stunning ring ever! I know, we are doing things a bit backwards, baby then engagement, but we couldn't be happier.

I painted the nursery not too long ago. The decorating is far from finished, but I am happy to at least have a new colour in there. I didn't think a baby should grow up in a beigey brown room. It is hard to tell, but it is a pale blueish green. Very pretty with the pink curtains and other pink details. I had plans to paint a pink dome shape behind the crib and then either get one of those wall decals that look like a tree or actually paint a tree on the wall inside the dome shape, and add paper flowers, but that will have to wait. Not sure Im artistic enough for that venture. Plus the baby won't be spending much time in there. The plan is to have the baby sleep in our room with us. I just can't imagine putting a baby in a separate room after she just spent the last 9 months safely tucked away in my womb, always with me and comforted but my voice and heartbeat. Seems scary to then be left all alone in a big dark lonely room. I have to say, I personally am no fan of sleeping alone. We will see how it goes :)

We brought a bed downstairs, because I have been told that after a cesarean, going up and down stairs will not be pleasant. Plus, a couple of weeks after my c-section, Nen is having knee surgery, and I doubt he will be doing to many stairs himself. Tomorrow is dedicated to setting up the new room downstairs, and grocery shopping so the house is fully stocked. Oh and do a bunch of laundry.

Belly Cast - 37 weeks

Last weekend Mom, Jill and William came for a visit. We had a fun time. We took William to a little petting zoo. He seemed excited to go, but once we got there, he quickly became bored. There were these adorable goats and everyone was petting them. William brushed a couple of them, but didn't feel like petting them. Afterwards I realized that the only reason he didn't pet them was because I told him he would have to wash his hands after. Poor kid ended up having to wash them anyways....

While Uncle Nenad and William entertained each other, Mom, and Jill did a belly cast for me! It was so much fun. I love messy things lol. Plus I have always always wanted to have a belly cast done while pregnant. When Trina was pregnant I wanted so badly to do one on her, but the timing just never worked out. It was quite interesting covering myself in vaseline and then having mom and Jill wrap me in plaster strips :) Who knew it would dry so fast. It peeled off of me so easily where I was covered with vaseline but I have to say, it was quite tender in the few areas that hadn't been covered ...... ouchy

  It was such a fun bonding experience. Just us girls, prepping the plaster strips, watching youtube videos to see what the heck we were suppose to do, and then getting down to business lol. I even bought pink dollar store table clothes to use as the drop clothes :) Can't wait for Jillybean to be pregnant so we can do one for her!!!

Mom and Jill did such an amazing job. You can even see my belly button, among other things, on the cast. I just have to sand and prep it. Im not positive how I want to decorate it, but i think keeping it nice a simple is all it needs. I think I will put the baby's foot prints on the inside where I feel her always hick-upping, and maybe put a little bird somewhere on the outside. I think it looks perfect as is :) Thank you Mom and Jill.

c-section?

I am now 37 weeks and 2 days into my pregnancy. I went to the doctors last Wednesday, hoping that they could turn the baby using the external cephalic version method. I arrived bright and early, gave a urine sample, had blood work, got on IV (ouch), and was hooked up to a machine to monitor the baby's heart rate. Finally after about an hour and a half, they took me in to the operating room (in case I needed an emergency c-section) where I had another ultrasound and waited some more for the doctor. I have to say  I enjoyed the ultrasound. We got a very very clear picture of our little baby's foot awwwwwww. The doctor arrived and after all of this, I am expecting him to dig into my gut, to push with all his might, and get this little baby to do what she needs to do. I was prepared to grin and bare the pain. The truth is, the doc spent maybe 3.5 to 5 minutes working on me. I don't even know what he did. He dug his fingers into the top of my belly sort of cupping her head with his thumb and index finger and pushed one way, then pushed the other way, then promptly told me she wasn't going to move and I should schedule a cesarean. I held back my tears.
My uterus and belly were pretty hard at the time. I think if he had waited for everything to relax, and put some more effort in, he would have had better luck. Honestly, I don't think he cared. I think doctors now a  days prefer c-sections, especially when they are planned. In and out, on their time, no waiting for the woman to dilate, no surprises. Maybe for some doctors, this isn't the case, and I know that there are times when a c-section is desperately needed, Im just wondering if that is the case with me. I was a breech baby, and my mom delivered me naturally.

After the procedure, I was taken to another room, where the baby and I were monitored for another 20 minutes, and then sent home. Nenad was super sweet. He stood next to me the whole time and rubbed my arm to comfort me.
Lastnight I had a good cry over all of this. I am a bit heartbroken that I have to have a c-section. I am still holding out hope that she will flip, or I will find a doctor educated enough to perform a natural birth on a frank breech baby.
Out of the three friends I know, who recently had a baby, they all had to have a c-section for one reason or another. Now I have to have one as well. I think that is a mighty high percentage. My mom said back when she had us, she didn't know anyone who had a cesarean.
I know some women actually choose to have a c.s over a natural birth. Im not judging, to each their own, but if you don't have to have one, I can't figure out why you would want to go that route. Our bodies were designed to deliver babies. I am sad that I may not get to experience my water breaking, or feeling labour, or pushing, or holding hands with Nenad and doing my best not to get cranky when he is comforting me and I am in pain. I really want that experience. I know there is the possibility to have all of that with our next baby, but maybe that baby will be breech, or maybe the doctors here won't perform a VBAC. Sorry to get so whiny. I know it will all be wonderful when I am holding our baby.
I am a little confused as to why it has to be a planned c-section. I feel like it would be healthier for myself and the baby to experience a bit of labor. I mean isn't labor the body and baby's way of saying "yooohooo, Im ready to be born".
I read that it will take 30 minutes or more to sew me up (after a c-section), and I won't be able to hold the baby during that time. I will have to stay in the hospital and recover for 3-4 days instead of wrapping my baby up and resting comfortably at home. Ok, now I am just complaining lol. It's just hard accepting this when all my life I had a totally different vision. But what is life, if not unexpected and and full of surprises :)
Im off to see my midwife. Thanks for baring with me on this post and letting me vent. I feel like the biggest complainer, since all that matters is the baby's health and well being. That is truly what is important. I just want my baby to feel safe and happy, and  to spend as little time as humanly possible in the cold sterile hospital.

***update***

I saw my midwife. She spent a good 30 mintues working to turn the baby. I have to say it was quite tender to say the least, but I didn't want her to stop so I didn't mention the slight soreness, except for one point where I jumped and made a bit of a whimpering sound... I just reacted. The baby moved a bit, but not a lot. My midwife chuckled at how easy going yet stubborn this little one is. Her heart rate didn't even budge.
She said that it is up to me if I want to schedule a cesarean. She agrees with me that going into labor is better for me and baby, as well as for future births. She wants me to talk to a doctor and see what he says, but if I want to wait for the onset of labor, the doctors can't tell me otherwise. Of course I may still need to have a c.s once I arrive at the hospital, but I feel better knowing that at least I can wait until the baby feels completely ready to make her entrance into this world. My midwife also that it is better for the baby to go through a bit of the labor, as they get certain hormones and chemicals that prepare them for life outside the womb. So we will see how it goes. If I wait for labor, the doctors may even perform a breech vaginal birth, as long as everything is going well and progressing, and baby and I are good candidates. In the meantime, I have been referred to another chiropractor, who I've been told has golden hands for getting babies to turn :) and I will start taking my pulsatilla again.
If anyone out there knows of any tricks to turn baby, wives tales or not, I am up for suggestions :)

Baby Shower

My little sis threw the most beautiful baby shower for us. Of course she had help from my mom, who made oodles and oodles of delicious food. Everything turned out amazingly. Jill did a great job decorating, I adored the colours and everything about the decor. It was a bird theme. She painted some adorable wooden bird houses and made a bunch of beautiful origami birds to hang from the ceiling. I am going to put them in the nursery. Ivan made some yummy appies as well. He is a good cook.

On the counter were some Jones Soda bottles. Upon closer inspection, I realized that on the label was a baby picture of me! and on the back was a little write about about me. My Jillybean is so thoughtful and full of great ideas. I definitely teared up when I saw them :) I will have to post a pic of the jones bottle later, since I just turned the camera on, and realized the battery is dead... boooo

I was so amazed with all of the super fantastic gifts we received for our little baby. Many many baby essentials. I loved them all, from the baby swing to the bassinet to the jollyjumper, clothes, stuffed animal, books, blanky.... oh boy. I assembled the bassinet and baby swing the other day, and am almost finished putting together the crib. The nesting has begun.

I think Trina won the game of pin the sperm on the egg lol, and then everyone decorated onesies. They all turned out so cute.

Voodoo

At our last 3d ultrasound, the baby was still in a breech position. Some doctors will deliver breech babies vaginally, but few are trained in this field. On top of that, there are many are many criteria that must be in place for a doctor to choose natural birth over c-section. Apparently breech births can be hereditary. I was breech, and now my little one is breech, like mother like daughter I suppose :)

The idea of having a caesarean section was never in my plans. I just never thought I would have to worry about such things. My midwife suggested that I try acupuncture and chiropractic procedures to encourage the little one to flip to a head down position. During the acupunture treatment they put needles in the side of my baby toes and waved hot mugwort around the pins. This is called moxibustion. The acupuncturist gave me a stick of mugwort so Nenad could continue the treatment on me at home (sans needles) . So far, this hasn't had much effect.  (Have I mentioned that in your third trimester you will not recognize your feet? They get so swollen at times that I have to do a double take)

Last Thursday I saw Dr. Cooper, who performs ECV. External Cephalic Version is a procedure where they put a bunch of gel on your stomach, and then try and manipulate the baby to turn head down by externally massaging my stomach, to put it lightly. The doctor said depending on how sensitive my uterus is it could be painful. Also it can have negative side effects, such as rupturing my water, or causing stress to the baby. The ECV is performed in an operating room, incase an emergency c-section has to be performed. If this happened, I would be put to sleep, and Nenad would not be allowed in the room. The doctor said An emergency c-section is not a pleasant thing, but the likelihood of this happening is low. Oh boy. After hearing this, I called and emailed chiropractors to see if they knew how to do the Webster Technique, and could fit me soon.
The Webster Technique is another treatment that is supposed to help the baby to turn. They say sometimes the reason the baby doesn't turn, is because the mothers pelvis is misaligned or the round ligaments are too tight. I managed to get in on Saturday with a chiropractor. She cracked my low back near my sacrum, and held her finger on a trigger point near my round ligament on my right side for about 4 minutes. I don't think she has turned, but she was active for the rest of the day. I had another chiropractic appointment today with a different doctor, Dr. Raphael. He was great. He was very informative and thorough. I go back to his office tomorrow, but see yet another chiropractor, Dr. Baxter. I am crossing my fingers that the baby turns, otherwise on Wednesday I will be going in for the ECV.

 After my adjustment, I saw my midwife. She suggested on top of all of these treatments, I take something called pulsatilla. Pulstilla is a herb in pill form. It is a homeopathic way of softening the ligaments and tissues in your uterus, in hopes of creating room for the baby to flip.
Part of me thinks I should just leave everything be and hope she turns on her own, and if she doesn't, then just accept it. I don't want to be selfish, but I want to have a natural birth. I want to go through labour, and go through the whole birth experience. I want to be awake and aware after the baby is born. I would prefer not to have surgery. I would like to be up and walking shortly after birth and not have to worry about healing after surgery. The truth is I just want a happy healthy perfect little baby. What ever I have to go through to achieve this, is what I will do.

Beautiful Baby

Here she is, the most recent pic of our baby girl at 31 weeks. Ok so this is the 28,547 ultrasound we have had this pregnancy, and they still can't be sure we are having a girl. They say they don't see anything that leads them to think we are having a boy. Hmmmm, I think it is time that we can count on the fact that she is definitely a girl. Although it would be nice to here the sonographer say for certain.

Isn't she beautiful :) Its hard to tell from this shot, but I think she looks like her daddy. It looks as if she has his nose. She really didn't want to have her picture taken. She is still in a frank breech postition, so when she wasn't hiding her beautiful face behind her legs and feet, she was smooshed up into the placenta, making a not so pretty picture. The sonographer did his best to get some good shots. He had me turn on my left side, my right side, get up and do squats, drink water, drink OJ.... non of it made her reposition. Then he told me to go and have a milkshake and come back in a half hour. Well I had a mocha frapp. I thought this would give her a boost. I have been craving them for the last 7 or so months, so I gave in to the craving. All we got out of her was a yawn! Oh this little cutie pie, she is her own little being. I think she will have a very calm easy going, yet stubborn, personality.

The sonographer said we could come back in a couple weeks and see if she is more open to having her picture taken. Which is an awesome idea cause that way we can see how much she has changed since the last visit, and see if she has flipped out of her breech position. 

Wow, looking at the picture is amazing. It's strange being pregnant. I feel her kicking, and I see these scans of her, I talk and sing to her and rub my tummy, but the reality hasn't really sunk in. We are going to have a beautiful little baby, very soon. It brings tears to my eyes. Yet I can't fully grasp it. I wonder how real this feels to Nenad?

I love being pregnant

 Hello Ladies and Gents, I haven't posted in a while. Since I am so behind, I may be posting a few times this week. Well this is my tummy right now. Oh boy I am getting big. The double chin I could live without, but Nen refused to stand up to take these photos lol. I love the belly. Thankfully no stretchmarks woohoo. I guess I shouldn't jinx it just yet, but I have my mom to thank for good genetics. Also my sister Jillybean gave me some shea butter. In the background is a glimpse of our new house. We moved in nearly two weeks ago. I can't believe this is all ours. I hope people come to visit, cause we have the extra space. Riley (our puppy-dog) LOVES the backyard

As you can see    ^^^^   He is sooo adorable.

The baby is doing well. She worries me sometimes cause she doesn't move much during the day, but 11pm strikes and its like its time for her aerobics class. She also likes to wake me up around 4 am. Im not sure if she really has anything to do with the 4 am wake up, or if its purely my bladder I have to blame for that. I worry about exercising myself cause it seems to cause Braxton Hicks contractions when I do anything vigorous.
There are a few pregnancy symptoms that have snuck up on me. They aren't new , but just progressively becoming more noticeable. One thing is shortness of breath. Walking up stairs causes me to breath heavily, but even when lying on the couch, my breathing seems a bit more difficult. I suppose it is the baby getting bigger and creating less room for my lungs to fill. No biggy really. The sore back isn't fun. It isn't my low back surprisingly, its my mid to upper back. It feels like my muscles are being stretched or are just over worked. Maybe its my ribcage spreading hmmmm. Oh ya and two things that I didn't realize had anything to do with pregnancy, but turns out they do... First, leg and foot cramps when I wake up in the morning. You know when your calf muscle or your foot seems to seize up and the muscle feels like its getting tighter and tighter? Thats what happens in the morning to me. Oddly enough, pregnant women tend to get these leg cramps more often. That and raw sore gums every once in a while. Icky!!! After saying all that, I admit , I have had a very easy going, wonderful pregnancy. This little baby has been very kind to me. I love being pregnant! I love the growing belly, I love the baby kicks, I love when people ask me about the baby and when Im due :)

OOOh I just made chocolate cupcakes from scratch and they turned out perfectly. Usually when I make cupcakes from scratch they turn out like little bricks! But these are nice and fluffy. Thank you Martha Stewart!

PS, We saw "Inception" the other night. I rally liked it. Its a thinking movie. It amazes me how someone could conceive such an idea. Very well done ( There was one part of the movie that I thought dragged a bit, but I have a short attention span at times ). I Would recommend it for sure.
                       

Home sweet home

Well the papers were signed today! We are the proud new owners of a beautiful house, to raise our family :) Closing is very very soon, so we will be able to set up the nursery before our little birdie arrives. Although I think we will have a bassinet in our room for a while.

The above photo is what sold us on the house :) A playground in the backyard!!! How perfectly cute is that? So it may be a little while till the little one can put it to good use, but there is a baby swing to attach to it, so it won't be too long until she will be swinging away. In the mean time, my favorite little nephew in the whole wide world can break it in. Hopefully he will come visit often.

I have been looking up names. There are a few that I really like, and finally Nen suggested a name! I won't divulge his suggested just yet, it is a good one. I was thinking maybe for a middle name, Eveliina. Its meaning stems back to "little bird" in Finnish, from what I have researched. I feel like there have been so many bird like things happening since I became pregnant, that there is some sort of link between the baby and birds, whatever it may be. Im not absolutely sure on the middle name, but its a thought :) 

PS, just got back from seeing karate kid..... Can't say I am a fan of Jaden Smith, and the movie was on the long side, but I suppose it was ok.

Creature in the dryer

Im starting to think this little baby is going to be somehow connected to birds when born. I named the site Bluebirdssing, my sister is throwing me a baby shower with a bird theme, and now I have rescued a baby bird from my dryer vent. There has to be some sort of connection there.

This morning I heard rustling coming from the laundry room. Ok I admit, I was scared to open the door, not knowing what it could be. The scratching noise seemed to be coming from the exhaust hose from the dryer. Let me just say that a million thoughts went through my head. As if some big scary creature had shrunk itself down and crawled into the house. I banged the wall a bit, and wiggled the hose thinking it would scurry back out from where it came. This didn't work, but it did stop moving, so I left the room and closed the door behind me. Well an hour later, I walked by the laundry room and there was the noise again. I ran to Nen, thinking the big manly man would fix the problem, but he was still in bed, and said he would look into it when he got up. I was worried that whatever monstrous creature was in there, might suffocate from the heat if left any longer. I decided to go in on my own. Wondering if I should put on some gloves or goggles, I braved it out. Bare handed, I removed the hose, made a strange little girlie sound, and ran the thing outside. With a little shake, out popped an adorable little bird. I again made a strange little girl sound. I was concerned cause the bird wasn't flying away. She just sat there and let me take a few pics as I talked a bit to her, asking her if she was ok. I didn't want to leave her out on the grass stunned and or injured, easy prey for some awful cat!. Well Riley solved that problem. Two seconds after I stopped recording, Riley noticed the bird. In an attempt to kindly sniff the birdie, he literally scared the poop out of her and she flew off. Alls well the ends well. :)

Gender Quiz

Gender Prediction

A new theory states the babys sex is determined by the mothers testosterone level which is influenced by her personality and her stress level. And while we know that the sex is determined by the X or Y sperm, this theory states that the mother is responsible for creating a more favorable in-utero environment for either the X or Y sperm, thus giving it an advantage.

What is your age?
Under 18 Years Old
18 to 24 Years Old
25 to 30 Years Old *
31 to 40 Years Old
41 to 50 Years Old

I generally....
am always be in charge of things
want to be in charge but I am not always
take charge when forced
avoid being in charge at all costs *

Do people consider you Bossy?
yes, quite often
only sometimes
very rarely *
no, not at all

Who makes the main financial decisions (TV, car purchase etc) in your household?
you do, gladly
you do, you have no choice
50/50 between you and DH
Dh does *

Who makes more money?
I do
We are equal
Dh does *
I have no idea 

Around the time of conception what kind of job did you have?
high powered with lots of stress -I love it!
average job with some stress
low key, little stress - yawn
SAHW -no kids *
SAHM

Around the time of conception what was your EMOTIONAL stress level (0= none, 2.5 = moderate, 5=high)
0
1
2
3
4 *
5
Around the time of conception what was your PHYSICAL stress level (0= none, 2.5 = moderate, 5=high
0
1
2 *
3
4
5
On a scale of 0-5 with 0 = submissive/meek & 5= domineering/bossy. Where do you fall?
0
1
2 *
3
4
5
How did you decide to get PG?
it was my idea
it was DHs idea
it was 50/50 *
it was a surprise
You have a 93% chance of having a girl


Second Gender predictor test
1I carry my baby - I can't tell, kinda inbetween but the baby itself is low and kicks bladder
- High
- Low
2My baby's heart rate
- Over 140 beats/min *
- Under 140 beats/min
3My cravings are
- Sweets *
- Spicy and salty foods
4I have morning sickness
- Often
- Rarely *
5My belly looks like
- Watermelon *
- Basketball
6My extra weight is
- Around waste and hips
- Out front *
7I have acne
- Yes
- No *
8My feet are
- The same as before * actually they are way hotter
- Colder than before
9Hair on my legs grow
- Slower than before *
- Faster than before
10My urine is
- Dull color
- Bright color *
60% chance girl

Also I used a pendulum and if it goes in a circle its a boy, if it goes side to side, its a girl * the pendulum went side to side. Well it was kind of confused and did a multitude of things but settled on side to side. I also did a Chinese gender predictor and it said girl. We will see. I did do a couple tests that came back 50/50 as well :) oh ya, and a quiz to see if I was pregnant lol.... 70% chance that I am

PS we put in an offer on a house today! We may have a place to set up a nursery soon!!!

We had our visit with the specialist yesterday. The sonographer was the same one we saw for our 18 week scan. He still believes we are having a girl. He couldn't be certain though. The baby is in a frank breech position making it very difficult to see. Her bottom is tucked deep down into my pelvis.

I was breech when I was born. I am really hoping that the baby turns. I would prefer to have a natural birth as opposed to a c-section. From what I have read, there is a high probability that the baby will flip flop. There is still a long ways to go :)

The Doctor came in to finish the scan. He said that if we go with our due date being Sept 11th (conception date around the 20th of Dec 2009) Then the baby is growing at a nice rate. If the baby continues at this growth rate, then she will probably be around 6.5 lbs give or take an oz. Sounds like the perfect size to me :)

The reason for the exam was because the doctor was under the impression that I conceived 1o days earlier, and the baby should be bigger by now. But I told them I have a longer cycle, so the time frame seems to work out perfectly. On top of that the head measurement was a little off, but that is because the baby has a narrow head shape. The circumference is normal, but if you only go by the width of the head then the head seemed to be small. What a relief this visit was. The Doctor said he thinks everything looks good. When I left the room, the sonographer told Nen that if this Doctor says the baby is healthy, then we have nothing to worry about, because he is the BEST in his field.

just beachy

Swimsuit photo taken June 5th. 26weeks and a few days pregnant. Weight gain 22lbs. I am about 3-5 lbs over what I should be.

Im back home now, after a short weekend visit with my family. The baby seems to kick more when Im at home. Maybe its just my imagination. Grandma finally felt the baby move. She wasn't kicking, but Grandma could feel her rolling around. Its a much different feeling.

While I was visiting my mom, we went to a few baby stores. Mothers are life savers. She was so helpful by showing me what to put on the baby registry. Other than eating and shopping, we also went swimming with my nephew.

I gained weight over the weekend. Im not surprised. I did eat like crazy. Im tyring to get back on track now that I am home (not an easy task, as Nen suggested fish and chips for lunch and then tried to get me to go to marble slab at 10 pm!!!)

Riley, Daddy-Bear and I went for a walk on the beach today. It was gorgeous out. We snapped a few pictures.

Tomorrow we go in for our appointment with an OBGYN for another ultrasound. He is a very well liked, and respected Doctor here. I am excited in a way because I feel like we will finally hear that all is perfect with our little baby, and find out once and for all if we are having a boy or girl hopefully. On the other hand, I am nervous, because maybe we won't hear what we want to hear. But Im leaning towards the former :)

Musical baby

I was playing phone tag with my midwife the other day. Not the most reassuring thing when your midwife calls, and then you can't get a hold of her all day because you keep missing each others phone calls. Eventually we caught up with one another. She has scheduled another ultrasound for this week. It is with a specialist. Makes me worry that we need to see a specialist, but at least I can be confident knowing that whatever the Doctor says, is going to be accurate. The reason for seeing a specialist is because the baby's head circumference isn't growing as quickly as the abdomen. The head circumference is just under the 10-90 percentile. I understand what the 10-90 percentile is, but I'm not sure how important it is, so I'm just putting it at the back of my mind and not stressing until I hear what the doc has to say. I know in my heart that my baby is healthy and happy so what more can I say. She is very active, and seems to have patterns on when she is up and kicking and when she is sleeping.

I was listening to head phones yesterday and I put one to my belly. The baby kicked a few times in the exact spot that the earphone was placed!!! That is exciting. She is kicking me right now as a matter of fact. I'm visiting with my family. I got here yesterday. We went for a delicious celebration dinner for my sister passing her RMT boards. Everyone wanted to feel the baby kicking, but she is a shy little one. I noticed that if I tap on my stomach in a pattern the baby will occasionally kick. Most people were able to feel the movement. I love that she responded to my tapping.

Last week I was cuddling on the couch while watching tv, with Daddy-Bear. He could feel the baby kicking at his hip. He accused me of having gas! Oh that man lol.

Weight gain

Daddy-Bear and I went to our monthly midwife appointment yesterday. The baby is doing well. When my midwife checked the heart beat, we could hear the baby swimming around in my womb. She is very active! If I went by all the old wives tales, I would swear I was having a boy. I have been craving sweets ( sign of a boy ) I think I am carrying low ( boy ) The baby has a super sttrong heart beat ( boy ). The ultrasound tech did say he was 90% sure the little one is a girl. Plus I was having dreams from the start about a little girl, so we will see.

Anyway, back to the appointment... I have to give a weight update everytime I go. Well when I told her my weight, there was an awkward silience in the room. Our midwife was trying to find a nice way of telling me I am packing on the lbs lol. OOOPS. It was good to hear though. I need to watch my diet a bit better. Cut back on the Pecan mudslides from DQ and the tartar sauce from every restaurant we go to.... Oh boy Daddy-Bear hung me out to dry. He ratted on all of my bad eating habits.

Needless to say, we ended up at the gym lastnigt, and then had a somewhat healthy, homemade dinner. Man I am getting hungry thinking about food.

At 24 weeks and 5 days along, the baby's heart rate is 140 bpm. Last month her heart rate was 158 bpm. The drop in bpm is normal from what I have read.