Gender prediction fun

So, in just two days, we'll find out for sure whether baby 'Bodes is a boy or girl (assuming he cooperates, but we won't leave that office til we know!). We still think he's a boy (although Greg did recently bring up girl names), but, according to the poll, most everyone else thinks he's a girl...
Just for fun, I did the Chinese gender predictor online at babycenter, and it told me "congrats on the baby boy." However, the babe's heartbeat tends to be in the mid-150s per minute, which, according to the old wives tale, is a baby girl's heartrate. 50-50 shot afterall I spose ;)
Earlier in the pregnancy, I thought the baby'd be a girl, mostly because Greg talked so much about him being a boy, his name, and how he would not wear the traditional baby blue garb (boo, UNC!). I was super excited when I thought girl and am just as pumped thinking boy. I just can't wait to find out for sure!
Now for a bumpdate: on valentines day, for the first time, an old colleague/acquaintance noticed my belly and asked if I was pregnant, saying "You never had that before" and touching my stomach. It was actually kind of offensive, and she's lucky I am pregnant... otherwise, I mighta popped her one hehe. After she went on her way, I was happy though! I'm glad its noticeable to more than just me now.
Here are some pics: one doing my best to hold my belly in, one normal, and one pushing out its baby-bloated swollenness, which I think will be the "normal" photo in a week or two :)

                 

A few baby gifts and a bumpdate

I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but with being sick/tired and recently starting subbing, I've put it off. We've gotten a few adorable gifts for baby Imboden (mostly Christmas gifts) and I wanted to share them. I can't wait to find out whether he's really a boy or she's actually a girl so we can really start getting baby supplies! In the meantime, below are a few of the cute things we've been given and a bump photo, too. Greg says I was sticking it out, but whatev, it's there :)

 

   
   

The bump

Over the past few days, I have started to feel big and uncomfortable! I know my belly is nowhere near what it will be, but I already feel like I am accommodating it everytime I get up from sitting or lying down. I feel like a big ol' pregnant lady already.
You don't see much of a bump when I'm standing unless I really let my abs go, but this is the side view when I'm relaxed and lying on my back:

And standing:

Daily thoughts and activities

So, I've really made more effort to get up and get some things done over the past week and a half. I've done laundry, gotten myself food, done a little cleaning, spent time with Greg in the living room, and even gone to a friend's for a visit (and had brownies and ice cream, too, which I didn't expect to enjoy so much- yum, Sarah!) However, these things wear. me. out! I feel pretty accomplished though after doing any one of the above.

I think two reasons I've been able to be a little more active are 1) my sweet mother in law came the other weekend and spent a day cooking lots of different meals and snacks that gave me more energy than ramen noodles could and 2) my nausea decreased, and (until this past Saturday) I hadn't thrown up in about two weeks.

As soon as the misery of nausea and vomiting hit Saturday, I decided I should go ahead and try the rx for Reglan that the Vandy midwives had called in for me a couple weeks earlier. I've really liked the Reglan. It's easier to swallow than Phenergan was, and it hasn't made me gag yet! Little joys. Clearly, it's working for me: only this morning, over 15 hours since my previous dose, have I had any nausea. And lesson learned: if I don't want to throw up, take it as often as prescribed.

Greg wasn't thrilled when I started puking again, but he's been the best husband ever- coming home on his lunch break to make food for me, taking care of Bailey and the apartment on his own, and exchanging my vomit bags for fresh ones as needed. He is a trooper and doesn't even complain about it. I hope for both our sakes that the Reglan continues to work. Although, if it doesn't, the next step will be to get Zofran, which I've heard good things about. Maybe I will finally just move right on past this stage and can be drug-free!! A girl can dream, right? :)

All this time lounging in bed has given me plenty of opportunities to research and look at ba gear. I started a baby registry, which has been fun but which will be kept private for at least another month until we know the baby's sex and have also been to the stores rather than just looking on websites. I've also started thinking about color schemes for the nursery. These are the first combos I've made, but I really like them and have a feeling the nursery will end up being very similar to one or the other. When the time comes, it'll be so much fun to decorate!

First image- girl: blue/gray with maybe a hint of purple, light pink, and white
Second image- boy: blue/gray, mustard yellow, white

Seven weeks later...

Just now, over the past week, have I started feeling better, but I'm soooo glad the time has finally come! And I'm hoping it lasts and I can keep feeling better and better.

Weeks nine to 12 were the most tough, accompanied by plenty of throwing up, while the other four weeks were *just* horribly sensitive sense of smell, nausea, minimal appetite, fatigue, etc.


Questionnaire

How far along? 13+ weeks

Total weight gain? down a lb or two

Maternity clothes? all I wear is pj or yoga pants and t-shirts

Stretch marks? nuh uh

Sleep: I pretty much live in bed...except bathroom trips and occasional treks to the living room or kitchen. When all else fails, I take a nap. Recently, it's sometimes hard to get comfortable, so I've piled on some extra pillows, and Greg got me some ear plugs (because bailey is such a loud snorer), and it doesn't take me quite as long to fall asleep at night. I'm sure that not sleeping all day being more active would help the cause, too.

Best moment this week: our second appointment, during which we had an ultrasound and saw our more human-like baby! He/she has gotten much bigger over the past month, and it was neat to see more detail (fingers, spine, organs). I also announced on facebook- fun :)

Miss Anything? Feeling normal! I would love to wake up, feel like showering, eat whatever I wanted without feeling sluggish afterward, be able to clean, take care of myself, and even just be upright for me than two minutes at a time! I also miss being out of the classroom, but once I've got some energy back, I will start subbing and looking for interim positions again.

Movement: nope, but when I lie down, I do think I can feel the beginnings of a baby bump!

Food cravings: ramen noodles. And burger king cheeseburgers- although I haven't been able to satisfy that one but once (probably a good thing).

Anything making you queasy or sick: the dog licking herself (or me accidentally when I let her lick my dishes), slabs of meat,
including the shot of a whole, raw chicken on the Blue dog food commercials- ugh. And using the bathroom, brushing my teeth, and that damn carpet deodorizer smell in the living room.

Gender: thinking boy now. We'll find out in a month!

Labor Signs: six more months, please.

Symptoms: occasional nausea these days, headache, indigestion perhaps, fatigue exhaustion

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: I wouldn't (and don't thinkkkkk Greg would) say moody, but happy seems like a stretch since I've mostly felt horrible. Definitely more happy this past week than the previous six though!

Looking forward to: regaining strength, getting back to work, and our next appointment on Feb 23!


I had wanted to do weekly pictures, but it turns out that I didn't miss too much by not capturing
the past seven weeks. Here are two photos I just took. The second one shows a possible slight bump :)

     

And so it begins...

Nix-ing the questionnaire and focusing on symptoms.

Last week, maybe even before then, smells started becoming extremely noticeable: powdered carpet cleaner that I hadn't used in weeks (because Greg wasn't a fan), the dogs' scents, students' funky breaths, the fridge, something unknown in my car. They bothered me, but they were still manageable if I turned away or stuck my nose down my shirt.

Food aversions increased, but I was always able to think of something I wanted to/could eat. By the end of the week, I noticed that if my stomach got low or empty, I'd start feeling bad, not quite nauseous but definitely icky. Frequent snacks seemed to help. I also had a little on and off headache...not too bad though.

By Saturday, I nearly couldn't stand the smell of the fridge or the dogs (Briar in particular), and Greg's body wash and cologne were overwhelming. However, I still managed to eat real food, a cheeseburger, which makes me want to gag thinking about it now.

Three hour naps have become a trend. With seven more internship days left, I don't know how I'm going to make it! Today would have been a trial run for my teaching endurance had I made it past the shower. Here's a little background before I describe this morning:

Yesterday evening, after eating a decent dinner of pasta with cheese on top (sounds surprisingly gourmet when you compare it to the crackers and toast I've managed to squeeze down today), I headed to bed to relax for a while. Awhile later, my stomach started feeling a little strange and uncomfortable. As I watched whatever little gem was on TLC (I think it was Sister Wives at this point), I started feeling queasy. I sat up, the sweat instantaneously beading at my temples and neck (really, how does that happen so quickly?!), and I unproductively gagged into my handy, double-lined grocery bags I'd begun keeping at my bedside. Amazingly enough, I felt a little relief. And a couple hours later, I felt up to eating a pbj before hittin' the hay.

This morning, I woke up early to take a shower since I hadn't felt like putting forth the effort last night. I decided to pass on the cracker collection I have stowed on my night table (big mistake? mooost certainly) and headed to the bathroom with a super dry mouth but otherwise feeling alright.

I started washing my hair, but holy cow, my shampoo's scent got intense overnight. And my body wash- I had to hold my breath and lather and rinse in lightning speed. I made it through my pit-shave and started rinsing my hair when my brain started feeling warm and fuzzy. Having fainted several times in my past (due to random, sometimes funny-ish causes, such as cleaning my newly-pierced belly button at age 15), I knew what was coming. I scrambled to rinse my hair through the increasing dizziness, then turned the water off and sat down in our slimy bathtub. I was immediately nauseous and reclined, cringing as I put my back against the tub and kicking myself for not having scrubbed it recently. Yuck. The nausea and dizziness subsided, and I cautiously rinsed off again before heading back to bed, where I sipped water and munched on crackers, then texted my cooperating teacher, who told me to stay home and rest despite my offer to try to go in after eating and sleeping a little longer.

I stayed in bed ALL day, ate some dry Fruity Pebbles and toast, had on and off nausea and a nice nap. I still have yet to throw up, but I feel pretty miserable! Bleh. I can't miss work everyday this week, so I hope the biobands I asked Greg to pick up for me are effective! Fingers crossed.

Over and out.

Hey, little baby, I know youre in there!

Even if you're only a fraction of an inch in size, haven't yet sprouted your baby limb buds, and won't be able to kick me hard enough for me to feel it for several more weeks, your presence is known, sweetpea! And you're already grounded. Jk, love youuuu.

This week started off fine, but since Friday, I've felt the imminence of morning sickness. I've only been border-line nauseous, but it's kept me from wanting to do much other than lie down. In fact, I'm posting this update on my cell phone from bed having just woken up from a long winter nap.

Here's the updated survey for the past week:

Scratch that. Will finish this tomorrow.

Here is the six week belly. No real, visible change yet even though I feel bigger already. Our pic in front of the chalkboard door will be late this week...