Little Man or Little Lady?

Today we had the big ultrasound where they measured the baby's brain size, femur length, waist size, looked at all four chambers of the heart, showed us the newest and latest (and cutest) profile and about a billion other things, all except the boy/girl parts. At the very end she told us to look away as she moved the wand into perfect "down there" positioning. After four clicks on her keyboard she printed it out and sealed it in an envelope. After, we analyzed what the four clicks may have meant: g-i-r-l, ->-b-o-y, m-a-l-e, or maybe it was a pull down menu and it took four clicks to select the correct gender??  Whatever it was, she assured us that she was definitely able to tell! We hand delivered the envelope directly to Todd who works across the street and contemplated opening it only 99 times! He then called Rhonda and the gender reveal pink or blue item has already been ordered in anticipation for the big party.

There are a ton of wives tales out there that are supposed to help you predict your baby's gender.  Because we still have TWELVE DAYS TO WAIT (it's agonizing) I figured I would just answer all these questions myself and find out the gender of the baby now! (Easy as that, huh?!)

Highs and Lows

This one you can do just by looking south: if you're carrying high, break out the pink. If your bump is low, you're carrying a boy.

Most people say that I'm carrying low...I have no idea, I'm carrying BIG in my eyes.

Low = BOY

Be Still My Beating Heart

Next time your OB pulls out the Doppler to listen to baby's heartbeat, ask her to tell you what the heart rate is. According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy.

Well, the last time we saw the doctor the heart beat was at exactly 140 beats per minute, I don't even want to think of what that means.  Today at the ultrasound it read 147...

147= GIRL

Sweet and Sour

Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it's a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it's a boy. 

If you want to even call these two cravings, I guess I had one sweet and one salty.  One night I had a hankering for a pop tart and thought about driving to Walgreen's to get a box, but that meant that I had to put on a bra and pants, so I passed.  The next morning the craving passed and hasn't come back.  The other day I was alone for dinner and pulled into the grocery store.  I thought mac and cheese sounded mighty delicious.  I opted for the healthy Annie's organic whole wheat with white cheddar.  Note to self: when craving mac and cheese, go for the good stuff with florescent orange cheese.  I bet it would have tasted so much better.  I have an extra box now of the gross stuff.  Let me know if you want it and I'll bring it by.  

Sweet and salty = no vote

Chinese Birth Chart

This ancient method uses your age at conception and the month you did the deed to determine gender.

This one is a little tricky because conception could happened anywhere from March 29ish to April 2ish.  If it happened in March (which we like to say, because that's when we were in Hawaii) then they say it's a girl. However, if it happened in April, it's a boy. Maybe my friends who already have babies should log on and see if their child's gender is accurate?  Let me know, would you?

March or April = no vote

Potty Time

This one's a little out there. Pee in a cup, mix a tablespoon of Drano in, and watch to see if it changes color. Green = girl, and blue = boy.

Sorry kids, I'm not about to go and buy Drano so that I can use just one tablespoon.  Friends who live close, give me shout out if you have any and I'll be right over.  I'll even bring my very own cup. 

Even and Odd

Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy.

33= odd

2013= odd

2 odd= GIRL

Unlocking the Mystery

This is one for a friend to try. Place a key in front of your preggo friend and ask her to pick it up. If she grabs it by the narrow part, she's in for sugar and spice and all that. If she picks it up by the round part, it's snips and snails.

I read this first so I may try to swing the vote if I asked Daniel to put a key by my feet.  However, if I had to guess, I would say I would always grab the round plastic part and not the gross dirty, greasy part that sticks into the car.  

Unfair voting = no vote

Spot On

If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits.

I broke out like crazy for the first 3 months but now have a crystal clear face...they don't tell you what that means.

zits past, no zits present= no vote

Nice Ring to It

Pop off your wedding ring -- if you still can! -- and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl.

Well, we accidentally did this first with my engagement ring and it swung in a circle, then we realized that it said do it with your wedding ring.  I must have a perfectly balanced wedding ring because it did absolutely nothing--no back and forth, no side to side, no circle--no movement whatsoever! 

No movement= no vote

Queasy Does It

Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy.

Not one single day of queezy-ness- thank the lord! = BOY

Well, buns! 2 votes for a girl and 2 for a boy aren't really helping me now are they...I guess I'll just have to wait TWELVE DAYS to find out if this little mango sized baby is! 

On another note, we celebrated our one year anniversary on Sunday (7-28) by heading back up to Evergreen to stay in our cute little, off the grid cabin for two days.  It was great to be together and reflect on the last year. We ended the night watching our wedding video and remembering what an awesome time we had celebrating with you all.  

~Mama Jess

Jackpot!

Last Friday evening, Meg called and asked if I wanted to join her at a neighborhood garage sale in a new and upcoming part of town called Stapleton.  To give you an idea of Stapleton, my friends Sarah and John moved in last year and she posted this video on her blog about all the trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood.  The woman in the video says she had approx 1,200 kids in 2 hours and 45 minutes and gave out 28 pounds of candy! Needless to say, this neighborhood is filled with kids and babies and I jumped at the opportunity to try to score some good baby loot for super cheap as well as do some good reusing for Mother Earth!

We arrived in the neighborhood at 7:30 and armed with my partner-in-crime hit up house after house after house. Literally every 5th house was participating and 95% of them had anything and everything related to kids and babies out on their lawn.  Being with Meg was a dream come true.  Her little boy, Grayden will be 3 in November and she is an expert in anything baby.  She advised me what was a good deal, what was overpriced, what toys babies like, what they won't play with and what I could absolutely not live without.  


The garage sale-ing ended at 11:30 and I am one happy Mommy:

Baby Einstein Exersaucer- new $84, garage sale? $8!
Baby Einstein Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym- new $45, garage sale? $5!
Kelty Kids Backpack Carrier- new $279, garage sale? $5!
Bouncer Seat- new $30, garage sale? $5!
16 Dr. Seuss Hardcover Books- new $13 each, garage sale? .25 cents each!
Meowsic Keyboard- new $32, garage sale? $5!
Cold Weather Carseat Cover- new $35, garage sale? $1!
Sleep Sheep- new $25, garage sale? $1!
Light Up Activity Ball- new $15, garage sale? $2!

This is what the car looked like at the
end of the day--Meg had found some
awesome deals too!

This was just the good stuff that I could find on Amazon.  I also walked away with a ton of baby toys and books and as many gender neutral warm newborn clothes I could find.  I'm almost glad we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, I could have come home with even more stuff- I need to save some things for my registry!

Monday is the big 20 week ultrasound-- half way down!  We'll have the doctor put the gender in an envelope I'll and hand it off to Auntie Rhonda who will be in change of buying and getting things ready for the big reveal party. SO excited!!!

~Mama Jess

Captain Sober

Recently I have found myself in the desirable position to many people needing my sober driving assistance.  I am happy to oblige as watching my friends and family get drunk before my eyes has been a somewhat entertaining experience.  The first was at my family reunion on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin.  We had a pontoon boat for the day and the driver of the boat is expected to be sober at all times.  (We have a friend who got a BUI- boating while intoxicated, and it is treated in the exact same fashion as a DUI.)  Finding the sucker who is willing to be sober for the two hour boat ride can, at times, be somewhat of a problem.  Not this trip! I was appointed Captain Sober and got the privilege of touring 11 of my family members around the lake looking at the big beautiful houses that surround it while watching them enjoy cold  cans of beer. *sigh*

Sober boat driving is somewhat harder than it looks.  First, you have 11 other drivers in the boat who are happy to remind you to slow down, speed up, watch for this boat, look out for that boat, turn here, slow down more and so on and so forth. And second, you aren't able to enjoy the scenery at your leisure as you do have to slow down, speed up and watch out for boats. I now have a new appreciation for all my past boat drivers who have carted me around for the past 34 years, letting me drink beer and take in the scenery as I wish.  I am eternally grateful.

Grojean Reunion- love love love these people!

Two weekends ago I again donned the Captain Sober hat as I took 6 of our close friends on a brewery tour of Fort Collins.  Ft. Collins is roughly an hour from Denver and finding a willing sober participant to  A. drive and B. not drink is basically impossible- hence the reason we hardly ever go.  Conveniently, I am perma-sober and so I offered my services.

The day was great and started with a DD Kit made just for me from Krystal and Gretchen, complete with any and all necessities that I might have needed to survive my sober day: eye shade and blanket for when I need a nap in the car.  A Sudoku book and cards for when I'm bored and need to sit in a corner and play solitaire and other quiet alone games.  A hand held fan and squirt bottle to cool myself off in the hot sun, water with electrolytes, some candy to sweeten the deal and a pregnancy test. (In case you are wondering...yes, Dollar Store pregnancy tests do work and yes, I am currently still pregnant.) It was really quite sweet of them and although we didn't return home until ten that night, I managed to stay very entertained and never needed any alone time for games or naps.

The Ft. Collins crew!

And finally, this past weekend I was probably the only sober/pregnant person at the 17th Annual Colorado Brewers Rendezvous Festival in Salida (a 4th annual for us!).  72 booths of amazing Colorado craft beer were there and I didn't have a single drop of any of it. *double sigh*  Our group of 12 friends drank plenty in my place over the course of the four hours, so much so that the next morning I remembered there is a wonderful perk to being pregnant- no hangovers!

I did get a few nasty stares from festival goers as I walked by them drinking root beer out of the beer festival glasses.  I wanted to yell at them, "It's root beer people!" and opted to drink lemonade from my glass to keep everyone's judgmental looks at bay.  It was the first day that strangers noticed and congratulated me on being pregnant.  (The lady at the deli counter noticed yesterday and the woman and the dry cleaners said something today!) Some growth spurt must have happened this weekend because no one has ever asked or mentioned it to me in public before. Yay!

Root beer, not beer, root beer!

Daniel is anxiously awaiting to feel
movement- none so far. :(

Fortunately for me, there are no pending sober drive trips for awhile.  I think I've earned some time off and will enjoy my last few weeks of summer break before I hit the ground running.  Week 17 started Monday--almost half way down. That blows my mind!  I am filling my time with lunches and quality hanging out with good friends and anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jules' baby any day now.  Can't wait to meet him or her!  Until next time...

~Mama Jess

Baby is as big as a turnip and
weighs 5 oz!

Tickler Mantra

Yesterday I went to my first prenatal yoga class with my good (and pregnant) friend Audrey.  I had never been to a prenatal anything class and had no idea what to expect.  There were seven of us in the class and I was most definitely the least pregnant.  I mean, these women were preg-nant.  They were all huge and looked like they could pop at any moment.  I have obviously seen pregnant women before, but not so many at one time and in one room.  I couldn't stop looking at them.  They were beautiful.  It only makes me want to be huge that much faster!

Class started and we went around the room introducing ourselves, told how far along we were and if we had any ailments.  I have been virtually unable to walk these days due to a raging pain in my sciatic nerve and expressed to her that I would basically kiss the ground she walked on if she could help me find some stretches that would help. It seemed that most of us were suffering from one pregnancy pain or another: hurting sacrum, tightening uterus, Braston Hicks, lack of sleep, circulation problems etc.  Oh, the things I get to look forward to as the months pass!

The class was unlike your typical yoga class as many of the moves were created for expecting moms.  We used the wall a lot, focused on our breathing and practiced many moves I had never done or heard of before.  It was when she announced that the next move was called the clitoral tickler mantra that I knew I could in no way, shape or form, make eye contact with Audrey.  The what ticker? That's right folks, in prenatal yoga you hear the word clitoris and anus many times.  You also talk about Kegel exercises and more that I won't even share with you.  The best part?  I loved it.  I felt very safe and very connected with my fellow pregnant womankind.  We are all sharing in something so wonderful and beautiful, and talking about Kegel anything felt so natural.  The second best part?  My pain is at a 1 today (compared to yesterday's 7).  If the Prenatal Yoga Clitoral Tickler is what it takes, then sign me up!

On a total side note...many of you have communicated to me that you are unable to subscribe to this blog.  Somehow I created the blog under my work gmail and not my personal.  My district has a block on any subscribers to any blogs. Currently, I'm working with IT to try and get it moved over, but they are less than thrilled to spend their busy summer helping me with a baby blog. The guy in charge emailed me the other day and asked me for the blog's address.  I really hope he's not interested in seeing my "weekly belly photos" and makes the switch quickly! When this finally happens you'll see something under the "About Us" section that will allow you to subscribe.  :) Until then, keep checking in for updates!

16 weeks and 23 weeks pregnant.  Aud just moved
 back to Colorado with her hubby and little boy,
Walter.  I'm so happy to have them here.  <3
(Sorry Aud, I know you're in your PJs
 but this is the only pic I had!)

Baby is the size of a large avocado.  We had our doctor's
appointment on Monday and everything is looking great!
 Three weeks until the gender ultrasound!

Questions, questions and more questions...

Now that the world knows about the baby there are many questions that people are very curious about.  The following are the most popular questions that we get over and over (and over and over) again ...

1. How are you feeling?
In my first trimester I'd say I felt about 80%.  I had some indigestion and was tired most afternoons but overall I feel very lucky that I didn't have any morning sickness.  My mom had terrible morning sickness with both myself and my brother and I feared the worst, but somehow I got lucky and felt great!  I feel great now with nothing more than a little sciatica in my lower back giving me some pain.  I have had a not so pleasant time learning to sleep on my sides but thanks to the many body/pregnancy pillows that I have been given from friends, I have been more comfortable and sleeping better.

2. Do you know what you're having?
Not yet.  We have an appointment on August 5th and will have the doctor write down the gender and seal in an envelope.  We plan to have some sort of a gender reveal party that will announce the gender to us and our friends and family in a fun and creative way.

3. What do you think it is?
I have had no dreams or hunches as of now.  Many people say that the mother usually has an accurate intuition of the sex of the baby.  I'll keep you posted if I feel anything in the next few weeks.

4. Do you have a preference in a boy or a girl?
I don't have a preference but everyone keeps telling me they think it's a girl, so naturally, I keep picturing pink dresses and pigtails. :)

5. What does Daniel want?
He's a man! All men want boys!  Although, he has three girl dreams...!

6. When are you due?
December 23, 2013.  Yes, a Christmas baby!  Hanukkah this year is November 27th -December 5th so it's most likely won't be a Hanukkah baby.  We heard from friends who have a Christmas baby that they celebrate a half birthday each year for their child so that they can have a fun summer party when people are in town and able to celebrate.  We like this idea and will probably do this once the baby gets older.

7. What will do for work?
I will take 6 weeks of maternity leave and 6 weeks after that.  This will put me back at school around the end of March.  I will finish the year, have the summer off with the baby and head back to school in the fall when the baby is around 8 months old.  We haven't even talked about daycare vs. nanny vs. alternative options and probably won't until the fall.

8. Do you have any names picked out?
We have been throwing out some names but unfortunately for you, they will be kept a secret until the baby is born. :)  Daniel is very good at picking out names that he knows are ridiculously absurd: Django Andrew Johnson, Tchoupitoulas Hillman, Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo are some just to name a few.  He definitely gravitates to the more traditional names where I am trying to find something not so common and mainstream.  Every time I say a name he looks at me like I'm crazy, "Did you just make that name up? Is that a real name?"  Needless to say this naming a baby thing is not an easy task.  I think it'll be easier to narrow down some names once we know if we're having a boy or a girl.  Until then, we're calling the baby DJ (Daniel Junior or Daniel/Jess) instead of "it" or "baby" or until one of you comes up with something better that sticks!

9. Have you felt it move?
Not yet.  People say that movement this early may feel like gas rather than a baby.  So far I have felt no obvious gas or obvious baby.  I'll often hold my breath and close my eyes hoping with total concentration I'll be able to feel something but I'm only able to hold my breath comfortably for 10 or so seconds.  Also, something about keeping oxygen from the baby for any length of time keeps me from trying for a second round! The books all say that it usually happens between 18-22 weeks, which means I still have 3 more weeks before something should feel obvious.

I'm officially 15 weeks today and DJ is as big as a naval orange, can move all it's limbs and joints and it's legs are now officially longer than it's arms.  Next week all the ear bones fall into place and the baby will be able to hear me! Next appointment is  July 8 where they'll take more measurements and make sure I'm gaining one pound a week (ug!). Until then...

~Mama Jess