Today was the big day, the day which we were allowed to get excited, the day where we found out what we were "getting." Three weeks ago I didn't think that my heart was going to be able to make it three whole weeks without exploding. For three weeks I had to be open minded to the possibility of either a girl or a boy, and in the last couple of days of the last three weeks I lost my gut feeling telling me that there was a little boy in my tummy. But today...today God answered my prayers, today proved my gut right, and today I felt a joy like I didn't believe was possible. My Bean Sprout, my former "it," is a HE!!!
WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!!!! Dave and I are both beyond excited, and can't wait to meet Mr. Bean Sprout.
The stars were aligned this weekend and it worked out perfectly that it was a holiday weekend. I was able to get some nice relaxation and rest in without having a ton of plans or obligations. I am not one to normally stress, but I need "down time" to be my normal stress-less self. I wasn't necessarily stressing over the gender of our baby, more just stressing over not knowing. Our weekend was full of good timing events. For instance, Saturday we napped until 8:30 and got up ready for dinner. I woke up thinking about going to Ghengis Grill which Dave doesn't really like, but agreed to. It was cold inside, so I wanted to sit outside and a little after our food came out fireworks went off and we had a perfect view from our table. That worked out great. We walked around downtown after we ate and then as soon as we got home, it rained like crazy. The nice weekend led to the niceness of today.
My appointment was at 2:30 and if I wouldn't have had to work today, I may have just showed up at the doctor's office as soon as they opened. As soon as Dr. Brody put the wand to my belly, Bean Sprout was in position to tell us that he is all boy. Today he wasn't nearly as squirmy as usual and (obviously) we saw more than we had seen in the other ultrasounds. We saw the chambers of the heart beating, individual fingers, the skull, and the boy parts. Dr. Brody said that he is 99% sure that he's a he, so I take that as enough to get super duper excited. I had a blood work taken to test for the risk of spina bifida and Downs Syndrome and we'll know if there is an increase risk of either in a week. More than I wanted a little boy, I want a healthy little baby. Hopefully he will be really healthy and really happy. 
(Click on the picture to enlarge)
Now that we have obtained the exciting news I will no longer live doctor's visit to doctor's visit. This should help time slow down. I cannot believe that we are already 4 months into this. It seems like just yesterday I was peeing on a stick. I want be able to enjoy this last Summer of just Dave and I (and the dogs). Although I am looking forward to having little Bean Sprout in the house (instead of in my tummy), I know that we'll be losing a freedom that we now have. Can't wait to see what the Summer has in store for us.
Today after our appointment we went to Target to do a little registering for Bean Sprout. Mainly I wanted to register so I could take some (more) time to look at all the cute baby things, and more specifically, only look at the little boy stuff. I was in cuteness overload, so I bought him his first little onesie thing.
That's Bean Sprout's bassinet filled with all of his stuff so far. It's an exciting thought to think of him playing with his stuffed animals, or reading his books, or sleeping in that bassinet. This will soon be much more than just a thought...
The four month mark is soon approaching, and 4.5 months will mean that we're half way to meeting Bean Sprout (and no longer being pregnant!). The doctor's appointment that I have been not so patiently awaiting is in one week! We're almost there. Hopefully my blood pressure hasn't risen from stress that I have caused myself over this. I have never wanted to go the doctor so badly in my life, it's funny what pregnancy does to a person.
Bean Sprout is starting to make my belly poke out a little more every day. Thankfully I still fit in my regular clothes. In some ways I am excited about maternity clothes, in other ways I am not the least bit excited about them. However, even though I fit in my regular clothes, I now do not need a belt. This is great because recently I developed a nickel allergy, in other words, I have become allergic to my belt. I had a little red rash below my belly button, where my belt would touch me when I bent at the waist. The solutions were few for tackling this allergy. I could either buy a belt with a sterling silver, gold, or platinum buckle, or use a rope. Or I could get a bigger waist, it's crazy how that worked out.
I think I stayed hot for 3 weeks straight...ewww. And the temperature was only in the 70s or low 80s. Can I hibernate through July and August this year? God showed me that he is looking out for me by sending chilly mornings and evenings this week. Thank you, I needed that. Now I just need 5 more months of chilly. Have I mentioned that I am normally hot natured? Now hot natured is way too under stated.
I can't get enough chicken flavored ramen noodles. I want them all the time, and that is all I have been wanting for lunch. If I eat something else for lunch, I'm dissatisfied with whatever I have had and still want ramen noodles. I don't want any other flavor, just plain ol' chicken. Normally I get very tired of eating the same thing all the time, now I would be happy with only eating ramen noodles and sweet tea. Weird.
Dave and I still have not decided on any boy names. This is becoming painful. He doesn't seem to like anything. Something in me, I am guessing hormones, is forcing me to pick out something quick. I am tired of thinking of names, but it's still a priority. To Dave, it is not a priority in the least, in his words, "it is the absolute lowest possible priority." This makes my hormones make me sad. I know that we have plenty of time, and forcing it will only cause Mr. Bean Sprout to have a name that I don't actually end up liking. Ugh...Ironically I have come up with several dog names that I would love to use with our future dogs, this helps me with nothing.
All this writing has worked up my appetite (for ramen noodles, or course).
I hope everyone had a very happy Mothers' Day. Our weekend was filled with fun and family. Saturday we went up to Dave's grandparents' for his Grandpa's 80th birthday. Thankfully the rain avoided us all day, although it was a little on the chilly side. The food was beyond tasty (as always); we had a cajun boil with shrimp, sausage, mussels, potatoes, carrots.....I have to stop--I am getting hungry just typing that. Sometimes I joke that I married Dave for his family's cooking, and sometimes I wonder how much of a joke that actually is. The family is growing and growing, every time we go up there it seems like we meet a new cousin (normally babies). It's nice knowing that our bean sprout won't have a shortage of playmates. The girl cousins out number the boys so I really really hope we are able to help the ratio. While we were there I realized that I cannot remember the last time that I held an infant, let alone a newborn. I don't even recall holding my niece when she was really little. OH NO! I am more unexperienced than I realized. I expressed my fear to my sister-in-law, Jo Ann, of how I am terrified of dropping little bean sprout. She says that I'll be fine, but I am not sure I believe her. Maybe I should find a place where newborns hang out and practice. Where might a place like this be? Hopefully my instincts will kick in when I need them to.
CORRECTION: I have been corrected. Jo Ann sent me a picture of me holding my niece, Katie, at 1 month old. And she didn't remind me that I dropped her or anything. Maybe I can do this!!!
Sunday was lots of fun too. My mom and my little brother came over and spent the afternoon. I like cooking for my mom since she doesn't cook (sorry I'm telling on you), so I think it's nice to provide a nice home cooked meal for her (and myself). Normally Dave helps me cook but I ended up doing this whole meal on my own. I baked salmon in lime and butter, made couscous with tomatoes, zucchini, feta cheese, and green onions, and made some tasty cole slaw with lime. I found a recipe online but made my own alterations too. Culinary comfort is something that I am slowly acquiring, but it's a skill I can't wait to master. I was a little proud of myself for creating such a tasty and attractive meal. Before and after we ate we all played Pictionary Man, which I really enjoy. I consider myself semi-creative but I think I stole any artistic genes that my brother may have had any chance at. He's a lot of fun to watch.
Even though we didn't have much time to slow down this weekend, I had the most fabulous time. With Bean Sprout on the way, family is taking on a whole new and bigger meaning for me. I am so thankful that we have loving and super supportive families. It's making this process much more comfortable and super exciting.
Speaking of Bean Sprout, I am dying to know what he or she really is. I am really trying my best to not get excited about it, but how in the world am I not supposed to?!? Maybe if Dr. Brody would have said that our odds of a boy were 50% (instead of 80%) then I wouldn't have been inclined to freak out on the inside. Boy clothes are looking cuter and cuter and I am doing everything I can to not get just one outfit or toy or socks. I have to tell myself that I only have 2 weeks--only 14 days until we really know, but it seems like so far away. tick tock, tick tock. I am still not having much luck in the name department. I am pretty sure that I have a first name in mind, but can't find a middle name that sticks. (And I am getting a little exhausted of names) For some reason I feel like I need to have a name picked out by my next appointment. It's the only thing I feel rushed for, but I don't know why.
Bloggy stuff:
I have been playing around with the settings on my little blog and I made a change where ANYONE can comment. You don't have to have a blog or google account, you'll just show up anonymous if you don't. So feel free to tell me ANYTHING, this is my source for getting advice and whatnot, so I want to know what you have to say.
I also made a widget of my favorite etsy stuff. If you're not familiar with etsy, it's awesome. It's a site of handmade items that are sold by the artist/crafter. You can find everything on there, and I like knowing that I am supporting the art or craft. A lot of the sellers on there are stay-at-home moms (and inspirations to me). Maybe soon I'll get some of my creations back on there.
That is me and Bean Sprout at 13 weeks and 2 days. Jack was properly posing for the picture too. I plan on making these a series to make my growing belly less painful and more memorable. On other sites I have enjoyed the belly pictures so I decided to do them for myself and I will add a little of what I have been experiencing.
At 13 weeks:
- I have had one craving: Bojangles sweet tea, this is something that I should be avoiding but instead I feel as though I can't live without it.
- I am doing ridiculous things: I have ran into several door frames. The other day when meaning to turn my windshield wipers off, I turned the whole car off. I forgot an entire 5 minute conversation at work about balancing my drawer and after balancing my drawer, I asked the lady how I was going to get this done. She got a good laugh out of my amnesia.
- I have the energy that I have been wishing for the last however many weeks. I still like naps but my survival doesn't depend on them.
- I have stopped taking those hormones which felt like they were sucking the life out of me and I now know that the baby is fine and developing normally.
- My point of view is becoming more motherly and lounge pants and baggy tee shirts have never felt so comfortable.
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! Dave and I celebrated at Dr. Brody's office with a somewhat exciting ultrasound. Dr. Brody had mentioned that there would be a slight possibility of determining the sex today, but we tried our best to not get our hopes up. Besides the fact that I could barely sleep last night or the fact that I have been searching like a mad woman to figure out a name in the chance of a little boy, I have remained absolutely calm about today's visit ;) So, here's a recap of today's events:Dr. Brody comes in and starts the ultrasound and reminds me of the chance of finding the sex. I assure him that I am more than ready to find this information out. We saw Bean Sprout flipping and squirming around like crazy, and both Dave and I saw something that appeared rather...um, boyish. Well Dr. Brody asks me if I have a feeling of what it was, and yes I have had a feeling that there's a little boy inside of me. (This could be the result of many a' days of wishful thinking, or the result of the extra testosterone production) I tell him that I am guessing that it’s a little boy and he says, “Guess again.” What?! Has my gut (and eyes) lied to me? I responded by asking him how he knew this, and he gave me a rundown of his medical training. Then, just a few seconds later, after bouncing the magic ultrasound wand thing on my belly, he tells us that he sees “boy parts.” If I wasn’t covered in jelly and lying down, I would have been dancing. He also tells us not to get too excited and not to buy anything yet, that it could still go either way and that at my next visit in 3 weeks we could tell for certain. Dave asked him the probability of Bean Sprout being a boy, and Dr. Brody said 80%!!! Those odds look good! (By the way, I’m not excited.)I am just 13 weeks along and I haven’t heard of anyone finding out this early, so it’s nice to at least have a good guess. I finally got to see the pictures of my cyst. Wow, I am glad that it is no longer hanging out on my ovary. Dr. Brody said that it was twice the size of my uterus, larger than he had expected going into the surgery. I should ask for a copy of the pictures to hang in the nursery. That was it for today’s visit and we’re anxiously waiting May 26th for the next one. We don’t want to rush the pregnancy along, but it’s so hard to patiently wait for this sort of life changing information. In the mean time we’ll be working on what to name Bean Sprout if he does indeed have “boy parts.”
I am working on another fun post for tonight...get ready!
(Click on the picture to enlarge)
That's Bean Sprout's bassinet filled with all of his stuff so far. It's an exciting thought to think of him playing with his stuffed animals, or reading his books, or sleeping in that bassinet. This will soon be much more than just a thought...
