33 Weeks Prego

I have to be honest, I'm not so solid on my gut-instinct that it's a girl anymore. I know I told you I don't put any weight in all the "signs" people follow that show it's a boy/girl (e.g., heart rate, how you carry the baby, etc.); BUT I'm having a hard time ignoring the fact that this pregnancy is so different from my first. I know, I know. That doesn't mean anything either--I, too, have friends who had completely different pregnancies and same gender babies. It's all a mental battle, but I'm starting to think it's a boy now. Either way, I'm using "she" more often to refer to my baby; it just sounds more humane and personal than "it." And it gets me excited for a girl every time I use it, so that's definitely a major plus. Plus, I realized that the only item I bought way in advance for this baby was a girl's onesie. Perhaps it's a sign?

Another reason I think it might be a boy is my appetite has been through the roof again. I thought with a growing baby, my stomach would be shrinking; therefore, I wouldn't be able to consume as much in one sitting. I figured I would just have to eat more often. But that's not the case. I can eat . . . a lot . . . in one sitting, and thirty minutes later, I'm hungry for another meal. It's ridiculous. I know my baby's gaining more weight now, but still . . . it doesn't account for the junk I've been allowing myself to indulge in "in the name of pregnancy." I really want to gain a minimal amount of weight, and I want to have healthy eating practices established before the baby's born so it will be easier to shed this weight once the baby is here. So it's taking everything within me to resist the urge to binge on sweets and creamy deliciousness every day.

Oh, and I had my ultrasound at 34 weeks--it's not nearly as exciting as the 20 week ultrasound because the baby's so big you can't see much at once. Here's what I learned at the ultrasound:

1. Baby's already head down facing the back--GOOD!

2. Baby's already got a head of hair (see pic below). That extra think kinda wavy line around the rim of the head, yeah, that's hair.

3. Baby's measuring 5 pounds 8 ounces. Um, that's at 34 weeks! If the measurement is accurate and the baby gains the average half pound per week, we're looking at a nine pound baby again. YIKES!

Going on gut again, I know this baby is coming early. First of all, my work load freed up tremendously, so I'm taking that as a sign that I needed to wrap things up earlier so I could be ready for this baby. I'm contracting all the time--which did not happen with baby number one. I can tell my body's preparing for labor. And then there's just that gut instinct that says I'm going to go early. Ideally, I'll deliver September 11. I know, weird date to pick, but my favorite nurse is working that day =) Plus, wouldn't it be good to have new life to celebrate on that day instead of just thinking about the hurt our nation went through? I think so.

I know last week I said I'd take the measurements with a grain of salt, and many have reminded me since that the measurements are often wrong--so I'll let my body do what it needs to. September 14th is another great day because my nurse is working that day too =) Regardless, I'm not going to fear having a big baby. My body grows big babies, so it can handle birthing them too.

I can't believe I'm a month away. I've gotten a lot done (laundered clothes, cleaned car seat, organized papers, NESTED--you should see my closets!); but I've got a lot to do (finalize birth plan, finalize name options, install car seat, pack hospital bag, buy/assemble furniture, finish nursery, make "big sister" crown for my firstborn, finalize and pack big sister's stuff, etc.) . Plus, I need to finish up my work (I've still got five books in progress that I'm editing). More than enough to keep me occupied the next few weeks.

I must admit, I keep seeing myself showing up for a regular check-up and hearing my midwife say, "Are you ready to have this baby today? Because we're going to the hospital now." Hopefully that's just my imagination. I want to labor as much as possible at home . . . and I'm just not quite ready for this baby to appear. Soon, very soon though!

19 Weeks Prego

Today I cooked a baby. (No, not in a morbid cannibalistic sort of way--as a pregnant mother). And that was about all that I accomplished today. Sure I got a few necessities out of the way--some laundry, made my bed, washed dishes; but in the grand scheme of my to-do list, I didn't do squat--except cook a baby. And that's okay. I think that's one of the biggest perks of pregnancy. You can spend an entire doing nothing tangible, yet when people ask what you did that day, you can simply reply, "I manufactured some fingers for my baby. You?"

Nineteen weeks and we survived the ultrasound without finding out the gender. The waiting game has officially started, and I'm really at peace with our decision. During the ultrasound the tech never had us look away, but by the end, she admitted that she knew the sex of the baby. I thought for sure she'd make us look away. I was kinda disappointed that I didn't figure it out, and I was kinda upset that she didn't make sure we didn't figure it out; but the end result was what we wanted, so I guess I shouldn't be upset. I can tell you that my imagination was running wild as the pictures popped up on the screen. I was sure I saw boy parts over and over, but I know I was just wanting to see that. In reality, the times I thought I saw stuff, we weren't even in the right area.

I'm getting more and more excited about this transition to two babies. I feel like we're in a really good place right now to add another little one to the family. Baby #1 (who's not really a baby at all anymore) has fallen into a good routine with us. She's a delight to be around, and she's a big help. I feel empowered to bring on the challenge of two kiddos knowing that my first one has merged into life so well, and (dare I say) life is pretty easy again. I'm all about challenges, and I'm ready to face this next one head on and prove to myself once again that I can do it (with God's grace, of course).

As for the joys of pregnancy--19 weeks has been the biggest reminder thus far of the fun that awaits me in my third trimester. I've already started getting up slower (moving too fast pulls muscles in my lower abs); I've been waking at random times during the night and not been able to fall asleep right away (which is a genius way to prepare for nursing and nighttime feedings; I was just hoping for another couple of months of good sleep before I crashed into remembering what it was like to wake up throughout the night); I've started weighing the pros and cons of any activity that requires physical movement to judge whether or not all that effort is worth moving my body; etc. I've also begun pumping myself up for losing all of my baby weight this time--kept a nice 10 lbs from the last baby, and I don't want to repeat that again. My hubby is finishing up P90X, and I'm pretty sure I'll be doing something similar as soon as possible after I've healed. I'm too old to believe that I can just naturally lose the weight anymore.

As for baby nicknames, we're using baby ninja a lot more. My hubby can feel lil' ninja kick a lot (only English nerds like me will appreciate that link ;-) now. And my 19 week email said baby should be measuring 6 inches from crown to rump, but the ultrasound put lil' ninja at 7 inches, so we're a little ahead of schedule :) During the entire ultrasound, it looked like baby was trying to suck its thumb. So cute! And my email tells me that baby's five senses are developing so much so that it may hear my voice now! Isn't pregnancy a miracle? It really is.