13 Weeks Prego

My 13-week "My Pregnancy This Week" email excited and amazed me. In just one week my baby has . . .

"Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head -- which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce."

Wow! Fingerprints! 2 million eggs (IF it's a girl). 3 inches long! I'm not sure how many of you have received similar growth emails, but the size comparisons to fruits and vegetables at the end always crack me up. The first email I ever received about my first baby said she was the size of a kumquat. I have no idea what a kumquat even looks like! This week's "medium shrimp" leaves a lot lacking in the imagery department. It's just not as cute to picture my baby hanging off the side of a martini glass filled with cocktail sauce.

Confession: This past week I went with my daughter to a free Mommy and Me gymnastics class. A fellow ORU alum who remembers me (but I barely remember her) introduced herself and made small talk with me. As we talked kids (she has at least three, I forget exactly how many), I mentioned my nausea. She said, "I was always sick with my girls, but I never got sick when I had boys. That's how I knew that she (pointing to her youngest) was a girl because I got sick."

Here's the confession part: My heart sank when I heard her say this. Up until now I've been convinced that I was completely fine with a boy or a girl (Girl=sister for my eldest to grow up with; Boy=boy--who doesn't want a boy to carry on the family name?!). But when my heart sank a little, I realized, "Yikes, I want a boy more than I thought." That was big for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still completely excited about a girl, too, I just didn't realize my heart was hiding this little longing from me.

I know, "every pregnancy is different." I have tons of friends who had COMPLETELY different pregnancies yet same sex babies. And I know people who had similar pregnancies yet different sex babies. There's no guarantee one way or the other. I just thought it was important to note my heart's desires before facing reality one way or the other. (On a side note, my husband's leaning more and more toward the idea of not finding out! I'm super excited. As one of my commenters pointed out, some say not knowing the gender makes the labor easier. I doubt there's scientific evidence for that, but I can totally see the psychological incentive that would add!)

As far as morning (all-day) sickness goes . . . I've again moved a notch in the right direction. Now I can officially say that my good days outnumber my bad. Unfortunately, there are still those bad days, but overall, I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Soon, very soon, my house will be clean again, my pots, pans and cutting boards will be put back to use, and my daughter will be able to enjoy craft and play time with mama again! Oh, and my backyard better watch out--I plan to do everything in my power to make it a green wonderland for the summer!

Finally, it's quite the baby boom in my FB life. Friends near and far are announcing pregnancies with similar due dates. I'm so excited! I love baby booms! Are you, dear readers, expecting as well? Please share with all of us!