Boy or Girl?

Well, tomorrow is the big day, the day we have been waiting for for 18 weeks. Will little one be a strapping lad (like his father), or a sweet little miss full of mischivious (like mom)? Tune in after Christmas to find out!!

The BIG DAY's Almost Here

Okay, well not the BIG Big Day of Delivery, but one of many that preceeds it. The Big day I'm referring to is the one where I have my 18 week exam. Tomorrow I (finally) get to find out the sex of our baby. I'd like to think I've been pretty patient up to this point, but now that we're basically entering the remaining 19 hours (yes, I'm counting down.) until it's official I just can barely think of anything else. Rob and I think it's a girl and we'll see if we're right tomorrow. If it's a boy, then we'll be just as happy like any parent with their first child.
Although I find out the sex of the baby tomorrow, I won't be posting the official news until after the holidays because we're making it a surprise on Christmas for Grandma Joan (a.k.a. Giagia) And a little history for those who don't know, but Giagia is GREEK for Grandma, you pronounce it Ya-Ya. I think Joan's likely as excited to hear her called that as me and Rob are.
As for baby, here's a neat pic at what Little One looks like in the womb right now.
Here are the highlights of what Little One's going through this week:
The baby is about 7 ounces and 5.5 inches long (give or take). And the baby can actually hear me talking - that's right!! My baby can hear me. So I feel a little less crazy talking to her or singing to her now because she can hear something - although I know she doesn't likely know what exactly it is. His/her Senses for smell taste, sight and hearing and honing and developing to the stage they'll be at once he/she's born.

Now to find out what exactly I'm having, be sure to check back after Christmas. I'll certainly post as soon as possible. And I'll try to scan in pictures of the ultrasound if possible.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It Sucks!

Being pregnant around the holidays, that is. I have had my share of delicious holiday fare, from egg nog to turkey, with cookies and treats that do nothing for the baby but taste oh so good to me. I can't imagine how much weight I've gained since my last appointment. And I still have two weeks (on the nose) until my next appointment. Which sadly leaves me room to gain more weight until then - but hopefully if I nip things in the bud right now then it won't be so bad.
I've noticed in the last week that my belly has gotten a little more round and whether from pregnancy or delicious meals is yet unknown. But with my family background for love of food I'm sure it's the latter. (grumble, grumble)
Anyway, if I can stop drinking everything but water and natural juices, and if I can somehow curb my shameful cravings for sweets I think I might just be okay.
Celery sticks anyone??

The Weather Outside is Frightful ...

How Mommy Feels:

• Tired
• Hungry
• Achy hips and back
  

Cravings: assorted chocolates - like the Whitman's box.

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But I have no fire to make it so delightful. As it does in December in Utah, it's getting downright chilly and it's actually trying to snow outside. I have been freezing at my desk this week because it's been getting cooler. For some reason my area of the office is the coldest part - probably because I'm surrounded by cold tile and I'm by the doors. But it still stands that even for being pregnant I'm still cold. I keep meaning to break my heater from home, but I have faulty memory. is is a picture I took just outside my office. The clouds are very low and nearly covering the mountains.


This pictures shows a little break in the clouds where you can see just how low they are. The mountain slope on the left gets quite tall and most of the mountains are covered by the snow-filled clouds. When you look around it looks like there are no mountains, but having gotten used to being surrounded by them, you know they're there and it's eerie that you can't see them. Clouds like this usually bring snow for the benches and it's good news for the ski resorts located nearby. We'll see if the snow sticks and what happens.





So I do have a picture to post of my tummy since people are strangely curious about the whole thing. This first picture is a weird angle, but hopefully you'll be able to see the curve of my pooch. And if you look closely, you can see my new stretchmarks on my hips - sad! And I think that's a strange place to get them, but oh well.

I'll post more pictures of my tummy as I go along from now on since now's it completely noticeable.

I'm even wearing one of my new maternity tops today. Yes sir! A week or so ago I ordered maternity clothes online at Old Navy because they're cheaper than your Mimi Maternity and Motherhood stores out there. Their items look super cute and so I bought three dress slacks for work and three tops. The tops work out fine, after washing and drying them they fit way better and it's not too obvious that they're actually maternity tops. The pants however, are a completely different matter. As the rules stand for buying pregnancy clothes, you buy the same size in maternity-wear that you are pre-pregnancy. Well, that can't neccessarily be true because the pants were completely TOO BIG! When I put them on they slipped right back off and puddled around my ankles. Granted, I'm not at the stage of pregnancy yet that I need to wear them but they should be doable until I get bigger and not be so big that they don't even catch on my hips. And when I put them on and held them up to see what I looked like in the mirror my self-image plummetted. I looked like a pear-shaped penguin in dress pants. The waistline of the pants were wide and round while the legs of the pants tapered in the closer it got to your ankles. Not in the least attractive, and maybe pregnancy isn't supposed to be an attractive state, but DANG IT, it should be. And it would help if there were flattering clothes.

Anyway, needless to say the pants are being returned today via UPS. But the tops are keepers. So if anyone has any ideas on what I can do to find cute maternity pants appropriate for work, just let me know. I'm at a loss where to go for decent prices now that Old Navy didn't pan out like expected.

Now let's see what's going on with Little One:

- He/she weighs about 2-2.5 ounces
- He/she measures in around 5 inches
- Baby's eyes are now sealed shut but he/she can sense light.
- Eyebrows and eyelashes grow this week
- The baby can practice swallowing and sucking actions in utero.
- The possibility of feeling the baby move between now to 17 weeks has increased because the baby is more active. (Generally you have to be a stick to feel it. Since I had a little cushion before the pregnancy I don't think I'll feel anything before 17 wks.)
- Hair pattern on the scalp is developing.
- The little heart is pumping 25 quarts a day.

In the next coming four weeks my pregnancy book said that the most growth happens in the shortest amount of time so I have to remember to eat well and take my vitamins - I just need to remember. It's the hardest thing for some reason to remember to take my vitamins - even when Rob reminds me. I chalk the forgetfulness up to pregnancy. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.