It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!!

Glenn and I knew as soon as we were pregnant that we definitely wanted to find out the sex. I know that it can be special to await that magical surprise but....I'm a planner. I like to KNOW things for the sake of knowing them. In fact my biggest pet peeve is NOT knowing something, I am loathe to surprises. So, that being said we researched just how soon and how to go about the business of knowing. 


Looking at wives' tails - results were mixed.....


Timing of sex - On or close to ovulation date = BOY
Chinese Gender Calendar = BOY
Baking Soda Method - GIRL
"Show your hands" wives tail = GIRL
Carrying low = BOY
Craving sweets = GIRL
Bad skin breakouts = GIRL
Necklace and ring swing test = BOY
No morning sickness = BOY
Heartrate over 140 = GIRL


Of course I always felt from the get-go that this baby was a boy. Maybe because I had an idealized view that the boy "should come first" to be the bigger brother for future siblings, or to carry on the family name. I just "felt" boy the majority of the time. Sometimes I got inklings of girl, but we felt so strongly pro-blue that we picked three top names for boys and could settle on approximately 2 that we even sorta liked for girl. WHEW. 


With all that said, we would have loved and welcomed a daughter into this world too, but a bit of me was certainly relieved to find out we will be having a son. The thing is, having been a girl all my life, I know the struggles, insecurities, societal pressures and everyday baggage of being a girl. Do I love being a girl? Of course, I just think my anxiety over parenting would be magnified thricefold should that happen as baby number 1. Of course boys will have their own special trials and tribulations and we will cross each as we get to them -- I can't wait for this experience!

Without further ado - the sonogram "goods"

two little legs and the money shot

This is obviously not a 3D image

Side profile of little face

Waving saying hello again!

And our personal favorite, as created by a friend from college....Baby Boy Lovelace getting his Steelers pride on!

We are so thrilled to be the parents of a little boy, and this knowledge has brought us even closer to this little person we haven't "met" yet but love so much. Onto the fun shopping and color scheming and naming!

Things I noticed after working out 3 times in 2 weeks (insert golf claps here)

Of note:


-- I miss running


-- I miss running outside


-- I miss Tuesday Night Class (I was just starting to get real muscles dammit!)


-- I am scared to do any leg lifting, back, squats, etc because of my damn cervix


-- I've been doing the elliptical and it is boring


-- I did a "new" version of the elliptical tonight and it was....you guessed it, still boring


-- I finally have purchased a heart rate monitor so at least I will be doing this safely 


-- It's weird to not be fully "showing" yet but be walking around with a belly that looks like I had too much fun drinking beer on Halloween. Or eating cake. Or eating cake and drinking   beer.


-- I ate alot of Halloween candy this week and going to the gym probably won't cancel it out


-- I am starting to get a ton of blue veins on my back, stomach, legs and boobs. Creepy yet    scientific! Flow, blood, flow!


-- I wish I could make myself work out everyday...but some days are just way easier than others. On others I like to take naps.


-- That being said, working out makes me feel really refreshed and energetic and keeps headaches away


-- My water intake is amazing


-- I have gained either 3 pounds or 6, it ebbs and flows. I should research what is considered healthy


-- I lean over now and I don't have "rolls"...it is like one big roll, the making of a bump? 


Exciting?


-- Number of times someone has almost walked in the bathroom whilst I awkwardly take photos (4)

curvature of gut

ain't no bakery up in here! (no rolls, but a bun in the oven harharhahrharh okay I quit)

ULTRASOUND!

Sorry for the belatedness (avid readers, the 2 of you...Hi Mom! Hi Erin!) but finally an update! We went for our first ultrasound (it's been a long 10 weeks ya'll!) on October 27th. We were scheduled for a 7:30am appointment and were in lickety split. The actual process took about 10 minutes!


The whole thing flew right by. I was so glad Glenn was present for it, and had a good view. When she put the scanner right on my abdomen she found the baby in about 30 seconds. The best view I got the whole ultrasound was in that first few seconds. Baby bean was dancing around, kicking and fist pumping! It was amazing to see how much movement was actually happening, since I'm too early to feel anything. I sorta thought the baby was just chilling in there, taking a snoozer and thinking about future stock options...but oh no, little fetus of Love is ska-dancing up a storm!


Our quiet, fast-moving technician Janine took measurements of the baby (right on target at exactly 10 weeks, so due date is May 24th, although I know the night I ovulated was September 3rd so I say May 26th), my ovaries, and the yolk sac, and I don't know what else? I say I don't know because again, this provider was less than forthcoming with details. COME ON. I am not sure if it is the state of Maryland, and perhaps it's more of a booming metropolis  with high birth rates, but these first time appointments aren't the Hallmark specials I initially had anticipated/hoped for.


She didn't spell out what was the heart, or where the brain was (pretty obvious for us to figure out), but because my head was cranked in such a way, I had to look uncomfortably over my shoulder to see anything...so I didn't get as much viewing time as I would've liked. Glenn said he could see the heart flickering! Heart rate was at 163 beats per minute, which babycenter reflects as being about average for 10 weeks along (160 to be exact).


She did take a photo for us (after lambasting us for bringing a camera....boo) which now is proudly framed! Behold, the first photo of Baby Lovelace!

Black dot in head = brain! Its little hand is by its face, that's that "beak" sort of area

Janine said the baby looked great and measuring on pace for 10 weeks and then promptly turned off the machine and told us to have a great day. 


We went to the classiest Bob Evans available (read: across the street from my job) and grubbed on some fantastic pancakes and bacon. We both stared at the ultrasound picture and tried not to get syrup on it and took turns suggesting (and turning down) future names. After seeing the baby's image and hearing the heart rate was 163, for whatever reason my brain said "girl" but the rest of my body is still screaming "boy". Only about 7-10 weeks until we can officially find out!

A belly full of baby and pancakes = joy

Dad's belly is full of bacon

  

Salvation through technology: On being one's own advocate

I am neurotic to a fault. I like having control and hate waiting. Being frustrated with these weeks of waiting and lack of diagnostics during our initial prenatal visit, Glenn and I purchased the Sonoline B fetal doppler at around 8 weeks.

It's a handy little doppler that comes with gel and is basically a $50.00 plastic piece of mind. I have been trying fruitlessly since 8 weeks 2 days to get a heart beat. (Doctors tell you it's difficult to hear the heartbeat before 12 weeks)

I can find my own heart beat, and would hear the "woosh woosh" of my placenta/cord(?) but couldn't get the actual baby's heartbeat. Upon research I knew it should sound faster than mine (anything 125 and under is mom), and should sound like a train or galloping horses . I would start right above pubic line and move left to right (weeks this early in the first trimester the baby sits very low behind your pubic bone). Well after a week and a half of trying, I finally got the lil bugger!

There is indeed a baby Lovelace growing in there! Words cannot express how happy this makes me, and the feeling of reassurance that all these symptoms and feelings I have are not for naught.  I had to go wake Glenn up to have him listen....he was delirious but excited! So high on baby love right now! 




Without further ado: Baby Lovelace at 9 weeks 4 (well, 5 at midnight) days:

Health and Exercise (or lack there of)

As I am wont to do - I will continue to relinquish any self-abashment. I figure I have shared this blog with enough people who know me and love me to not care how much I really put myself on front street. That being said, I feel like a huge bloated whale. While I know pregnancy is the most rewarding gift a woman can ever experience, I'll be damned if it isn't a shot to the esteem to not fully be "showing" and have this constant bloating feeling.


Pre-pregnancy I used to go to the (bourgeois, fancy, rich white people) gym fairly frequently (okay 3 times a week if I was lucky) or run outside to stay fit. I especially loved the high impact weight lifting and cycling classes. As soon as I found out I was pregnant I fell into the fear-induced rut that somehow working out (other than walking or swimming slow) would somehow increase my odds of miscarriage or somehow hinder the healthy growth of baby Lovelace. 


Well, I've just about had it with feeling like a cesspool of sleepiness and pudge. Why am I not "glowing" yet? (Nice) people in the know have been telling me I look great, but it's hard to step on the scale everyday and wonder if these 4 lbs of weight gain are healthy pounds full of nourishment for the baby, or if mama has just been enjoying those vanilla muffins and skim milk too much. THE BABY CRAVED IT OKAY. 


My darling nurse practitioner wasn't providing any revolutionary guidelines on what I should or should not be doing exercise wise, and since I won't know til week 12 the stability of my cervix (thanks HPV!) I have been taking it relatively easy. I have gone running approximately twice, and done the elliptical twice in....NINE WEEKS AND 4 DAYS. No wonder I feel like a blimp. 


Today I did the elliptical for 35 minutes set to cross-training, and then did some weight training - arms. I must say it felt amazing to sweat, and for once I didn't have headaches. I am looking to purchase a probably turbo-expensive heartrate monitor to keep below that (140-160 beats per minute) dreaded fetus stressing number. 


I still got it!

9 weeks 4 days in the ladies restroom at Lifetime Fitness - whatofit?

8 weeks & counting...frustrations aplenty

So we had our first "official" prenatal visit. If you can call it much of a visit. I know I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for any bells and whistles, but I left feeling like the entire process was super structured and cold. We met with a nurse practitioner who didn't really answer any of my questions "they will get to that at your 12 week appointment" and basically gave me a brief pap smear "your uterus seems to be at the 6-8 week mark size wise", some pamphlets and a referral for blood tests and a sonogram and sent me on my merry way. 

When we asked about viability she basically told me that if I had peed on sticks that said I was pregnant I was pregnant and to wait for my "dating ultrasound" at 10 weeks. Not something a 1st time high-anxiety ridden mom wants to hear. That coupled with my knowledge of the ability to hear a heartbeat at 6 weeks, (countless friends have had ultrasounds from 5 weeks on),  and the fact that these different practices pick a random arbitrary date out of their ass to determine if/when an ultrasound could be done really grinded my hormonal gears. I don't know why I was so upset (yes I do, I am neurotic & hormonal), but I basically cried from the time we left the appointment to the time we got home. If there's one thing I hate in life it's not KNOWING something or being able to PLAN for something. I am a planner by trade (well, job) and feel a comfort in knowing the reasons and order for things. While the NP so gleefully said, "oh 2 and a half weeks will fly right by!"  I wanted to cut the bitch. The whole experience didn't leave me with warm fuzzies. I felt like I was a pregnant cow, just being herded through the motions. Not that I wanted glitter and rainbows, but sentimentality of the experience was completely stricken. 

It's taken me a few days to get out of this funk, which is why I hadn't updated in some time. I have alot of great friends who were of a huge help in making me relax and take it easy on myself and this baby. I have to accept that I don't know whether or not everything is okay, and will simply have to wait these arbitrary 2.5 weeks until the ultrasound, as much as it feels like every fiber of my being is white hot in frustration. I just can't imagine that with our technological advances we can't give some sort of "breathe easy" standardized treatment. I am aware that some early ultrasounds are only for high-risk pregnancies....but in all honestly, all pregnancies should be "high risk" until we know otherwise, yes? They all essentially start out the same - so what is the harm in helping a person relax?

Off of that soap box -- special shout out to Alexis, who sent me a very thoughtful gift in the mail Mama to Be Tea! It was so unexpected and appreciated! Glenn retrieved the package at the door and was all "what'd you order from Amazon now?!" Upon opening the box I burst into hormonal (but happy!) tears.  I have tried 2 of the varieties in the sampler and both are fantastic! Since I have not been drinking coffee, I have looked to these warm beverages as a special treat. 

Last week I went to visit my mom in West Virginia to take part in some fall festivals and to see my grandparents, but previous to that Glenn and I went to see the Tuneyards. It was pretty much the greatest live band experience I have ever seen. Glenn got to drink some delicious Natty Boh's and I got a requisite band shirt because I am a nerd. 

no flash - no problem

We ended up having beautiful weather all weekend long, and Grandma, Mom and I did some crucial shopping at lawn sales and the Colorfest and Apple Butter Festival. Alot of quality eating was done as well. 

once we finally found eachother in a sea of thousands

Papa Howie, 89 years young!

Dancing at the Troubadour!

We went to one yard sale where the woman had a bunch of baby clothes and furnishings and made out like bandits. I have no shame in buying used things, especially because so much of what you need for a child they grow out of ASAP and it can be expensive if bought outright. So long as items are clean and well taken care of I am totally pro. So totally like...green of me. Ha! In any event we got a bouncy chair, a bunch of unisex (read: yellow and white) sleepers and some boppy covers. We were quite pleased with ourselves. My grandma is also already working on an afghan!