Everyone's asking how we found out so soon so here's the link to the genetics testing company we used and the explanation of the gender determination test:
http://www.geneticstesting.com/gendertest/gendertest.htm
We are so thrilled! I thought it was a baby boy from the very beginning but right before we got the test results I started thinking it was a girl. I had to listen to the message four times before I believed it.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Week 14 -- Rock the Bump!
As my pre-pregnancy clothes seem to be getting smaller and smaller, I’ve been browsing the web for maternity clothes. I’m in that awkward, uncomfortable stage where I don’t have an official baby bump but my tummy is definitely not flat anymore and it’s past the point of sucking in. So basically I just feel like I need to lose a few pounds and we all know how uncomfortable that can be! Sources tell me that in the past, finding fashionable maternity clothes was harder than finding a Republican in California (um, no Arnold doesn’t count). Thanks to designers like Heidi Klum, Nicole Richie, Rachel Pally, Juicy Couture and Danang to name a few, there are SO many options now days for every season of pregnancy. Who says you have to put your sequin leggings on the top shelf of your closet never to be seen again just because you’re preggo? Okay, you might catch a few awkward glances if you’re sporting the sequin leggings in the 8th month, but you get my point. Recent maternity fashions are pushing the envelope with everything from leather leggings to sequin tunics and bright bold satin printed blouses. Even though you may not feel like a million bucks, there’s no reason you can’t look like it. Here are a few of my favorite pieces:
I got plenty of parenting practice this week by watching Michelle’s 17-month-old daughter Kaylen. She came with me to a Dr.’s appointment; we went to Chic-fil-a and Toys-R-Us and played outside. She definitely kept me BUSY!! She is walking/running everywhere, into everything and even more dangerous, she repeats everything I say! She has the vocabulary of a 36 month old and is already wise beyond her years like her Mom. Saturday Carlysle and I went to our brother-in-law’s 40th birthday party at Golfcrest Country Club; we enjoyed a live band, dinner and a Hawaiian shirt inspired cake. Sunday I was busy hosting our Houston Zeta Alumni Association annual Social. For events like this, we usually go to a wine room or have a seated dinner so this year I decided to change it up a little bit and host it at St. Arnold’s Brewery. It was SO much fun! We expanded the guest list to Zetas and their friends, families and husbands so we had a great turnout.
Weekly Womb Workings:
Our baby now has fingerprints! Believe it or not, he actually created them himself while swimming around in the amniotic fluid. As he moved his hands, the skin on the tips of his fingers formed unique ridges and folds. That's why no one on earth has the same fingerprints, not even identical twins! Cool, right? His arms are now in proportion to his tiny body, but his legs are still on the short size in comparison. The baby continues to gain new and impressive skills such as practicing and controlling voluntary muscle movements which are no longer the jerky, uncontrollable twitches of yesterday—he now moves with semi-graceful control. He weighs about an ounce and is the length of a flip phone, or roughly 3.5 inches—he's tripled in size from a mere three weeks ago! Luckily, I haven't done the same.
I got plenty of parenting practice this week by watching Michelle’s 17-month-old daughter Kaylen. She came with me to a Dr.’s appointment; we went to Chic-fil-a and Toys-R-Us and played outside. She definitely kept me BUSY!! She is walking/running everywhere, into everything and even more dangerous, she repeats everything I say! She has the vocabulary of a 36 month old and is already wise beyond her years like her Mom. Saturday Carlysle and I went to our brother-in-law’s 40th birthday party at Golfcrest Country Club; we enjoyed a live band, dinner and a Hawaiian shirt inspired cake. Sunday I was busy hosting our Houston Zeta Alumni Association annual Social. For events like this, we usually go to a wine room or have a seated dinner so this year I decided to change it up a little bit and host it at St. Arnold’s Brewery. It was SO much fun! We expanded the guest list to Zetas and their friends, families and husbands so we had a great turnout.
Weekly Womb Workings:
Our baby now has fingerprints! Believe it or not, he actually created them himself while swimming around in the amniotic fluid. As he moved his hands, the skin on the tips of his fingers formed unique ridges and folds. That's why no one on earth has the same fingerprints, not even identical twins! Cool, right? His arms are now in proportion to his tiny body, but his legs are still on the short size in comparison. The baby continues to gain new and impressive skills such as practicing and controlling voluntary muscle movements which are no longer the jerky, uncontrollable twitches of yesterday—he now moves with semi-graceful control. He weighs about an ounce and is the length of a flip phone, or roughly 3.5 inches—he's tripled in size from a mere three weeks ago! Luckily, I haven't done the same.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
New Ultrasound Pics
Baby G is definitely sucking his or her thumb in pictures one and two and in picture three notice he has actual arms and legs! No more nubs!!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Week 13 -- Wedding, Mardi Gras, Valentine's
This week was quite eventful! We left for New Orleans on Thursday morning to attend a wedding of an LSU swim teammate of Carlysle’s. The wedding was Thursday evening and it was beautiful—it was in a lovely southern belle plantation home and the food was wonderful. We had everything from crawfish pasta to crab pies to sushi and the wedding cake was the most delicious Italian crème cake I’ve ever had! After the cake was cut, the waiters passed little cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream. We stayed with Carlysle’s good friend Jared and his girlfriend Jenn. Friday started out very interesting; I decided the first daily event required its own story below.
Scarlett O’ComeBackHare
Jared and Jenn have a very cool one-year-old reddish-brown Husky dog named Scarlett. She looks like a sled dog slash wolf with beautiful blue eyes. Well, Friday morning I woke up refreshed and ready to go and everyone else was moving a bit slower so I decided to take Scarlett for a little walk around the block … apparently once around the block wasn’t good enough. As soon as we got back home and I took her leash off, a gust of wind blew the front door wide open and she dashed out right before my eyes! I could feel the panic rise up in my throat so I quickly ran to the fridge, grabbed some lunch meat intended to be used as bait, and gave chase. So here I am, 13 weeks pregnant running down the street in my Uggs (which are not sprinter friendly by the way), skinny jeans and a giant pea coat while screaming for Scarlett and waving cold cuts in the air. I’m sure I looked like a total lunatic. I finally catch up to her as she races across La Barre (a busy street surrounded by shopping centers on both sides) and into the crowded parking lot of Panchos Super Mexican Buffet. I spot several freshly ill Panchos patrons suffering from tamale comas and I decide to try desperately to convince them to grab her (let me remind you I am screaming, waving the ham and Scarlett is darting wildly in between parked cars). They could only muster a look that screamed “lady your dog looks like a crazy wolf, I’m not touching her!” Finally, a nice dog-friendly lady grabbed her and quickly handed her over to me and Scarlett in turn awarded herself the four slices of ham. As frustrated as I was, all I could do was laugh the whole way home thinking about how crazy I must have looked during the whole ordeal. I’m really glad Mushy has never ventured more than a few feet from me without a leash!
Mardi Gras
Later that evening we met up with our friend Megan on St. Charles Street to watch Mardi Gras parades. I have been to New Orleans several times before but each time I am absolutely captivated by the architecture on St. Charles and throughout other historic sections of the city. The uniqueness and attention to detail is just phenomenal. If we are lucky enough to build our own house one day, I hope we decide to build a miniature St. Charles house :) Megan eagerly met me in a giant white bunny suit, this was one of those times I was truly sad to have left my camera at home. A few moments earlier, someone had spilled a glass of red wine on her shoulder/chest region so she looked like a bunny that had been peppered with buckshot. This may sound crazy, but if you know Megan it is completely par for the course. She’s a top-of-the class law student at Loyola who wears a bunny costume to Mardi Gras.
If you’ve been pregnant before you know how sensitive you are to smells of any kind, particularly the bad ones. If you haven’t ever had the pleasure baby building, let me explain the smell thing to you…You know the effect a magnifying glass has on your eyes? Well that’s what pregnancy does to your sense of smell. In the French Quarter, especially near Jackson Square, there are artists every few feet. One of my all-time favorites is the guy on Decatur Street near Café Du Monde who spray paints his paintings while beatin’ the beats to house music. Well, on Saturday, the spray paint smell was not settling with me … not to mention the fact that I could smell the CFC’s from two blocks away. And Bourbon Street, OH Bourbon Street! Need I say more? The smell on a non-Mardi Gras weekend is enough to make a Trash Man go running to his Mama!
We had a wonderful weekend and headed home on Saturday to an Olympics watching party at my parent’s house. Valentine’s Day was perfect, Carlysle got me what I call the “Baby Mama Ring” from James Avery—it’s a heart shaped ring with one side of the heart bigger than the other to represent Mama and Baby. So cute. We had our traditional anniversary/Valentine’s dinner at the Palm on Sunday evening and came home to watch the Olympics (Carlysle is obsessed and I’m not far behind him).
Weekly Womb Workings:
Baby's eyelids are fused shut to protect his eyes as they develop. His bones and skull are solidifying and soon itsy-bitsy ribs may appear. (Baby ribs! How cute is that?!) Baby's intestines are finally right where you want them—in the belly instead of poking out into the umbilical cord. Baby's tooth sockets are all loaded and ready to pop out baby teeth six or seven months after baby is born (causing baby a lot of pain and Mama a lot of lost sleep). The vocal cords and larynx are completed now. Baby weighs 20 grams and is nearly three inches long.
Scarlett O’ComeBackHare
Jared and Jenn have a very cool one-year-old reddish-brown Husky dog named Scarlett. She looks like a sled dog slash wolf with beautiful blue eyes. Well, Friday morning I woke up refreshed and ready to go and everyone else was moving a bit slower so I decided to take Scarlett for a little walk around the block … apparently once around the block wasn’t good enough. As soon as we got back home and I took her leash off, a gust of wind blew the front door wide open and she dashed out right before my eyes! I could feel the panic rise up in my throat so I quickly ran to the fridge, grabbed some lunch meat intended to be used as bait, and gave chase. So here I am, 13 weeks pregnant running down the street in my Uggs (which are not sprinter friendly by the way), skinny jeans and a giant pea coat while screaming for Scarlett and waving cold cuts in the air. I’m sure I looked like a total lunatic. I finally catch up to her as she races across La Barre (a busy street surrounded by shopping centers on both sides) and into the crowded parking lot of Panchos Super Mexican Buffet. I spot several freshly ill Panchos patrons suffering from tamale comas and I decide to try desperately to convince them to grab her (let me remind you I am screaming, waving the ham and Scarlett is darting wildly in between parked cars). They could only muster a look that screamed “lady your dog looks like a crazy wolf, I’m not touching her!” Finally, a nice dog-friendly lady grabbed her and quickly handed her over to me and Scarlett in turn awarded herself the four slices of ham. As frustrated as I was, all I could do was laugh the whole way home thinking about how crazy I must have looked during the whole ordeal. I’m really glad Mushy has never ventured more than a few feet from me without a leash!
Mardi Gras
Later that evening we met up with our friend Megan on St. Charles Street to watch Mardi Gras parades. I have been to New Orleans several times before but each time I am absolutely captivated by the architecture on St. Charles and throughout other historic sections of the city. The uniqueness and attention to detail is just phenomenal. If we are lucky enough to build our own house one day, I hope we decide to build a miniature St. Charles house :) Megan eagerly met me in a giant white bunny suit, this was one of those times I was truly sad to have left my camera at home. A few moments earlier, someone had spilled a glass of red wine on her shoulder/chest region so she looked like a bunny that had been peppered with buckshot. This may sound crazy, but if you know Megan it is completely par for the course. She’s a top-of-the class law student at Loyola who wears a bunny costume to Mardi Gras.
If you’ve been pregnant before you know how sensitive you are to smells of any kind, particularly the bad ones. If you haven’t ever had the pleasure baby building, let me explain the smell thing to you…You know the effect a magnifying glass has on your eyes? Well that’s what pregnancy does to your sense of smell. In the French Quarter, especially near Jackson Square, there are artists every few feet. One of my all-time favorites is the guy on Decatur Street near Café Du Monde who spray paints his paintings while beatin’ the beats to house music. Well, on Saturday, the spray paint smell was not settling with me … not to mention the fact that I could smell the CFC’s from two blocks away. And Bourbon Street, OH Bourbon Street! Need I say more? The smell on a non-Mardi Gras weekend is enough to make a Trash Man go running to his Mama!
We had a wonderful weekend and headed home on Saturday to an Olympics watching party at my parent’s house. Valentine’s Day was perfect, Carlysle got me what I call the “Baby Mama Ring” from James Avery—it’s a heart shaped ring with one side of the heart bigger than the other to represent Mama and Baby. So cute. We had our traditional anniversary/Valentine’s dinner at the Palm on Sunday evening and came home to watch the Olympics (Carlysle is obsessed and I’m not far behind him).
Weekly Womb Workings:
Baby's eyelids are fused shut to protect his eyes as they develop. His bones and skull are solidifying and soon itsy-bitsy ribs may appear. (Baby ribs! How cute is that?!) Baby's intestines are finally right where you want them—in the belly instead of poking out into the umbilical cord. Baby's tooth sockets are all loaded and ready to pop out baby teeth six or seven months after baby is born (causing baby a lot of pain and Mama a lot of lost sleep). The vocal cords and larynx are completed now. Baby weighs 20 grams and is nearly three inches long.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Week 12 -- Bowl Baby and Chewie Mama
This Sunday we had a Superbowl party at our house complete with chili footballs, jambalaya, pasta salad, brownies, pinwheels, queso, guac, fruit salad etc. We had the fire pit roaring outside on the patio and the crowd roaring inside for the Saints.
Okay this is getting serious. If it weren't for modern day grooming techniques, I could pass for a recent descendant of Chewbaca. If I get my eyebrows waxed on Tuesday, they are bushy by Wednesday evening. My hair is growing so fast my head looks like a fashion forward ombre color palet from Diane Von Furstenburg's Spring 2009 collection. (Think tye-dyed ... goes from dark to light). Sooo I have made the executive decision to strip the bottle blond color and go au natural. Let's get one thing straight--I do have blond hair, it's just not THIS light naturally! (obv) Plus, there is a lot of controversy about coloring your hair while you're pregnant. I don't really believe everything I hear; if it were so bad for the baby, then how do so many hairdressers I know have healthy kids? Besides, women have been having babies for thousands of years through famine, wartime and much more extreme conditions than hair salons present. What if hair color really was dangerous? I can see it now: "Run for the hills! Hide the women and children! The terrorists are coming and they're armed with bottles of hair color!" (Satire) I digress...of course anything natural and chemical free would be the best option for baby growing conditions but trying to achieve that in today's environment would force one to live in a plastic bubble for nine months. Ummm No thanks. However, as a Mom-to-be it's important to cut out whatever chemicals I can here and there.
Weekly Womb Workings:
The most dramatic development this week is the baby's reflexes. The fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, our baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.
Okay this is getting serious. If it weren't for modern day grooming techniques, I could pass for a recent descendant of Chewbaca. If I get my eyebrows waxed on Tuesday, they are bushy by Wednesday evening. My hair is growing so fast my head looks like a fashion forward ombre color palet from Diane Von Furstenburg's Spring 2009 collection. (Think tye-dyed ... goes from dark to light). Sooo I have made the executive decision to strip the bottle blond color and go au natural. Let's get one thing straight--I do have blond hair, it's just not THIS light naturally! (obv) Plus, there is a lot of controversy about coloring your hair while you're pregnant. I don't really believe everything I hear; if it were so bad for the baby, then how do so many hairdressers I know have healthy kids? Besides, women have been having babies for thousands of years through famine, wartime and much more extreme conditions than hair salons present. What if hair color really was dangerous? I can see it now: "Run for the hills! Hide the women and children! The terrorists are coming and they're armed with bottles of hair color!" (Satire) I digress...of course anything natural and chemical free would be the best option for baby growing conditions but trying to achieve that in today's environment would force one to live in a plastic bubble for nine months. Ummm No thanks. However, as a Mom-to-be it's important to cut out whatever chemicals I can here and there.
Weekly Womb Workings:
The most dramatic development this week is the baby's reflexes. The fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, our baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Ultrasound #2, 11 Weeks
Although the baby has grown exponentially in just a few weeks, it's even harder to tell what it is in these pictures. I got to watch the monitor with the Doctor while she did the ultrasound and this is one hyperactive baby! He was moving around so much it was hard for her to get a still shot, hence the blurred fuzzy baby pictures. If this is any indication of outcomes of future portrait sessions, I am going to need to invest in a good camera/lense with a super fast shutterspeed!
In the early months, before you can feel your baby kick or move, an ultrasound is the only way you can witness your baby's growth and development. I never take one of these appointments for granted; they completely amaze me every time. Seeing the baby move his arms and legs (well, actually more like nubs and nubs)was unbelievable, I got to see the heartbeat again too; it was much more steady and prounounced than last time. At this point, the head is almost the same size as the body -- it's completely normal, I was sure to inquire about that -- and all of the vital organs are now formed and functioning. Unbelievable! This week, the nail beds will begin to form and the ears will assume their position. As my RN friend Michelle always reminds me, each week of development in pregancy is so significant.
I still feel great! I haven't had any morning sickness at all, the fatigue is going away and the only thing I've really had a craving for is White Chocolate Mousse frozen yogurt from TCBY ... the good news is it's 96% fat free. Let's hope the whole pregnancy is this easy!
Weekly Womb Workings: The baby is about 50 millimeters crown to rump and weighs about eight grams (about a quarter of an ounce). The irises are now forming. The liver, intestines, brain and lungs are beginning to function on their own. The primitive "tail" is now gone and the intestines are beginning to migrate into the abdominal cavity. Now that most of the major organ work is done, the baby adds such details as hair, fingernails and toenails. While his head is nearly as large as the rest of his body, head growth begins to slow during this period.
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