Well, this is a little on the late side, but you must forgive me, I have had A LOT on my mind. A lot.
We TRIED to find out the baby's gender on Friday, but the baby was uncooperative and kept the legs crossed! How mean! At least our baby is modest, right? Anyways, our midwife did make guess based on what she could see, so I will find out this Friday on my 20 week ultrasound if her guess in correct.
So keep your fingers crossed that the legs stay uncrossed!
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Showing posts with label Baby Darnell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baby Darnell. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Predicting the Baby's Gender!
Friday's the big day! At least the biggest day before the baby's arrival, anyway. We find out if we're having a little girl or a little boy! Needless to say, we're SUPER excited :)
However, nothing is one hundred percent accurate when guessing the baby's gender, except running DNA. Even ultrasounds can sometimes be hard to see. Everyone's heard of those old wife's tales, and some people swear by them. I don't believe in any of them at all, but it's REALLY fun to compare them to yourself and find out later if they were right.
So what do the old wife's tale say I will be having?
1. Carrying high or low. High: girl, Low: boy
-Well, I honestly have no idea. I'm not showing a lot yet. I also have a fairly wide pelvic structure, so right now I feel I'm showing everywhere, haha. I did just get a text from one of my friends that said I'm carrying low, so point goes to the boy I guess!
2. Baby's Heartbeat. 140+ is girl, <140 boy="" p=""> -This one doesn't give points to either. Why? Because the last time we had an appointment, the heartbeat was 140. Sneaky baby :)
3. Cravings. Sweet cravings means girl, salty or sour cravings means boys.
-Haha, again this one is inexplicable. I haven't had any cravings! I would say sweet, but I crave sweets when I'm not pregnant. I have been eating more potato chips lately, but that just might be me using pregnancy as an excuse to buy them. So again, no score.
4. Chinese Birth Calender.
-This takes your age at the baby's conception, and the month you conceived. Try it here. Problem: I actually don't know what age I was, since at our best guess conception was around my birthday. So this baby is being very very sneaky.
5. Mayans Even and Odd.
-This is also like the Chinese calender, but this takes my age and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If there is both an even and odd number, it's a boy. So for the 4th time in a row, we have no answer. I'd like to know, though, how the Mayans or Chinese figured this out I have no clue, since age of conception and the year have absolutely nothing to do with a baby's gender.
6. Face Breaking Out. More acne is girl, less acne is boy.
-The legend has it, a girl steals her mama's beauty, thus mama now breaks out like a teenager. Well, finally, one I can answer! My skin has never looked better, so point to the boy! Although, you know, it might be because of those prenatal vitamins, instead of the baby's gender, but whatever :)
7. Wedding Ring.
-With this one, you tie your wedding ring to a string and hang it over your belly. If the ring swings in a circle, it's a boy, back and forth equals a girl. Point goes to the boy again!
8. Morning sickness. Really sick equals a girl, feeling fine equals a boy!
-Finally a point to the girl! Even in to my second trimester, I have been getting sick. When I get a headache or a migraine (which is happening way more often in my pregnancy), I'm more likely to throw up than when I wasn't pregnant. I also had some serious nausea in my first trimester, to the point where I wouldn't eat anything all day because I was so queasy.
9. The linea nigra: It's a dark line that runs vertically on your belly.
-Legend says if it goes down to the belly bottom, its a girl. If it continues farther than that, it's a boy. Well... I don't have one, so no points there!
10. Favorite Side Sleeping Position. Right: Girl Left: Boy
-Point to the girl!
11. Soft or dry hands? Soft say girl, dry say boy
-Dry says boy!
12. Clumsy or graceful? The XX makes you graceful, the XY makes you clumsy.
-I'm clumsy to begin with, but I would definitely say I am even more clumsy now, so boy it is! I can't take my eyes off the sidewalk or I trip over myself.
13. Fuller face. If your face is fuller, it means a girl. No change is a boy.
-Boy again!
14. Increased Mood Swings. If you're moodier, it's a girl!
-Nope, it's a boy! I've either felt fine, or been too sick to be moody, haha
15. Baby Weight. If all the weight is in front, it's a boy. If it's spaced all around, it's a girl.
-I'd say girl. But then again, it's still early, so I'm not showing/carrying a whole lot yet.
So what's the verdict? 3 points to a girl, 7 points to boy, and a whole bunch I couldn't answer! We'll see on Friday if those old wives were right!
However, nothing is one hundred percent accurate when guessing the baby's gender, except running DNA. Even ultrasounds can sometimes be hard to see. Everyone's heard of those old wife's tales, and some people swear by them. I don't believe in any of them at all, but it's REALLY fun to compare them to yourself and find out later if they were right.
So what do the old wife's tale say I will be having?
1. Carrying high or low. High: girl, Low: boy
-Well, I honestly have no idea. I'm not showing a lot yet. I also have a fairly wide pelvic structure, so right now I feel I'm showing everywhere, haha. I did just get a text from one of my friends that said I'm carrying low, so point goes to the boy I guess!
2. Baby's Heartbeat. 140+ is girl, <140 boy="" p=""> -This one doesn't give points to either. Why? Because the last time we had an appointment, the heartbeat was 140. Sneaky baby :)
3. Cravings. Sweet cravings means girl, salty or sour cravings means boys.
-Haha, again this one is inexplicable. I haven't had any cravings! I would say sweet, but I crave sweets when I'm not pregnant. I have been eating more potato chips lately, but that just might be me using pregnancy as an excuse to buy them. So again, no score.
4. Chinese Birth Calender.
-This takes your age at the baby's conception, and the month you conceived. Try it here. Problem: I actually don't know what age I was, since at our best guess conception was around my birthday. So this baby is being very very sneaky.
5. Mayans Even and Odd.
-This is also like the Chinese calender, but this takes my age and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If there is both an even and odd number, it's a boy. So for the 4th time in a row, we have no answer. I'd like to know, though, how the Mayans or Chinese figured this out I have no clue, since age of conception and the year have absolutely nothing to do with a baby's gender.
6. Face Breaking Out. More acne is girl, less acne is boy.
-The legend has it, a girl steals her mama's beauty, thus mama now breaks out like a teenager. Well, finally, one I can answer! My skin has never looked better, so point to the boy! Although, you know, it might be because of those prenatal vitamins, instead of the baby's gender, but whatever :)
7. Wedding Ring.
-With this one, you tie your wedding ring to a string and hang it over your belly. If the ring swings in a circle, it's a boy, back and forth equals a girl. Point goes to the boy again!
8. Morning sickness. Really sick equals a girl, feeling fine equals a boy!
-Finally a point to the girl! Even in to my second trimester, I have been getting sick. When I get a headache or a migraine (which is happening way more often in my pregnancy), I'm more likely to throw up than when I wasn't pregnant. I also had some serious nausea in my first trimester, to the point where I wouldn't eat anything all day because I was so queasy.
9. The linea nigra: It's a dark line that runs vertically on your belly.
-Legend says if it goes down to the belly bottom, its a girl. If it continues farther than that, it's a boy. Well... I don't have one, so no points there!
10. Favorite Side Sleeping Position. Right: Girl Left: Boy
-Point to the girl!
11. Soft or dry hands? Soft say girl, dry say boy
-Dry says boy!
12. Clumsy or graceful? The XX makes you graceful, the XY makes you clumsy.
-I'm clumsy to begin with, but I would definitely say I am even more clumsy now, so boy it is! I can't take my eyes off the sidewalk or I trip over myself.
13. Fuller face. If your face is fuller, it means a girl. No change is a boy.
-Boy again!
14. Increased Mood Swings. If you're moodier, it's a girl!
-Nope, it's a boy! I've either felt fine, or been too sick to be moody, haha
15. Baby Weight. If all the weight is in front, it's a boy. If it's spaced all around, it's a girl.
-I'd say girl. But then again, it's still early, so I'm not showing/carrying a whole lot yet.
So what's the verdict? 3 points to a girl, 7 points to boy, and a whole bunch I couldn't answer! We'll see on Friday if those old wives were right!
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Pregnancy Update
Alright, here's the run down: I'm not really enjoying being pregnant. Sure, I'm super excited to be a mommy, and I feel blessed that I get to experience growing a little human inside me, but unfortunately, that doesn't prevent it from sucking sometimes. I feel really guilty about it, but I can't help with how I feel.
It's so hard to explain what pregnancy is like to anyone who has never experienced before. Heck, even women who have experienced it might not understand, since pregnancy is so different for everyone. But here's the truth: everything in your body has the potential to stop working normally. Things you didn't even know could be effected b pregnancy are. Everyone knows about the backaches and the morning sickness. But did you know you can be congested through your whole pregnancy? Yup. Since you carrying 7 liters of extra blood in your body, your nasal passages swell and increase in pressure, thus causing congestion. So you basically have the sniffles for up to 9 months. You can become intolerant of certain foods and smells. Some women experience headaches. Your feet swell, your eye sight can get worse, your joints (even joints you did not know existed) ache and cause pain. Everyday activities make you short of breath and more tired than normal. You have to adjust your sleeping position. You can't take anything but Tylenol. You start gaining weight, and with that come ligament and muscle cramps in your abdomen because everything is stretching. You can't eat as much anymore in one sitting, but some days you can't tame your hunger. Your digestive system stops functioning. And lets not forget that your bladder is all of a sudden three sizes too small and you have to constantly use the bathroom. I haven't slept through the night for the last three months because of this. Actually, I usually wake up twice. Guess the baby's preparing me for when he/she gets here :)
For some women, they get hardly any of these. Their morning sickness lasts for only the first trimester, and other than aches and pains and the constant bathroom use, they're fine. Some of us, though, are highly uncomfortable. I happen to suffer from migraines. In the past four days, I have experienced two. I have woken up with them, and they are accompanied by extreme neck pain. I then proceed to get sick all morning (two days ago I couldn't keep anything down until dinner). Tylenol didn't even work because I threw that up, too. All I can do is stay in my house and hope that it eventually goes away.
And this is all just the physical side effects. There are a lot of emotional side effects, too. I pretty much much experience everything from sheer joy to full on panic. I love my baby, I'm so excited to have one, but I'm also nervous and overwhelmed and in disbelief. "Is this really happening to me? Finally?" "I get to be a mommy! The only thing I've ever wanted in life!" "Oh goodness, it's never going to just be me and Matt. Ever again." "Holy cow I get to be a mommy! And buy lots of cute things for my baby." "Oh I hope I don't screw up raising this baby." "Ugh I'm going to get so big!" "Oh my goodness I actually have to push that out of me!" "When do I get to feel the baby move?" "Oh my gosh what if it's a miscarriage?" It's natural for all of these things to go through your head. Sure, everyone knows that pregnant woman get big. But when it actually becomes a reality, you kind of fight it. Even though it's for a good reason, I fought with my weight gain. Does any woman really want to gain weight? Not really. And there's nothing like the reality that eventually, that baby WILL be coming out. Very painfully. And there's nothing you can do about it. I have always looked forward to pregnancy. But nothing- I repeat, NOTHING- can prepare you for it until it actually happens to you. You also can't predict who you will react, or feel, or how easy your pregnancy will be until you're going through it.
Like I said, I'm so glad I get to experience this. There's nothing quite like. On days when I feel good, I enjoy being pregnant and embrace it. Those days, however, that suck, REALLY SUCK. Unfortunately for me, I have more sucky days than good days. I wish more than anything that I could flip that, but this pregnancy doesn't want me to roll that way. That's life. So believe me, I take advantage of the days I feel great. I walk the dog a lot, clean the house, and stay active. The days that I'm feeling like crap, I take it easy and just hope it gets better as I get farther along.
So believe me when I say, I can't wait for this baby to get here! Sure, I'll be exhausted, my house will be neglected, and I won't sleep for about 3 months, but I'm pretty sure having that little baby in my arms will make me forget all about that :) Only about 21 1/2 weeks to go!
It's so hard to explain what pregnancy is like to anyone who has never experienced before. Heck, even women who have experienced it might not understand, since pregnancy is so different for everyone. But here's the truth: everything in your body has the potential to stop working normally. Things you didn't even know could be effected b pregnancy are. Everyone knows about the backaches and the morning sickness. But did you know you can be congested through your whole pregnancy? Yup. Since you carrying 7 liters of extra blood in your body, your nasal passages swell and increase in pressure, thus causing congestion. So you basically have the sniffles for up to 9 months. You can become intolerant of certain foods and smells. Some women experience headaches. Your feet swell, your eye sight can get worse, your joints (even joints you did not know existed) ache and cause pain. Everyday activities make you short of breath and more tired than normal. You have to adjust your sleeping position. You can't take anything but Tylenol. You start gaining weight, and with that come ligament and muscle cramps in your abdomen because everything is stretching. You can't eat as much anymore in one sitting, but some days you can't tame your hunger. Your digestive system stops functioning. And lets not forget that your bladder is all of a sudden three sizes too small and you have to constantly use the bathroom. I haven't slept through the night for the last three months because of this. Actually, I usually wake up twice. Guess the baby's preparing me for when he/she gets here :)
For some women, they get hardly any of these. Their morning sickness lasts for only the first trimester, and other than aches and pains and the constant bathroom use, they're fine. Some of us, though, are highly uncomfortable. I happen to suffer from migraines. In the past four days, I have experienced two. I have woken up with them, and they are accompanied by extreme neck pain. I then proceed to get sick all morning (two days ago I couldn't keep anything down until dinner). Tylenol didn't even work because I threw that up, too. All I can do is stay in my house and hope that it eventually goes away.
And this is all just the physical side effects. There are a lot of emotional side effects, too. I pretty much much experience everything from sheer joy to full on panic. I love my baby, I'm so excited to have one, but I'm also nervous and overwhelmed and in disbelief. "Is this really happening to me? Finally?" "I get to be a mommy! The only thing I've ever wanted in life!" "Oh goodness, it's never going to just be me and Matt. Ever again." "Holy cow I get to be a mommy! And buy lots of cute things for my baby." "Oh I hope I don't screw up raising this baby." "Ugh I'm going to get so big!" "Oh my goodness I actually have to push that out of me!" "When do I get to feel the baby move?" "Oh my gosh what if it's a miscarriage?" It's natural for all of these things to go through your head. Sure, everyone knows that pregnant woman get big. But when it actually becomes a reality, you kind of fight it. Even though it's for a good reason, I fought with my weight gain. Does any woman really want to gain weight? Not really. And there's nothing like the reality that eventually, that baby WILL be coming out. Very painfully. And there's nothing you can do about it. I have always looked forward to pregnancy. But nothing- I repeat, NOTHING- can prepare you for it until it actually happens to you. You also can't predict who you will react, or feel, or how easy your pregnancy will be until you're going through it.
Like I said, I'm so glad I get to experience this. There's nothing quite like. On days when I feel good, I enjoy being pregnant and embrace it. Those days, however, that suck, REALLY SUCK. Unfortunately for me, I have more sucky days than good days. I wish more than anything that I could flip that, but this pregnancy doesn't want me to roll that way. That's life. So believe me, I take advantage of the days I feel great. I walk the dog a lot, clean the house, and stay active. The days that I'm feeling like crap, I take it easy and just hope it gets better as I get farther along.
So believe me when I say, I can't wait for this baby to get here! Sure, I'll be exhausted, my house will be neglected, and I won't sleep for about 3 months, but I'm pretty sure having that little baby in my arms will make me forget all about that :) Only about 21 1/2 weeks to go!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Feeling Good
It feels SO GOOD to finally have my appetite back. Seriously, 3 months of nausea, food aversion, morning sickness, and fatigue, even if they're not all happening at the same time, is rather annoying. It's hard to go from no appetite one day, sick the next day, totally fine the next, and complete and utter starvation, yet nothing looks appetizing the next day.
If you're anything like me, the main reason cooking is so fun is that I get to feed other people, but I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor, also. However, if you have no desire to eat at all, it's really hard to cook for yourself or anybody else. Plus, you don't have the energy to do the dishes, either.
Tonight, I made chicken Caesar salad and baked potatoes. Admittedly not very fancy, but hey, it was still very delicious. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper, spread on a mixture of Caesar and Italian dressing and baked it. I made the salad with croutons, the chicken, tomato, and avocado. The baked potatoes were served with bacon (duh), cheese, and sour cream. I still can't eat as much as I used to in one sitting, but that's ok, this dinner tasted so good. I'm not sure if that's because it actually was really good, or if it was just because I finally like food again, but still. And it was somewhat healthy, so score :)
If you're anything like me, the main reason cooking is so fun is that I get to feed other people, but I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor, also. However, if you have no desire to eat at all, it's really hard to cook for yourself or anybody else. Plus, you don't have the energy to do the dishes, either.
Tonight, I made chicken Caesar salad and baked potatoes. Admittedly not very fancy, but hey, it was still very delicious. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper, spread on a mixture of Caesar and Italian dressing and baked it. I made the salad with croutons, the chicken, tomato, and avocado. The baked potatoes were served with bacon (duh), cheese, and sour cream. I still can't eat as much as I used to in one sitting, but that's ok, this dinner tasted so good. I'm not sure if that's because it actually was really good, or if it was just because I finally like food again, but still. And it was somewhat healthy, so score :)
Sunday, March 3, 2013
It's Baby Time :)
It's finally been made public, whoot! Baby Darnell will be here late August/early September! I'm personally hoping for earlier, because let's face it, I would like to decrease the amount of time I'm pregnant in the dead heat of California's summer. Because if you remember, I'm more of a subzero winter person. :)
I'm going to be putting the majority of our baby updates here on the blog, since I realize not everyone wants to be bombarded with all things baby in their Facebook feed. So I'll try to limit my updates to this here blog :)
Here are some things I have been asked about in the recent weeks, or I have decided to take note for your sake:
-Morning sickness is most likely (and hopefully) over. I didn't have it TOO bad, just mostly extreme nausea and lack of appetite, or an appetite that could not be tamed on a few rare occasions.
-Food aversion is way worse than throwing up, in my opinion. It sucks to have no appetite, or to be hungry and nothing looks even remotely tasty. I also learned that just because something tastes really great doesn't necessarily mean that it will taste equally great in 3 bites. Or, you can be super hungry, but then in 3 bites you feel your stomach is about to explode because you stomach thinks you just ate the equivalent to Thanksgiving dinner.
So we can conclude from that that pregnancy is weird.
-Even just smelling fresh ginger can help curb nausea.
-No, I'm not showing yet. Please allow me to enjoy my normal clothes as long as possible. :)
-No, I don't yet know if it's a girl or boy. I haven't had any weird dreams yet, lol. The ultrasound will probably be able to tell in mid-April.
-It's amazing how much energy growing a baby takes out of you. There was one day where all I did was watch TV and knit and by 6 pm I was exhausted.
-Being pregnant and being a sufferer of chronic migraine really, really sucks. Fortunately I have only had one so far, and I hope my surging hormones manage to keep any future migraines at bay. Since I'm only allowed to take Tylenol, and Tylenol is worthless, I just have to suffer through them.
-No, I don't/didn't have any weird food cravings. During morning sickness I did notice that usually the only food that sounded even remotely good was dairy (mainly cheese) or eggs. Which is really weird, since that's exactly what settled my mom's stomach when she was pregnant with me. That's why she thinks it's a girl.
-No, we're not registered anywhere, and I'm not sure if we will. We are rather independent, and want to be able to provide for our baby ourselves instead of relying on other people to buy our necessities. I will, however, be more than willing to give you an updated list of what we do have it if you would like one. :)
-I plan on using cloth diapers, but haven't completely decided yet. Just call me hippie.
-I'm having a hard time deciding how to decorate the nursery. If it's a boy, the theme will be airplanes. I'll let you guess who decided that one. :)
-I think Jack knows that I'm pregnant.
-The only food item that tastes weird now is raw bell peppers. Something about their smell that just makes them look unappetizing.
-I have successfully been able to decrease my caffeine intake to one normal sized cup of coffee a day. After that I just drink decaf. And yes, you can still drink caffeine when you're pregnant, as long as it's around 200 mg.
I think that's about it for now!
I'm going to be putting the majority of our baby updates here on the blog, since I realize not everyone wants to be bombarded with all things baby in their Facebook feed. So I'll try to limit my updates to this here blog :)
Here are some things I have been asked about in the recent weeks, or I have decided to take note for your sake:
-Morning sickness is most likely (and hopefully) over. I didn't have it TOO bad, just mostly extreme nausea and lack of appetite, or an appetite that could not be tamed on a few rare occasions.
-Food aversion is way worse than throwing up, in my opinion. It sucks to have no appetite, or to be hungry and nothing looks even remotely tasty. I also learned that just because something tastes really great doesn't necessarily mean that it will taste equally great in 3 bites. Or, you can be super hungry, but then in 3 bites you feel your stomach is about to explode because you stomach thinks you just ate the equivalent to Thanksgiving dinner.
So we can conclude from that that pregnancy is weird.
-Even just smelling fresh ginger can help curb nausea.
-No, I'm not showing yet. Please allow me to enjoy my normal clothes as long as possible. :)
-No, I don't yet know if it's a girl or boy. I haven't had any weird dreams yet, lol. The ultrasound will probably be able to tell in mid-April.
-It's amazing how much energy growing a baby takes out of you. There was one day where all I did was watch TV and knit and by 6 pm I was exhausted.
-Being pregnant and being a sufferer of chronic migraine really, really sucks. Fortunately I have only had one so far, and I hope my surging hormones manage to keep any future migraines at bay. Since I'm only allowed to take Tylenol, and Tylenol is worthless, I just have to suffer through them.
-No, I don't/didn't have any weird food cravings. During morning sickness I did notice that usually the only food that sounded even remotely good was dairy (mainly cheese) or eggs. Which is really weird, since that's exactly what settled my mom's stomach when she was pregnant with me. That's why she thinks it's a girl.
-No, we're not registered anywhere, and I'm not sure if we will. We are rather independent, and want to be able to provide for our baby ourselves instead of relying on other people to buy our necessities. I will, however, be more than willing to give you an updated list of what we do have it if you would like one. :)
-I plan on using cloth diapers, but haven't completely decided yet. Just call me hippie.
-I'm having a hard time deciding how to decorate the nursery. If it's a boy, the theme will be airplanes. I'll let you guess who decided that one. :)
-I think Jack knows that I'm pregnant.
-The only food item that tastes weird now is raw bell peppers. Something about their smell that just makes them look unappetizing.
-I have successfully been able to decrease my caffeine intake to one normal sized cup of coffee a day. After that I just drink decaf. And yes, you can still drink caffeine when you're pregnant, as long as it's around 200 mg.
I think that's about it for now!
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