Baby Update

Boy or Girl?

Now that we’re past the point when most people find out the gender of their baby, people are always asking what we’re having. And most people are pretty surprised that we are choosing not to find out. But we still get plenty of people making guesses for us! I haven’t been keeping track, but I think people are pretty split 50/50 on their predictions so far.

Just for fun, I thought I would do a post on gender predictions from old wives’ tales. Some people swear that some of these are accurate, but I guess we’ll see how many are true for me come November!

1. Chinese Gender Predictoryayitsaboyfront_1
This one looks at how old the mother is at conception as well as the month that the baby is conceived. According to this:

 

2. Mayan Gender Predictor
yayitsagirlfront_1According to this one, if the mother’s age at conception and the year of conception are both odd or even, it’s a girl. If one is odd and one is even, it’s a boy. I was 28 at conception and the year was 2014, so this says:

 

3. Morning Sicknessyayitsagirlfront_1
This one says that if you are sick in the first trimester of pregnancy, that you are having a girl. Supposedly, the additional female hormones upset Mommy’s tummy! So for this one:

 

4. Heartbeat Theoryyayitsagirlfront_1
Some people really do swear by this one! The theory states that if your baby’s heartbeat is above 140, you are having a girl, and if it’s below 140, it’s a boy. So far the heartbeat theory says:

 

5. Baking Soda Testyayitsagirlfront_1
I’m not really sure the “science” behind this one, but if the mother’s urine fizzes when mixed with baking soda, it’s a boy. No fizzing? It’s a girl. According to this one:

 

6. Salt or Sweet?yayitsaboyfront_1
Apparently, if the mother-to-be craves sweet things, she’s having a girl. And if she’s craving more salty or sour things, it will be a boy. I’d say I haven’t deviated from normal much: I still don’t have much of a sweet tooth.

 

7. Wedding Ring Testyayitsagirlfront_1
I actually talked Andrew into doing this one with me, haha! So you tie your wedding ring on a strand of hair (or string) and hold it over the pregnant belly. If it moves side to side, it’s a girl, and if it moves in a circle, it’s a boy. Although my ring did a little of both, it finally settled on side to side:

 

8. Extra Weight Theoryyayitsaboyfront_1
According to this theory, if you are carrying all the extra weight in the belly area, it’s a boy. But if you’ve expanded in the hips/thighs as well, it’s a girl. We’re only halfway through, but so far:

 

9. Leg Hair Theoryyayitsaboyfront_1
So if your leg hair is growing faster, you’re having a boy. It’s a girl if it’s the same as before pregnancy. In my opinion:

 

 

10. Carrying High or Lowyayitsagirlfront_1
This seems to be one of the most common old wives’ tales I’ve heard: if you are carrying the baby high, it will be a girl. A lower belly means it’s a boy. I honestly can’t tell if I’m carrying high or low, but a few people have said I look like I’m carrying high:

 

I stuck with 10 since it was a nice easy number. But according to a few old wives’ tales and ancient calendars… Baby Kiel will be a girl! Unless you ask Andrew, of course. 🙂

I will have to come back and see if anything changes (like how I’m carrying or the weight gain one) further on in pregnancy. Have any of you found certain old wives’ tales to be accurate in predicting your child’s gender?

Baby_21wks6 001So what do YOU think? 🙂

Baby Update

21 Weeks

IMG_2424
Yes, I’ve given up on the usual fruits and veggies as measurement aids. This week was supposed to be a carrot, but none of the carrots I saw were anywhere near 10.5″ long! I searched around the house for something else that was the right length, and the magazine I was reading was perfect! So Baby is the length of a standard magazine from head to heel. He/she actually only weighs about 12 ounces. And from head to rump, Baby is about 7″ long (probably closer to the length of a carrot actually).
How far along: 21 weeks
Gender: We don’t know
Weight gain: 5 lbs
Symptoms: Back pain, headaches, nasal congestion
Maternity clothes: Yep!
Stretch marks: No
Belly button in or out: in
Sleep: So-so… actually getting up less to pee than I was before. I still feel stiff and sore some mornings when I wake up. I tried my Snoogle one night, and it drove me nuts. 😦 I just couldn’t get comfortable for some reason. I’m going to try it again (different position) to see if it’s better, but Andrew said I definitely tossed and turned a lot.
Best moments this week: Our 2nd trimester ultrasound! And no, we still don’t know the gender (on purpose). 🙂 In the beginning, the tech said that we had a very squirmy baby, haha. But then when he tried to get a good shot of the chambers of the heart, he couldn’t get the baby to move his/her arm out of the way. I guess it was a good time for a nap for Baby Kiel. The tech had me moving all around! To my left side… to my right side… then he lowered me to try to get the baby to move positions. No such luck. Baby Kiel is stubborn! If that surprises anyone, haha. Heartbeat was at 147 bpm today. I wish we had had more time to just watch the baby moving around, but we spent a lot of time trying to get a good picture of the heart.
IMG_2425IMG_2426Miss anything: Not really
Movement: Yes, although I’m still impatiently waiting for Andrew to feel it! Every time I call him over to feel the baby, nothing happens.
Cravings: The same things as before… hummus and crackers, frozen fruit bars, Dr Pepper
Looking forward to: Our upcoming trip to Scotland
My 21-week photo:
IMG_2417I had ordered a cute shirt to wear for the 4th of July, but it still hasn’t arrived. 😦 I knew it was risky to order from the States just a couple of weeks in advance. So the red and white tank top was my most patriotic thing to wear.
Baby Update

A Few of My Favorite Things

So I’m about halfway done with this pregnancy! I can’t seem to wrap my head around that one… I have read lots of websites & blogs, gotten advice from family & friends, and really just learned as I went along. So here are some things that have helped me out so far plus things I just like:

1. Things to Eat
The things that helped with the early nausea were the typical things: saltines, ginger ale, Sprite, applesauce, and bananas. Quick snacks to eat when I needed to keep nausea away: cheese & crackers, yogurt, and bananas. My favorite things to eat before I got out of bed in the morning were shortbread cookies and animal crackers.
SDN-52531-1

When I was having digestive troubles? Fiber gummies worked great! And since they seemed to help with keeping my prenatal vitamin down, I started eating fruit snacks (thanks, Amanda!) when I had to take that big horse pill.8b09970f2dccf984dd9d41c2ca6f0c9d

If I’m still hungry at the end of the day, frozen fruit bars are so refreshing! Plus they are less than 100 calories, so I don’t feel like I’m overdoing it. Ice cream has been hit or miss with me in terms of sitting well, so I’m glad I actually prefer a healthier option!

2. Clothes
My first few maternity items were used things that I got inexpensively. The jeans I got were a mix of UK and US sizes, so I just did my best to guess what I could wear. I only ended up being able to wear about half of them, and they were only so-so with fit. I always struggle with the length of pants/jeans, so most that didn’t fit well were because of my height.

One of my favorite clothing imageServicestores to order from is Loft, and I decided to try out their maternity clothes. So glad I did! My favorite jeans to wear are from there, and they are so comfortable and fairly flattering! I discovered that I really prefer the full panel maternity pants, not only for extra coverage, but also to help smooth everything out. Loft also has some really nice tops that will be good for weekends and nicer occasions. It’s a little out of my price range, but I get emails telling me when big sales are happening, and that’s the only time I let myself buy. 🙂

cn7693597

My favorite everyday tops are t-shirts from Old Navy. They’re inexpensive, comfortable, and come in a variety of colors. I also like their tank tops… comfy and cute with a non-maternity cardigan. But I won’t be able to wear the tank tops to work, so I’ve stocked up on the t-shirts instead. My favorite dress is from Old Navy too (the one in my 20 week post) — it’s SO comfy and flattering. Old Navy is awesome for sales, and they offer free shipping on orders over $50.

Other places I’ve purchased some cute clothes from are Zulily.com and Kohl’s. We’ll see how they hold up as my belly gets bigger!

3. Good Reads
I haven’t read a ton of books so far, but a couple of my favorites so far areindex:

The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy
This has been my comedic relief so far. It might not be chock-full of facts, but it’s honest and light-hearted. And it really offers some good insight on things I’m going through and will be going through.

 

preg bookEating for Pregnancy
I know I already posted this book in a previous post, but it’s really good for yummy, healthy recipes. Excessive weight gain hasn’t been an issue for me (yet), but I’m glad to have this book to help motivate me to eat well and stay within my weight gain recommendation.

 

What to Expect When You’re Expecting what to expect when you're expecting book cover
I was told I didn’t have to buy this (they give us “the purple book” at the hospital on base that is supposed to have all the same basic info), but I wanted to get it anyway. This book has so much information in it, and I like being able to quickly look things up when I have questions or concerns.

 

4. Miscellaneous
It was driving me nuts to not know if I was gaining or losing weight in the beginning of the 313YgOQrnjL._SX355_pregnancy, so I finally bought a scale. I have never owned one before, which is probably a little unusual. Anyway, I decided to go with this one from Amazon.co.uk. It probably hasn’t helped with my high concern about gaining too much weight, but it is helpful for my weekly updates. Plus it’s one less thing to worry about. 🙂
Another thing I bought to ease my worries: 41Td+pJNUUL._SY355_a fetal Doppler. I read a lot of reviews and decided to spend a little more on this Sonoline one on Amazon.co.uk. My favorite thing about it? It works! I think I first used it toward the beginning of the 2nd trimester, and it took me a little while to find the heartbeat. But now I can find it pretty quickly, and I love how easy it is to use. I use baby oil gel instead of buying ultrasound gel, and it seems to work just fine. Plus it’s good for my skin.

41x1RWRYIvL._SX425_Speaking of my skin, this is the stretch mark cream I am using. I have no idea if it’s working, since I’m not that big yet, but so far no stretch marks! I’ll probably do another update at the end of the pregnancy. Relationship tip: I let Andrew apply the cream as a way to both keep him involved in the pregnancy as well as keep some intimacy when I’m not feeling great. I never have to ask him to apply it… he volunteers! 🙂

Like I said, I’m only halfway through the pregnancy, so I’m sure I’ll have updates and additions in a few months. Hope this is helpful for anyone else who is pregnant or has plans on getting pregnant soon!