18/19 Weeks

This is a BIG week! We find out on Thursday if this little peanut is going to be a princess or a quarterback! It's like the week of Christmas. Luckily, we have plenty of other things, like work, to keep us distracted. This will be my last post that I refer to the baby as a "it" or "the baby".

Lacy is still doing good, she seems to be peeing more, which I thought was impossible. She has also been having nose bleeds, which are perfectly normal according to our books. Those books have been lifesavers. We have "What To Expect When Your Expecting", "Your Pregnancy Week By Week", and I am sure if there was a book called "Your Pregnancy Minute by Minute" we would own it.

The baby is busy flexing his/her arms and legs — movements that we'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. The blood vessels are visible through his/her thin skin, and the ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from the head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around the nerves, a process that will continue for a year after birth. If we are having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If we are having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from us during an ultrasound. Let's hope not.

The baby's sensory development is exploding! The brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he/she may be able to hear our voices now.
The peanut weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a tomato. So I guess he/she isn't really a peanut anymore. The arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of the body now. The kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on his/her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on the skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

There are plenty of wives tales and myths that claim to predict the sex of the baby. As myths become debunked, they go away. One myth in particular is a good example---18th-century French noblemen would remove their left testicle to have a boy. Not surprisingly, this method has ceased to be used as a way to ensure a baby's sex. I still have my left testicle, so GIRL it is.

Morning sickness is a common symptom of pregnancy, but if you have severe morning sickness--the kind that lasts your whole pregnancy and puts you in danger of not getting enough nutrition--you may be carrying a girl.... so they say. If this were true, we would be having a boy. Morning sickness has rarely been an issue at all. The rare occasion where sickness and nausea sneaks up has been in the evening, not even in the morning, ha. Verdict - BOY

Maybe it's because girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, but legend says that those who crave sweet foods are more likely to have a girl baby than a boy baby. If you crave salty foods, on the other hand, you may want to deck out the nursery in blue. Lacy is definitely a salty food person. Her weakness is seasoned french fries. She has craved sweets more of late, but she hasn't given in to those cravings.... yet. Vedict - BOY

Legend has it that if the baby's heart rate is sluggish and stays primarily below 140 beats per minute, it's a boy. If the heartbeat races well over 140, you have a little girl a cookin'. The heart rate has been over 140 from the beginning. Verdict - GIRL

Another legend says to pay attention to the hubby's waistline. According to some, if dad gains weight during your pregnancy you should paint the nursery blue as it will soon house a baby boy. If dad stays svelte, pick up some pink paint. If this were true, we should start buying dresses and hairbows. Verdict - GIRL

An old wives' tale contends that moms who are pregnant with girls are picky about their food, while moms brewing boys are less picky. Lacy has bever been picky and still isn't. Verdict - BOY

Final score is 3 for the BOYS and 3 for the GIRLS. So none of this helps, these legends and wives tales contradict themselves based on Lacy's symptoms and my waisteline. We'll use our "gut" as a tiebreaker.
Lacy and I both have a feeling this peanut, I mean tomato, is a girl. Dr. Victor Shamas, of the University of Arizona, conducted research that shows that mothers are accurate 70 percent of the time, based on intuition alone. So after overtime, the GIRLS win 4-3. We'll hopefully know for sure on Thursday.

17 Weeks, Beach, and Abby's B-Day



Lacy had a doctor’s appointment on the 8^th and everything went great. The heartbeat was 150 bpm, Lacy’s weight was good, and the doctor reassured her about all her questions. Her next appointment is on the 28^th, and we will find out the sex then. Lacy hasn’t gotten much bigger lately and her weight is good.



Susan snuck this picture while we were at the beach, look at that belly!



Comparing belly's, after crab legs and fried seafood. I win.



I took this today, 10/16, 17 weeks & 4 days.

The baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — the lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. The baby weighs around 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and he/she’s around 5 inches long from head to bottom. The baby can move its joints, and the sweat glands are starting to develop.

We were at the beach this past week with some of Lacy’s family, and we had a great time. We had great weather, ate great food, and got in some much needed relaxation. On Wednesday (Oct. 13), while I was golfing and while Lacy was soaking up the sun on the beach, she felt the baby move for the first time. She is certain that it was the baby, as it was a sensation that she hadn’t felt before, and it was in the exact same spot that the doctor placed the Doppler on her belly when listening to the heart. She felt it again later in the day when sitting on the couch. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to feel it either time, and she hasn’t felt it since then. I have a feeling it won’t be long before I get to feel him/her too.

Beats a day in the office 100% of the time.

Lacy’s allergies have started bothering her and it got worse at the beach, luckily it’s already gotten a little better since we’ve been home. She is still going to the bathroom every six minutes (only a slight exaggeration) and having crazy dreams. She was able to exercise EVERY day at the beach, and I’m sure this is a big reason her weight has been so good. I even went on a couple walks with her but couldn’t keep up. She did however eat well this past week too J



Lacy power walking at a pace of 20 mph.

Me walking with Lacy, or attempting too anyway.
I was more concerned about where we were going to eat breakfast.

Yesterday was our other baby’s 1^st birthday. Her gift was a new bone and Momma coming home from the beach. She’s not really the baby anymore, as she has been bigger than Neely for awhile now.

Abby with her new bone.

Being lazy w/ Momma

They don't even realize that I came home too. All about Momma.
I really think they sense something going on with Lacy.

Neely's turn.





16 Weeks

We (Lacy) are trucking right along! Lacy is doing really well. No real issues to speak of, other than the clothes still not wanting to fit right, ha. No more nausea and her energy seems to have returned to what it was pre-pregnancy. She is still going to the bathroom every 30 minutes and now she is having very graphic dreams. Other than that, everything seems normal. In all the books we have in the house (and when I say all, I mean there are multiple books, magazines, etc.) it talks about the woman having major mood swings up to this point, but I can honestly say I have been lucky in this category too, I can’t really recall any mood swings. Needless to say, up to this point it seems that the pregnancy has been great. I hope we don’t pay for this good fortune down the road. Fingers crossed.

The baby is getting ready to go through a major growth spurt. In the next few weeks, the baby will double its weight and add inches to his/her length. Right now, the baby is about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. The legs are much more developed, the head is more erect than it has been, and the eyes have moved closer to the front of the head. His/her ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of the scalp has begun, though his/her locks aren't recognizable yet. He/she has even started growing toenails. If they grow as fast as mine, he/she will come out looking like Edward Scissorhands. There's a lot happening inside as well. For example, the heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as the baby continues to develop.

We will be finding out whether the baby is a "he" or a "she" sometime within the next month. The anticipation continues to mount.....