Pink or Blue?

On December 7, Erich and I went down to Denver again for our Level 2 ultrasound. This ultrasound is a bit more detailed than the usual kind and again looks at possible indicators for genetic abnormalities. After taking many measurements and looking for various features and organs, it seems that our baby is healthy. We were eager to learn the gender, but our little goldfish was positioned with its umbilical cord in the way. I was instructed to get up and walk around, and when I lay back down and the ultrasound resumed, it seemed that someone was napping, as the goldfish had moved very little. However, the we were all determined, and the tech pushed, wiggled and quite frankly dug that ultrasound wand into my belly until we could see what was what. It seems our little fishy is a...girl!!!

Needless to say, we were quite surprised! (Although I am the one person who voted girl in our little "boy or girl?" poll...) Though the tech kept saying these things are never 100%, the doctor who also said girl told us the tech is right about 96% of the time. We'll see what the next ultrasound shows, but the evidence was pretty convincing!

If you'd like to watch the ultrasound video footage Erich took (unedited) you can follow the links below:

1st part of ultrasound, Check for abnormalities

2nd part of ultrasound. It's a girl!

Since then we've been slowly leaking the news, and I must admit that at least for me, knowing the gender somehow makes things seem more real. Of course, I realize that's a bit silly, but those are the facts. :) I also noticed that finding out the gender made my nesting instincts kick in out of nowhere! Over the last week or so I have been spending hours looking at baby room decor and sheet patterns online. We also started our search for the perfect recliner/glider for the nursery. Not as easy a proposition as one might assume as it needs to be pretty, functional and comfortable. Since we're both tall, we've found that many of the options are just not long enough for us!

In the last few days I've also started feeling our little girl move around again. She'd been strangely quiet since her first strong appearance, but it seems she making herself known once again! I have also noticed several days of extreme hunger and a few fatigue filled ones as well. Based on the evidence and my ever stretching belly, I think it's safe to say that someone had a growth spurt!

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

This year we have many things to be thankful for, not the least of which is our little goldfish. The last few weeks since Thanksgiving have been busy with few changes. Our swimmer has not been flipping around much since the first day I really felt it, but I had an OB appointment on Monday, so I know it's doing well. 150 bpm heart rate, and the last blood test which looked for spina bifida was clean. Yay! The same blood test apparently again looked at down syndrome odds, and it's now just 1 in 12,000, so more good news.

Alas, my immune system continues to be mediocre at best, so my subscription to the "cold of the month club" is going strong. I caught yet another one, minor at least, but it set me coughing which caused me to aggravate the muscle in my rib cage that I pulled during my first pregnancy cold. Not fun. It was worse than before, but slowly started improving, until last night for no apparent reason during Pilates class it got significantly worse. I had to stop my class half an hour early! The OB tells me there's not much I can do besides ice and Tylenol that wouldn't impact the baby, so I'm just putting up with it as best I can and trying to avoid even Tylenol whenever possible. I guess that avoiding morning sickness doesn't mean I get to miss out on all the pregnancy fun!

But at least I can be a bit distracted waiting for the end of the week...This Friday we have an ultrasound in Denver again that will screen for a few more potential genetic problems but will also tell us the gender of the baby! We are very excited to find out what type of goldfish we have; though Erich is convinced it's a boy, and I must admit that with one exception, all of my baby related dreams have involved a baby boy. (Though that may just be power of suggestion! Between my mom hoping for an "Enzo" and Erich, I may be getting brainwashed! lol) Let's hope baby poses so we can see what's going on "down there"!

Alas, we missed Week 19 belly shots since this last weekend was pretty hectic, but here's up through week 18. As you can see, I'm rounding out quite a bit! It seems as though my belly grows daily now...

So what do you think? Will we have a boy or a girl? Take our new baby poll, and let's see who's right!