Sunday, May 8, 2011

The Baby G.A.P.

We know it has been a long while since our last update and we are sorry for that, but the wait has come to an end and the latest news is very exciting!

A lot of thought has gone into how we want to find out the gender of our baby. It has been a roller coaster of various ideas and craziness. We finally decided that it is important to share some of the bigger moments, like finding out gender, with family (especially the grandparents). The best way to do this is with a Baby Gender Announcement Party (G.A.P.)!

So here's the plan. Monday is my next appointment, where the doctor will determine the gender. He will proceed to secretly write it down on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. The contents of which neither of us know. We will then pass this envelope to a baker who will create a cake based on the gender stated in the envelope. We have picked out the design, all the baker needs to do is color the inside of the cake blue or pink based on gender. We will then hold a family dinner where we will cut the cake and find out the gender together as a family.

As family is spread out around the world (US and Australia) we are hoping to be able to set up live streaming so the WHOLE family can take part and watch the cake cutting!

We also hope to have all of you, our friends, with us there. We will work hard to set up the live streaming so you can be a part of it too. More details will be announced via this blog and Facebook events, should we get it to work.

It has taken a lot of patience and self control to wait this long to find out gender. It would have been easy to go into the doctor's office at anytime and ask for the gender. Despite the effort to control our desire to know, we are confident it will be well worth the wait.

Stay tuned for the date and details.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Dreams

If you remember the blog post I made about nightmares, you will recall that for weeks I was dreaming about robots chasing me and ants eating me alive while I tried fighting back and blowing things up. It was really Sarah Connor meets MacGyver!

Anyway, since that time I've had 3 dreams about the baby, 2 of which involve gender.

The first dream was pretty simple and straightforward. I accidentally found out that the baby was a girl based on something the doctor wrote down in my file. I recall not wanting to find out. My interpretation of this dream is somewhat unbelievable but bare with me. I have friends who can't understand why I want to find out the gender of the baby. I can't explain it expect that it is a natural feeling and decision Elijah and I have made together. Anyway, I believe this dream was my body's way of showing me how it will be if I tried to avoid finding out the gender. No matter what I do or how I try to avoid finding out, I will always find out. As to the gender my dream revealed, I can't comment.

The second dream came in the same night. I recall going into labor. Elijah was in a meeting and so I went to the hospital on my own and met him there. When I arrived the nurses rushed me to my room and helped me settle in. Awhile later my nurse came back and told me it was almost time. She asked me to walk around with her to stimulate the labor further and do a few ball exercises. By this time Elijah was with me. I finally delivered and it was an easy straightforward delivery and the baby was healthy. The nurses took the baby to clean up before handing it to me. The dream ended before I could find out the gender. I have no interpretation for this except this dream came at the end of a very hard and rough week for me. I think God graciously allowed me to have this dream to calm me and remind me that He was in control no matter what happened.

The third and final dream happened just this morning. Please be warned that this is the most bizarre dream I've ever had (It tops the robots!) and if you can't handle weird then don't read on. Here goes… Elijah and I decided it was time to find out the gender. So I pushed and pushed and delivered the baby to find that it was a girl. Then I tried to put her back when I realized that she wouldn't be able to breathe because the umbilical cord and placenta had been separated. So we called our doctor and told him what happened. He said that the baby will be okay even if she isn't full term. He said to keep her wrapped up tightly and warm at all times and she will be okay. After that we showed her to all our family and friends. Then the dream ended. I told you it was bizarre. My only understanding of this dream is that as we get closer to finding out the gender of the baby I'm just getting more and more excited.

As to the gender, I cannot understand fully but I have a theory based on Freud's work. Because I'm dreaming of a girl my subconscious is telling me that what I really want is a girl, even if while awake and conscious I have no strong preference either way. Despite the dreams, and I haven't told many this (probably for fear of being wrong), I have a feeling that I'm carrying a boy. Anyway, for now I will continue to dream of a happy and healthy baby no matter what the gender!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

The 15 week scan

15 Weeks 6 Days - Head is on the right
It felt like forever just waiting for this doctors visit to come. Finally got to see our little bean and boy was it big (I guess I have to stop calling it 'little bean'). Had an interesting visit with the doctor as he tried to identify the gender at this very early stage. He said he was only 90% sure and so he wouldn't comment or make a decision. I've finally learned a little patience (a very little) and can wait till the next scan on the 9th of May.

While getting the scan I asked the doctor which side of my body the baby's head was on. The doctor took a look at the monitor and laughed. He told me the baby's head was south and the feet were north! I naturally assumed the baby was laying horizontally but was I wrong. The baby was upside down! I think we may just have a very goofy baby. But it got me thinking, doesn't the baby feel gravity the way we do? Shouldn't it know it is upside down? And if so, is it comfortable? Anyway, I just thought that was funny!

After some time of examining the ultrasound print out the doctor gave me, I noticed some numbers at the bottom left corner. It read, 35.7mm and 17wks. I didn't understand. The baby was definitely bigger than 35.7 mm and I was only 16 weeks, not 17. So I asked the doctor to explain it. He said the 35.7 was the measurement of the baby's head, which translates into 17 weeks of development. So the baby is really ahead in its development! Of course it is just and average but it is good to know the baby is doing well even though I am not gaining much weight (It worried me for some time).

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Gender Prediction Theories and Our Result

These days, all that occupies our mind is the question of the baby's gender (I guess I shouldn't include Elijah in that, it's mostly me!). I find myself growing more and more impatient as the days pass, even though I would be happy with either boy or girl, it just seems like a natural need to know. So we began a quest to shed some light on the subject, for the impatient person I am. There are so many tests to choose from and so many theories to sift through. It is hard to decide which to try. So we thought, since these tests are not really based on any scientific research and many have been proven false by science, we will just chose the most interesting 5 and try to determine the gender of our baby. All for the fun of it.

What we are about to share is highly unlike us and not scientific in any way, however we do love to have fun and these were definitely fun tests!

Here goes!

1. Heartbeat Test
Theory Explained: The old wives' tale claims the unborn baby's heart rate can clue a person in as to the gender. If the heart rate is higher than 140 bpm most likely it's a girl. If the heart rate is below 140 bpm, it's a boy.

Result: Our baby's heart rate is 163 beats per minute. That's 1 point for the girl team.

2. Cabbage Test
Theory Explained: This test requires a little more effort. It starts by boiling chunks of red cabbage. After 10 minutes of boiling add 1 part cabbage water to 1 part of mommy's urine, the more concentrated the better. The color indicates gender: If the color changes to pink or red then it's a boy. If it remains purple, it's a girl. This apparently has something to do with Ph levels of the urine.

Result: Based on the picture, the mixture on the top was mixed with my urine and changed to red, the purple water is the original cabbage water. Looks like it's a boy and 1 point for the boy team!

3. Chinese Test
Theory Explained: Chinese Legend has it that the Chinese Gender Chart is over 90% accurate. The chart was buried in a royal tomb near Beijing more than 700 years ago. They say the real one is currently safe in the Institute of Science in Beijing. Based on the mother's age at the time of conception and the month of conception the gender of the baby can be found.

Result:  Month - January, Mother's age - 23 = Boy. That's 1 more point for the boy team.

4. Weight Gain
Theory Explained: Luckily this doesn't refer to the mommy. This theory says if the husband puts on weight during pregnancy, it's a girl. If he doesn't put on weight, it's a boy.

Result: Still a bit early to know for sure, but it looks like Elijah is maintaining his weight well, despite the fact that he finishes most of my meals when I can't. So that's another point for the boy team.

5. Cravings Test
Theory Explained: Many believe that the cravings a mommy have are caused by the sex of the baby. Sweet cravings indicate a girl and Sour/ Savory cravings indicate boy.

Result: As much of a sweet tooth as I usually have, I can't seem to finish the bag of M&Ms Elijah bought me from the US. And I'm certainly not craving sweet food. I'd have to say that even though I don't have specific cravings for any particular food, I always go for savory (How unlike me!). And so another point for the boy team.

Based on the 5 selected tests, the score is girls 1 point and boys 4 points. Boys win. Of course we wont really know the gender of the baby until closer to May, but this was fun nonetheless!


Take our Gender Poll and put in your very educated guess! And if you have heard of any other gender prediction theories, we would love to hear about them, leave a comment and share with us!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Nightmares

Aside from the usual symptoms of fatigue, nausea (in the evenings), bloating and vomiting, my heartburn and nightmares have worsened.

Heartburn is a constant struggle but I've managed to find a safe, natural solution to combat the overwhelming discomfort: a glass of milk :)

The nightmares continue and seem to be getting more bizarre. One minute I'm fighting robots and the next I'm making a bomb like MacGyver! (Apparently, nightmares are common for pregnant women). My most bizarre dream yet was about someone (I won't say who, but it is not Elijah) trying to assassinate me! HOW CRAZY!!! It seems like everyone around me is dreaming about my baby (Elijah, my mom, our friends even) but all I get are stupid nightmares that make no sense and are really ridiculous! On average I get 2 a night (that I can remember). One night I had 3 nightmares! And those are just the ones I remember. Another dream i had was pretty shocking, I was being eaten alive by millions of little red ants! Woke up before they reached my face. And another dream had me acting out the events in the Matthew Reilly book "Contest" where I would fight strange creatures from different planets. By the way, if you haven't read that book, you really should.

Anyway, for now I've become immune to the nonsense rolling around in my head during my unconscious hours. I can laugh about it now and only hope I have fewer dreams in the future to annoy me.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

The Wiggler

Week 11 Day 6
This week was challenging but had a rewarding finish. On Friday we went in for the NT scan that takes place around week 12. What this is, is a prenatal screening for any chromosomal abnormalities. This is a simple non-invasive test using the regular ultrasound to check for excess fluid at the back of the neck (which would indicate a problem). The doctor finished very swiftly as there was no sign of any abnormality. So we spent a few minutes looking at the legs and arms. I will consent to any ultrasound just to have another look at the baby :) The baby was so active, rubbing it's face and kicking it's legs as if it was riding a bicycle. Oh and we managed to get 2 photos this round! The one displayed here is the general view, not very focused on one particular area. The other photo we got was more focused on the face and one of the arms that was at the head. In that photo we can see the eyes! (See photo #2 in Sarah's Facebook "Ultrasound" Album.)

We also listened to the heartbeat again and the doctor measured it at 163 beats/minute. Overall a very satisfying doc's visit. Oh and we LOVE our OB/GYN, he is easy to talk with and makes us laugh (what a plus)!

The Ultrasounds

Week 4 Day 3 (size: poppy seed) - Confirmation of pregnancy (embryo is the little black dot on left)
Week 6 Day 3 (size: pea) - Checking development
Week 10 Day 3 (size: prune) - Confirmed heartbeat - finally looks like a human!
Week 11 Day 6 (size: lime) - NT Scan - Head on the left

Week 15 Day 6 (size: navel orange) - Unsuccessful at identifying gender - Head on the right
Week 20 Day 3 (size: small cantaloupe) - Doc confirmed gender.














Week 24 Day 3 (size: corn) - Got a better look at her face (on right)