The Big Reveal

Tomorrow will mark week 19 of pregnancy.  I continue to read up on how many ounces the baby is (aka-what is the fruit equivalent of the human being growing inside of you?), the new functions the baby is learning, and all of the beautiful side effects that I should be experiencing.  So far, so good.  They say constipation is common-Thank the good Lord, this one has skipped me so far.  Indigestion?  It has decreased for the most part.  Weight gain-hardly any, but I can definitely see and feel my expanding belly.  Hormonal side effects-I tend to cry at the television much more than I used to, but it generally is emotionally charged stuff.  Jeopardy doesn't push me over the edge, but the ASPCA commercials definitely can if I don't change the channel quick enough.

From all I've read, it is not uncommon for women who are "fluffy", shall we say, to not put on as much weight as the women who are underweight or of a normal weight when they get pregnant.  So, as long as my doctor continues to okay my weight on my monthly check-ins, I will continue to keep my diet as it has been...eat what sounds good when I'm hungry.  The other night I made some chocolate ice cream.  Sounds like a pregnant girl's dream, right?  Eh-I ate a scoop or two and gave the rest to Travis.  In fact, I think that so far Travis has put on a few more pounds than I have thus far...but he also needs it more than I do.  I haven't really experienced true cravings.  I had a little kick with nectarines, but they just happened to be the most delicious nectarines ever.  I've since purchased nectarines, and they continue to disappoint in their flavor and texture.

Thursday is the big day.  I get to drink until my bladder floats and lay on a table for a technician to press with a cold, wet wand on that exact location...but in earnest, I'm so excited.  I have felt from day one that we are having a girl.  Another YouTube pregnancy extravaganza I went on was all about gender tests.  They range anywhere from food ingredients such as red cabbage or baking soda (all of which are mixed with a healthy dose of urine), to swinging a variety of objects over a variety of body parts.  I gave in to curiosity and tried the pencil pendulum over the wrist.  Sure enough, after it stopped wiggling in each of the possible 360 degrees, it did a perfect horizontal line.  This signifies a girl according to the woman who filmed herself at the kitchen table, confirming my suspicions.  In fact, I have felt this so strongly that so far I have nursery colors, names, and everything centered around girls.  If it's a boy, we shall start from scratch.  We will be perfectly happy either way, mind you.  My other scientific experiment regarding the sex of our baby has to do with the other pregnant girls around me.  My father's younger cousin's wife, Jess, is due for her first-which they've just discovered in the past week is a boy.  Another friend, who is pregnant with her second, has discovered that her second boy is on the way.  Scientifically, it seems like all three out of the three pregnancies as boys would put the world's spinning at a stand still.

On a side note-having a due date on New Year's Eve definitely makes it difficult to send out cute little pregnancy announcements with the year written next to a teeny-tiny pair of shoes, or written underneath an "Expected to Pop" balloon.  My wager is that we'll be pushing into 2014, but at this point there is truly only one omniscient being who knows.    

And so, I will make a definite post once we have discovered whether boy or girl.  I probably won't have a big party about it, nor will I send out announcements giving all the details.  Facebook will probably be the primary go-to for filling everyone in.  My biggest hope is that he or she is not camera shy, otherwise we will all be disappointed...and I will have to continue deciding which shade of pink will work in the nursery :)