Maternity Sneak Peek

I've been stalking our photog's Facebook page all day and she finally posted a sneak peek!!


Saturday was a lot of fun. It included the pups, balloons and homemade blocks that spelled out Baby W. in white and aqua as well as an outfit change for RCW and I. Our photographer is coming over to our house on Sunday at 2pm to show us the proofs and go through them. I can hardly wait, especially after seeing the first preview shot!

Maternity Photoshoot - Inspiration Board

Tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting and our photog permitting (she's a birth photographer and has a momma due right around now!!) we're having our maternity photoshoot in a local park.

I'm super excited because I ♥ photo shoots. Seriously, I could do them everyday! And despite not feeling super in love with myself and my looks currently, I know it's just going to get worse as I close in on 40 weeks. If for any reason, the weather or a brand new baby, delay tomorrow's session, we'll be doing it the follow Saturday instead at 36 weeks. Yay!

I try really hard to give photographers creative freedom when I work with them. I don't want to stifle an idea or have them get caught up in what I'm asking for and miss a great photographic moment, buuuuuuuuuuuuuut......after not receiving a few shots that I really wish we'd had back at our wedding I have started to share with our photographers some of my desires with an inspiration board just so they have an idea of some types of shots I'm hoping for.

Yea, I'm that person. But in the same vein, if I'm paying you hundreds of dollars, I want to be happy :)

I started doing some research aka pinning to get some ideas of things I really like from maternity shoots. Here is the maternity inspiration board I sent our photographer.

Sources - you can find these by clicking to go to my Pinterest board

Yes, our pictures will include the 3 pups, how could I leave them out!? We'll see how that goes tomorrow afternoon, at a park. I also really like the idea of balloons and am hoping to pick some up tomorrow morning. I also really like the whole blocks thing that goes on with maternity pictures. The picture on the board is from a couple who didn't know what they were having so they took pictures with their boy name and their girl name. I like that idea, but also like just having Baby W. since that's what he/she is until the grand debut! Finally, the picture in the top corner is RCW's sis and her hubs - adorable, right? RCW loves the idea of a my belly to his belly picture. We'll see how that pans out!

Any tips from those who have done maternity sessions on outfits or how to feel fabulous while showing off the belly?

Coming Home Onesies

Part of my dilemma last Thursday when we went to the hospital and I was convinced we'd be bringing home a baby wasn't just that I wasn't my freshest or that the nursery wasn't ready, but that we didn't have the adorable onesies I had created by Heather over at Etsy's Sew Seamingly Sassy.

I had contacted her in early January about creating 2 onesies. Yup. I knew from the very beginning that I wanted Baby W. to have a special coming home from the hospital outfit and I also knew since we weren't finding out the sex, we'd have to have a boy version and a girl version. As we got closer, I realized that my preppy side was coming out and Baby W. (who will FINALLY have a name!!) needed that name emblazoned on their coming home onesie.

Heather was awesome and helped me pick out cute little nursery theme appropriate appliques of a penguin and a polar bear. RCW and I decided the polar bear would be if we have a boy and penguin if we have a girl.


I don't know if I've come right out and said our boy's name, but it isn't a secret. RCW is a Jr., so we've known since before we even got engaged that our first boy would be RCW, III. However, there will be no more 'R's on my watch so our son will go by the 'C'.

Our girl name is a secret of sorts. Since the boy name comes from RCW's side of the family, the girl name comes from my side. If we have a girl, we wanted to surprise my family with her name so we haven't been very vocal about it. If you're dying to know, you can email me (stwboswell at yahoo dot com) and I'll be more than happy to share with you since chances are you won't be telling my family in the next 34 days!

Now that I have the onesies, I just need to get some bottoms to go with them. RCW thinks I'm crazy, but it'll be February, or God forbid March, and Baby W. needs to come home with pants on! Right!?

Did you have a special come home outfit for your little one?

Nursery Floor Plans

In our attempt to get organized this weekend so the nursery is ready when Baby W decides he/she is ready, I found an online tool a couple weeks ago that lets you virtually design your nursery. You input your measurements and add your room constants like doors, windows and closets and then arrange your virtual furniture, which you can also edit to fit the dimensions of your actual furniture. It was a nifty site and helped RCW and I see what we had to work with. You can find it here: http://www.babysdream.com/VirtualNurseryPlanner.aspx If you want to save your room, you do have to register, but I haven't gotten any emails or spam from doing so.

So here is what we're thinking. Brace yourself, our nursery isn't huge. Its 10 feet by 12 feet, 10 inches so yea. Not tiny, but not what you would call overly spacious either!

Option 1: Includes rocker with side table, book case, changing table/dresser and crib. In Option 1, the crib is across from the door with the changing table/dresser next to the door.

Option 2: Basically the same layout as Option 1, except flipping the crib and changing table/dresser.


So, mommy friends out there, any great advice on which layout is better? Or any design friends out there see a better option for the space and furniture we have? We're open to suggestions before we start moving things into place this weekend!

35/35

Today marks the pregnancy 35/35 milestone - 35 weeks down, 35 days to go! Um, scary!!!!!

Here's this week's picture, in a SUPER messy nursery. The game plan of organizing last weekend got bumped by the stomach bug and bladder infection. So, we'll revisit the whole organize and get ready scenario this weekend. And please pray that we make some massive progress. I'm ready for nesting to kick in, but my nights and weekends are typical not in nesting mode, but 'lay on the sofa watching DVR mode'.


And just for fun to see how far not only me and the bump have come, but also the nursery lets take a moment to reminiscence about the very first weekly picture from way back in early July at a mere 6 weeks.


Wow. What a difference 7 months can make!

It wouldn't be a pregnancy without 1 hospital trip before Baby W's birth day!

Thursday morning I got up and went about my day as usual. I got to work and just felt blah. I was so sick to my stomach and basically ended up eating my entire lunch before 11am in hopes to calm the nauseous I was dealing with. Sadly, eating did not help matters. In addition the feeling sick I was having issues seeing the computer thanks to some blurry vision, my lower back was aching and I was having some massive cramping/tightness in my upper abdomen under my rib cage. I spent the day texting RCW my symptoms and complaining to him. PS: If you Google those symptoms at 34 weeks pregnant you know what pops up - preeclampsia or a horrible diagnosis called HELLP syndrome.

Finally, around 3pm I decided I just needed to go home. I was worthless at work and I felt like poo.

As I stood up to leave, I unfortunately threw up. My first vomit of the pregnancy taking place at 34 weeks, 1 day. Woo hoo, I guess. I proceeded to be sick 2 more times before finally getting my stuff together and slowly walking to my car while calling my OB's office.

The nurse at the OB's triage told me it didn't sound like I was having contractions or anything (which I didn't think I was either) and that the throwing up could be from working at a desk and standing up too quickly, much like acid reflux. She told me go home and rest and if the vomiting continued into the night to call back.

When I got home, I was dying of thirst. Having only had water all day and having thrown that up I wasn't into drinking more of it. I had literally 1 cup of grape juice and climbed into bed. RCW got home around 6pm. I was still feeling badly, but hadn't thrown up anymore. Within 15 minutes of him being home, I asked him to grab me a trash can because I was going to be sick. Before he could get back to me I had thrown up all over our bed. Now, ladies, if you want to panic your husband simply drink grape juice, don't tell them and then throw it up all over your white comforter. RCW lost his mind as he thought I was throwing up blood. He grabbed my phone and proceeded to call the OB's call line. I informed him that A) it was grape juice, not blood and B) if he ever thought I was throwing up blood, he should dial 9-1-1 immediately, not my current doctor's call line!

Once the throwing up stopped, I then had an upset stomach. And then throwing up some more. As I sat on the potty with a trash can in my lap, RCW chatted with our practice's on call OB. I could hear him talking and thought she was probably telling him to monitor me, but all was fine.

But no, he got off the phone and told me when I was able I needed to get dressed and we were going to the hospital's labor and delivery triage. Due to my symptoms and the fact that my blood pressure runs in the normal to high category, Baby W and I were going in for testing.

Lovely.

Let me just tell you, I was convinced we were leaving home as 2 and would be coming back as 3. I freaked myself out royally and just *knew* I'd be having an emergency c-section. Then I was distraught because I hadn't shaved my legs, my bikini line was nice and trim, my toes were painted the color I wanted and I hadn't showered since the night before. Not to mention the nursery wasn't ready and well, I wasn't ready to bring a newborn home! I was an anxious preggo on our 10 minute ride to the hospital.

When we got there, the triage nurses told me that the stomach bug was going around and they were sure that was all it was. (If you want to stop reading now, rest assured, they were right.)

RCW got me registered and I stripped into a lovely gown and climbed into bed. The nurses came in and asked a million and one questions while hooking me up to monitor my blood pressure every 5 minutes and putting 2 monitors on my belly - one for me and one for Baby W. And see how much I love you, here is my fabulous picture from that evening...


Don't click on this and increase the size or you may be blinded by not only my pasty white belly, but the stretch marks that exist on it!

We were at the hospital hooked up like this for 3 hours Thursday night. They couldn't let me leave until Baby's heartbeat stayed in the 150s for 20 minutes. Baby was not cooperating. The nurses were watching and apparently, Baby would be in the 150s for 15 minutes and then shoot up to 165-170 and we'd start all over. Meanwhile, I enjoyed some ice chips and pretended this was practice for the real show that will happen in the next few weeks!

When I finally left, I was feeling better. I was naive. Thursday night I was up sick ALL night long. I threw up those ice chips and got completely dehydrated.

Luckily, I had my 34 week checkup with my OB Friday morning and she gave me some anti-nausea medicine that worked like a charm and knocked me out. Sadly, she also discovered I have a bladder infection so I'm on antibiotics to clear that up. I'm not 100% yet, but I haven't been sick since Friday so that's a positive! And Baby W is perfectly fine, despite being stubborn and acting up at inopportune times.

I have one more 2 week stretch til my 36 week OB appointment and then we'll be weekly throughout February. Also, this Wednesday will mark the 35/35 point - 35 weeks down, 35 DAYS to go! How did that happen?!

No worries, my calendar is full to get the nursery set up, have a pedicure with my desired polish choice and I've started making myself suffer bending over to shave my legs every other day. The next time we head to the hospital, I will be ready to bring home baby!

Baby W's Winter Wonderland Shower

This past weekend RCW and I ventured back to RVa, in the snow and ice no less, to celebrate Baby W. My mom and sister in law had been itching since our September beach trip to throw us a shower. I went back and forth on the topic many times, but in the end gave in to my family's wishes to host a shower to celebrate Baby W. and honor me. The reason I wasn't overly excited about a shower is I just don't like being the center of attention. Hard to believe from someone who shares their most intimate life details on the internet, but alas I don't. But, I knew this could be our one and only pregnancy and I should live it up so right before Thanksgiving I gave in.

My mom, sister in law and aunt all got together and planned the most amazing shower for us! We are so blessed to have such amazing and generous family! The only thing I did contribute was the invitation because I'm OCD like that. I bought some custom clip art off etsy and created the invitation in Publisher and printed at VistaPrint. I was really happy with how it turned out and that it matched our nursery theme.


When I arrived at my aunt's house on Saturday, I was blown away by the decorations. They really went all out to make the shower a very festive winter wonderland!


My sorority sister in RVa makes cupcakes on the side. They're amazing and delicious and I've used her twice before. If you're in or near RVa and looking for cupcakes for a party or event, please let me know and I'll get you in touch with her. She's talented and the cupcakes are super yummy!


The shower started with some mingling and enjoying appetizers - hot spinach dip with pita chips, Chick-fil-A nuggets and dipping sauce, cheese tray and I'm not sure what else because I was busy chatting with everyone and didn't get a bite of a single app.

Once people had nibbled a bit, my mom and aunt told everyone to gather in the living room for a couple of games. They passed out individual note pads and pens. The first game was that everyone had to list as many baby items in 5 minutes as they could think of. It was pretty funny to see everyone trying to think of things from my mommy of 2 friend to my single and lives in DC friend. Mommy of 2 won that game with 42 items. She said she simply went through her house room by room writing things down and thinking about what was up and down the aisles at Babies R Us. My single and lives in DC friend stopped after 3 because she didn't have a clue.

The second game was similar. My mom read off nursery rhymes leaving a word or two out and people had to fill in the blanks. Some were easy like: "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her ____ ____ ____" (answer: curds and whey), while others were some people hadn't heard of before or we think the Internet gave my mom the wrong lines like: "Rub a dub dub, three men in a tub. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____" (answer per my mom's source: And how do you think they got there? - answer most of us thought was right: And who do you think they be?) A friend of my MIL's won this game, as she should have since she is an elementary librarian!


Once the games were played we all got to eat a yummy lunch. I had told my mom something like beef stew would be tasty. In my "I don't cook" mindset, I thought she'd buy a large can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew at Sam's Club and warm it up in a crock pot. Oh no, my mom thought I was talking blasphemy when I said that. She found a recipe and made it all from scratch. She made a test batch last week which she passed around to my dad, aunt, uncle, brother, sister in law and grandma for taste testing and when it was deemed delicious, she proceeded to make 3 crock pots full for the shower. Surprisingly, most of it was eaten and RCW and I only came back with a small container of leftovers! We were some hungry ladies and the homemade beef stew was delicious. Along with the stew they had mini corn bread squares or buttermilk biscuits. Again, I was chatting away with everyone and scarfed down a bowl of stew standing at my aunt's kitchen counter.

Once everyone had eaten, we decided to go ahead and open gifts because some people needed to leave a bit early. Again, I was spoiled, or Baby W. was spoiled. I can't say thank you enough to our family and friends for their generosity for all of the gifts they've given to us!

One of the big surprise gifts came from Auntie M, she was the Maid of Honor in our wedding and a dear friend to RCW and I. She's more like a sister than anything else. Her mom, who was also invited, but lives in Oklahoma and couldn't attend, have a contact at Coach that affords them wonderful deals. Thus, we'll be toting around a gorgeous patent leather gray Coach baby bag! Thanks Auntie M and her momma, J. Yall are too good to all 3 of us and already spoiling Baby W. to the finer things in life. Auntie M also sent Baby W their very first gift way back in August, a Tiffany and Co. bank.


We did include on the invitation a request for a book instead of card. No one seemed to complain about it and most people brought Baby W. a book. He/She has quite the collection now and we're thrilled!


One of my favorite gifts came from my cousin S, who is also due with a baby in June. She found 2 bibs from Cafepress that had huskies on them! Love love love!!


After we finished opening all the gifts, the party whined down. Guests chatted and enjoyed cupcakes and we took some photos. Here are the 5 preggos at the shower - I know, something was in the water in 2011! From L to R: my cousin S who is due with a baby girl on June 10, my sister in law A who is due with our niece, Makayla on April 20, myself due with Baby W on February 29, my cousin K who is due with a baby girl on May 19 and my sorority sister C who is due with baby boy Aiden on May 4.


Then we got a snap of the hubs family because he did arrive and make an appearance to say hello and thank you and load up the car at the end of the shower. From L to R: my MIL, me, hub's grandma, Bebe, SIL A, SIL M and RCW.


Obligatory hand on belly picture with Auntie M.


Sunday night after we arrived back home in Louisville and unloaded the car, RCW and I hung out in the nursery and he got to reopen everything that had been packed into gifts bags for us to travel home with. Again, we were super spoiled!


And RCW's biggest question after all of this was, "Does Baby W. REALLY need all this stuff?!" I guess we'll find out soon enough. I think we are truly set, except for continuing to build our cloth diaper stash, but that's a post for another day.

32 Week OB Checkup

Yesterday I went for my 32 week checkup and all was well in the end. But it took a good 3 hours to get there...

I don't know about others, but my practice's main premise is that you will see your OB and your OB will deliver you unless there is an extreme emergency on your part, your OB's part or if your OB has a scheduled vacation, they work with you ahead of time to prepare that they will not be able to deliver your baby. Thus, I haven't even met the other 3 OB's in the practice, just mine, whom we love.

But my OB was on a surprise delivery yesterday morning so she was running 2 hours late. So I waited. And waited. And waited some more with a room full of other waiting patients.

While I know many of you probably think that sounds horrible, I'm happy with the situation as it means we have a 99% chance our OB will deliver Baby W.

Once she arrived, the appointment went quickly. My weight, blood pressure and urine all looked good. She congratulated me on passing the 3 hour glucose test. She listened to Baby's heartbeat and measured my uterus. All was fine.

Then she asked about Baby's movements. I told her that on Wednesday the baby was giving me a first glimpse of some breathe taking away movements - I don't know if they were kicking, punching, headbutting, somersaulting or what, but there were numerous times on Wednesday that I was in some pain from the Babe. I thought Wednesday was the beginning on daily movements like that, but on Thursday, Babe barely moved. As I explained this to the OB, along with telling her there really wasn't a true movement routine going on, she told me that she was going to hook us up to some monitors just to be 'better safe than sorry'.

So my extra long appointment, lasted a bit longer as I got to sit in a recliner and listen to Babe's heart beating away for 25 minutes while pressing a Jeopardy buzzer every time I felt or heard a movement on the monitor. It was great, but I was sad RCW missed listening to everything.

Our doc watched everything and it was tracking perfectly without any issues. I think that sometimes I'm not paying enough attention and missing movements that are happening. Oops. But because of the tracking, the average heart beat for little one over the 25 minutes was 146 beats per minute. So completely in the middle and gender neutral. Little one is not going give away their sex before their arrival!

We go back January 20 for our 34 week appointment. Its crazy how closer we're getting!

Mommy Advice - Swing & Baby Food Maker

Its that time again - time where I hope and pray yall are still reading and will grace me with some mommy advice and wisdom!

Our registry was getting bare, thanks to the generosity of our family and friends at Christmas - so I have been adding some things to it here and there, especially with our baby shower being just a little over a week away.

My big question is this: Baby Food Maker. Does anyone out there make their baby food? Of course I want to jump on that money saving bandwagon and figure I might as well as the processor to the registry for someone to buy or for us to get a percentage off of after baby is born. I originally registered for the Baby Brezza BPA Free One Step Baby Food Maker, but then there is the Beaba Babycook BPA Free Baby Food Maker too. Any reviews, recommendations, comments on Brezza versus Beaba?

Secondly, do we really need a swing? The consensus of most of our friends in real life is no. Either they never had one so baby didn't know what it was missing or they had one and their kiddos hated it. As we prepare for a new little life, RCW is reading Happiest Baby on the Block, while I read Babywise. Just today, RCW told me that his book does say the motion can be soothing to baby, but by 4-5 months the baby would find the swing boring. $100-$150 for a large piece of baby gear for just a couple months doesn't seem worth it. But I'd love to hear your thoughts. Right now, our game plan is not to register for one for someone to buy us, but if baby arrives and we come to the conclusion we must have a swing, we can go buy one then.

With 8 weeks to go, Place your Bets - Boy or Girl?

Today I am 32 weeks pregnant - how did that happen!? And oh how I wish and hope and pray the next 8 weeks fly by smoothly. Snuggling our little nephew made RCW and I that much more excited and ready to meet our little one!

But the real question on everyone's minds is, is Baby W. a boy or a girl?!

We set up a website where you can enter your guess on sex, birthday, weight and length and you can even let us know who made the guess. And if you guess correctly on everything, you'll get major bragging rights from us!

Here is the link to the site: http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyW2012 - I also realized the link may not be working properly. If it takes you to the main page, just type BabyW2012 into the search box on the upper left of the screen to find our page. Sorry!! Or try clicking the box below, it seems to be working - at the moment!

And here is some background info to help you make your educated guesses!

We'll start with a personal history:

I was born on December 20, weighing in at 8 lbs, 12 oz and measuring 21 inches long. *Updated from info from my mom: I was due on December 13 and didn't want to come out. When she went for her weekly appointment on December 20, the doctor induced her.*

RCW was born on September 3, weighing in at 9 lbs and measuring 21 inches long. *Updated from info from RCW's mom: RCW was overdue and if his mom didn't have him by her next scheduled appointment, they were going to induce, but he arrived before induction was necessary. Albeit, still later than his due date.*

Baby W's official due date - 40 weeks from my last period - is February 29, 2012. However, at our last ultrasound which was our 20 week anatomy scan, Baby was measuring with a due date of February 25, 2012.

RCW believes Baby W is a girl, while I lean more towards boy.

Now for the Old Wive's Tales:

1. Carrying High or Low - High is a girl, Low is a boy. - Baby W is low, low, low! - BOY

2. Heartbeat - 140+ is a girl, under 140 is a boy. - Baby W has been all over the place with the rate going down as he/she grew. Here are the numbers and dates: August 22 - 175 bpm, August 24 - 164 bpm, September 19 - 150s bpm, October 21 - 140s bpm and most recently December 21 - 130s bpm. That is an average bpm of 154 which would indicate... GIRL

3. Sweet or Salty - Sweet cravings mean its a girl, salty ones lean towards boy. - I didn't want anything sweet until about mid-November, but since then I can't get enough of candy, cookies and cake! GIRL

4. Mayan Legends - Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy. - My age at conception was 28 and the year of conception was 2011, so even and odd means BOY

5. Key Test - This is one for a friend to try, place a key in front of your preggo friend and ask her to pick it up. If she grabs it by the narrow part, she's in for sugar and spice and all that. If she picks it up by the round part, it's snips and snails. - I picked up a key by the big part, do people really pick it up by the narrow end?! BOY

6. Pimples - They say baby girls steal their mom's beauty, so if you're breaking out its a girl, if you're clear of zits its a boy. - My face is actually quite zit free so that means BOY

7. Wedding Ring Test - Pop off your wedding ring and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl. - I put my wedding band on a piece of yarn, hung it over my belly and it went back and forth. No circles here! GIRL

8. Morning Sickness - If you had horrible morning sickness in the first trimester, or still do its a girl. If you didn't deal with nausea, its a boy. - I was a lucky one and had zero morning sickness - BOY

9. Mathematical formula - Age of the mother when she got pregnant + her month of birth + month of conception = if result is odd it is a boy if it is even it is a girl. - My age at conception 28 + my birth month of December 12 + conception month of June 6 = 46. 46 is even so GIRL

10. The Gypsy’s Formula- Age of the mother + the month in which she got pregnant. If result is even it is a boy, if it is odd, girl. - I'm assuming age of mother is like all others and means age at conception so 28 + month of conception being June 6 = 34. 34 is even so BOY

11. The Oil Test- Pour a few drops of oil on the top part of the belly. If oil drips quickly it is a boy. If it drips slowly, it is a girl. - Yup, I really did this. I put a few drops of vegetable oil on the top of my belly and it immediately dripped down. Not sure how much quicker it could've rolled! BOY

12. Nature’s language - It is believed that nature communicates with humans through forms. In this case, if the mother’s womb is round, it is a girl. If it is pointed, it is a boy. - I'm not really sure what this means, my belly is round and I don't notice any pointedness so we'll assume GIRL

13. Sleep Position - Pay attention to which way you lay down in bed tonight. If you prefer sleeping on your left side, you'll have a boy. Right side, girl. - Try as I might to sleep on my left for better blood flow to the little one, I'm a million times more comfortable sleeping on my right and gravitate to that side through the night. GIRL

14. Soft or Dry Hands - If your hands are dry during pregnancy, you are having a boy; soft - expect a girl. - This isn't an exact science, but despite the cold winter months my hands haven't been very dry. Looking at them now after putting lotion on once this morning, they're still soft. So we'll go with soft and GIRL

15. Food Cravings - Your favorite pregnancy foods may tell you what sex the baby is. If you're craving citrus while pregnant, you're having a girl. - I have not been craving citrus or fruits at all for that matter which points to BOY

16. Graceful or Clumsy - If you feel as though you're gliding through the day, you'll have a girl. Stumbling? It's a boy. - I don't think I'm very clumsy, although I don't know that I'd characterize myself as graceful either! I haven't fallen or tripped or dropped much of anything though so we'll say graceful and GIRL

17. Face Weight Gain - If your face gets fuller, it means you're having a girl. - Personally, I don't think I'm gaining weight anywhere except my belly and I've had a few people note that as well when seeing me back in VA, so we'll go with no face weight gain and BOY

18. Mood Changes - If you're experiencing pregnant mood-swings, expect a baby girl to arrive soon. - I'm an emotional person, but this pregnancy has added to those emotions. I may or may not have lost it last week when I had a bite of raw cookie dough and didn't feel the baby move and convinced myself I killed him or her, just as I may or may not have cried my eyes out in my SIL's hospital room this weekend too. So, we'll say yes to mood swings going high and low! GIRL

19. Baby Weight - If you're carrying baby in front, its a boy. Is the baby weight spaced all around your middle, like your hips and rear? It's a girl. - Again, I don't see a lot of gain anywhere but my belly, nothing in my hips and butt so we'll go with BOY

20. Model Your Hands - "Show me your hands" Have someone ask to see your hands. Note the position of your palms. If you hold your hands palms up, it's a girl. Down? It's a boy. - I'm a palms up gal when showing my hands to someone. GIRL

21. Toddler Advice - Get baby advice from a nephew or friend's little boy. Notice how much interest he shows in your belly. If a toddler boy shows interested in your belly, you'll have a girl. If he ignores you, its a boy. - I was with our 2 year old nephew this weekend in VA and he paid zero attention to my belly so its same to assume this would indicate BOY

22. Stress Test - Think back to when you conceived your baby. Which parent was less stressed? A child tends to be of the same sex as the parents who is less stressed at the time of conception. - This is hard because I think RCW and I were both stressed knowing if this time didn't work we'd be moving on to IVF. However, RCW was much more worried about me in June than I was, I *knew* we'd get pregnant in June and was relatively relaxed. So a less stressed momma points to GIRL

23. Dream Meanings - Are you having any dreams about baby? Are they predominately about a baby girl or baby boy? If you dream about having a girl while pregnant, you will wind up having a boy and vice versa. - Lately I've been having a lot of dreams about baby boys, but per this myth, that means I'll have a GIRL

24. Breast Size - Using a mirror, or your husband, judge if your breasts are the same size or if one is larger than the other. If your right breast is larger than the left while pregnant, you having a girl. If the left is larger, it's a boy. - Ok, some TMI but my right boob is bigger than my left all the time, pregnant or not. Thus, not sure how that applies here. But since right is bigger while pregnant (sadly, the left while growing hasn't caught up!) we'll put down GIRL

25. Location in uterus at early ultrasound - It has to be around an 8 week ultrasound. If transvaginal baby on the right - boy, left - girl. If abdominal baby on the right - girl, left - boy. - So here is my 8 weeks, 1 day transvaginal ultrasound from the RE. So here is where some confusion can come into play - looking at the picture, babe is obviously off center and looking at the picture it would be on the left, but in reality, the baby is on my right side in that ultrasound. So, that would indicate BOY. Am I thinking that through correctly?
26. Daddy Weight Gain - If the baby’s father puts on weight during pregnancy - it's a boy. - RCW would argue with me here, but no he hasn't gained weight because of the pregnancy. Has he gained some weight because we had Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas along with a vacation in September, yes. Would he have gained that weight even if I wasn't pregnant, yes. So, no, RCW hasn't been piling on the sympathy pounds. GIRL

27. The Pendant - Swing a pure gold pendant over the pregnant belly. If it swings back and forth, it’s a girl. If it swings around, it's a boy. - I held my gold cross and necklace over my belly and it very obviously swung back and forth, not in a circle. GIRL

28. Beach ball or Watermelon? - If your belly resembles a beach ball, it's a boy; if your belly is more of a watermelon shape, it's a girl. - While most of my weight gain has been in my belly and not all over, my belly isn't a basketball and I definitely think it resembles an oval watermelon. GIRL

29. Hairy Legs - If the hair on your legs is growing faster than before you were pregnant, it's a boy. If it isn't growing quicker, it's a girl. - My hair is growing the same rate, although I am shaving less. Yay for winter and long pants and a hubs who doesn't care! GIRL

30. North or South Pillow - If you sleep in a bed with your pillow to the south, you'll have a girl. If your pillow points north, you'll have a boy. - Technically our bed is on the east end of the house, but I sleep on the north side of the bed so we'll go with north. BOY

31. Cold Feet - If your feet are colder now that you're pregnant, it's a boy. If they aren't, it's a girl. - My feet are very rarely cold, in fact this whole pregnancy has made me about 20 degrees hotter than usual! GIRL

32. Heel of Bread - If you prefer the heel of a loaf of bread, you're having a boy. If not, it's a girl. - So, I don't like the heel of bread at any point, but this would indicate GIRL

33. Is Grandma Gray? - If the maternal grandma has gray hair, it'll be a boy. If she doesn't have any gray hair (natural or dyed), it'll be a girl. - My poor mom, God love her, has had gray hair for years, even though she tries to cover it up with dye! That means we'll have a BOY

34. Chest Development - If your chest has been increasing dramatically since becoming pregnant, it'll be a girl. If not, expect a boy. - While my boobs have gotten a little bit bigger, it's nothing that could be classified as dramatic! BOY

35. What Color is your Pee? - If your urine is a dull yellow color, it's a girl. If you have bright yellow pee, expect a boy. - Typically, unless I've been riding in a car from KY to VA and holding it, my pee is dull and not bright. That would point towards a GIRL

36. Growing Nose - Has your nose spread during the pregnancy? If so, that points to a boy. If your nose hasn't changed, it's a girl. - This was one of my biggest fears and luckily, my nose hasn't spread or grown. That means GIRL

37. Orange Juice - Are you craving OJ? If so, it's a girl. If you have no desire for it, it's a boy. - This one seems backwards from everything my friends with kiddos have told me. I thought if you craved OJ it was a boy?! But we'll go with the myth and no, I don't want OJ at all. OJ = heartburn! BOY

38. Headaches? - If you are getting headaches while pregnant, it's a boy. If not, it's a girl. - I've had very minimal headaches, actually much less while pregnant than prior to getting here. I hope it stays that way once baby arrives!! GIRL

39. Chinese Gender Prediction Chart - According to legend, the Chinese birth gender chart is based on statistics taken from women inside the Forbidden City during the Ching Dynasty. Around 700 years ago, a Chinese scientist discovered the birth gender chart buried in a royal tomb. The original gender chart is now kept in the Institute of Science of Peking. Supposedly, it’s 99 percent accurate! However, there are 2 charts when Googling online. Here are the charts with links and my results. Chart 1 = GIRL and Chart 2 = BOY Of course, they're opposite!

40. Baby Psychic, Cheri22 - One of the big reasons I've thought boy all along was because of our psychic reading from back in April. Cheri22 predicted a boy. She was right with my friend, Brandi over at Our Journey, who just had Miss Savannah a week ago. But she got it wrong with Kate over at Elefantitas Alegres, she told Kate, boy, but Kate found out they're expecting a little girl just a couple days before we're due. BOY

To keep score - out of 41 possible old wives tales and myths here is the tally.

BOY - 18 - 43.9%

GIRL - 23 - 56.0%

So there ya go, now take a minute and make your own guess on Baby W! I can't wait to see what everyone thinks!! Seriously, click this link: http://www.expectnet.com/games/BabyW2012, right now and make a guess. **Updated: - I realized the link may not be working properly. If it takes you to the main page, just type BabyW2012 into the search box on the upper left of the screen to find our page. Sorry!!**