Guess What... IT'S A.....

BOY!

Woohoo!! So the majority of you out there along with the Chinese were wrong! Some* of those "wives" were right, but I certainly wouldn't trust them either.
Baby McG wasn't quite so modest today... literally within a few seconds of starting the ultrasound I spotted something between his legs, and there was no doubt that we are in fact having a boy. It was quite a long ultrasound...they literally check everything from each vertebrae, to the valves of the heart, length of each bone, etc. It is honestly incredible what all they can see on the ultrasound. Baby McG measured in the 99th percentile for height... holy crap!! Apparently, the kid takes after his tall mama. The doctor said it's going to be ok for delivery because his long legs will just "shoot right out" and his head is measuring totally average - I think I'll be the judge of that, but I'm hoping she is right.

So long story short, we can all sleep tonight knowing that the McGarry name will live on (it was all on John being that he is the only boy in his family left to carry on the name). It's feeling more real now that we know what it is. I am so excited to get going on the room and John will likely be busy planning his career in sports and buying awful Rockies baby clothing and Dinger stuffed animals that I will have to hide/throw away.

I'll post more pictures of the ultrasound when I have a moment!

Who are these old wives? And are they legit?

I have to tell ya, I'm a little perplexed about where these theories come from on if you're having a boy or a girl...seem a bit suspicious. But I figured what the heck before I find out for real tomorrow... let's see if there is any truth in what these wives have to say....

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? You're pregnant with a girl. Well this is actually interesting, I used to ALWAYS sleep on my right side, but since getting pregnant I have actually found that I sleep on my left too. I usually start on my right side though.

Upset Stomach
Little girls aren’t always sweet. Extreme nausea means you are having a daughter. Nope, haven't been sick.

Adult Acne
If altering hormones makes your skin break out, expect a girl. No pizza face here (thank god).

Face Weight Gain

If your face gets fuller, it means you’re having a girl. Not yet, but I am convinced it's inevitable that I'm going to have a full-moon face by the end of this.

Mood Changes
If you’re experiencing pregnant mood swings, expect a baby girl to arrive soon. I'm going to go ahead and give myself a little pat on my back here, I really don't think I've had any sort of mood swings or extreme personality shift. I'm sure my inner Satan will show up around month 8.

High or Low Pregnant Belly
If you’re carrying the baby low on your stomach, expect a boy. If it’s high, you’re having a girl. Hard to say at this point, but it seems lower.

Baby Weight
If you’re carrying the baby in front, it’s a boy. Is the baby weight spaced all around your middle? It’s a girl. I think it's spaced around the middle. Like I said I have more of the chubs look versus the "ding" prego belly.

Pendulum Test
Dangle a chain with a charm over your palm. It swings back and forth: boy. In a circle: girl. Back and forth.

Even and Odd Numbers
If your age and year of conception are both even or odd, it’s girl. One even and one odd means a boy. 29 and 2011.... both odd.

Baby’s Heartbeat
If the baby’s heart beats more than 140 times per minute, you’re pregnant with a girl. Less than 140, it’s a boy. 151 heartbeat at the 16 week ultra sound.

So If I take a tally of the questions I answered above... the wives say I'm having a boy (6 to 4). We'll know soon enough....

However, the Asians believe I'm having a girl... see the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar. FYI, I'm 29 and convinced in April. If they are right, I have to admit I'm thankful we're not actually in China.

So let's see who's correct tomorrow.... it's "the wives" versus the Chinese.

The Name Game

I get a weekly email update from babycenter.com with information about that week of pregnancy. A few weeks back the update came with a few "to do's" including: "Make a list of your favorite names and have your spouse do the same. Then swap lists, read them aloud, and cross names off each other's lists until you are down to just 1 or 2 names." Simple enough. NOT.

John happened to see the to-do and thought it was a great idea for us to do this. He LOVES to get me going. So there we were sitting in bed making lists, and after reading each other's lists we had effectively crossed every name off each other's list in a matter of seconds. As John read though my list I heard a lot of "what a douche name, are you serious?" and "Ugh, awful. We might as well just move to Wash Park and start playing tennis now." As I read his list, I had to remind him that we live in America, and I will not be naming my child after any Rockies Player. He finds this commercial very funny (me, not so much) and believes his family can just be like this.

So to give you a little idea of some of the "very wonderful" suggestions on John's list here you go....

1. Wendell or Wendy if it's a girl, naturally


2. Ubaldo or Ubalda for a girl... not a very popular one in the old US of A.


3. Alanna - after Alanna Rizzo a Rockies announcer... it's actually an ok name, but he only likes it Rockies related, so no.


4. Tracy - As in Jim Tracy, the Rockies coach...are you seeing a theme here??


5. Carlos ... yes this is a player.


6. Tulo and Tula if it's a girl


7. Carl ... Just awful, and I can hear the inappropriate Carl jokes already


8. Chastity ... stripper name


9. Gertrude (Gert for short)... gag


10. Simon.... I can't believe he didn't also suggest Alvin and Theodore.


11. Trudy... come on.


12. Germaine.... no words.
    

When I shockingly dissed all of his suggestions, John asked me "Um, who named our cat?" (he knew the answer and was setting me up). I hated to admit that John was responsible for naming Boomer (which of course was after a former sports player, damnit). When I admitted he had, he of course responded with, "And I did an excellent job, so looks like I'm in charge of the naming in this family." Oh lord. Clearly, this is going to be a VERY difficult task for us. I'd love any suggestions, and if you tell me like you any of John's you can consider yourself on my very bad side.

We (along with several friends) have been referring to the baby as Wendall or Tula ever since this little exercise. While it's humorous, we're going to need a real name here soon. So before we find out what the baby is next week, and determine if we need to focus on either girl or boy names I thought it might be fun to take a vote as to what you think it is....

What do you think Baby McG is?

Things. Are. Changing.

Up until this week, most people didn't think I was really showing....for those who know me well they might say I had the extreme bloated look...that or I was just looking like a chubby girl after eating too many girls scout cookies versus looking like I was sporting a real baby bump. Showing? Expanding, yes.

Anyway here we are at 19 weeks and last night something terrifying happened for the first time ever.... I laid down on my back in bed and my belly is no longer flat. It has a bubble! Up until now I swear I could always lay down even on my most fat feeling day and it always flattened back down. Well, not anymore. At 19 weeks, I have "popped." And the scary thing is that it wasn't the case 2 days prior (I've been checking). This happened over night! I can't explain it but my entire stomach feels completely different... like some sort of firm paper mâché balloon.

I am continually reminded of Willy Wonka as Violet haunts me - that damn movie. The good news is that I am still wearing my normal pants today, but I have a feeling this is going to come to an end very soon. Very, very soon. Thankfully, I know my dear friend Marc, who I see just about every day, will let me know the moment I look like I've squeezed myself into a sausage casing and need to just throw in the towel and stop wearing any of my "normal" clothes.

After last night's incident, I looked at and analyzed myself in the mirror for nearly 10 minutes this morning when getting ready, as though I was looking at a foreign person. After 10 minutes I came to the conclusion "this is not my body, this is not me." It is truly like having an out of body experience to feel this transformation happen so quickly and without lots of pizza, fried food, and beer. Those who have been through this will have to vouch for me, it's a REALLY, really, really strange feeling.

I know some women gush about how much they love being pregnant. I on the other hand don't think I'm going to like this whole having a large belly and kankles part, I just like the end result. However, at this point I don't have a choice, so bring on the fupa ...err..bump. I'm going to research belly cream now, because God forbid I have stretch marks when I wake up tomorrow.

Sweet Potato goes to Steamboat

This marks the 18th week, and the bambino is now the size of a sweet potato, awe how cute! It sounds so much more adorable than an onion, which it was last week.

Anyway, the babe and I traveled up to Steamboat Springs, CO for my wonderful friend Meggie's bachelorette party. It was a grand old time! Baby McG stayed up way past it's bedtime, laughed a lot, enjoyed some sunshine and scenery, and even got a massage. Stay tuned for more on Steamboat and some photos from the weekend...

16 weeks

Again, after feeling slightly normal (minus headaches and tiredness) I was concerned everything was going well with the baby. I am starting to realize that I now just worry about everything... when it's good I worry, when I feel bad I worry.... I guess this is the first phase of motherhood. Oh, and for the out-of-towners sake, I'm not really showing (expect for in my boobs which are becoming concernedly x-rated) my tummy just looks boated. I can feel my stomach tightening and stretching, which is good according to the doctor, but it hasn't "popped" yet.

I digress...

When I arrived at my 16 week appointment the doctor was like "Do you want me to get the ultra sound machine and see if we can tell if it's a boy or a girl?" Having told John he did not need to attend this appointment because they weren't doing anything other than checking my weight, blood pressure, etc I was instantly caught off guard.

Me: "Wait, I thought you don't do that until the next appointment?"

Doc: "We generally don't, but I bet we can tell today if you want to know earlier."

My mind is now racing that it's probably inappropriate for me to find

this out without John being there. Internally I was going back and forth on what to do.

Me: "Yeah, let's do it."

And just like that... I caved.

The doctor came back with the ultrasound machine and within seconds the baby was moving away on the screen with a heart rate of 151. For those of you who follow the old wives tales this heart rate says it's a girl.... but we didn't get to find out this day after all. The baby was being

modest (clearly doesn't take after it's mother), and wasn't spreading it's legs wide enough for the doctor to get a good view. Doh! I figured this was God's way of making sure I did the right thing and had John there for the "finding out" appointment.

Despite the modesty, we did get a few good pictures of the baby. John really struggled to understand these pics so to clarify I added some tags, but for a frame of reference, the baby is head down in these.

In other good news, I had them do the screenings (were they test for an increased risk in things like downs, spina bifida, etc) because I'm a nervous nelly who needs to know everything, and the results were all great.... no concerns. Whew! For those friends considering getting prego... start taking your folic acid, it works! :)

12 Week Appointment

I had honestly been looking forward to this appointment for weeks, since it's the (fingers crossed) "you're in the clear" appointment. I had also been really looking forward to this one because I was having another ultrasound, and quite frankly there have been a few moments where I have been questioning if I'm even pregnant since I haven't suffered with sever morning sickness (I know I'm super lucky). Of the few who already knew I was pregnant the common question for me has been "So, how are you feeling?" [insert inflection of the answer should be "terrible"]. So I've grown increasingly concerned that the baby must have fallen out without me noticing since my answer is "good." I actually expressed my concern to my mom and apparently my pregnancy is 100% mirroring her pregnancy with me (which is comforting, because look at how great I popped out, wink wink). She said she felt fairly normal and also found herself often wondering "um, am I really pregnant?" Apparently being good at being pregnant is an Italian gene I luckily inherited, it also comes with birthing hips which develop at age 5, and continue to grow over your life, so it does have it's downsides. Point being, this appointment was my opportunity to make sure that the baby was still growin' away inside despite my lack of nausea.

John joined me for this appointment because we were doing an ultra sound and early detection screenings. For this particular appointment, I was required to have a full bladder for the ultrasound. A full bladder + pregnancy = no bueno. As we waited in the waiting room I was literally dancing in my seat and ripping the pages out of the magazines as I turned them to prevent myself from peeing my pants. Finally a nurse walked out... "Sarah McGarry." Knowing that once the ultrasound was complete I would be allowed to go to the bathroom, I flew out of that seat and was in the ultrasound room before I could even look to make sure John was behind me (don't worry he was).

Every moment of questioning if I was pregnant was reassured within seconds of the ultra sound starting. There on the screen was our little bambino, and it was moving away swim party style! No joke this kid is going to be a mile-a-minute and my mom will finally be able to look at me and say "pay back is a bitch my child."

{insert photos from the ultra sound.... oh wait... John lost them along with a folder of important info from the doctor! I assure you Baby McG looked amazing.}

So, the appointment went great. Everything on the ultrasound looked perfect, whew. We were also able to hear the heartbeat at a rapid, yet normal, 157 beats per minute. It's just so crazy to think about! My blood pressure, weight, etc were all 100% on target. Onward we go! Keep cooking!

Later that evening we were headed to a concert with our friend Adam (aka Bacon), and Katie (his nurse sister) who already knew "the news." Katie, who also happens to work at the hospital I will likely deliver at, was asking John about trip to the doc...

Katie: So, how'd the appointment go today?

John: Humiliating.

(I being within an earshot heard this and couldn't help but chime in).

Me: Um, what exactly was humiliating? everything went great...

John: Well, in my books any meeting that starts with "lift your dress up & take your underwear off" while you're about to pee yourself is pretty humiliating.

And that folks is prenatal care through the eyes of a father... And for those of you wondering, yes, I told him I'm pretty concerned that if the required steps for the ultrasound were "humiliating" then we're in real trouble when it comes to the actual delivery. I think he still believes it's 1920 and expectant dads sit in the waiting room with "it's a ____!" cigars while the mom pops a kid out in the other room. Guess we have a few more months to work that out...