I have discovered that our little girl likes to rock out.  The first time I felt movement was during our 3ish hour ride home from my parents’ house Memorial Day weekend.  Of course, we were listening to lots of rock and metal music.  I mean, that’s just the norm for us.

Those first movements startled me.  I knew I’d never felt anything like that before!  However, I was a bit nervous to conclude that it was, in fact, my little sweetpea movin’ about.  (I was about 17 weeks 4 days at that point.)  I mean, it was so faint… so brief… everyone describes those first movements (called quickening) as flutters.  For me, it was more like a repetitive tapping… almost a pulsating feeling.  It was slight and brief.  Over the next few days, I would feel the same sensation in different areas of my lower abdomen a couple times a day.

It had to be her!
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We had an interesting time getting our ultrasound today.  At first our child was being modest by covering her privates with her hands… but eventually those hands moved.  The tech seemed pretty confident it was a girl, pointing out the dots and lines that form little girl parts.

So we’re pretty excited! I bought the first couple girly outfits today.  In the event this baby is born with an extra limb-like structure…. we do have enough neutral stuff to get us by for a bit!

What was amusing though, was this lil girl showed her stubborn side as well as her flexibility.  She stayed in the same folded up position for over an hour! No amount of prodding with the ultrasound thingamabob, turning me on my sides, or walking around made a difference.  She was bent in half with her feet over her head!

She’d wiggle and kick, but wouldn’t flip or unfold.  Sometimes her feet would be on her forehead, then her hands would be up there too… then she started playing with her feet.

It was adorable.

I can’t wait to meet her!

Today marks 20 weeks, so we are halfway to the estimated arrival date.  Woohoo!

I can hardly believe there’s only 20 weeks left.  I mean, I’m barely showing, for one (in my opinion anyway… I don’t have that obviously round preggo belly).  And there’s so much to do yet!

To-Do-Yet List:

• Crochet a baby blanket (well, need to learn how to crochet well first… eeps)
• Paint the nursery (more specifically, this is hubby’s job)
• Train cats to stay out of the bassinet (although they haven’t climbed in… yet)
• Make plastic canvas Nursery Rhyme pictures (I have the patterns, just need more yarn!)
• Find and sign up for classes: birthing and breastfeeding
• Find a daycare for when I return to work
• Find a pediatrician
• Purchase whatever essentials we don’t get from dear sweet family and friends that are an absolute must for the first few weeks

Ok, so that doesn’t look too insane… but I know the rest of this pregnancy is probably going to start flying by and I’ll be in the delivery room before I know it!

Supposedly some mothers-to-be have intuition about what they are having.  I… I really have no idea.  Sometimes I think “oh yeah, probably a girl” and other times I think “naw, probably a boy.”

A few people have told me what they think I’m having, so they can’t wait to find out if they are right.  One good friend of mine feels quite certain that I’m giving off “boy vibes.”  Jokingly, she said either it’s a boy or a lesbian.

Even the old wives tales give me mixed signals.  I’ve had fairly mild morning sickness, I don’t have super strong cravings.  Sometimes I crave sweets, sometimes spicy.  I haven’t craved any weird combinations.  In the beginning I would randomly have cold feet.  At 16 weeks, baby’s heart rate was 152.

I’ve had dreams about having a girl…. and dreams about having a boy.  My hubby has even dreamt about us having a boy.

So now’s your chance to make a guess if you want.  We have an ultrasound this Thursday and should be finding out then!

—–

We continue to make headway in our quest to prepare the nursery.  The room is almost (almost!) completely cleared of non-baby items and we were able to get rid of the futon today.  That was taking up a lot of space.

So, we finally got to put together the bassinet that my parents bought for us almost a month ago.   (Thanks again, Mom & Dad!)

Well, ok, so my wonderful husband put it together.  I primarily directed the operation, clutching the instructions and telling him what to do… all while helping to steady pieces a bit here and there as he assembled it.

I really like it.  It’s called Sweetest Dreams Bassinet by Delta.  The bassinet is neutral in color (green!) and has adorable little lambs on the mobile.  It can be in rocking stance or drop down the wheels to roll it.  It seems pretty sturdy and doesn’t appear to tip over easily when in the rocking stance.

The mobile turns the lambs, plays music, blinks lights, and has a night light.

So far, the cats have not tried to get into it.  They’ve sniffed it a bit and laid near it….

Hopefully they won’t try since it’s kind of a high jump.  Our big orange tabby really likes that room.  This is going to be very interesting.  I’m sure he’s starting to miss the futon quite a bit now.

To best ensure this baby’s health and development, I’ve altered my eating habits.  I probably should have always been eating this healthy, but hey…. better late than never, right?

Plus, I sort of have to eat a certain way now due to gestational diabetes, which I’ll go into more detail on in a future post.

But here are some things I will want to savor after baby is born…

• Mountain Dew
• Brownie
• Cake.  Any cake.  With lots of frosting.  LOTS of frosting.
• Crab rangoon
• Culver’s Concrete Mixer
• Big helping of fried rice
• Fruit juice… apple juice, orange juice, V8 Fusion

I can only imagine how heavenly these will all taste in November after not having them for 6 months!

I wonder what you will be like when you join us.

Will you look more like your mommy or daddy?

Will you like the same things we do: music, hobbies, sports?  Or will you open up our worlds to new interests and activities?

Who will you cry out for when you wake up scared in the middle of the night?

Who will you call when you get sick at school?

Who’s shoulder will you cry on when you fight with your best friend or have your heart broken for the first time?

How much of me will I see in you every day?

I wonder if you’ll try to pull the same stunts I pulled (or tried to pull) on your grandparents…

Courtesy of Paul Mayne @ Flickr

There were two girls I used to care for a lot back in the day.  The first girl, I started watching soon after I was Red Cross Certified and she was a toddler.  Then, when her sister was born, it was kinda cool watching them as they grew…. I was their primary baby-sitter for several years.  I’d watch the girls occasionally throughout the school year.  During the summer, their mom would work (she usually stayed home during the school year or would alternate her schedule with her husband’s) and I’d watch the girls for roughly 8 hours Monday through Friday during my summer vacation.

Sometimes I wish there was a better way to practice for a coming baby.  Sure, I used to babysit a lot when I was younger, but stopped doing that when I was about 15-16 years old…. It’s been awhile…

Dolls

In my human sexuality class in college, each of us were required to check out a baby… doll.  It ran a program with a few different schedules.  The doll would cry, and to make it stop, you had to insert the correct key for affection, feeding, or diapering.  We had to record what time the baby cried and which key was the right one.  The doll also had sensors so if you bashed the forehead or held it upside down, it would alert child abuse.

I actually was very good – getting the right key the first time, every time.

But really, it wasn’t realistic to me.

Then there’s classes that teach you how to properly diaper a baby, using a doll.  Sure, that’s good practice for someone who’s not familiar with how a diaper works…. but what baby lies perfectly still during a change?

Other People’s Kids

I love how people will propose that taking So & So’s kids for the day/night/weekend/month is “good practice.”  In my opinion, not really.  I mean, it can give you a glimpse of issues that may arise, but it’s still not the same.  I don’t know about you, but even if I’m very comfortable with the people I’m around, I’m always a bit wary of doing/saying something not quite right with their kids… because they aren’t my kids.  I was probably about the most comfortable handling my first nephew when I was younger because he was definitely family.

Then, there’s the issue of just suddenly taking care of a *insert age here*.  That isn’t good practice for a newborn and it doesn’t allow for the growth and adjustment of parenting through the ages.  At least, I tend to think our style and comfort would grow along with our children.  But what do I know? This is my first!

There’s also the behavior bit to factor in.  Some children are incredibly well behaved when their parents aren’t around while others will take advantage of testing boundaries and manipulation.

And finally, you know you’ll be able to give this one back.  If they won’t listen to you at all, it’s only a matter of time before they go back to where they came from!

Cats – The Extreme Solution

While I don’t believe any of our 3 cats really provide any good practice for childrearing, I think they could come in handy.

Courtesy of Ex.Libris @ Flickr

Remember how I said diapering a doll is unrealistic due to the stillness? Well, the other extreme would be a super wiggly cat that would try to escape.  Try putting a diaper on them – heck, dress them in an outfit too!  Can you do it without them getting away or falling on their head?  I wouldn’t suggest trying to bathe them though, that may result in some serious injuries.

If you are a first time mom-to-be, how are you preparing for the ins and outs of baby care?  If you have children, how did you prepare?  Did it help or was it nothing like the real thing?