It's a BOY!!!

So here is the U/S picture I couldn't post or tease my family with since it's quite obvious-

Boy parts!  To the left side you can see a leg on the top, a leg on the bottom and a weenie in the middle pointing to the right.

So I was wrong in thinking this was our girl.  When I first got pregnant I wanted it to be a boy very much, but once I thought that this pregnancy felt different than with Oliver, and the midwife put in my head that the fast heartbeat meant girl...well, my heart was set on girl.  Once I started feeling movement I began to change my mind and think "hmmmm...this one feels like it's moving more than Oliver did.  Has to be a boy!"   I've also been thinking that Oliver would enjoy a brother much more with such a small age difference, and it would make room sharing easier. And boy it is! Yippeeee!

Baby-Daddy-Natey-Poo has been very much looking forward to announcing the baby's gender the same way we announced Oliver's: with cake!

I made this cake around midnight last night and was tempted to throw it out the window!  I didn't have enough frosting and blue crumbs were starting to get all over the white frosting.  And then I remembered the box of Trix we bought (2/$4 with a $.55 coupon that doubled at Stop and Shop...Hollaaaa!) and used it to hide my cake's imperfections.  Not like I'm trying to impress anyone, just surprise them.  And it worked...with the help of some pink frosted cookies as a decoy.  tee hee heee.  I made sure the cookies were on the counter and when my sister said "Oh Pink! It's a girl," I acted surprised and upset that I had left stuff out by accident.  I guess my acting was so convincing that my sister picked up a girly onesie when she ran back out for a minute. 

 

Today was so wonderful!  Oliver was soooo adorable in music class this morning, our BFF's came over with their 3 young'uns, my mom made us a delicious baked ziti with eggplant, the "boy cake" surprised everyone, we got some packing and moving done, AND we got to see Oliver take interest in a newborn for the first time.  And boy was he interested! He looooved her!  He knew to be gentle and wanted to kiss her again and again.  It was so sweet.

Still limited to BlackBerry pictures, but here are some more of the moments that made today special:

Is that not the most adorable "Just tooted on daddy's arm" smile you've ever seen!?

Flashback: Oliver's gender reveal day :)

19 weeks today!!!

Somehow I've made it to 19 weeks already!  I can't believe how fast the second pregnancy flies by!  Oliver does a great job keeping me busy I guess.  He is a go!go!go! type of kid.  I can't wait for our new home which will make getting out and doing things with him so much easier.

Back to my belly-baby.  According to Babycenter.com my little stinker is the size of an heirloom tomato and may be able to hear us already.  Craaaazy!  The man I so lovingly refer to as Baby-Daddy-Natey-Poo can just about feel this little one flip and flutter.  A lot of times I get all excited for a movement he has to have felt...but no, he was busy chatting and missed it.

Courtesy of BabyCenter.com

On Saturday I did my 2hr glucose tolerance test.  When I was pregnant with Oliver I didn't mind the taste of the orange crap too much.  This time, however, I wasn't able to get it down quite as fast and the last bit of it was especially hard to swallow.  Yech.

I got to the lab at 6:11am and had one of those lovely "I could use more sleep" headaches.  So the drink didn't make me feel so hot.  One thing I learned and did not do when I tested during my first pregnancy was that walking for 20 min after eating will help keep your blood sugar numbers low, so after finishing the crap juice I went for a stroll around the lab before returning to the waiting room for the remaining hour and a half.  Was it effective? We'll find out Thursday.  No matter what I just know I'll have to repeat the test in a few weeks.

And for anyone who has been following... we are two days from ultrasound day!!! Yahooooo!!!  My practice has two techs and with Oliver the woman who did the gender reveal kind of killed the excitement.  I guess she caught a glimpse without trying and nonchalantly said "well it's a boy." And my response was- "Oh?"  I so wanted an emotional reaction to my baby's gender.  But nope.  The moment had come and gone withoutceremony.  I was pretty bummed. 

This time the tech I like is doing the U/S so I'm hoping it's a little more special.  And this may sound wierd...but I really want a print out of baby's "stuff".  Is that edging on pervy?  I've always loved seeing other people's U/S pictures and seeing different anatomical shots- a foot, an arm... some testicles.  I am so amazed by the ability to sneak a peek at the little one growing into a real human that I love seeing these pictures.  With Oliver all I got printed out for me was the standard profile shot.  I got some extra U/Ss with Oliver because of the GD (up side I guess) and at one time we got the funniest quick glimpse at his balls.  It was so funny.  My mom had been saying "What if they're wrong? Make them double check," and I mentioned this to the tech.  Well after this little glimpse it was very obvious there was no mistake.  It was such a funny image I would have liked a copy of it (I guess that's just my sense of humor) but he moved to quick.

I also want a picture to torment my family with.  They won't be able to tell (I think) so it will be fun to show them before we announce the baby's gender to everyone in person on Saturday.  I don't know how I am going to keep my mouth shut from Thursday to Saturday!!!!

9 More Days!!!

Can you tell by the THREE exclamation points that I am super happy to find out Baby #2's gender in just 9 days?  At first I wanted another boy.  With the age difference being only 20 months, I'd say Oliver could use (and would enjoy) a brother more.  Plus, they will be sharing rooms regardless of #2's gender.  But with the different symptoms I've felt, I very quickly started to think this could be a girl.  The first OB visit we got to hear the heartbeat at, the midwife said it sounded like a girl...fast heartbeat.  So now I have my heart set on girl.  But as all us parents know- whatever it is I am MORE than happy to welcome him or her!

But along with that excitement and happiness is the very sobering realization that: I am ALREADY far enough along to find out?  I am 18 weeks today and I can't believe it! It's gone by so fast!  I guess that is the case with second pregnancies, isn't it?  At least when the first is still a toddler.  I am so busy with him that the days just fly by, and so the weeks seem to fly by also.

My baby a 18 weeks.  Courtesy of BabyCenter.com

One thing I am definitely not excited about is doing my glucose tolerence test.  I'm thinking I will be doing it on Saturday.  You may find it surprising, but I do not think it sounds fun to bring Oliver with me for a 2 hour blood sugar test.  Not that being up early to get to the lab when it opens at 6 sounds like much more fun, but at least it will be quiet. 

With Oliver I was tested for gestational diabetes early because of my weight and previous diagnosis of PCOS (still not convinced I have that.  I never got a concrete answer from my previous GYN, and if I'm not mistaken getting pregnant would have been much harder than simply losing the condoms for a week.  Seriously, both pregnancies happened so easily we are now aware of how careful we are going to need to be!).  My first test around 18 weeks came back borderline, and the second test around 24 weeks was still pretty borderline but they had me see the specialist anyway.  Since I was high risk and tested early I had to deal with the weekly visits to the GD specialist even longer than most women.  (Sarcastic) YAY me!  It was terrible.  At least a 2 hour wait every week for a visit that went like this:

"Let's have a look at your numbers.

Very good.

See you next week."

Doesn't that sound like it would be fun with a 15 month old in tow?  A two our wait for a two minute visit.

I was able to manage my GD without the use of insulin.  By the end of the pregnancy I was pretty fed up and cheated a bit with the diet.  I even used insulin twice to keep my numbers low (without the insulin I just "forgot" to check and didn't have numbers for that occasion to show them) and pacify the doctor and his nurse/dietician.  So when people congratulate me for doing such a great job, I honestly don't know that I did.  I remember lots of Friendly's sundaes which sure as heck were a no-no.

I gained 14 pounds throughout the pregnancy, L&D was ridiculously easy (and enjoyable!), and Oliver was born at a perfect 7lbs 10.5oz with normal blood sugar.  So the fact that I was referred for being borderline makes me almost as sceptical about the GD as I am about the PCOS. 

Still, I am soooooo not looking forward to it.  When we decided we were ready for another offspring I was determined to get myself in the habit of eating for GD before becoming pregnant...but that didn't happen, nor have I since becoming pregnant.  Oliver has me much more active during this pregnancy and I have lost about 5lbs so far in my 18weeks, but I'm pretty sure I will end up classified as GD again.  Yippee. 

Well we'll cross that bridge when we get there.  Soon enough.