First Things First- It is a BOY!!!!

I am 19 weeks, 2 days pregnant today and we are nervous/ thrilled/ apprehensive about our appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists (try saying that three times fast). Breathe, Bree. Breathe.

Today, we will find out if our baby is a girl or a boy. Honestly, it doesn't matter to us which gender the baby is, but we are just so darned curious! Could it be a boy? Could it be a girl?

It's official: I may drive us both insane before our 11 AM appointment. We can't wait...

So, here I am: Nauseated (big shock, huh?) and excited at the same time! We have been holding off on registering at Target and Babies R' Us for over 5 months because we wanted to wait on confirmation of the baby's gender. Now, the wait is over...

At 11 AM, all our questions about the baby were answered. We have a healthy, normal-looking mini-person growing inside me. *Whew*

Blue or pink? What do you think? Our nursery is purple and the trim therein is white. Our wall-hangings, border, and stickers have a "My Friends Tigger and Pooh" theme. All gender-neutral, so you get no clues in the nursery room. Hmmm.

Our little munchkin has kept us guessing, that's for sure! We've been trying to figure out this child's sex for soo long--and the doctor told us all the "old wives' tales" would be no help. But now we know. :>

Yes, we will be posting the ultrasound pictures soon. But right now, you could be the first to guess our Lilliputian's gender based on the word puzzle hidden above in this blog. Email Michael or Bree asap with your answer. Remember, you have to include our baby's correct gender, as well as the way you came to your conclusion--based solely on the clues given in this blog. If you are the first to answer correctly and include the proper solution from our hidden words, you will win a prize! No phone calls. We will personally contact the winner asap and post the answer. Good Luck!

UPDATE!!!!! We have a winner! We had some great guesses and solutions. But Adam Boyd (my younger brother) was the first to get it right and wins a $25 Walmart gift card! The hidden solution we were looking for is: the first letter of every paragraph spells out "IT IS A BOY." One of the clues was in the title: First Things First. Thank you all for participating, or just taking the time to read this blog and share our anticipation. We had so much fun reading the responses for this word puzzle. And an even better time writing and typing this blog up. We had two separate possibilities written up and were so excited to finally be able to pick one. Michael uploaded the ultrasound pics and you can see our little boy's cute profile, toes, nose, and diddly-bits. There is a great pic of him sucking his thumb and playing with his feet- and a separate hilarious pic of his little noodle. The doctor said he is growing perfectly and we feel so blessed.

Good Cop, Bad Pregnant Woman, Pt 2

…Or at least I thought that was “The End”. It was 8 PM, so I was surprised when the salesman called out to me when I was about to get into my car. He asked me to explain to his manager why we were going to pass on the vehicle. “Here we go…” I thought.

8:00 PM. I told the manager what I told the salesman and he asked me if I would buy the vehicle if they would throw in the certification($500 value) so we would have a warranty. I told him I probably would, but it would depend on what they could give us for our trade-in. So, I filled out a trade-in report and was completely honest about the trade-in. I did not have the vehicle with me, so I did not want to misrepresent it in any way. Power Windows? Yea, but two don’t work. Paint job? Great, but the trim is rusted. A/C? Yea, works great. He asked me from a scale from 1 to 10 (10 perfect, 5 average) what was the overall condition of the vehicle for its age. For its age (operative phrase), I rated the car as a 6. She’s a good car…just old.

They came back and said they’d give us $500 for the trade-in. I told them I was 95% sure that wasn’t going to fly, but I’d call the wife anyway. I called Bree, told her, and we both agreed that this was too much money to pay out of pocket on a split decision. Therefore, I went back to them and said the vehicle is priced out of range because we were using our home equity to buy the vehicle and we all know what has happened to home equity. I also explained that tax, title and license kicked the total out of pocket price up a good 10%, which we weren’t factoring in. The sales manager told me that he’d hate to see me pass up a good deal and wondered if we could put some savings with the HELOC in order to buy the vehicle. I laughed. I said, “Sure,we have some savings, but it’s set aside for the baby. Do you want to ask a pregnant woman if she would tap out her nest egg to buy a car?” They agreed that was a bad idea.

9:00 PM. Now the salesmen were scratching their heads(probably wondering how to sell a car to a pregnant woman who is cranky and not even present). I told them I would be willing to come back in a few weeks and take a look at some other models—perhaps something in our range. The sales manager said some stuff I don’t recall and I made some comments about the economy and patience. 10 minutes passed and I was ready to go. Then the sales manager started talking about how he might be able to give us more for the trade-in. He asked me if I would call my wife and ask her what price would make her comfortable in buying the car that night. I told him I could call her, but I’d probably be yelled at. He asked if she was mad at them—I said, “No, she’s mad at me…it is after 9 PM and I’m supposed to be at home taking care of her, not buying a car.”

10:00 PM. I spoke to Bree (they were kind enough to go inside each time I called her) and she was a little cranky, but she joked and gave me a ridiculously low figure to ask them. I figured “Why Not? They could either accept Bree’s terms or consider this the ravings of a mad pregnant woman and accept my more ‘logical’ proposal of showing me some different cars a few weeks later. I got off the phone with Bree and walked back inside and they asked me what she said. I laughed and said they’d probably be better off showing me some different cars next week; however, I did understand that they had this vehicle in inventory for 70 days and if they wanted to sell it tonight, this is what they would have to sell it for. The sales manager went inside, crunched some numbers,and came back out and offered the car for $400 over what we were asking. I asked them if they would also throw in the warranty, and they said yes. I spoke with Bree and we figured it was close enough, so now we own a red 2008 Dodge Caliber. In the tradition of naming Bree’s cars some variation of “George”, we named him Geordie. You can view him (along with the loved and missed Georgina) in our PHOTOS section under "New Car."

Moral of the story: If you are buying a car, it doesn't hurt to have a cranky pregnant wife at the house setting the terms. It makes her untouchable and people tend to overcompensate when trying to make a pregnant woman happy.

Good Cop, Bad Pregnant Woman, Pt 1

Hello, this is my first blog post (Bree usually speaks for both of us because I can be long winded). Friday evening, I decided to look at some cars. Bree and I have been talking about replacing Georgina (167k miles on her) with a new family vehicle. The first vehicle I drove was a 2008 Dodge Caliber. I really liked the way it drove. It was an all wheel drive vehicle with a CVT transmission (doesn’t shift gears or use transmission fluid like normal transmissions). The next vehicle was a 2009 Dodge Avenger—a very nice car,smooth ride, and a solid feel to the interior—similar to my Gallant. However, I realized I preferred the hatchback of the Dodge Caliber. Therefore, I asked the dealer if he had any Pontiac Vibes—he did. The only thing I liked about the Vibe was the AC blew very hard (not as cold as I’d prefer) and the vents could be adjusted so that the air hit you directly in the face. The vehicle also had a thermostat, which told me that it was 109 degrees outside, which explained why the A/C’s in the cars I was driving didn’t seem to be pumping out 45 degree air. Anyway, I didn’t like the way the Vibe drove, so I crossed that model off my list of potentials. It had small tires and felt bumpy and cheap. Then again, it was a 2006 model and had 66,000 miles—so it could have just been that particular car. Next, I drove a 2009 Dodge Caliber SE—I liked the 2008 model better because it was an R/T trim, which had AWD and the CVT transmission. Finally, I drove the 2009 Dodge Charger because they had a special. The charger usually sells for $25,000 and they had this one priced at $18,000. However, I found out that only this specific car was selling for 18k and it was blue. I did not want a blue vehicle.

Next, I talked to the dealer about the 2008 Dodge Caliber.It was not a certified pre-owned vehicle, so it only had the remainder of the factory warranty (about 7,000 miles left). The dealer said I could pay about $500 to have it certified, which would raise the warranty to 6 years/ 80,000miles. I told him I had a pregnant wife at home that couldn’t be here with me because she is sick, but I’d like her to try out the vehicle, so he let me take it home. The drive home was nice and I quickly realized that this vehicle really suited me.

Bree drove the vehicle to KFC, we picked up some chicken,and she drove us home. I had to get the car back to the dealer in an hour because they closed at 8 PM. Bree liked the vehicle but it was priced more than we wanted to pay. However, I checked the blue book value of the vehicle and saw that the dealer had it priced about $900 below blue book value. We also did some research and found out that the dealer had been holding this vehicle for over 70 days. However, their already discounted price was too high for us to make a snap decision that night, so we decided that unless they gave us an amazing deal, we would not make a decision that night.

I got back to the dealer and asked the salesman what was the best price he could offer. He explained that they only had about $9.00 wiggle room because they already had it priced to sell. I told him that we liked the vehicle but it was out of our price range for a used vehicle and we felt that they should offer to pay for the certification of the vehicle so we could get the warranty coverage. He said he couldn’t do that, so I thanked him and I headed to my car.

The End.

21 Shocking Facts

21 Shocking Facts 18 Weeks of Pregnancy Has Taught Me:
(An accurate, sometimes comical, view of my pregnancy so far)

1) Morning Sickness is way worse than "they" say it will be. Imagine the nastiest stomach flu/food poisoning/hangover you have ever had- now picture all that coupled with motion sickness for over 3 months straight- sometimes 24/7, sometimes only 2 hours a day. Riding in a car makes it worse. I've tried everything- from folk and natural remedies (crackers, SeaBands accupressure bracelets, gingersnaps, Preggie Pops, sour candies, lemon, ginger ale, ginger tea, sprite, vitamin B6, etc) to expensive prescriptions (Phenergan, Zofran, Unisom/Vitamin B6 combos). Some products make it better (Zofran actually lets me eat and function socially on a short-term basis), but I have found no "cure for the queasies." Time makes it less frequent, it seems.

2) According to my OBGYN, all gender prediction Old Wives' Tales are correct 50% of the time (the same average as just "guessing the sex," since there are only two options- boy or girl). They are fun to hear- and keep the suspense going. With today's technology, the highest accuracy ratings for gender prediction are: a) anatomy ultrasounds after the 18 week, and b) fetal dna tests (can be done any time during the pregnancy, but have a small miscarriage risk).

3) Little to no social life (see #1).

4) Pain is normal. No one or nothing could have prepared me for the innocuous aches, cramps, and ouches- stabbing or dull- of gestational "growing pains."

5) Everything smells. Actually, everything stinks. The most nausea-inducing scents are smoke, fish or poultry cooking, unwashed dishes, cars (inside and outside), and trash.

6) My body grows or moves! I was prepared for the tummy getting bigger, but my hip bones have shifted (clothes fit me funny), my foot bones have spread (shoes tighter), and my nasal cavities and gums are swollen (occasional nose bleeds and pink toothbrush).

7) Porn Star Boobs! And they continue to grow every day! I was pretty happy with my God-given amount, but not only have my breasts grown an entire size so far, they are sporting blue veins under the skin too! In fact, pretty much my whole body looks like a road map of varicose veins (increasing blood flow to the baby).

8) Peeing. All the time.

9) Forgetfulness. I was gonna write more about this topic, but I can't remember what I was gonna say...

10) Pregnancy gas is more toxic than carbon monoxide. I feel sorry for my hubby and my cats.

11) Sex Drive. What sex drive? You try having gas, nausea, and growing body parts for 18 weeks and see how desirable you feel.

12) Hot. I am Hot. AC is a must.

13) Google, Internet sites, and books can be frightening. Although they are great quick-reference guides for those weird, middle-of-the-night symptoms, I can't tell you how many times I was afraid I had some odd, 3rd world pregnancy disease. The What to Expect When You're Expecting book, although it lists its share of scary pregnancy-induced illnesses, is a definite necessity for the first-time mother. Easy to read and very informative.

14) Strangers are noisy. They love to give unsolicited advice, criticism, and gender predictions to pregnant women. I actually haven't heard this yet , but if I hear, "Your butt got big; you must be carrying a boy," I may smack someone. This actually happened to a pregnant friend of mine. My butt was full to begin with, thank you very much.

15) Dreams are both vivid and odd when pregnant. For both Michael and myself actually. Technicolor tots run around black and white playgrounds licking blue lollipops. Creepy.

16) Standing for longer than 10 minutes at a time may increase dizziness, breathlessness, fatigue, and mild edema.

17) Baby clothes, toys, necessities, and furniture are all the cutest things in the world. Michael and I love getting gift cards so we can go to stores and fantasize about what we are gonna buy for the baby after our registry has been picked over. So exciting!

18) Hemorrhoids. Enough said.

19) Feminine issues. Enough said.

20) Skin, hair, and nails have never looked better. But I do get occasional skin redness and itching from time to time on my arms and legs.

21) Miscarriages are hard physically and emotionally. No matter how many babies one starts out with, no matter how far along one is, no matter how many losses one has had, no matter how common it is. No matter what.

**Disclaimer: This is my pregnancy experience. All pregnancies are different. All women experience different symptoms and for different lengths of time. Example: my own mother, who was pregnant 3 times with 1 girl and 2 boys only had a total of 2 weeks morning sickness in her second pregnancy. She loved being pregnant and had few negative symptoms. And then she had 3 different birth experiences- epidural/drugs, C-section, and natural.**

Bree needs a haircut, pedicure, & exercise!!

So, Michael came in on Wednesday looking all well-coifed from our favorite hairstylist Aubrey. I have to admit, in the 5+ years we have lived in Tucson, Aubrey is still the best hairstylist we have come across (we have been using her off-and-on for 4 years). She has moved locations now 3 times and now is back in the Tucson Mall working at the JC Penney Salon. Not as close to us as some of the salons we have been to, but she is very good and her prices are reasonable. So, from Bree's jealousy at Michael's new "do," Bree decided to call the salon and make an appointment today. Pregnancy pro: due to an increase in certain pregnancy hormones, hair and nails grow like weeds!! I haven't had a haircut in over 4 months (my bangs are down to my mouth). I have to manicure my nails myself every few days b/c they are growing so fast. I am starting to have problems bending at the waist now, since my belly is starting to get "harder" around my belly button (due to my uterus/placenta/baby moving up), so I can no longer give myself pedicures either- as a treat, my girlfriend Meagan and I are going to Chantilly for tea, and then to get pedicures at Gadabout on Wednesday! Woo hoo! Pregnancy con: the hair grows in funny places now- there is a fine, downy coating of teeny blond hairs on my tummy! Where did that come from??

Michael is going tubing at the Salt River tomorrow with my brother Adam, his fiance Brandi, and our friends Leon and Elaine. Please take a quick minute to wish them both safety and a good time on their trip. And remind them to drink lots of water and slather on tons of sunscreen since temperatures are reaching well over 110 degrees in that area every day- even with monsoon season.

I received doctor approval to do some light exercising! I am thrilled. I haven't been able to exercise at all since I was about 5 weeks pregnant b/c the fatigue, dizziness, constant nausea, and twin pregnancy were not allowing me to exercise. After over 3 months of little activity, it has been such a relief to me and Michael that these symptoms have finally abated enough that the practitioner gave me the go ahead for certain stretches, prenatal yoga, walking, and non-rigorous machine exercises. I am approved for up to 30 minutes a day (sooner if I become dizzy, nauseous, or dehydrated, of course). I still have nausea, but it has subsided to about 2-3 hours a day now, which is sooo much better than it was.

On a fun "planning ahead" note: Bree has been checking on Prenatal Classes & Tours given at the hospital (they have a minimal cost) and Community Prenatal Workshops (free). Some of these classes look really interesting and informative: "Preparing for the Birth Experience," "Baby Care Basics," "Pump & Go Breastfeeding Workshops," "Parent CPR," "Registry Workshops," and "Buckle Up and Boogie Car Seat Safety Workshops." As first time parents, we have been reading and asking questions about these topics, but we feel it would be a great experience to attend a classroom setting so we can be hands-on and possibly make new parent friends in the process! We must register for these classes soon (they fill up fast with parents who have due dates similar to ours), even though we may not be attending some of them for another few months. I would also like to attend the 20th Annual Tucson Baby Fair on August 1, to get some good info on baby care, AZ laws concerning travel with children, and baby products.

Tomorrow begins my 5th month of pregnancy! Can you believe it!!?? Technically, I will be 18 weeks pregnant tomorrow (in gestational terms, doctors consider weeks 18-22 the 5th month of pregnancy). And in 10 days we have the Anatomy Scan of our little one! We are both psyched and anxious about this ultrasound with our Specialist b/c 1) we will know, with over 95% accuracy, what the gender of our baby is (we want that) and 2) the practitioner may find certain measurements to be abnormal (we do not want that). The last scan the Specialist did came out very well and the ultrasound tech even ventured a guess as to what she thought the baby's gender was (but the gender scan has only a 70% accuracy rate at 13 weeks, so we were skeptical). Speaking of, we will be hosting a fun "Guess the Sex" contest via e-mail after this appointment- complete with a prize- so please feel free to participate. We are looking forward to it and already have plans on what the contest will be if the baby is a boy, or if the baby is a girl. FYI: we recently polled our friends and family and, based on Old Wives' Tales, Chinese Calendars, or gut feelings, the guesses are 10 votes for girl, 6 for boy. What is your guess so far? E-mail us and let us know.

Update: Bree got her haircut with Aubrey and Bree is very happy with the results (as usual). Michael called to tell Bree that he was test driving vehicles after he got off work and thinks he may have found the family vehicle for us: a red 2008 Dodge Caliber 5-door Hatchback. The dealer let him bring it home to show me and to let me test drive it. It is nice and if we can talk the dealer down in price, as well as get a decent trade-in on my car, we may have a family vehicle soon. Fingers crossed.

Waiting on Dr office to call back

So, I am sitting here, waiting on my OBGYN to call back. She left a message for me on Thursday night, and when I tried to call back Friday, I received some weird message and crappy muzak. Yuck. I spoke with my OBGYN's nurse this morning and it appears they were closed on Friday AND their night ring answering service system was messed up. Lovely. The nurse told me this morning that I need to come in this week for a Spina Bifida test for the baby. Fun- yet another blood test. They love to take blood from me. Sadists. Since we lost one of the twins, there are more tests they are considering running: a thrombophilia test ( a test to see if my blood has been clotting too much during the pregnancy, which could have resulted in the lost twin). Since this thrombophilia test is very involved and time-consuming and offers a high risk of false-positives, the OBGYN wanted to talk with the Specialist before deciding to order that test. It is probably a test that they will decide not to do, since it was the held belief that I lost the baby due to a cyst that had formed in Twin A's placenta. She'll call me back with her answer soon.

On a fun note: we received more baby stuff. Baby presents are great to open because they are tiny and cute. We have received numerous stuffed animals, so the baby has enough stuffed animals to last 2 childhoods. Michael's Mom sent us a "soothing sounds" Pooh strap-on crib toy. My Aunt Marty bought us a "soothing sounds" decorative Tigger and Pooh pillow, and a Tigger and Pooh snow globe. We have a Tigger/Pooh lamp and all sorts of fun decorations for the nursery. Michael's mom also sent me some more maternity clothes, so I will be one stylin' Mom-to-Be, let me tell you. Also, Michael's Mom sent us some Christmas outfits and Christmas bibs/burp cloths for the baby, some baby blue jeans, and an American flag t-shirt for the munchkin. I don't know if I told you, but my girlfriend Casie also gave me some of her old maternity clothes too! Ooh, and I received a lovely gift yesterday from my girlfriend Belinda: she sent us $100 toward a crib! Thank you- all of you- for the lovely gifts and well wishes. This baby will be showered with love and attention and presents. There is still so much left to get for the baby, but s/he is off to a great start, thanks to all of you.

Update! OBGYN called back at 3:25pm to say that she spoke with the Specialist and they both recommend not having the thrombophilia test. Yay! Maybe they aren't as sadistic as I think they are. But tomorrow, I will be getting the Spina Bifida test anyway. Let the blood-letting begin.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July! Despite the impending forecast of scattered thunderstorms today (yikes!), we are heading over to my brother Adam's house for a bbq at 4pm. We will take pictures and post them in the Family Photos section located in the Photos tab of this website tomorrow.

Also planned for tomorrow is our new belly Baby Bump picture (also located in the Photos tab of this website). Yay! As of today, I am 17 weeks pregnant- getting dangerously close to the half-way point of delivering this baby. Total weight gain since pregnancy began: 7 lbs. This is a little less than I should have gained (it is best to gain approximately 8-10 lbs by 17 weeks), but my OBGYN is not complaining. Considering I still have considerable nausea at least 6 hours a day, if not more (even though I am way past the first trimester) I think 7 lbs is good. I have a feeling the weight is mostly baby, amniotic fluid, and uterus. BTW: did you know my uterus is the size of a small melon right now! And that the baby is about 5-6 inches tall!?! Incredible.

Sadly, Michael and I were not able to learn the sex of the baby on Wednesday, July 1, as we originally hoped. But we were able to hear the heartbeat through the baby's umbilical cord, which was a neat sound. The baby's hb has become regulated by his/her brain now, so the sound is no longer quick and shallow, but rather steady at 140. So far, s/he is right on track in development. Our OBGYN is sending us to the Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist again on July 20 for a complete anatomy work-up: he will measure the size of all the baby's organs, his/her limbs, his/her fingers, his/her head, and yes...drum roll please... he will also be able to tell with high accuracy the baby's gender! Woo hoo! By July 20, I will be over 19 weeks pregnant. Our OBGYN says that this is the perfect time for the gender test, because it is most accurate between 18-22 weeks gestation. Pray that our baby passes yet another test, and his/her organs and limbs are within normal measurements.

On Friday, July 3, Michael and I were both off work for the July 4 weekend. I felt good that morning, so Michael and I decided to go grab a bite to eat, see a movie, and do a little window/grocery shopping. We ate at a Chicago- style eatery called The Loop. Then, we saw Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. BTW: I have to give my hubby props: he remembered which sequel this was; I thought it was Ice Age 4, but he knew it was Ice Age 3. Baby brain strikes again! We also did a little window shopping for the baby at Target, in order to get an idea of what will be going on our registry after we find out the baby's sex. Lastly, we went to the new Super Walmart in Oro Valley, which was huge!! I started getting tired, and nauseated again (big surprise), so we decided to get our groceries and call it a day.