The Wednesday Stork: Week 17

Before we get in to our usual chat I have a couple things to cover: first the results of our Bow Tie vs. Hair Bow poll, and second our Dr. appointment/anatomy scan that happened yesterday.

While it looked like Hair Bow would take it at first, Bow Tie began to steadily and then quickly take over! I was so surprised to see how most of the early votes seemed to be for girl and then suddenly it switched to boy. Yesterday morning though, things seemed to have almost evened out. Bow Tie was in the lead with 52% of the votes, leaving Hair Bow with 48%.

And, the people have spoken. It is, in fact a boy :)

Ok, so the votes had nothing to do with the outcome, but I think it's funny how it turned out to be accurate...not that there was ever more or less than a 50% chance that either gender would win, but whatever.

As soon as the doctor told us the baby's heart rate, I was almost sure it was a boy. At our first appointment (9w6d) the heart rate was 159, but I didn't read anything into it that early on. But yesterday when the doctor reported that the heart rate was 148 I was like, "oh...that's a boy." I wish I would have said it out loud so Todd would have proof that I really did think it.

It didn't take but another minute or so for the doctor to "think it was a little boy" and by the end of the ultrasound she was completely convinced. I'll take her word for it. Apparently we were shown the evidence as well, but I'm really bad at deciphering ultrasound images. I did, however, see a very clear wave :) That was sweet of him. I think he did that just before he flipped around (the kid was really going at it in there) and showed off his impressive spine. His heart has all four chambers (good sign) and the doctor thought everything looked ok!

Oh, and this is how we dressed for our anatomy scan, and it wasn't even intentional. We were total dorks on accident. I had to have a picture...this kind of thing should be photographically documented and publicly shared.

 Now we can get on to the stats :)

Weeks: 17. At our appointment yesterday I was showing 17 weeks exactly, but the Dr. said that would change a little every time so I'm just sticking with the usual Wednesday week change.  

Weight gain so far: Today it's 3.5 pounds. I do a lot of fluctuating.  

Wearing maternity clothes? No, though I did start doing the hair tie trick on my jeans and shorts this week. It's really so comfortable, I'm not sure why everyone doesn't do it. Who doesn't want a little more tummy space in their pants? 

Got any prego stretch marks? No. 

How am I sleeping? I can usually fall asleep without trouble, but staying asleep is another story. 

What do I miss? Sleeping through the night, as indicated by the above.  

Feeling anything in there? I can't be sure it's a baby, but I have occasionally been able to feel these slight little...flickers, for lack of a better word, when I sit or lie down. I think that just started happening 3 or 4 days ago and now I try to pay attention to them. Perhaps I'll know something more definitive next week :) 

Aversions or cravings? I still don't want to think about or look at oriental food. I don't even want to type it, or read it after typing it.  

What’s the gender? He's a boy. 

Any labor signs? Thankfully, no. 

How pregnant do I feel? Not very, I guess. I still feel heaviest when lying on my back and getting up in the morning, but to look at the belly you wouldn't know it was inhabited. You'd probably think I just needed to lay off sweets, or something ;) 

Belly button status: Holding strong with an in. 

Still sporting my wedding rings? Yes. I test periodically to make sure they're still doing ok.

We can now begin calling Pippy by his name, and I didn't really expect it to be so bittersweet; I got rather attached to his cute little genderless nickname. But Todd has had no problem switching over to the more permanent moniker and has been faithfully calling him Ty :) It still sounds strange to say it out loud, but I guess I'll get used to it. Ty is still not the "real" name, but it's what he will go by. His official name is Todd Allen Overbeek III, but I convinced Todd to let us call him Ty, claiming it stood for "Todd the younger." It worked, and Ty he is!