Guessing Baby's Gender: Old Wives' Tales

As of today, the vote was EIGHT to NONE that Peanut would be a boy.

All the signs were there:

1. "Boy = all belly, Girl = hips and thighs" - my belly seemed to have grown while my hips and thighs looked the same.
2. I was carrying low = BOY, instead of high (GIRL).
3. The Ring Test (also known as the Needle Test) - when dangling a ring on a string over my belly, it moved up and down (BOY) instead of circles (GIRL).
4. Morning sickness was mild = BOY
5. Courtney dreamt Peanut was a boy. 

Also, half the voters had that gut instinct that said "BOY".

THEY WERE WRONG.

Today's 20 week Ultrasound found nothing 'sticking out' where Peanut's pee pee would have been IF it were a boy. So Peanut is most likely a GIRL!

Of course we won't know for sure until Peanut is born, but I'm going to start referring to Peanut in the feminine now. :)

Here's Peanut kicking back while chomping on her hand. She was taking a little break from the vigorous kicking and butterfly-arm-stroking that characterized most of that 30 minute ultrasound.

New Projects: Well Rounded Parents = Well Rounded Kids?

So I'm into week 19 now and Peanut has been steadily moving up towards my belly button. Peanut has quite a personality I think. Peanut is most relaxed in the morning when I first awake. Anytime I work out, Peanut seems to work out too - after my runs, my uterus gets h-a-r-d and stays that way for hours.

Anticipating being a parent makes me want to be the best mom I can be for the baby. I want to be a well-rounded mom.

I haven't played or felt like playing the piano for ages. But I'm picking it up again so Peanut can listen to some music. Not very nice music, but hey. I've also been learning guitar using books borrowed from the library. And I figured I might as well take up violin again while I'm at it :p.

I've also been brushing up on my Mandarin so that I can talk to Peanut in Mandarin, in addition to Malay and other Chinese dialects that I know. That way, Peanut will be able to get around okay whenever we visit Malaysia.  Maybe even be able to make small talk with Popo and Kung Kung in Hakka :)

Scored a used Yamaha DGX203 on Craigslist for $50!

Exercise During Pregnancy: Some Rules

I ran regularly before getting pregnant, and was determined to continue throughout my pregnancy.

The first trimester was sort of a bust though. Jogging however slow compounded my nausea, so I was limited to long walks most days. The best I felt was during the Trailapalooza where I ran and walked 30 km over 12 hours.

Beginning the second trimester, nausea-free, I started enjoying my runs again and am hitting the trails a few times a week. Nothing hardcore - between 5 - 10 km over an hour or so, so it's an easy pace. I'm also doing 'Prenatal Yoga' (by Shiva Rea), 'The Perfect Pregnancy Workout' (by Karyn Steben) and P90X (with modifications).

A Few Pregnant Lady Workout 'Rules'

• Whatever exercises you were doing before getting pregnant are largely OK to continue at the same level during pregnancy, with modifications (lay off aggressive ab exercises that could cause diastasis recti (ab separation) e.g., sit ups, crunches).
• Don't overheat as this could harm baby.  You should be able to carry on a conversation while working out.
• Keep hydrated!

xoxo

Failure to Pee, and Where is My Uterus?

Over a week ago, into Week 14, something strange happened. I went to pee, but my trudge to the bathroom was rewarded by a mere dribble. I still felt my bladder was full, but nothing else appeared.

With a preexisting medical condition that I've lived with for 13 years, and one that involves kidneys, peeing and urine dipsticks, I immediately got worried. What if my kidneys were acting up?

But the dipstick showed no protein in my urine.

I pushed down on my lower abdomen, feeling for where my bladder would be. Instead, my fingers encountered a hard lump the size of an orange, just above my pubic bone. I was 100% sure that was never there before. Now that got me really concerned. I prodded it. I pushed down hard on it. Was this my bladder - full, and hard? I read that failure of the bladder to empty can result in urinary tract infections and even spread to the kidneys.

Worse - was this some sort of tumor?? (You can see I have hypochondriac tendencies).

Guess what. That hard lump was actually Peanut.

Where is my uterus?
I feel a little embarrassed to be admitting this, but I thought Peanut was located somewhere near my belly button. Actually, the uterus starts way low in the abdomen, and only begins to rise out above the pubic bone around Week 14.

So all this while I was cradling my growing belly thinking that's where Peanut was, and I was actually cradling my small intestines. :p

In the coming weeks though, the uterus should continue to rise until it reaches my belly button and beyond. In fact fundal height, which is measured from the top of the pubic bone to the top of the uterus, is used to quite accurately indicate fetal growth.

Back to Pee Problems
Towards the end of Week 14, Peanut was more noticeably peeking out of the top of my pubic bone. And with that, I guess the pressure on my bladder or urethra or such, eased. Now I pee just fine. (Thought you might like to know :)).

Breaking Baby News to Family

Courtney

After Pa & Ma, we decided to tell Courtney that she was going to be a big sister. It was no easy task getting the chance to do that. Courtney has a crazy busy social life, and often misses her weekends with us due to parties, sleepovers and such.

Fortunately we managed to lure her over for the weekend with the promise of Breaking Dawn and Olive Garden. :)

At home, in the evening, we sat her down. Spencer started the process. 

Spencer:   Can you keep a secret?

Courtney: Immediately looks suspicious

Spencer:   Well, can you?

Courtney: Erm. Yeah.

Spencer:   Ok. Well... you're going to be a big sister. Grace is pregnant.

Courtney: Hands over mouth, turns bright red

Grace:      Courtney, are you okay?

Courtney: Speechless

Anyway, I think that went pretty well hehe. We swore Courtney to secrecy until Thanksgiving lunch, which was when we planned to break the news to the Clarks. After recovering from her shock, Courtney quickly got down to helping us pick out baby names. :)

Popo and Kung Kung

The same weekend we had an appointment to meet Popo and Kung Kung on Skype. After a small technical glitch (ah technology), we got down to the business. Popo was happy to hear the news, cautioning me not to put on too much weight: "No wonder that day I noticed your face look fat". Yes Popo hehe. 

The Clarks

A few days later at the Clark Thanksgiving Meal (which we hosted this year), Spencer executed our plan to break the news to them. The plan was, before the prayer for the meal, to go around the table and have everyone say what they were thankful for, ending with Spencer's announcement, which went something like this:

"I would like to thank all of you for coming and spending Thanksgiving here with Grace and I. And I am thankful for the baby that is growing inside Grace."

And that was that. :p