It's a Boy!

Well, it's finally sinking in...we are expecting a BOY!

To say we were shocked would be an understatement, ha!  I totally thought girl.  Robbie totally thought girl.  Everyone totally thought girl.  And while I do admit a tiny sense of sadness that I won't get to experience the cute clothes, pigtails, painted nails, and sundresses...I'm sooooooooo excited for Maverick to have a little brother!  (We only plan on 2 kiddos, unless God decides otherwise!)

My hope is that they will be best buds like my sister and I.  No one believed we were sisters because we got along so well.  We even had our own secret language.  Granted, there were a few fits in there (mostly when she borrowed my clothes without asking, agh!!!!).  I expect that Mav and little Bro will duke it out a nerf gun fight or two.

Another really great thing is that we literally don't have to buy anything new except for diapers and wipes.  Mav's birthday is November 26, and I'm due with this one around November 22.  So, perfect match of clothing size with season!  I'm excited that I get to use all of Mav's super cute clothes again!

So the appointment went well, and I really felt everyone's prayers all day and through the appointment.  I was (and still am) at such peace about it all, and trust that God will bring us through step by step--as always.  There almost wasn't an ultrasound though!  We went in and the machine wasn't working correctly; the keyboard wasn't inputing into the computer.  Even after a reboot it still wasn't working.  So I thought..."Okay, for whatever reason God doesn't want us to see in there today"...but the 3rd try was a charm.

As soon as she started looking around, I knew I saw a little thingy.  I looked over at Robbie and I could tell by the look on his face that he saw it, too.  We both started smiling out of disbelief.  The ultrasound tech said she likes to see it 3 times before confirming it...this was the picture she took, ha!  No question about that one, huh?!

As far as indications of Down Syndrome, we received a pretty great report.  Of course, there is always the possibility and only at birth can there be a for sure answer.  Only about 40% of DS diagnosis occurs with an ultrasound.  But here is what the ultrasound tech and my doctor examined and reported to us.  The clef and nose looked to be developing normal; the thickness of the neck looked to be developing normal; the size of the stomach looked to be developing normal (DS babies tend to not swallow well in-utero); the umbilical cord had 3 vessels (DS babies tend to only have 2); and his hands were unclenched and moving well (this isn't an obvious/telltale sign but tends to be correlated).  Since I have an anterior placenta (with slight previa) they didn't get the clearest picture of his heart, so I am going again on Tuesday for a level 2 scan at the big hospital just to confirm his heart is developing normal.  But from what they could tell, it was doing great.  I'm looking at it as another chance to see my little guy!

No matter what though, doesn't he look handsome?!  He clearly was like, "Mom you need to relax and trust God!" and demonstrated his ability to chill out with his arms behind his head.  :)

The more I think about it, the more excited I'm getting about 2 boys around here!  Also, we think we have found a name for little bro.  The names we were tossing around just didn't feel right.  But this one does!  It just feels perfect.

Okay, so Maverick has been a little more than neglected on the blog lately, ha!  He is just so fun right now!  I'm loving this age!  I'm a little sad that he doesn't need us to go to sleep anymore.  Gasp, I can't believe I just said that!!!  He just walks right in, waits to be tucked in and kissed, and tells us to "go oder dare" and points to the hallway, ha!  He is growing up waaaaay too fast for me.

How about some cute pictures of him at the little fair we went to?  We went up to the mall parking lot carnival with Nana, Papa, Aunt Jo, Uncle Jon, Noa, and Malia.

As I expected, Mav was not keen on riding any rides.  On his own will anyways, ha!  If I didn't have to observe this rule (pic below), I would've at least tried carrying him on the carosel or ferris wheel.  Usually once it gets started he's fine.  But I can tell pretty quickly before the ride starts if he's too terrified and will try climbing out!

He had lots of fun watching all the rides though.  He almost got on the bumper cars. 

This picture cracks me up!  I have a feeling I'm going to get the "Moooooom!" face a lot as he gets older.

He liked pointing to the parts of the rides and naming the engine, gears, etc.  Such a mechanical mind already!

I thought for sure the lure of the steering wheel would get him on this ride, but he quickly realized what was going on and scurried out of there!



So we watched cousin Noa drive.  Mav laughed hysterically everytime Noa came around!

These high flying swings were by far his most favorite, favorite ride to watch.  He kept coming back to watch them go round and round, waaaaaaay high in the air.  I don't think I would've been brave enough to ride!





Boy or Girl?

Well friends, Monday is the big day!  Hopefully...baby cooperating and all, haha!

For fun, I thought I would answer some "old wives tales" about gender prediction to see what they tell us. :)

Chinese gender calendar:  Well, this was a wash.  Half the calendars that came up on Google said girl, half said boy.  Guess that's right about accurate for odds. 

Cravings: Started out sweet--ice cream; but the past few weeks it's been salty--ramen noodles, pickles (I've been keeping a jar handy at work) and hot dogs.  They say sweet for girl, salty for boy.  Goodness gracious this child is throwing a wrench in this quiz, haha!

Hair: My hair is not strong, full, and shiny which indicates girl.  My hair was so beautifully thick and shiny with Maverick...

Morning sickness: All day, everyday for 17 weeks.  Now that I'm 18, almost 19 weeks it can catch me out of the blue if I'm tired, stressed, or empty-stomached.  More sickness indicates girl.

The "ladies" (I feel the need to censor, my dad reads this, ha!): I don't remember them being this sensitive with Mav.  Not only are they more sore, but they've been sore since the beginning.  Which indicates girl.

Heart rate:  Again, I've read some mixed reviews on Google.  But it seems the majority of quizzes say slower than 140 bpm means boy, faster than 140 bpm means girl.  Everytime we've heard baby's heart it's been in the mid 140s.

Carrying low or high: It feels lower, and I guess looks lower.  Which indicates boy.

Pillow position: Facing north, indicates boy; facing south indicates girl.  We sleep with our heads almost directly south.  What do you do if you are east or west?  Ha ha!

Mayan Legend: If the age of the mother at conception, and year of conception are both even or odd--girl.  If one is even, one odd--boy.  I am (and was) 28 and due in 2012...girl.  (Can we trust Mayans with any sort of calendar?)

Key: Place a key on your preggo belly.  If your husband picks up the narrow part, it's sugar and spice; if he picks up the wide part, it's snips and snails.  Robbie picked up the wide part.  Boy.

Out of 10 questions...well the first 2 are a draw...so let's say out of 8 questions:  6 indicated girl, and 2 indicated boy.

Can't wait to find out on Monday afternoon!!!


Speaking of which, if you happen to read this before Monday...could you say a prayer for us?  I hesitated whether or not to blog about this, but I feel like it's okay to open up about it. 

So, a couple of weeks ago I took a routine quad screen blood test.  I didn't do this with Mav since I didn't start receiving prenatal care until well into my 2nd trimester.  And honestly, I don't know why I did it this time.  When my doctor first had me sign a paper to accept or decline various tests, I asked her what most of her patients do.  She said most people do the quad screen and go from there.  So that's what I signed up for.

So a week after I took the quad screen test my doctor called to tell me that everything looked pretty good, except that my risk for Down Syndrome came back abnormal for my age.  She said for my age the typical risk is 1/700, and mine came back 1/223 which is 0.04% (or less than one-half percent).

She further explained that quad screens do not diagnose, it just presents a risk statistic.  I'm trying not to focus on numbers, just focus on God.

Honestly, I've been all over the spectrum of emotions.  In my heart I know, that I know God's plan for us is perfect no matter what.  He will walk us through every moment, just as He always has.

I've been meditating on verses that promise God's peace when I'm overwhelmed with worry.  Sometimes I feel guilty for worrying, because I know that I should trust God always.

Sometimes I feel guilty for worrying about having a child with Down Syndrome.  Part of my career is working with children who have Down Syndrome, so I know the immense joy they bring to my life, and the lives of everyone around them.  But as one parent of a child with Down Syndrome told me after I shared this with her, she told me not to feel guilty--it's natural to feel this way.  It's not something we would choose for our child, but if it's what is chosen for them, it's perfect.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be an extra ball of nerves come Monday, specifically about 2pm.  I don't want to be overwhelmed with worry when we walk into our appointment.  I really need God's peace so that I can focus on our beautiful child, no matter what an ultrasound may or may not show. 

Everytime I feel this sweet, precious baby move I know that he or she is a beautiful creation.  And that is what I want to focus on now, and beyond delivery day. 

This and That

Hallelujah, I think the worst of the nausea is over!!  In the past week I've only been feeling sick if my tummy is running on empty.  I am getting my appetite back, which is good since I'm still not back to my prepregnancy weight.  No biggie though, I've had the weight to spare! ;)

Let's see, today is Sunday...and on Wednesday I'll be 17 weeks.  Last week I went to the doctor for my 16 week check up and even though I've had no symptoms whatsoever of anything being wrong...it was sort of a huge mental relief for me to hear that sweet heartbeat again.  This time Robbie was able to make it, and he heard it for the first time.  Also, my mom was able to come with us and hear it for the first time, too. :)

It was in the 140s range again, which makes me think it's another boy...but who knows?!  We simply cannot wait to find out!  I know there has to be something so special about finding out when the baby is born...but there is no way I can have the self control, haha!  Robbie and I have both been thinking girl from day one.  We are solid on a girl's name for sure.  In fact, Robbie keeps calling the baby by the girl name.  ...which means it will be a boy, ha!

The "big" ultrasound is scheduled for June 25th, so about 2 weeks away!!!!!  First and foremost, obviously we are most looking forward to everything being healthy.  Which brings me to a side note for a minute--I read an article online that really made me rethink the phrase "boy or girl doesn't matter, as long as it's healthy".  Honestly, I believe there is nothing intuitively wrong with saying this.  All of us parents pray and hope for a healthy baby, we always want the very best for our kids. 

The author of this article was just bringing a deeper meaning to the phrase because many times, the baby is not healthy or typically developing.  She is the mother of a child with special needs.  Her words were, "and what if it isn't healthy?"  I believe she just wanted to share her heart and let people know that it will be OK if things aren't "normal".  I wish I could find the article to link it in this post.  It's very positive and heartwarming.

Sorry for no pictures again in this post.  I have a bazillion pics on the camera to dump on the computer, just haven't gotten around to it.

Mr. Maverick has been up to a lot lately.  Mostly being Mr. Independent.  Everything is "Maverick do it!!!!!!!!!!!!" and he wants no help from mom and dad.  Which is mostly an awesome thing. (sometimes it is a disadvantage, ha!)  He is great with following directions and being a help around the house.  Going to the store is actually pretty fun now because I can tell him to put something in the cart and he does!

Now more than ever we really need to commit to this whole potty training thing. I'm praying this independent mindset will make it go easier...Lord help us, haha! I've always kinda had age 3 as a soft mark for being fully potty trained, just from using my experience working with preschoolers for a living. But now that we have a baby due exactly when Mav will turn 3, I know that could spell setbacks. I'm hoping that he will see how cool & big boy-ish it is to use the potty compared to the baby...but I also know that there is a possibility he could be jealous of the attention the baby gets when it has its diaper changed. All in all, I know he'll at least be potty trained by college. :)

His personality continues to delight me every day.  He is hilarious!  The things he says sometimes gets me and Robbie cracking up.  He is ALL boy.  His favorite thing to do for hours and hours, is play in the backyard dirt with his dump trucks.  He loves playing with his T-ball set, and doing somersaults.  He also loves to read.  There are about 5 books he regularly loves, and now he says, "Maverick read it?"  And will recite parts of the story according to the pictures.  I know, genius right?  Well...maybe just to his mommy.  ;)

His most favorite thing ever, ever, ever, ever in the whole universe are cars and trucks.  Mostly fast (and expensive) cars.  Every time we are in the car he points out the BMW's, Mercedes Benz's, Porche's, and in the rare moment--Ferrari's.  I'll never forget the day Mav and I were coming home from the store and he said, "Ferrari!" and I was like "yeah right".  But sure enough I looked over to see a Ferrari piercing down the highway.  Robbie likes to drive him out to the fancy car dealerships and they drool over the nice cars.  Mav prefers Formula 1 racing, but will do with Nascar if it's the only thing on. :)

Mav also loves going out and fixing the Jeep with Dad, and occasionally Grandpa.  Grandpa is the lifesaver around here.  I have some cute pictures of Mav getting all greasy from being "under the hood" with the boys.

Is it bad that I'm not freaking out about having 2 kids?  I feel like I should be stressing about the huge life change happening 5 months...but I'm not.  Despite knowing no 2 babies are the same, I'm feeling sorta confident about the next baby.  Like, been there and done that.  Is that awful?  Am I just setting myself up for disaster?

Probably.