Week 27 - big surprises!

Right before I left a friend asked if I was going to get a 3D ultrasound in my quest to find out the gender of this baby. DQ told me I should do it in VA. He figured it would be cheaper and he knows how much I want to know. So of course as soon as I got down here I Googled "3D ultrasounds-VA." There were a few places (more than in MA) and and one place was only 30 minutes from my parents house. They even had a Christmas special. That made it $50 less than the place in MA. So Sunday night I asked DQ, who wasn't coming until Wednesday, why he was willing to let me do this without him being there. DQ won't let me go to a single OB appointment without him. Why would he be willing to let me do this without him? He said that he knew how much it meant to me and figured it would be cheaper here. He also wasn't sure when he could come with me so why not get it done?

Well, that's exactly what I did! Monday morning I loaded my dad and the kids into the car and wouldn't tell them where I was going. My dad figured it out once we got there and he was so excited. The boys, again, could care less. The room was dimly lit with a large couch and a big screen TV. My dad started on couch but when the tech started putting images on the screen he hopped to the chair beside me. Our first images were of the face. The 3D part was wild. It looked like s/he was smoking a cigar but it turned out to be the umbilical cord in front of his/her face. S/he has a cute nose - I think it is my nose!

The tech asked if I wanted to know the gender and my dad and I both said "YES!!!" Just like my first ultrasound the baby was right behind my belly button so I wasn't expecting anything again. But as soon as she moved the wand over, and I saw the legs I knew exactly what I was looking at!" The tech said "without a doubt it's a GIRL!!!!!!!!" It's a GIRL!!!!!! AHH!!!!!!!!!
I was so excited and overwhelmed at the same time. It took my dad a minute to cotton on as the tech kept referring to her girl parts as a hamburger. My poor dad..."What's a hamburger?" But clear as day you could see it was a girl. Below is a picture of her face:
This actually isn't the picture I thought it was so I will try to upload some more later.

I didn't tell my mum or David right away. I wanted it to be a Christmas surprise. I was given a DVD of the entire ultrasound so my younger brother tricked my Mum and DQ into the TV room late Christmas eve. In went the DVD. It took DQ a minute but he yelled "You did it!" I think my dad spilled the beans to my mum because she wasn't as surprised as I thought she would be (although she is sitting next to me right now and says he did not tell her. That said, she wasn't too surprised when I told her I was pregnant either. Maybe it takes a lot to excite her!!! wink wink!). When we got to the part of the ultrasound with the legs and "parts" DQ kept saying he saw boy parts. Imagine HIS excitement when, typed across the screen, came "It's a GIRL!" YEA US!!!! It was a great way to end the night.

It is Christmas Day here and has been a fun morning for us all. I hope you and yours have a special holiday season!!

Til next week -
Mummy Q. - mum to two boys and A GIRL!

Week 26 - part 2

I made it out of MA before the weather got bad. We left MA around 6:00 AM. After a stop or two, we were in northern NJ and the snow started. It was pretty bad with limited visibility. The further south we went the slushier it got then it finally turned to rain. After much traffic in DC and No. Va we finally arrived at my parents house. No matter how long I have been married and out of the house this is still my "home."

Back to week 26 - it went well. I managed to get in a few walks. My doctors visit was actually pretty funny. I had the whole family with me. My own doctor was running late so I was waiting for one of the other doctors in the practice. I don't really mind if I meet everyone else or not since I have a scheduled c-section and my own doc will be doing it. That said the doctor we got was very personable and made for a fun few minutes.

I gained one pound which this doctor said was fine. Then he measured my "bump." He said I was measuring big but that was OK since my c-section was scheduled. He asked how big the boys were at birth (7 lbs and 10 lbs). When he heard about the 10 lb'er he said "WOW - good thing you are having a c-section!" We all chuckled. Then the doc listened to the heartbeat. Again it was in the 150's. DQ and I were getting all excited at which point the doctor said "There is absolutely no correlation between the heart rate and the gender of the baby." DQ and I looked at each other and DQ said "This is my balloon and you are the pin that just popped my balloon!!" We all had a good laugh.

That said we still left the office thinking that maybe possibly it was indeed a girl. My own doctor said that it sounded like a girl so we were going to go with what she said!

At my next visit, in just two more weeks, I have to take the glucose test. UGH. Of course I want to know if I am starting to get gestational diabetes but that drink is so yucky!

til next week -
Mummy Q.

Week 26

hi! I will write Friday or Saturday. It has been crazy here in MA as I am trying to get home to VA before it snows again here.

Super quick - everything is A-OK! I had a drs appointment today and it went well. I will write all about it!

Til then -
Mummy Q.

Week 25 - viability

My oldest friend, Lori, is a labor and delivery nurse. When I was pregnant with Scout and reached 25 weeks she said "whew...a least it is a viable baby now!" What the heck did that mean?! While she was trying to ease my mind it just made me worry more. And if you know me at all you know I am a worrier! (Did anyone see the article on CNN last week about a nuke attack in the US by 2013?? I am already stockpiling food!). Who uses a word like viable to describe a baby? Someone in the medical field, that's who!

The thought of having a baby anytime before week 34 is just a scary thought. Another friend of mine had her baby at week 29. Little Jesse is fine now but in the beginning it was so scary! I am sure I have nothing to worry about. I am feeling fine. Plus my doc is just outside of Boston so I have lots of great hospitals within reach. Who hasn't heard great things about Brigham and Women's NICU??

I had a great week. I did get in three walks, which was great. I have already walked once this week and hope to get another one in tomorrow and a third over the weekend.

After gaining almost a pound week 24 I spent most of this past week thinking that I was getting pre-eclampsia and constantly checking myself for swelling. As I got on the scales this morning I was prepping myself for a three pound weight gain. I was pleased as punch when I didn't gain a thing! YEA! My pants are getting tighter. I was telling someone yesterday it is hard to get in the frame of mind that it is OK to get big when I have spent all this time trying to get small again. Well, I was never small, so maybe I should say trying to get smaller!

The next ten days or so are a little crazy. I have dorm duty this weekend and we head into the last week of school before break. The boys and I are leaving next Saturday morning for VA so I am also trying to pack and get ready for that!

til next week -
Mummy Q.

Week 24

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Thanksgiving itself was very quiet. I basically spent the day in my PJ's, reading a book. The next day we drove to Deerfield for our annual Yankee Candle Factory excursion. Santa was there - the Santa - so we saw him first. Holden proudly told Santa what he wants. He is asking for a mini guitar, a chicken Webkinz, Sorry Sliders, and Bakugan. With the exception of the Bakuagn I think Santa can handle the list. Scout didn't want to talk to Santa. He said he will write him a letter later.



After the candle factory we drove to Cranston's Tree Farm in Ashfield, MA. Sometimes it felt like we were in VT rather than MA! The people there are lovely. We explained to them that we wanted to buy a tree, just not for ourselves. They were happy to oblige. We did look around for a table top tree but thought we should just pay for the non-tree tree we were getting and head out. We are hopeful that we made someones day!


The rest of break was pretty relaxing. Church on Sunday. I read another book. Monday the boys were off of school so we went to our favorite diner for lunch and then went to see "Bolt." It was a cute movie. I love it when the boys laugh out loud; it makes me smile!

So now I am in week 24. I am really starting to show. Only a little bump but people are noticing. I also gained almost a pound this week. I am struggling with that. I know I need to but I have to tell you I do not like seeing the scale go up at all. My pants are getting tight. Time for the belly band!

I have had two great walks this week and am hoping to go again today. It was my goal to walk three times a week and I think I will accomplish that today.

Til next week -
Mummy Q.