guess #1

This afternoon I went in for my 20 week appointment. All continues to go well - baby Moses is growing as is now very evident by the increasing size of my stomach (I'll post a picture in the weeks to come). Over the weekend my appetite went into overdrive - something that has not been the case for the first 19 weeks of my pregnancy. Suddenly sweets taste good again and my cravings for carbs are hard to satisfy. I know this is a time for great growth for the baby, so while not completely surprised it still has caught me a bit off-guard!

The heartbeat was heard loud and strong once again, only a mere seconds after the wand was put on my stomach. It was a strong 150 bpm. (Close to last month when it was 155). I feel baby Moses often - he has had the hiccups, he likes to roll slowly from side to side, and then every once in awhile he'll give a good jab or two. On the whole he is much calmer than Anna was in the womb. I am not sure if this is just due to his size at the moment, or if in fact his demeanor is different.

I am learning that we seem to be in the minority in a few regards. We are not finding out the gender of this baby - which seems to cause a big stir in any conversation. "How can you wait?" "Don't you want to know?" "I could never do that".

I truly think that both ways, finding out or saving the surprise for the end, are equally wonderful. For Steve and I, we enjoyed the surprise with Anna at the end and it helped me with the last few weeks of pregnancy and labor. In addition, I am by nature a planner in every aspect of my life. I am anal, and I typically need to know everything in advance and have it well-planned out. By keeping this a surprise I take an element of stress, of running around getting things ready, of picking the name, and everything else that goes with it out of the mix. It allows me the opportunity to relax, to wonder and wait for the fun surprise ahead.

The one thing that has bothered me with this pregnancy is the presumption on the part of strangers that we want one gender over another. During an appointment at the salon, the aestitician asked me if we were hoping for a boy since we had a girl. I replied that no, I really didn't have a preference either way, and that we would be thrilled with either. The response I received caught me off-guard: "Yeah right, everyone says that but then they really want a boy because they want one of each". Well, um, actually that doesn't apply to me thank you very much. Steve had a similar experience at the grocery store when the clerk asked if he was hoping for a boy. His response was "No, I want a baby".

So, despite the fact that I refer to baby Moses as well, baby Moses and as a "he"...he very well could be a "she" and either way we will be more than thrilled! I choose to refer to our baby as a him because it makes more sense to me than saying "he/she" or "it". Oh yes, and the small intuition I have at the moment that makes me feel it's a boy.

So...I am giving you 3 guesses. One now, at this point in our pregnancy. One again later next week after our ultrasound and I share the photos with you. And then one at the very end - before labor begins. What is your first guess...is our new baby a boy or a girl? I'm curious to know!

(You have the heartrate facts, my sickness facts, weight gain is the same as with Anna up to this point, and you have a picture of me a month ago...so guess away!)