Dear C: 18 Weeks
Dear C,
This is the big week! On Wednesday (I HOPE), we'll know what you are, and I'll get to start these notes off with your actual name!
I have been asking people for their guesses as to what you are in there, and I am sure getting a lot of "Girl" responses. This could be just wishful thinking on everyone's part, but it's interesting. I personally kind of think you might be a girl, but I also was pretty convinced that Aidan was a girl. And I also thought my first pet kitten was a boy and named him Chester and yeah, she turned out to be a girl. And our large male cat named Joey? He was an itsy bitsy kitten when we adopted him, and we named him Josephine until it was obvious that she was a he.
As you can see, we obviously aren't great at this! So I thought it might be fun to enlist the assistance of the internet and a bunch of old wives tales and myths to see if we can arrive at a more evidence-based guess to pass the time until Wednesday. Results are as follows:
Chinese Gender Predictor Chart: Based on due date: Girl. Based on conception date: Boy. Inconclusive.
Carrying High vs Low, high means girl, low means boy: Uh, I can't tell. Do we count the french-fry-induced fat roll that rests on top of the baby bump?? It's really hard to tell high/low this early when things are still so relatively small. Inconclusive.
Heartrate above 140 is a girl, below 140 is a boy: Girl.
Tie a ring on a string and dangle over belly, swings like a pendulum for boy, rotates in a circle for girl: Um, it kind of swung back and forth in a circular motion, kind of like those old spirograph toys? Inconculsive.
Dangle a charm over your palm, pendulum for boy, cirle for girl: Girl.
Food Cravings, salty/spicy for boy, sweet for girl: Um. All of the foods? Inconclusive. Although aversions early in pregnancy included eggs, lettuce, vegetables, ham/turkey, seafood, and mushrooms, with ZERO aversions to sweets. Slight lean toward girl?
Sleep position, left side for boy, right side for girl: Slight preference for my right side, which isn't my usual preference. Girl.
Nausea, yes for a girl, no for a boy: LORD YES. Girl.
Soft or dry hands, dry hands means boy, soft means girl: Eh, it's a humid Louisiana summer. My hands aren't dry, but I still feel this is inconclusive, since if you asked me this in the wintertime they'd likely be horribly dry.
Acne, having lots of breakouts means girl, no breakouts means boy: Boy. Or maybe switching to Aveeno cleanser/moisturizer was just an excellent decision.
Graceful or clumsy during pregnancy, graceful with a girl, stumbling with a boy: Hmm. I'm not terribly clumsy thus far, I don't think. Forgetful and idiotic, yes. But I really don't think I've been as clumsy as I was with Aidan. And I think I'd notice, because dropping things and having to bend over and pick them up is like seriously the most aggravating thing in my life right now. I'm wearing multiple layers what with elastic waist pants and trying to smooth out the lumpiness with tank tops and belly bands, so bending over means everything MOVES and has to be RESITUATED, which I hate so very VERY much, so yeah, I think I would notice if I was dropping stuff all the time. And I don't really trip or run into things. SO. Girl? Although "graceful" is a stretch.
Mood swings, yes for girl, no for boy: Eh, not really experiencing this any more than usual, she says after going into great detail about clothing claustrophobia rage. Boy? Inconclusive? IDK. Any of you brave souls want to weigh in on my moodiness? WELL??
Face weight gain, fuller face means a girl: ... Okay, I can't tell, and I don't really think my face is fuller, but thanks, The Internet, for making me self conscious! Inconclusive for now, due to inabililty to be objective about appearance and weight gain. Anybody out there crazy enough to tell a pregnant woman that her face looks fat?
Evens and Odds, if age and year of conception are both odd numbers, it's a girl: Brief pause while I calculate how old I am ... Okay. 34, 2013. Boy.
Previous child's first words, if previous child's first word was Mama, the baby is a girl, if Daddy, the baby is a boy: Well, technically Aidan's first word was "meow", but he did say "Mama" before "Dada", so, girl.
Grand totals:
Boy: 2.5
Girl: 5.5
After all of that, I will really try not to be too shocked if you turn out to be a boy. Guess we'll find out soon enough! (YAY)
Love,
Mommy
***
And While I'm in Writing-Stuff-Down Mode, Some Conversations with Aidan:
Aidan's friend Nathan has a kitten, and when we got to their house one morning, the kitten was adorably sitting in a planter bowl on their porch. I pointed it out, and Aidan said, "Aw, that's his little nest!"
*
Aidan asked me for some water before bed, and after drinking it, he said, "MOM. Guess how many thirsty I was? One hundred thousand, forty hundred!"
*
We're always encouraging him to try new things in order to expand his ridiculously short list of acceptable foods. We say things like, you need to eat lots of different things so your body can have lots of energy, you won't grow and get strong for gymnastics if all you eat is mac and cheese, etc. After trying lima beans (i.e. eating a single lima bean and pronouncing his dislike for it) on Friday night at Granny and Pappy's, he comes charging into the kitchen on Saturday morning, and says dramatically, "MOM. LOOK how much ENERGY I have from that BEAN."
*
Aidan: When I grow up, I'm gonna drive, and go to work, and do EVERYTHING! And I'm gonna take care of a kid!
Karalee: Aww, you're gonna have a kid? Are you gonna get married?
Aidan: Yeah!
Karalee: Who are you gonna marry?
Rickey: [Name Redacted]?
Aidan: No, not [name redacted]. I'm gonna marry YOU, Mommy!
Karalee: *passes out from the adorableness*
Aidan: A-YUND (and), I'm gonna have a pocket knife.
*
Yeah, I'm ever so slightly hoping for girl news on Wednesday, but I promise you I won't be disappointed to have another boy. They love their mommies!! :)
This is the big week! On Wednesday (I HOPE), we'll know what you are, and I'll get to start these notes off with your actual name!
I have been asking people for their guesses as to what you are in there, and I am sure getting a lot of "Girl" responses. This could be just wishful thinking on everyone's part, but it's interesting. I personally kind of think you might be a girl, but I also was pretty convinced that Aidan was a girl. And I also thought my first pet kitten was a boy and named him Chester and yeah, she turned out to be a girl. And our large male cat named Joey? He was an itsy bitsy kitten when we adopted him, and we named him Josephine until it was obvious that she was a he.
As you can see, we obviously aren't great at this! So I thought it might be fun to enlist the assistance of the internet and a bunch of old wives tales and myths to see if we can arrive at a more evidence-based guess to pass the time until Wednesday. Results are as follows:
Chinese Gender Predictor Chart: Based on due date: Girl. Based on conception date: Boy. Inconclusive.
Carrying High vs Low, high means girl, low means boy: Uh, I can't tell. Do we count the french-fry-induced fat roll that rests on top of the baby bump?? It's really hard to tell high/low this early when things are still so relatively small. Inconclusive.
Heartrate above 140 is a girl, below 140 is a boy: Girl.
Tie a ring on a string and dangle over belly, swings like a pendulum for boy, rotates in a circle for girl: Um, it kind of swung back and forth in a circular motion, kind of like those old spirograph toys? Inconculsive.
Dangle a charm over your palm, pendulum for boy, cirle for girl: Girl.
Food Cravings, salty/spicy for boy, sweet for girl: Um. All of the foods? Inconclusive. Although aversions early in pregnancy included eggs, lettuce, vegetables, ham/turkey, seafood, and mushrooms, with ZERO aversions to sweets. Slight lean toward girl?
Sleep position, left side for boy, right side for girl: Slight preference for my right side, which isn't my usual preference. Girl.
Nausea, yes for a girl, no for a boy: LORD YES. Girl.
Soft or dry hands, dry hands means boy, soft means girl: Eh, it's a humid Louisiana summer. My hands aren't dry, but I still feel this is inconclusive, since if you asked me this in the wintertime they'd likely be horribly dry.
Acne, having lots of breakouts means girl, no breakouts means boy: Boy. Or maybe switching to Aveeno cleanser/moisturizer was just an excellent decision.
Graceful or clumsy during pregnancy, graceful with a girl, stumbling with a boy: Hmm. I'm not terribly clumsy thus far, I don't think. Forgetful and idiotic, yes. But I really don't think I've been as clumsy as I was with Aidan. And I think I'd notice, because dropping things and having to bend over and pick them up is like seriously the most aggravating thing in my life right now. I'm wearing multiple layers what with elastic waist pants and trying to smooth out the lumpiness with tank tops and belly bands, so bending over means everything MOVES and has to be RESITUATED, which I hate so very VERY much, so yeah, I think I would notice if I was dropping stuff all the time. And I don't really trip or run into things. SO. Girl? Although "graceful" is a stretch.
Mood swings, yes for girl, no for boy: Eh, not really experiencing this any more than usual, she says after going into great detail about clothing claustrophobia rage. Boy? Inconclusive? IDK. Any of you brave souls want to weigh in on my moodiness? WELL??
Face weight gain, fuller face means a girl: ... Okay, I can't tell, and I don't really think my face is fuller, but thanks, The Internet, for making me self conscious! Inconclusive for now, due to inabililty to be objective about appearance and weight gain. Anybody out there crazy enough to tell a pregnant woman that her face looks fat?
Evens and Odds, if age and year of conception are both odd numbers, it's a girl: Brief pause while I calculate how old I am ... Okay. 34, 2013. Boy.
Previous child's first words, if previous child's first word was Mama, the baby is a girl, if Daddy, the baby is a boy: Well, technically Aidan's first word was "meow", but he did say "Mama" before "Dada", so, girl.
Grand totals:
Boy: 2.5
Girl: 5.5
After all of that, I will really try not to be too shocked if you turn out to be a boy. Guess we'll find out soon enough! (YAY)
Love,
Mommy
***
And While I'm in Writing-Stuff-Down Mode, Some Conversations with Aidan:
Aidan's friend Nathan has a kitten, and when we got to their house one morning, the kitten was adorably sitting in a planter bowl on their porch. I pointed it out, and Aidan said, "Aw, that's his little nest!"
*
Aidan asked me for some water before bed, and after drinking it, he said, "MOM. Guess how many thirsty I was? One hundred thousand, forty hundred!"
*
We're always encouraging him to try new things in order to expand his ridiculously short list of acceptable foods. We say things like, you need to eat lots of different things so your body can have lots of energy, you won't grow and get strong for gymnastics if all you eat is mac and cheese, etc. After trying lima beans (i.e. eating a single lima bean and pronouncing his dislike for it) on Friday night at Granny and Pappy's, he comes charging into the kitchen on Saturday morning, and says dramatically, "MOM. LOOK how much ENERGY I have from that BEAN."
*
Aidan: When I grow up, I'm gonna drive, and go to work, and do EVERYTHING! And I'm gonna take care of a kid!
Karalee: Aww, you're gonna have a kid? Are you gonna get married?
Aidan: Yeah!
Karalee: Who are you gonna marry?
Rickey: [Name Redacted]?
Aidan: No, not [name redacted]. I'm gonna marry YOU, Mommy!
Karalee: *passes out from the adorableness*
Aidan: A-YUND (and), I'm gonna have a pocket knife.
*
Yeah, I'm ever so slightly hoping for girl news on Wednesday, but I promise you I won't be disappointed to have another boy. They love their mommies!! :)