Finding out the Gender (& 10 months pics!)

Our sweet little girl has just had another birthday!
She is 10 months old!  I can't believe how fast this year has flown by.

 

It's getting harder and harder to get a monthly pic of her sitting still and smiling at the camera.
And I'm hoping that her little diaper cake that we do the monthly pics with will last another 2 months until her first birthday!  Every month I have to rebuild it. She pulls out the little tulle toppers every time now!

 

Her Aunt Val made these sweet little bloomers for her. Aren't they the cutest things you've ever seen! They are definitely one of my favorite things from her baby shower.  I was one of those mamas who just HAD to find out the gender as soon as possible. One of the perks of announcing your gender and the baby's name is all the sweet little custom gifts you can stare at in anticipation of baby's arrival. Having the custom stuff in the hospital for the newborn pics was another thing I just absolutely loved. I adored going into my postpartum hospital room and my mom and mother in law hung a banner with her name above my bed. It was so girly and lovely and welcoming. All the nurses thought it was so sweet!

Different strokes for different folks, though. If you are a mama who just can't see any other way but to wait until the birth to find out the baby's gender, then go for it. This Lambie Blog is just my story, and why I chose to find out to gender of my babies before they were born.

The Waiters will say, "How could you ruin the suprise?!"  Um... I didn't. I was still suprised when I found out the sex of my babies. I just could not wait another minute.  I wanted to know and plan and be prepared. I didn't want to believe in my head that the baby was one sex and then on their birth day be let down that I was wrong.  I didn't want any hint of disappointment or mixed feelings to be on their birth day. Because I know that I'm human. I know that I have desires and sometimes disappointment creeps in when you least expect that. I wanted to know just how their birth days would go. And save the best suprise for last. What they will look like.  Will she have my grandmother's hands? My husband's eyes? My hair?  Will she be quiet and calm or will she be perky and boisterous? There a SO MANY suprises when the baby comes.

The suprise of my gender day sonograms was so special. It was just hubs and I in the room with the doctor. When we found out we brought in the grandmothers. It was really special. If only Pinterest had been around at that time, I would known all about gender reveal parties and I would have thrown one of those for my friends and family.  Instead we did it the old fasioned way and announced it on Facebook with a sonogram picture. Old School, right?

My mom was pregnant three summers before she had me. A miscarriage and an infant lost due to heart defect.  Maybe it's my family history that made me want to know their gender in a way to feel closer to my unborn children. I could name them and talk to them in a way that felt more personal to me. It probably sounds so weird to The Waiters because any mama is bonded to her baby from the second she pees on the stick. And there are lots of ways to bond with your baby. This was just something that was really special and important to me. I felt like I knew them and it made me feel more confident as a new mom.

Birth class was terrifying and if I didn't have that mental image of baby girl Devyn or baby boy Cade going into my delivery I don't think I would have been able to do it. The doctors would have really had to sedate me completely to get those babies out. The gender made it so real to me. I knew it was Cade that needed to come out when I was tired of pushing and didn't think I could push any longer.  I knew it was my sweet little boy who needed to meet me. Thinking his name and knowing my little boy blue would be here soon if I kept going helped me get through. Again, you think I'm lame and that's no argument but when it came down to the wire, I was ready to give up and go home and let him be born another day. That's how hard it was to me and even though I was so ready to not be pregnant any more I would have waited another day had it not been Cade. 

Sorry Ambiguous Baby, I just couldn't have you. I needed to know who you were. Your 15 weeks and 20 weeks of being Ambiguous Baby were long enough for me. I needed my Suprise Gender Reveal earlier than 39 weeks and 41 weeks.  So, do I have any regrets? Do I feel like I missed out on one of Life's Greatest Suprises? Absolutely not. 0% regret here. I adored every minute of picking out pink and blue nurseries. Shopping for little details that I would NOT have been able to do with such anticipation and excited with a newborn baby. I would not trade those months of excitedly telling strangers and friends, "It's a girl!" for anything in the world. Hearing their advice about little girls, or little boys or having one of each was really cool. Sometimes strangers suprise you and you learn the coolest things.

Gotta go play with the littles now. Any more reminiscing and I will want to be pregnant again....Not gonna happen! (Yet at least!)

holy crap...

Some things blow my little pregnant mind...

#1 damn that ultrasound is cute. it's so freaking cute! look at him snuggling up in there. i'm one comfortable momma and my baby likes it.
#2 seeing that heart beat on the 60" tv screen at my fabulous dr office blew my mind. sure, i know someone is growing inside of me.... but seriously SOMEONE IS GROWING INSIDE ME! i have 2 hearts beating in me. if that's not enough to make you believe in God or something bigger than yourself... i'm blown away. i've never been more amazed. sure enough, there are 2 hearts in me. so go ahead, get greedy. i've got enough lovin' to go around. i have 2 hearts now. me and my little buddy, my teammate.

Now for random thoughts...

#1 Lesson for the Ladies: daddies to be get 10 more months of drinking. you pee on that stick ladies, and you don't even get a celebratory glass of fine champagne. your new happy hour go-to drink is Ozarka. Oh, you'll try to make yourself a virgin Cape Cod... turns out that minus vodka, you're just drinking plain ol' cranberry juice. (at least you're avoiding a UTI) Moral of the story: if you're thinking you might want to get pregnant in the next year, you take yourself as many happy hours as you can now... no regrets when you're sitting at home feeling like a fat cow, googling baby furniture on craigslist, wishing you could sip a beer just for the hell of it.

#2 when i can't sleep at night, i come up with all sorts of curiosities. i get to wondering the most random things. i need a night-vision, small little laptop by my bed so i can do 3am google searches. seriously, i need mini night-google. i can't even remember now what on earth was so important or fascinatingly curious to me, but last night, i wondered stuff from about 1:45am to 4:30am. you'd think i would have figured out some stuff in that time. not so much.

#3 Thank you to the considerate sick strangers I encounter. So many people will be sniffling or coughing and then say "Oh, pregnant lady, I'll stand back HERE" and then they will back up or even leave the room entirely. To that I say thank you. And feel free to continue to avoid me even after I have my baby. I'd be cool with never being exposed to your germs ever again. Shouldn't we always be this considerate when we're sick? Shouldn't we always make the extra effort not to cough, sneeze, or snot on other people when we're ill? I would think so, but apparently to these people, it's only a concern because I'm with child. Nonetheless, thanks.

Loving Life!!!

Whoa, after that last post we need something a bit more positive, right? I haven't blogged in awhile, been feeling more tired at the end of the day now that I'm in my third trimester. Today officially marks week 30, 10 more to go til we get to meet little man.

I had my second ultrasound appointment today. The placenta moved up (yay! no excuse not to go forward with natural delivery-- yikes!) I feel so blessed and grateful because all of Cade's measurements are normal and he's developing great. Measuring a week ahead, he now weighs 3 lbs 9 oz. There's no cause for concern or worry at this point, so everything's on track. Now if only I can put down the doughnuts and chocolate-covered everything and start feeding this kid some brain food I'd be set.

We were totally taken by surprise when our dr whipped out a different ultrasound wand and said "Lets try to see him in 3D". I had to stop myself from shouting "yessssss!" and throwing a fist in the air. Seriously though, people pay hundreds for 3D ultrasounds at those little shops outside the mall, how awesome is she for letting us have a sneak peek (compliments of insurance we hope!)

Just chalk today up as one of the happiest days of my life. Seeing our baby in 3D was so cool, we both were sitting in that office with huge smiles and squinting and cocking our heads to take it all in. She zooms in on his face and we saw Cade open and close his mouth, stick his tongue out just a peep, and then he smiled like 3 times in a row, it was so funny! The dr was so sweet (fellow Aggie btw) she was like "How precious! Look at him smile!" and Nick and I were totally speechless and in awe. He then raised his little hand right by his face and wiggled it. I know I'm a bullshitter sometimes, but I swear the kid smiled and waved. I have 3 witnesses.

Anyways, she set the computer to record him right after that and all we got was still face and shortly after he nuzzled into the placenta. Apparently 3D needs fluid between the baby and the placenta to be able to capture the baby's image, so that was it for today's Cade show.

I don't know if I'll be able to get another ultrasound now that things are looking normal, but I'm so incredibly grateful and thankful that he's looking healthy that I can't complain. Ten weeks never felt like such a short amount of time! Stay tuned, we'll see how it goes.