The gender verdict

Today was a big day at the doctor's office. Although it took a loooooooong time to finally get called back for my sonogram ... I'm talking an hour and a half ... it was well worth the wait.

The nurse came and got me pretty early initially, but just to weigh in and have my vitals taken. I'm proud to say I've gained 4 pounds total, so I'm right on track in that department. Hopefully if I did any true damage with the junk I ate over Christmas, I can undo it before it shows its presence on the scale next month.

Then came the waiting game. Apparently everyone was schedule for the sonogram machine today, so I had to patiently wait my turn. I was really starting to get anxious and frustrated with they finally came back and got me again. Dr. Daum greeted us in the sono room and was ready to go fishing (quite literally) for gender evidence. What started as an abdominal ultrasound eventually turned into the ... *ahem* ... other type of ultrasound. The little booger was being too modest to show the goods the easy way. But, lo and behold, the ultrasound wand finally found the treasure buried under the umbilical cord to reveal ... a girl!!!

She was squirming all over the place, but mostly not in the right direction to get any shots that the untrained eye could really decipher. Plus she was breech and the cord went between her legs making it harder to get the money shot. But Dr. Daum was persistent, gently prodding her with the wand until she turned just the right way, at which point he said, "I'm 100% sure, those parts are of the female persuasion."

He did his best to point it out to us. I could see what he saw, but I think Cory was too much in denial to really accept the doc's certainty. *wink* Get ready, dad, you're gonna have a daughter!

Everything else looked great he said, and I'll have another sono at 26 weeks where we should be able to get some good images of all her cute little features. Until then, I'll be shopping for bedding and other nursery decor and helping Cory adjust to the idea of having a little girl.

Because I couldn't wait...

I thought it would be fun to show the progression of my belly growth.

4 weeks

Why is she taking a profile picture?  Weirdo.

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8 weeks

Maybe she should do some crunches.

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10 weeks

Uh, maybe she should quit her day job and hit the gym, HARD.

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13 weeks

Oh, she's pregnant ... I think.

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15 weeks

Ooooh, yea, she's definitely pregnant. :o)

So there you have it.  I've come a long way in 15 weeks, and I can only imagine what the next 25 will bring.  Consequently, I think I like my hair curly as opposed to straight.  What do you think?  And it's for sure getting grown back out, so no comments necessary on the length ... it's not staying this way.  I know, I know ... typically new mommies chop their hair off, but I've been there done that and got it out of my system.  Doing so confirmed that I truly do prefer long hair ... therefore, it's growing out.

Baby belly and bruised bumper

It seems I'm not very good at keeping up with this blogging thing. I blame it on my husband since he usually monopolizes the computer in the evenings after I've gotten home from work. But a stern warning from a friend and fellow blogger (yes, Sara, I'm talking about you! *wink*) has encouraged me to be more regular with my posts which is especially important since I've reached the point in my pregnancy where there will be much more to report on a regular basis.

On with the pregnancy update. I'm 15w1d as of today and already visibly bigger than I was here at 13w3d:

I'll have pictures to prove it when I post details about our Christmas festivities, but let's just say that last night when I was getting ready for bed, Cory's face said it all! I was wearing a pair of capri-length pj pants and a tank top ... neither of which are baggy on me by any means. I was in the bathroom washing my face and going through the rest of my bedtime routine when he came into the room after securing the house for the night. I was facing the mirror which meant he had a perfect profile shot of my baby bump, and his eyes almost popped out of his head as he exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, you're getting huge!" Thanks, babe! I've never received a more precious compliment! :o)

But getting back to the idea of Christmas festivities, here are our plans: We are spending Christmas Eve with Cory's whole family in Burleson, then going back over there on Christmas Day morning to exchange gifts with just his parents and siblings. Around lunch we'll jump in the good ol' rental car and head to my parents' house in White Deer. I'm definitely not looking forward to the drive, but I sure am ready for a visit home! We'll have Christmas with my parents, brother, sis-in-law, and nephew on Saturday, then drive back on Sunday afternoon.

Oh, so you might be asking yourself, "Why are the Bakers driving a rental car?" Well, I'll tell you. Last Wednesday, we went to pick up our brand-spankin' new GMC Terrain ... or the baby mobile as I like to call it. On Saturday, we had to make a dreaded trip to Wal-Mart, and we purposely parked in the boonies to avoid getting a ding or scratch. But, when we came out and got closer to it, we noticed this perfect trailer-hitch-sized square dent in the bumper. Yep, someone backed into us and just took off with not so much as a note under the windshield wiper!!

I was livid, but not surprised. I have to admit, circumstances like this really make me cynical toward the human race as a whole. Whatever happened to common decency?!?!

So with our hope in mankind shattered and our Christmas spirit deflated, we decided to just call it a day and go home. Monday Cory spent some time on the phone with our insurance company and a few repair shops to get an idea about how much it might cost to get the dent knocked out and the chipped paint repaired. We didn't even really debate whether we would or wouldn't fix it. It was more or less a given since we'd barely had the vehicle for more than 48 hours. Luckily our policy is pretty accommodating for incidences with "uninsured motorists" ... a.k.a. jerks who hit you in parking lots and run off like big pansies.

As a result, I dropped off the Terrain at Collision Specialists after work yesterday and picked up a sweet Camry to drive until ours is restored to factory condition. (I realize tone is not always effectively communicated in writing, so I'll add the note to insert a sarcastic emphasis on the word 'sweet' in the previous sentence.) I mean, it's ok, I guess, except that it smells like a cheap hotel. They must use the same odor neutralizer. But it's not costing us anything, and we'll avoid putting 1,000 miles on our new car for the trip to White Deer.

So that's been our most recent dose of drama. Thankfully it's on the mend, and we'll be reunited with our sweet (no sarcasm intended) new Terrain early next week. Since I didn't even have time to take pictures of it before it was practically ruined (ok, maybe 'ruined' is a little much, but damaged nonetheless), here's a photo I pulled off the web for your viewing pleasure. :o) Can't wait to have this baby back!

Back to blogging after a not-so-fun couple of weeks

So it’s been a little while since I’ve blogged … I know. I’ve had a few things to deal with though, so my absence is justified I think. Most of you are aware that I had surgery two weeks ago, and wow, was it unexpected for me. I’ll spare you all the gory details, but let’s just say it’s not something I EVER want to experience again.

Possibly the most atrocious event to occur post-op was the fact that the Mansfield Surgery Center (yes, I’m naming them by name so that all will run the other way in terror at the thought of having any procedure performed there) discharged me LONG before I was ready to be discharged. My surgeon and anesthesiologist had given very clear orders about how long I was to remain in recovery before being sent home, but along comes some random nurse with my bag of clothes who helped me get dressed and wheeled me out to the car where Cory was waiting for me. If I’d had my wits about me, I would have definitely questioned it, but I figured, “Hey, they’re the medical experts, right?!?!”

So as it turns out, because of this blunder, I ended up having to make a trip to the emergency room 6 hours later because I couldn’t empty my bladder. Ironically, this is one of the things the nurse in question failed to make sure I could do before sending me home. Lovely, huh? Going to the ER was the last thing I needed considering I was in excruciating pain, but it had to be done. Thank you, random nurse, for making a bad situation worse.

Five days after my surgery, I called my doctor to chit-chat about what had happened because, frankly, I was not willing to pay an ER bill that I never should’ve had in the first place. My doctor was completely apologetic about the whole situation and went on to inform me that the nurse who had wrongly discharged me had consequently been discharged from her duties as an RN at the Mansfield Surgery Center. WOW!

Thankfully, though, it’s been two weeks since the surgery, and I’m recovering as expected now. Not to say it hasn’t been a challenge, but we’ve managed. The day of and after my surgery my parents were here to help which turned out to be a God-send. I don’t think we could’ve made it through that first day without them. Cory has taken sensational care of me since, and I’m so thankful for him.

As terrible as all of this was on its own (and believe me, it was pretty terrible), I had the added stress of going through it pregnant. You other mommies and mommies-to-be know that anything and everything you put in your body during pregnancy can be a potential hazard. Even medications deemed “safe during pregnancy” carry a small risk. So it was a little unnerving, to say the least, to undergo anesthesia, get a dose of morphine, and be given a prescription for vicodin during the whole ordeal. Every medical professional along the way, including my OB, assured me that everything would be fine, and after my appointment on Tuesday, their claims seemed to be confirmed! :o)

Our honeybun is growing perfectly, and we brought home plenty of evidence in the form of sonogram pictures to prove it. Here’s my favorite … our little mooner.

We’ll find out on the 29th if it’s a boy or girl!!! Doc was leaning towards girl after what he saw this go ‘round. :o) So, we’ll see!! Stay tuned.