Feels Like Home: May 2013

Adriana continues to be her happy, friendly self. She's has had a little trouble with sleeping this past month. When I went back to work after Spring Break, she started having some separation anxiety. Naps became difficult. She would sleep for half an hour, and then wake up screaming. She would then fall back asleep once someone would hold her to read, etc., but only sleep when being held. As soon as she was put down, she was wide awake again. This gradually seeped into nighttime behavior as well. We've been working on it, and it has gotten a lot better this week. Today she took a good nap, woke up happy, and asked to go to bed tonight.

Adriana now knows all of her basic colors (red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, black, white, brown, gray, and pink). She knows 20 letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, O, P, R, S, T, U, X, Z). Sometimes she knows V and Y as well. As far as shapes go, she knows and says circle, heart, and star. She will point to triangles and squares when asked, but doesn't say the words yet.

She is "reading" more books. In addition to Llama Llama Red Pajama, she will fill in some words for Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, Llama Llama Misses Mama, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

We are so proud of our little girl!

As promised, it's time for some gender fun again! I'm going to use the same tests I did last time, plus a few others that I have found.

HCG Levels - This is a scientific "test." Baby girls produce higher HCG levels than baby boys. Since pregnancy tests test for HCG, women pregnant with baby girls tend to get positive test results sooner than those pregnant with boys.

My birthday is exactly two weeks away from my dad's, so for the past few years, we have celebrated our birthdays together during the weekend in between. I thought that if I were pregnant, and due in July, I would find out right before our celebration weekend. I had the perfect way to tell my family! My dad was supposed to get this for his birthday:

Connor, Quentin, Zeke, Adriana, and "Coming July 2013"

Instead, I didn't get a positive test, so I figured I wasn't pregnant yet. As it turns out, I finally got a very, very, very faint positive on November 6 (two days after our birthday weekend). Even then, it was so faint that it reminded me of Grovo, and I refused to tell anyone until after I'd had my HCG levels tested. It turns out, I was pregnant (obviously), but my HCG levels must have been too low to detect from a home test at that time. Based on that, I have to say this is a boy.

Boy: 1 Girl: 0

My hair (on my head) - An old wives tale says that if your hair is shiny and full of body, the baby is a boy. If your hair is dull and lifeless, it's a girl.

I don't have thick hair, but it's definitely not as dull and limp as it was with Adriana.

Boy: 2 Girl: 0

My hair (on my legs) - Another old wives tale says that your leg hair grows faster if it's a boy, and it grows at the same rate or slower if you're having a girl.

This is what I wrote when I was pregnant with Adriana: "For nearly 20 years, I have dealt with thick, black leg hair that grows at an astronomical rate. I would shave in the morning, and a few hours later, I would have stubble. It was like 5 o'clock shadow on my legs. Except it appeared at noon. I went through laser treatments, and some patches got better, but overall, I still had to shave on a daily basis. A few months ago, I noticed that I didn't need to shave as often, and the hair that I did have was a lot lighter. In fact, I can now go four or five days between shaving!"

Now: I wish! I haven't gotten out the tape measure (although some days I probably could), but I would definitely say it's growing faster.

Boy: 3 Girl: 0

Morning Sickness - Supposedly, girls their moms sicker than boys do. Of course, I've heard of all the exceptions. Scott's mom was sicker with him than she was with his sister. A woman at school was sick all nine months of her pregnancy, and she had a boy. But, the old wives tale says that morning sickness means it's a girl.

With Adriana, I was sick before I knew I was pregnant. This time, I thought I was going to get away with not being sick at all. And then 6 weeks hit. I was sick. Not as sick as I was with Adriana, but it lasted longer. I think it finally went away around 18 weeks. So, I guess since I was sick, I would have to say girl on this one.

Boy: 3 Girl: 1

My butt - Apparently, if your butt grows, it means you are having a girl.

My butt is bigger than it was before I got pregnant this time, but not as big as it was with Adriana. This one is debatable. I guess since it's not as big as it was last time, I'll say boy.

Boy: 4 Girl: 1

Baby's heart rate - If the baby's heart rate is 140 or higher, it's a girl. 139 or lower means it's a boy.

Our baby's heart rate has been in the 130s pretty much every time we have had it measured. Two appointments ago, it jumped up to the 150s. This led my mom to ask, "Did it fall off?!?!" But at the last appointment, it was back down in the 130s again. Maybe it's growing back now.

Boy: 5 Girl: 1

Carrying high or low - If you are carrying high, it means you are having a girl. Carrying low means it's a boy.

I have been carrying this baby low the entire time. A lot of people have made comments about how low it is.

Boy: 6 Girl: 1

Shape of belly - If your belly is shaped like a watermelon, you are having a girl. If your belly looks like a basketball, you are having a boy.

Most people say my belly looks more like a basketball. I'll let you judge for yourself. Scott says he thought Adriana looked like a basketball, but he thinks this one looks even more like a basketball. I'll let you judge for yourself again:

Boy: 7 Girl: 1

Where the baby kicks - In Norway, they say that if the baby kicks you on your left side more, it's a girl. If it kicks on the right side more, it is a boy.

Adriana was reversed on this one, so I don't know if that means anything, but this baby kicks on the left side more.

Boy: 7 Girl: 2

My face - If you gain weight in your face, or if your face swells, you are having a girl. If your face looks the same, you are having a boy.

My face is a little puffier, but not nearly what it was with Adriana. I think it's a little bigger just because I've gained weight, and it tends to spread out more evenly. Overall, I would say it still looks normal.

Boy: 8 Girl: 2

Chinese gender prediction chart - I got pregnant in October when I was 32 years old. According to the Chinese gender prediction chart, this means that I am having a girl.

Boy: 8     Girl: 3

Mom's feeling - When I first got pregnant, I was positive it was a boy, just as I had been positive that Adriana was a girl from Day 1. Now, the feeling isn't as strong, but I still lean toward boy.

Boy: 9     Girl: 3     *Side note: At this point with Adriana, the score was reversed exactly.

Dry Skin - If your skin becomes more dry, you are carrying a boy.

I didn't even include this with Adriana because I didn't realize it was a condition of pregnancy. My skin was never dry at all with her. This time around, I have several dry patches. I've had a couple of times when it hurt to wear a shirt because my skin felt like it was being rubbed raw.

Boy: 10     Girl: 3

Headaches - If you are more prone to headaches, you are having a boy.

I guess I've been somewhat lucky because the headaches haven't been constant, but I've definitely noticed them more this time around. I don't think I ever got a headache with Adriana. This time, I had headaches a lot early on, and then here and there for the past few months.

Boy: 11     Girl: 3

Previous child's first word - If your first child said mama first, you will have a girl. If the first word was dada, you will have a boy.

Adriana said Da-deeeee first.

Boy: 12     Girl: 3

The mask of pregnancy - I haven't found this one on any list, but a woman I used to tutor for swore by this test. She said that if you get the mask of pregnancy, you are having a boy. If not, it's a girl.

When I was about 16 weeks pregnant with Adriana, she told me it would be a girl because I didn't have the mask. She said she has never been wrong with her predictions based on this. This time, I think I have it. It usually looks like I am blushing. Early in November, when I was still worried about my super light positive pregnancy test, Scott pointed out the blush on my face. He said it had been there for a few days and didn't seem to be going away. He said he thought that was a good sign that the baby was going to make it since it was already causing my face to change.

Boy: 13     Girl: 3

The actions of little boys - If a little boy is interested in your pregnancy, it's a girl. If a little boy shows no interest, he is worried about competition and doesn't care about the pregnancy.

When I was pregnant with Adriana, Brandon's boys were so into the pregnancy. They asked about the baby all the time. They always wanted to know how big the baby was, how big I was, and wanted to feel the baby kick. This time, it's almost funny how little they care. I can be around them for hours before they will even mention the baby. Sometimes they forget that I'm pregnant at all. When my mom says stuff about the baby, it's not uncommon to hear "what baby?" from the boys. This one definitely says boy.

Boy: 14     Girl: 3

So there you have it. According to the old wives, Adriana will be getting a little brother in July.

I'm sure there are many more tests. I haven't tried the ones where you have to hold something on a string over my belly or hand because I believe the person doing that "test" has too much control. I might as well just ask the person what they want me to have. But, if there are other tests that you know of, and you want to see how they turn out for me, just ask.

Now, here are the pictures.

Week 29: