Aaaand the verdict is....

WE'RE HAVING A LADYBUG!

Scott, Heather and Patricia were all right while the rest of us must now hang our heads in shame.

I'm so excited. I've got a clean bill of health and so does Ladybug so it looks like we're good to go.

Blue seems to be pulling ahead

So I've been getting emails and phone calls with people's opinions about whether Bug is a boy or a girl. All this info is a little hard to keep track of when you've got pregnancy brain so, before I forget and begin dreaming of my next meal, here's the way things are tracking so far:

Me: Boy
Scott: Girl
Dr. Smith: his latest guess was Boy
Charlie: Boy

Heather: Girl (she's guessing girl because she knows I would like to start with a girl)
Liz: Boy
Jim: Girl (but Scott says he really thinks I'm having a boy, he just doesn't want to agree with Liz haha)
Mom: Boy
Cullen: Boy (based on a theory that gender is generationally determined. Since mom had mostly girls, I'm going to have a boy...)

As you can see, the overwhelming majority think I'm having a boy. Quite frankly, I almost don't even care anymore. I just want to know one way or the other and the wait is driving me absofricking crazy. One more week(ish) until we know.

I am TRYING to be patient but since that's like asking a man what he's thinking and actually getting an honest answer (aka: impossible) it is starting to get a bit tense at home...and at work...and especially on the skytrain. I mean, I know I'm bigger than usual but does everybody have to bash into my chest and stomach all the time? I'm not that bloody big, people! I haven't even popped yet. I'm actually looking forward to getting on the skytrain after I pop so when some idiot smashes into my stomach other people will look at them like they are Jack the Ripper.

Then maybe someone will actually give up their seat for me. Yeah, you're right...that's just asking too much, isn't it?

17 Weeks

Hey everyone. 17 weeks along and it truly is getting harder and harder to hide my pregnancy. So far no one has actually looked at the stomach and guessed but three people have mentioned the increased boobage as a dead giveaway.

I feel like the Hindenburg right now but Scott insists that it is all in my head. He does, however, admit that I'm showing now (if he didn't I would seriously consider dropping him off at a drug rehab clinic because he'd HAVE to be on crack not to notice). Showing but not popping...and he says it is "cute." (GAG) My sister Heather has asked for pictures showing the expanding belly but I'm not sure how "cute" I'll think it is so I may or may not post them on this blog. In the meantime, I'm left wondering, "How the hell am I going to hide this for 3 more weeks?"

Anyhoo...(a Sarah Palinism: my way of trying to sound ABSOLUTELY MORONIC) I've hit 17 weeks and Bug has started making his or her presence known with teensy tiny little kicks I can only recognize because I've been pregnant before. It is really cool although any time Bugaloo doesn't manage to kick hard enough for me to feel it for 12 hours or so I FREEEEEEEAK out.

Here's the Baby Center update for week 17 and the 3D rotatable pic and blurb are here.

So the pink or blue debate is apparently going nowhere...as of today, no one has posted a comment indicating what they think I'm having. Come on, people! I know this hardly ranks up there on the scale of importance with your daily meditations on "How do I contribute to world peace," but humor the pregnant lady...she's desperate for ways to pass the time until she finds out for sure whether she's having a boy or a girl.

Pink or Blue?

Saw Bug on Monday and I still have no idea whether we're having a boy or a girl. (dramatic sigh)

I hate how the tech focused on all these things that meant absolutely nothing to me at that particular moment (although I'm sure they are BIG PICTURE important) when all I really want to do is count fingers and toes and see if my kid is going to be shopping for underwear at Victoria's Secret or Mark's Work Wearhouse.

So what did I learn? Bug has 2 arms and 2 legs (always a good start) and he or she looks well proportioned and seems very active. Also, my child is stubborn and won't pose nicely for the camera so I walked away with one fuzzy little picture instead of a ream of pics that would make you all ooh and ahh over how incredibly cute my progeny is. Already, my child is rebelling...

I'm planning on having a chat with my belly before my next ultrasound on the 26th so expect to be blown away by the modelesque stylings of BUG!

On Monday, Bug's heartbeat was 148 bpm but today it was 137 (or 143...I know they don't even sound similar but I have pregnancy brain, for God's sake, I'm lucky I remember my own name these days, let alone numbers that distract me from the cute little lublublub of my baby's heart). I'm apparently not quite as far along as we thought (or Bug is a bit small) but the difference is only 2 days so I'm not crying in my Vitamin Water.

So what do you all think I'm going to have? Boy or girl? So far the tally looks like this:

Me: Boy but I had a rather vivid girl dream the other night so I'll keep you posted
Scott: Girl
Dr. Smith: Last appointment: Girl This appointment: Boy. (He's only offered opinions based on the baby's heartbeat...always followed by a disclaimer that this kind of thing is total crap) He has a 100% chance now of being right but I consider this a cheat.
Charlie (Scott's dad): Boy (what this is based on, I'll never know because he decided this before I even got pregnant)
You: ??

Don't worry about being accurate - there is no prize for guessing right and no punishment for being a complete doofus and guessing wrong...