Baby #3 is on board!

If you've noticed my new ticker on our blog you may have guessed that we are expecting baby #3 coming in May 2013!  Our due date is May 17th officially, so the picture is at just over 17 weeks.  It has been going by really quickly this time with two little girls running around to keep us busy, but we are so thankful and excited about our new addition.  On December 21st we are having our anatomy ultrasound and hopefully we'll find out if we'll be adding a new baby girl to our family, or a little boy.  The last few weeks have been fun thinking about what #3 will be and it is hard to wait even though it is less than two weeks now!

I found this picture of me at 18 weeks pregnant with Bethany in 2009 if that helps for comparison and guessing :)



And here is a 18.5 week picture of me with April in 2011, do they all look the same to you?

I've seen different old wives tales that try to predict whether you are going to have a girl or a boy so I thought it would be fun to post a few of them and my results.  I'll see if I can post a poll here too so you can tell me what you think baby #3 will be!

1.  Carrying high or low - you can guess based on the picture, but at only 17 weeks it is sort of hard to tell how I am carrying.  Some days I think I am carrying high like I did with both girls and other days I feel like my belly is a "little" lower than the last times.  I am definitely showing earlier which is probably from the third pregnancy.  I also wonder if being tall means that I always look like I carry a little higher?  I think I'll guess high for this though as "lower than the others" doesn't really count. Result = girl

2.  Heartbeat - previous guesses have been that if the heartbeat is below 140 then it is a boy and over  140 is a girl.  I did hear that when the baby is younger the heartbeat is higher for both boys and girls and as you progress through pregnancy the heartbeat gets lower when this old wives tale is probably more accurate.  So, based on a website I found, at 17 weeks the average heartbeat is 157 and at my apt on Friday the baby was at 150 (close but below the "average").  Result = boy (but girl if you go with the original method)

3.  Mother's skin - the guess is that girls steal their mom's beauty so if you have bad skin or just look worse pregnant then you are supposedly having a girl.  If you look radiant and glowing it is probably a boy.  I definitely haven't been feeling beautiful this pregnancy so result = girl

4.  Morning sickness - most people say that girls bring more morning sickness than boys, but with both of my girls I felt a little sick and this time I'm feeling even more sick.  The result is kind of tricky because sometimes things may be the opposite for some moms which would mean this is a boy, but if I go with the official trend it is a girl.  I also count feeling down in this category and while I feel more down this time, it could go with the overall sickness being more likely a girl.  Result = tie (girl if you use original method)

5.  Ring or needle test - this one is a little strange but again this is all for fun!  If you hold your ring or needle on a string over your belly it will swing back and forth if a boy and around in a circle for a girl.  This worked for both girls and this time it says boy.  Result = boy

6.  Age + Year - if your age plus year is an even number then you are having a girl, odd then a boy.  This was wrong for Bethany but right for April.  Result = girl. 

7.  Cravings - if you crave sweet things or fruit it is a girl, salty or more meat it is a boy.  I haven't had cravings much yet and because I've felt a little more sick and haven't gained a lot of weight yet this is hard to guess.  I don't dislike either of them but don't crave anything either.  Result = tie

8.  Weight gain - this is more of a guess based on my past pregnancies, but with both Bethany and April I did gain weight by this point and this time I haven't hit the 5 lb mark yet.  Some old wives tales say you are bigger overall with girls and boys you gain the weight in the belly which makes sense for gaining later on.  Result = boy.

9.  Early ultrasound - At my ultrasound at 13 weeks 1 day I tried to see if I could tell the gender but I couldn't and the technician said it was too early and that boys and girls look similar at that stage.  The pictures they gave me weren't able to be determined either.  However, I have heard of other people that can tell at that stage and boys may be more obvious than girls which makes me think girl.  But, it could be that we really didn't get a good image.  Result = unknown

10.  Intuition - I was right that both Bethany and April were going to be girls and this time I don't know!  At first I said it was a girl, more recently I've been wondering if it could be a boy.  Bethany on the other hand is convinced it is a girl.  "Mommy, I just like girls" she said while explaining why it is a girl and definitely not a boy.  Result = unknown (do we say girl and believe Bethany?)

I might come up with some more tests/results but of course out of these 10, 3 say girl, 3 say boy, 2 unknown and 2 are a tie with several that may lean towards girl!   We'll know soon and I'm trying to decide if we'll tell friends and family on the 21st if we're able to find out, or maybe make it a Christmas Day surprise :) 

With Dan's sister Melissa just having a little girl in November and Amber expecting a little girl in February, I'm thinking about how fun it would be for this little one to also be a girl and have playmates again just like Bethany did with Emily and Charlie.  Of course if it is a boy I will have more clothes to share with Amber since she will have to stock up after having Charlie!  We are praying for the healthy arrival of all these little babies and so thankful for Isabella's birth last month.

Baby has been kicking me for a few weeks so far and that feeling is unlike anything else in the world!  I love getting to this stage when I start feeling a little better (despite some headaches) and can feel reassured that this little life inside me is doing well with little kicks and squirms.  I also am excited for this Christmas season and being pregnant.  We have been talking about Jesus and how he was born in a stable and how Mary traveled a long way on a donkey with Bethany.  Thinking of Mary and her experience being chosen as Jesus' mom has new meaning for me this year.  What a wonderful story and as I ponder all of these things for our family this coming year I praise God for sending his Son to earth for all of us.