It's a ........

We went to the doctor last week for an appointment with my doctor and a second attempt to find out the sex of the baby. Again, we tried the ultrasound twice- moving in between each one- because the baby wasn't moving around.  The baby was on it's stomach and side again and I needed to flip it somehow... so I was to lay on my side, walk around, drink some water, etc.  I went to see my OB doctor and just ask some questions and he made sure everything was fine with me.  Then we went back to the ultrasound room one more time. And we FINALLY found out that we are having a GIRL! We are soooo excited!!

Her head & hand

Her name will be Olivia Kay Hite.  My mother's maiden name is Oliver, which my sister has claimed if she has a child, so I decided to change it to Olivia for a girl. Kay is for my twin sister and Jason's grandmother- they both have the middle name Kay/Kaye.  We are very excited and can't wait to meet our baby girl.  She will be so loved by so many people!  xo

Happy Birthday!

Friday September 9th was Jason's birthday.  As requested by the Mr., we had a quiet evening at home to celebrate.  We made pastellios (which is like a meat filled turnover or an empanada) and I was given the task of baking a pie.  I love baking but for some reason I was skeptical that I could make a pie- even if there were only 5 ingredients.  Thankfully it was delicious! Birthday treat was warm apple pie & vanilla ice cream. YUM!

the Mr. with his birthday apple pie



Happy, Happy Birthday to my sweet husband.  We have been able to celebrate quite a few birthdays together and I'm very thankful for that. Here are just a few words to describe how I feel about you!

Hardworking. Devoted. Hilarious. Witty. Handsome. Godly. Courageous. Amazing. Intelligent.

For kicks & giggles

There are a number of ways to "predict" the sex of a baby and you can look online and take a number of quizzes.  So that is what I did... just for fun!  I tried out a number of different things to see what old wives tales say the Mr & I should be expecting. Here are my results:

Parents.com quiz- BOY

Chinese Fortune Calendar- BOY

Babygenderprediction.com- GIRL

Heart Rate Test- BOY

My Daily Moment quiz- BOY

Ring Test- BOY


There have been a number of people who tell me I'm having a boy because of the way I'm carrying.  One of the ultrasound techs from previous visits suggested a boy because of the heart rate.  Most of my good friends think it is a girl. I have had dreams about having a baby girl.  I have not had a definite feeling about one gender over the other like some people do. We really do not know what we are having at this point in time.  It could go either way.  The Mr has 3 brothers and a sister. I have 3 sisters. Our parents were in families that are pretty even- boys vs. girls.  (2 girls & a boy or 2 boys & a girl).  I think that is part of the suspense of it all... because we really don't know either way. In all honesty though, we seriously don't know and our little baby tricked us.  I guess from our scheming backgrounds some people think we are lying.. but we seriously aren't.  I wish I was playing a trick and basking in the new information of what we are having- girl or boy- but no... we are still waiting.  Will the old wives tales and predictions be correct? There is a common theme of a boy...  so we will have to wait and see! xo

Keep us guessing!

Ultrasound: baby bump covered in ultrasound goop.

Last night I was so anxious about our appointment today that I barely slept (good anxious not bad). Today was our third ultrasound.  It was a wonderful experience to see the baby and all of the changes since the 11 week ultrasound.  This ultrasound COULD have been the one to tell us what we are having- boy or girl.... but little baby decided it did not want to cooperate.  Baby was relaxing on its stomach.  It reminded me of how I like to sleep- on my stomach. The ultrasound tech was so understanding and gracious. I'm sure this happens all of the time.  She was showing us different things with the baby- spine, ribs, brain, lips, nose, legs, feet- all while trying to get the baby to turn around so we could get a good shot at the girl or boy parts.  We tried three different times.  After the first attempt, she brought me some Sprite, asked me to walk around, etc. to see if we could get the baby flipped.  The second attempt was not a big difference from the first... he/she was still on it's stomach & did not flip.  In fact, it was moving and kicking like we were bothering it.  So again, I tried different things to see if the baby would flip.  I went to the bathroom, walked around, turned on my side on the table... but this time it worked! HOWEVER, the legs were now above the head and the ankles were crossed.  He/she was very adamant that we were not going to see their girl/boy parts today. The Mr. and I were so disappointed because the suspense is killing us! We want to know what we are having and today should have been the day.  All I can do is laugh.  I think it is quite hilarious that no matter what we did, he/she was staying put. Reminds me a little of myself and my stubborn ways.  :)  I have posted some picture from our experience today.  We received a DVD of 2 of the attempts.  The technician tried so hard to get us that answer- a boy or girl!?  She said she thought it was a certain sex but didn't want to say for sure... she's been doing this a long time and so she recognized some things she felt were distinct for one sex.  Jason and I popped in the DVD when we got home and watched it on a bigger screen and we THINK we saw something distinct but we aren't sure.  Let's just say we aren't going out and buying anything gender specific.  We want to be 100% sure so we will just have to wait patiently for a few more weeks!!! xo

Here is a picture from when the baby flipped... just a little profile picture. I am 17 weeks and 6 days but the baby is measuring 18 weeks and 2 days so they moved my due date from February 8th to February 6th. Not too much of a difference.

  

Individuality

Happy September! I can't believe it's already September... that just seems crazy! Great things happening this month:  The Mr. is celebrating a birthday, Gamecock football starts again, we find out the sex of the baby & Hils returns from Uganda!!! I can't wait for all the excitement!
So after admitting that I have not really read up on anything pregnancy related, I went to the bookstore and bought something simple that I know I could make time for.  I bought this book that is sort of a devotional.  Each week, there is a bible verse, a prayer for the baby & a little description of what is going on with the baby and with me that week.  This week (week 17) is about individuality and uniqueness.  The bible verse that goes along with it is:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  Psalm 139:14

It is crazy to think that this baby, a mixture of the Mr. and myself, is still going to be its own person and have traits from us both.  There will be no other baby like this baby... there will be no other person like this person. My prayer this week is for this baby to love his or her qualities, traits and uniqueness.  I'm excited to get another ultrasound done next week.  I hope we will find out the sex but you never know... sometimes it just doesn't happen because the baby wants to keep it a secret.  The amazing part for me is just seeing the changes after a few short weeks.  The first ultrasound we had, at week 6, was not much of anything.  You could see a circular object in the midst of the black and white picture.  The second ultrasound we had was definitely a change from week 6.  The biggest thing we noticed was arms! The baby appeared to be resting its head on one arm and resting the other arm on its body (like when you rest on your side and rest your head on your arm.. you know?). 

As for me, I started this pregnancy with some bad morning sickness but it seems to have settled down a bit.  It went from everyday being sick to my stomach or physically sick to every couple of days... still not 100% gone though.  Something new is feeling sick after going to the gym.  I do about 30-45 minutes of cardio and then some weights (either arms or legs).  It's always after I do some cardio that I feel ill.  I may calm that down for a while and try prenatal yoga.  We'll see how that goes.  I hope it gets completely better soon. I just hate the feeling of being sick to my stomach. Crackers and ginger ale are the last thing I want now because I've had SO much of that combination.  That is all for now.  I posted a picture from Bump Day.. I don't see much difference from week 16 but I'm happy about that.. I don't want to get too large too fast. I hope your September is amazing & full of wonderful memories!
Go Gamecocks!!!!!! xo

A very new adventure

The Mr. and I have been together for almost 10 years now and we have been married for 3 1/2 of those years.  The next adventure for our lives will be parenthood and we are thrilled.  As of today, I am 16 weeks pregnant. This next year is sure to be one great adventure.  The Mr. has started a new job. I have started a new internship for school and I have one more year of graduate school left (May 2012 sounds so sweet to me). And of course, the baby will be born in or around February. Life certainly doesn't slow down when you throw a baby in the mix.  Maybe it's just me but things seem to get more chaotic.  Sometimes I think I need the chaos of life to keep me going and I run more smoothly when my calendar is full of tasks and events.  It certainly makes for a nice nap when I crash from it all.

So far, we have done little to prepare for this big life change but we have plenty of time, right?  All of the bedrooms in our house are occupied by my sisters (two of the three).  We have plans for them to move out by the end of this year so we can convert one of the bedrooms into a nursery.  I'm lucky that my amazing twin loves interior decorating and has jumped all over helping me with the nursery.  I love her ideas so this should be fun! Other than the information I receive on the approximate size of the baby (sent from The Bump) I have not really read up on pregnancy.  We received a number of books about parenthood and what to expect and the Mr. has taken up some reading but I have yet to crack open a book about the subject.  I normally just ask the doctor my questions or my "Bump Buddy" who is currently 3 weeks ahead of me in her due date. I tend not to read too much about symptoms because I will self diagnose myself with 17 different ailments that have nothing to do with my actual condition. We have received some gifts from sweet friends and family for the baby (clothes, diapers, wipes, teething rings) and gifts for me (new maternity clothes!!).  Thank you to those who have been so thoughtful and purchased things for us. It means so much. Personally, I have not purchased anything for the baby at all. I'm sure when we find out the gender of the baby that will change.  Will we be buying a Gamecock  jersey or a Gamecock cheerleader outfit?? That is the big question! We find out in two weeks but we will be keeping it secret for a while.

I will try to post updates about our life so you can keep track of what is going on.  I do have to mention that I'm not the best with providing detailed information about every step of this adventure.  I do share what I'm comfortable with but I'm not someone who will divulge tons of information just because.  With this being our first baby we like to keep things between us to enjoy.  The Mr. and I are sharing, embracing and savoring every moment of this new adventure.  xo