FUN or FACT?

For FUN last night, the family drove across the border to the States to have dinner at Sonic Drive-In, (mmmmm... chili cheese coney and cherry limeade) and for me to purchase this little item...I had discovered IntelliGender online, and HAD to go get a test for myself to see what the results would tell us. This test claims to be 90% accurate, so I knew before we even purchased it that I wasn't going to put 100% of faith into the results. Still, I decided it would be something FUN to do while we wait the two more weeks before we have our ultrasounds done to hopefully give us a definite answer as to the gender of this baby.

I got up this morning at 4:30 when Ryan got up to go to work to take my hokey little test. Anna even woke up to see the results! And the results said that this baby is a GIRL! Between this test, the 170 beats per minute heart rate, and the fact that everyone who knows me claims that I am carrying EXACTLY the same way as I did with Reagan, we are starting to think that maybe, just maybe, this baby is a girl. It will be interesting to see if that is actually the case! What do you think? Have any of you ever used this test... was it accurate?

What I do know for a FACT is that I am now 17 weeks pregnant. I've added a pregnancy calendar in my right side bar located just under the Paging Doctor Mommy button (do you have my button yet?!) so that you can easily keep track of our pregnancy progress.

I had an appointment with my OB last week, and I now know why I was having the feelings of "pressure" on my cervix and the occasional spotting. I had a polyp the size of a large cherry growing off of my cervix! No wonder I kept feeling like something was about to "fall out"! My OB was able to remove it during my appointment, and I am now feeling MUCH better. Don't get me wrong... it hurt like the devil when the procedure was being done... but I'm all good now! For me, finally knowing that I wasn't crazy for the way that I was feeling and knowing that there was a true legitimate reason for my feelings made all the difference in the world. Of course, knowing that it was all taken care of helped too!

I am already starting to have a little bit of swelling... I had to remove my wedding rings for fear that if I didn't we would have to cut them off in the very near future. I think it was the combination of the slight swelling, my cervix, and a slight raise in my blood pressure that had my OB and I already discussing when is going to be the best time for me to stop working in this pregnancy. As of right now, it looks like my end-of-work date will be August 20... the start of my third trimester. Of course, if I am still feeling well and I don't develop any more signs of preeclampsia, then I will be able to hopefully work longer. But we have a feeling that is not going to be the case! However, if I continue to feel as good as I do right now, I could see myself working right up until my due date. I don't know if it is from having the polyp removed or if it just the "high" of the 2nd trimester, but I am feeling great! I'm no where near as tired, I'm sleeping well again, I've been going for 2 mile walks on my lunch breaks... I feel great!

I also feel a lot more movements than I did a couple of weeks ago. I'm already starting to feel a daily pattern with the movements, and I know that it will only increase and become stronger in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait!

There is a big growth spurt happening for baby now... in the next two to three weeks, his or her weight will double! He or she now has one-of-a-kind fingerprints and his or her bones are beginning to harden. The first few layers of fat are also developing at this time. The ability to grasp has now developed, and the umbilical cord is probably now serving as a toy as well as life-line!

Baby is now the size of a turnip, or a large onion.
So... that's it for updates for now. Hopefully the next baby update that I give will include an OFFICIAL gender announcement!