80% chance of...

By Marnie:

A GIRL! Our plan to wait until dinner in Vegas with our friends to find out if we were having a boy or girl went by the wayside when our curiosity got the best of us and we opened our sealed envelope a night earlier. I've felt it was a girl all along and I think after saying it for months, Mike was pretty convinced, too. So the news wasn't as surprising as it had been if it said a boy, but we were still thrilled to have some confirmation that we're having a baby girl!

When my doctor did the ultrasound and said she could figure out the baby's gender, she also said she was 80% sure. We're having another ultrasound next month which will hopefully confirm the doctor's findings. It will also be with their nice, newer machine so we should get some good pics of Baby Girl Ov!

Our life for the past month has been a little busy and it's now slowing down so we're excited to start looking into what we need and want for the baby. Now that we know she's a girl, it will be a lot easier to pick out all the odds and ends that babies need! Since we knew that we wanted to find out if she was a boy or girl, we have been holding off on buying anything, although I couldn't resist and already bought a few little things. I've tried as much as possible to buy gender neutral items, but I'm not gonna lie - I did indulge in a few very girlie things since I was so convinced she was a girl! I'm relieved to know we won't be dressing a little boy in pink bows and dresses.

Week 16 Update - Boy or Girl?!

By Marnie:

We're now at 16 weeks - time has certainly flown by! Baby Ov is now the size of an avocado (at least that’s what the baby websites say). That still seems kind of small, yet huge when compared to the size he or she was when we first found out I was pregnant. I’m feeling really good – so good that I really don’t feel pregnant at all. I’m just starting to notice that I have a bit of a belly, but not much of one at all.

It’s been a busy last few weeks. Mike and I went to Iowa for two weekends ago and then I stayed for the week and went to Minnesota for work. Our weekend in Iowa was great until I got sick from the flu or food poisoning, I’m not sure which. I spent one very miserable day not getting out of bed and feeling pretty awful, but thankfully it lasted just a day and by Monday morning I was feeling almost 100%.

My week in Minnesota was great – I got to see a lot of friends and co-workers who didn’t know I was pregnant so it was fun to share the news with so many people. I also got to see two friends who recently had babies. I loved seeing and holding them yet hearing the stories of sleepless nights made me a bit nervous for what’s to come!

I had my 16 week doctor’s appointment today. The doctor decided to do a quick ultrasound to make sure everything was still going well after I was sick. The doctor and ultrasound tech used an older portable machine since I didn’t have an ultrasound scheduled so it wasn’t like our first ultrasound where there was a big screen to watch it on. When they first started looking, both of them were really quiet and had strange faces so I was really worried that something was wrong. I couldn’t see the screen yet so I finally asked them if everything was ok. They said that absolutely everything was great and the baby has a good heartbeat. I think they were just trying to figure out if it was a boy or girl. They finally turned the screen my way and it was amazing to see Baby Ov! He or she definitely looked much more like a baby rather than a blob now.

The most exciting news is that they were able to tell the sex of the baby (they said they’re 80% sure at this point)!! I knew there was a possibility we could find out at this appointment and because Mike wasn’t there, I asked them to put the ultrasound pictures that show the gender in a sealed envelope. We’re meeting Mike’s best friend from growing up, Jason and his wife, Tonya in Las Vegas this Wednesday. We decided that if we could find out if Baby Ov was a boy or girl, we would wait to open the envelope with Jason and Tonya while we are in Vegas. I’m DYING to find out though so I’m definitely regretting our decision to wait. AGH! I can make it two days, right?! We'll see...

Overall, things are going great. Pregnancy agrees with me so far and I have no complaints. I don’t have any weird cravings (although I DO like my ice cream every night which is probably more of an indulgence than a craving!), I’ve felt great, and up until the last few weeks, I haven’t even gained any weight. I’m hoping that this easy going pregnancy continues over the remaining weeks and months!

Nobody Knows Anything

by Mike

Welcome to the maiden voyage. Yes, this is our first kid, but I was actually (and selfishly) referring to my first blog entry. I’ve occasionally considered a blog but never followed through. I don’t consider myself uninteresting, but up until now I haven’t had that niche passion that I feel is the key ingredient to a successful blog. Gardening, local politics, hiking – potentially mundane topics until you’re looking for tips on organic pesticide, a breakdown of Prop 23 or where not to be eaten by a bear – then you’re ever grateful for the prolific freaks out there.

But – to those of you who have found your way to reading this, the future of our child is a passion. I’m assuming you’re either (a) (mostly likely) a pending grandparent of this child (b) family of some sort (c) a procrastinating friend (d) severely misdirected by Google or if none of the above, then (e) sorta weird. Welcome all. Even you, weirdo.

Because I have neither advice nor experience to share at this point, for my first post I thought I’d simply share a few thoughts.

Thought #1 – I can only assume I’ll be a good dad. I don’t think anyone ventures into parenthood under the assumption they’ll ultimately fail. I don’t know if I’ll be a great dad, I’ll certainly strive for it and expect I will have my moments of greatness – a well timed hug, showing up with surprise ice cream (strikingly similar to qualifications for the Hall of Great Husbands) – but I’m sure I will fail from time to time as well. Either way, I’m guessing a big part of the game is dusting yourself off and getting back on that horse.

Even if the horse keeps pooping on you when you’re down.

Thought #2 – I hope my child grows to understand basic etiquette on airplanes. I started writing this on a plane where it’s apparent that air travel ties jury duty for most cross-sections of humanity gone awry. But if they've learned to be patient, help people with their bags and share the armrest – they’ve probably done okay in life.

Thought #3 – William Goldman’s famous quote about Hollywood is “Nobody knows anything”. I can only imagine that this will apply to parenting far more often than I want it to.

For those of you who will be tuning in regularly, you’ll probably notice that Marnie will be the play-by-play and I’ll be the color commentary. Or another way to look at it, she’s better at the details that are actually important where I just like to screw around. Thanks for reading.