The Adventures of the Tader Tot's

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

And is this corner, weighing in at…

So we went to the doctor and got a split decision on the genders. We were able to see one and he is pretty feisty. (It’s a boy) He was kicking and spinning and throwing punches. The other just kind of hung out and had a nice grip on the umbilical cord as well. So much so that it was right between the legs, thus preventing any gender id. I think it’s a girl. The funny thing about her, was when the boy started punching, she started punching back. It was pretty funny to watch, sort of like rock’em, sock’em robots. Then we were looking at the boy again and had a bottom up view, then out of nowhere you got to see a foot come over and kick him right in the butt, literally.
So the boy’s heart rate was 137 and the other was 154. Everyone was telling us that the girls have a higher heart rate and that we probably do have the one boy and one girl we were hoping for. It doesn’t really matter as long as both tots and M are healthy. (Secretly a girl wouldn’t be all that bad) So I went out on the internet to see if the heart rate theory was true. Apparently it is not, but I think in this case it is. Here are some other disturbing myths and their realities I was able to find.

Myth: Carrying your baby "high" means you will have a boy; carrying "low" means you will have a girl.
Reality: Lots of factors go into how you look when you are pregnant, including the age of the fetus as well as their position, size, and the mother's overall body shape. If she is short waisted, for example, her pregnancy may look different from a woman who is long waisted. But nothing about the shape has to do with the baby's sex, says Leipzig.
Myth: Suspending a gold ring from a string over a pregnant woman's belly can predict the sex depending on the way it swings -- back and forth for a boy, in a circular motion for a girl.
Reality: "There is nothing about the gender of a baby that will influence the pull of gravity. But some folks believe that, much like a Ouija board, the direction the ring swings may be influenced by the thoughts of the person holding the string -- and they will always be right 50% of the time," says Bartholomew.
Myth: If the hair on your legs grows faster during pregnancy it's a boy; if it grows slower, it's a girl.
Reality: The logic here is that because testosterone may influence hair growth, carrying a boy -- who would ostensibly have more testosterone than a girl -- will do the same. Masch says it's untrue. "There isn't enough hormone present in a fetus to have any significant hormonal impact on the mother's body, let alone cause the hair on her legs to grow," she says.
Myth: If you crave sour or salty foods, it's a boy; sweets, it's a girl.
Reality: Although doctors aren't totally sure what causes a woman to crave certain foods during pregnancy, most universally agree the baby's sex isn't one of them. "There is nothing about carrying a boy or a girl that would influence a woman's taste buds," says Masch.
Myth: If a pregnant woman's urine is a dull color, it's a girl; if it's a bright color, it's a boy.
Reality: "The only thing that influences the color of a pregnant woman's urine is how much fluid she consumes -- if she's a little dehydrated, it will be a darker color; if she's drinking a lot of water, it will be lighter," says Bartholomew.


Another "myth" slipped under the medical microscope: The Draino test. In this instance, the long-standing legend dictates that mixing a pregnant woman's urine with the at-home plumbing product Draino will result in color changes that correspond to sex prediction. As early as 1982, an informal medical school study, reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association, showed this method was no more reliable than flipping a coin. More recently, a study reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 1999 found similar results.

"What's really important to note here is that a pregnant women should not be playing around with Draino -- it's dangerous and it could cause some potentially serious skin injuries," says Masch.

Here’s where I found the article from WebMD:
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52367

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Election/Gender Day, Hopefully...

Doctor’s appointment today, mother in laws b-day and Election Day, It’s going to be a busy day. At least I get to leave work early and my client is closed for Election Day. I wish we got Election Day off. It should be a National Holiday as it is very important day in this country. Alright, before this blog takes a dramatic turn towards politics, let’s get back to the tots.

The doctor’s appointment should be really exciting. I hope we get a good look at the tots and hopefully we can see the genders. I am trying not to get too excited as I was really let down last time. I felt like I got ripped off on the last visit. We are with her real doctor and she never rushes us. Hopefully that trend continues and we have a good visit. I would love to see something that tells us because it will open a whole new set of things for me to do around the house and mostly in the nursery. I would love nothing more than to have a reason to stay in and work on the nursery instead of getting out and picking up the rest of the sticks in the yard.

M’s worried because she has the flu shot to take at the visit. Kroger would sell her the shot but would not inject it into her arm. Who knows why, I guess the lawyers told them not too. Oh well, if all else fails I will give it to her. I have definitely given her plenty of shots and have no fear about sticking her with one more needle. The M has the RH shot, I think either this time or the next visit, not really sure. I am trying to remember all the things to talk about. Hopefully everything goes smoothly and I’ll have good news to report. I have reminded my Mom to keep her cell phone on for her to get the news first. Then M’s mom gets the news and I think it would be pretty cool to tell her on her Birthday.

I will report back after the visit, in the mean time, get out and vote. I don’t care who you vote for, just vote.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Baby Updates

In news of the baby, M’s is progressing pretty well. She has not had any real physical issues since the back pain. No morning sickness and just a little trouble sleeping. I know that will change and I’ll have to try and make sure I am not being a big jerk and listening more to her. We have another doctor visit coming up and I am hoping we are able to see the sexes of the tots. I know…I know it’s not sex, its gender. Whatever, it’s not that big a deal. If you have been reading this blog, then you know I have some grammar issues that were never solved in school. Even though I type it in the Word program, even that can’t help me sometimes. (side note: it tells me the last sentence is a fragment, who cares)

The tots are growing pretty good. I have talked to them a few times. It’s really hard to get alone time with them right now.  (It’s a joke, laugh for crying out loud.) Trying to read my books to stay up on what’s happening with M and the tots. I feel like I am doing pretty well. I have been doing lots around the house. Someone told M, it was because I am nervous about the arrival of the tots. I don’t really think that is the case. I feel like she does most of the work in carrying the tots, the least I could do is work to make sure everything is ready when they arrive.

The name game seems to be a silent touchy issue still. We are maintaining our silence still. Actually we haven’t picked any names because we don’t know the genders yet. (I got it right, thank you very much) Once that happens we will have a lot things to discuss. In regards to the name, we are debating on whether we want to leak fake names and surprise everyone with different ones or just keep our vow of silence going. I vote silence, seems sort of dishonest to leak fake names.

In work news, have traveled a little in the past 2 weeks and I will probably only have one more day trip before the end of the year. My boss wants my coworker and me to remain in the office to prepare for the upcoming busy time. This is fine for me; I love to travel but also want to be home for M if she needs me. I do have a trip that I am tentative on for the end of February. Seeing how everything is going before I commit. I certainly do not want to be in NJ if M needs me at home. Should be fine but it’s a ways off before deciding.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Nursery News

I have been putting in time working on the nursery and I think it is starting to take shape. I finished the crown molding and painted it. M didn’t think it needed painted but I thought it would look better so I did. We painted the base boards back to white. Why they painted them green before us I will never know. Other notables for the nursery are:

- added the cubes for the built in
- added extra bar to hang clothes in the closet
- finished painting the book shelf
- taped off area for the “wonderful graffiti”
- started laying out the floor plan of where the two cribs are going.

All in all it has been going fairly good. I also finally got a toolbox. Now I can stop playing the game where I yell, from another room, “Where the hell is my tape measure?” Nothing frustrates me more than holding a tool, using it, going to the garage to get something and coming back and not being able to find the tool I just had. I really think the cats move it on me. Ok, so I forget where I laid them down but I have to blame someone.

Josh and Erin were over Saturday night and Josh helped me with the work bench I was building. He had the screws I should have bought in the first place. It looked good but we felt it was too wide, so Sunday morning I tore it apart and re-built it with a little less width. Just need to top it off with some plywood and we are in business. Actually think it looks pretty good.