Controversy

I swear I've written about this before, but I can't seem to find it...

What I am about to talk about is a very controversial topic related to having boys.

Circumcision, to do it or not to do it?

I know, without a doubt in my mind what I will do. (And Jamaal agrees).

In nursing school, our maternity instructor was very anti-circumcision. Circumcision, outside of religious beliefs, was promoted as a way to prevent infections later on in life. The foreskin must be pulled back and then cleaned to prevent infections and a lot of families were uncomfortable teaching this to their children. Our instructor pleaded with us not to do it simply for hygienic reasons.

I have a very un-scientific opinion on this topic. Judge me if you want. But uncircumcised penises look disgusting. Circumcised penises look cleaner and are more attractive, well as attractive as a penis can be. ;)

Okay so Jamaal and I have different reasons, but both end up at the same place: our son will be circumcised. 

Updates

On Thursday, my mom, Jamaal and I went to my 20 week ultrasound. I was nervous/excited getting ready for our appointment.

The ultrasound tech had to get measurements done before checking for gender. And, because the baby kept moving around, it took her about 45 minutes just to measure everything.

I was watching closely for malformations, but found none. From my perspective there appears to be no cleft lip or palate. I saw four chambers of a heart, beating regularly. There was no sign of gastroschisis. (The baby's guts were all inside the abdomen.) (BTW, the tech was a little shocked when, after she noted the stomach inside the abdomen, I said, "oh good, it doesn't have gastroschisis." She thought maybe a friend of mine had a baby with it recently. She told me to go home and read nothing medical. I told her I was a nurse, and it was too late for me.)

Then she said "You guys have a very wiggly little boy."  We then watched as he would not hold his legs still. Kick. Kick. Kick. She had a very hard time measuring his legs since he would not hold still. She said that he was going to be a little soccer player. It is amazing to me, that I can hardly feel him in there and yet he was kicking around so much. On the monitor, he looked like a full term newborn, when really he only weighs about 12 ounces right now.

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A doctor reviewed my ultrasound and discussed the results with my midwife. And on Monday I got a phone call from Angie (my midwife). The placenta is very close to my cervix. It is not a placenta previa, at this time. But it is very close to being over my cervix nonetheless. Because there is a risk of bleeding, and a risk of the placenta growing over the cervix more, she put me on pelvic rest.

I texted my mom and sister-in-law this yesterday (that the placenta was close to the cervix, and I was on pelvic rest) My sister-in-law asked if that meant I couldn't go to water aerobics. I responded: "I can. I don't orgasm at water aerobics, maybe you do. ;)" My mom called me shortly after to ask the same question. Since they both responded similarly it occurred to me that "pelvic rest" is not something that all people know what it means. Pelvic rest ultimately means that I cannot have intercourse, and can also not have an orgasm.

8 weeks of no sex or orgasm. It is going to be a rough 8 weeks. Not going to lie, I've cried about it. After 8 weeks, we will have a follow up ultrasound that will check where the placenta is. Angie told me that most of the time the placenta moves up on its own as the uterus grows.

Last night the little gummy bear was kicking like crazy. It felt as though he was flipping feet over head, and kicking the whole way. He was still doing it when we went to bed, so I had Jamaal feel, and he was able to feel him kick. I swear you can probably see it happen on the outside as well. He's got some powerful kicks for such a little man.

Belly shot

Here I am at 5 weeks. Pretty flat at this point.

Here I am at basically 12 weeks (11 weeks 6 days). There is a bulge there. I was starting to notice a bump at this point, but still fitting fine in all my clothes.

Here is 15 weeks.

Here is today, 17weeks and 4 days.

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I find myself touching my belly all the time. It is a subconscious act, most of the time. Sometimes I'm massaging my muscles that get sore here and there. But sometimes I'm trying to see if I can feel the baby move on the outside, so I can have Jamaal try to feel it. I've felt the baby move only a couple times. I've read somewhere that the baby is sleeping close to 20 hours a day, so it makes sense that it is difficult for me to feel the little gummy bear.  

Last night I had a dream that I could feel my babies shoulder, arm and hand. And SHE held my hand. That's right, the first dream where I actually felt like the baby was a girl. I cannot wait to find out for sure so I can start buying clothes and registering for things. Here is a countdown:

TMI to follow.

The Good.
I still am pretty much free of nausea. Ever so often I get a touch queasy, so I eat something and feel better. I work with several mamas, and pretty much all of them have had awful nausea. One girl would stare at her pantry looking for something to eat, because she was starving, but eventually she would lose her cookies just thinking about the food. Another girl would come to work, try to eat, and would always have a garbage can next to her, for the eventual regurgitation. Yet another would guzzle chocolate milk, then run to the toilet. She always wanted more chocolate milk, but could never keep it down.

I feel pretty guilty for having so little nausea. It actually makes me nervous as well, as if something is wrong with the baby. Whenever I feel like complaining, I remember that it could always be worse.

I am 10 weeks and 2 days along now. I have less than 5 weeks until my next appointment, which is super exciting. I didn't ask if there would be another ultrasound or not at this appointment, but if there is, we might get to find out the gender of this little gummy bear. There are mixed feelings out there, my family is rooting for healthy pink. I think Jamaal's mom would like a granddaughter since she has only sons, but Jamaal's brother wants a nephew.

Obviously we'll take what we get, and everyone is hoping for a healthy little bundle. But I keep thinking "Please let there be no penis." ;)

Today is Jamaal and my Anniversary. 1 year of marriage. 5 years together. 1 baby cooking. And I couldn't be happier. We laugh together daily (when we get to see each other). And still enjoy being around one another. :D

I bought Trophy cupcakes to celebrate. We will also try our wedding cake top, but since I wasn't sure how well it will taste, I wanted to have a back up. Jamaal loves the cupcakes. Yesterday he asked me what it was that they put in them, because they tasted so good. :D This is a dangerous thing, I do better when he doesn't like something, because I won't get it if he doesn't care for it. He loves them...so do I...cupcakes will be visiting our house again in the future.

Last night I made some banana bread, and it is pretty darn good. It tastes like Christmas. So when I taste it I think about how shortly after Christmas I'll get to meet the little gummy bear for the first time. :D It cannot come soon enough.

The Bad.

I am not without any symptoms. One of the worst ones is pretty bad constipation. I've been taking stool softeners, which helps a little, but I find that I have some diarrhea at times too. So I go between pretty bad constipation, followed by diarrhea. It's like I cannot win. I'm thinking of trying Senna (a laxative) to see if I can get things moving instead of softening. It's pretty gross. And unfortunate. But it's the price I pay for not being nauseated I guess.

I also have some lower back pain. It does not radiate down my legs or butt, so as of yet it isn't sciatica pain. But it is pretty bad. It twinges when I get up out of chairs sometimes. I find it is worse when I'm at work, which makes me think it is related to my stress level. I must be tensing up in a way that aggravates it. I really want to see a chiropractor to get it better controlled.

My girls have been causing mischief as well. Yesterday Jamaal mowed the lawn. On one side of our house, we have double fences. There is one at the front of the house and one at the back of the house. Jamaal left the one at the back of the house open, but the front one was shut. I went to let the girls in, and Bella was the only dog that came. I looked everywhere for Bacardi. I didn't know how she got out, since the front gate was shut. Jamaal came home while I was searching the backyard. I asked if he had seen Bacardi, and he said "no." I went out front and couldn't find her there either. I was beginning to panic.

Well, the husband had lied. He put her in the front seat of his car. He said "I can't believe you didn't see her there." I didn't see her because I didn't look there. I was a little upset with him for lying to me. I was really worried about her. She's cute. People might like to keep her for themselves. She also is pretty loving to most strangers eventually, so she might even not fight them. Or worse, she could get hit by a car, and get hurt, or killed.

The gate at the front of the house is a little bit short, so Bacardi just crawled out from under it. So, we shut the gate in the back of the house. Then this morning after I let the girls out, they didn't come when I called them to come in. I was smarter this time. I threw on a bathrobe (I had just gotten out of the shower) and went to the front yard and called for Bella and Bacardi. Bella was munching on something she found right next to the front of the house. My guess is cat poop. Blech. But again, Bacardi was nowhere to be found. I went inside to double check the backyard, and to wake Jamaal if she wasn't there. We were going to have to do a sweep of the neighborhood. Thankfully she's a smart cookie. When she heard me go to the front yard, she pretended like she never left the back yard. I'm no fool though. Both girls were in trouble. But I was thankful to have found them.

The Ugly.

Could I be pregnant with a girl? They say that girls steal their mother's beauty...and I'm breaking out a lot more than usual. It's not terribly bad but I sure don't feel very pretty.

My hair is also pretty dry and frizzy. It's frustrating. I'm sure it has something to do with the chlorine from water aerobics. It could also be that I haven't had my hair cut since March. I don't know when I'll be able to get in to get my haircut now, because I have plans most days this week.

What will it be?

I decided today to do a couple gender predictions. I'm certain we will have a boy. But according to the tests:

Chinese Gender Chart: Girl!

Madame Zaritska: an online "clairvoyant" where you answer questions and you'll get a prediction. Mine is the following:
The day you deliver, outside will be hazy. Your baby will arrive in the evening. After a labor lasting approximately 48 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and will be 22-1/2 inches long. This child will have dark amber eyes and barely there black hair.

For the other gender prediction tests, I'm not far enough along to answer completely honestly. So, I'll continue this later. :D