13 weeks

Jelly Bean is 13 weeks old. He’s about the size of a peach, about 2.6 to 3.1 inches.

It was last Monday that I got the call from the genetic counselor about the CVS results. I was sitting in a meeting at work, and I saw that I missed a call from an unknown number. I had a feeling it was them, even though it was a few days earlier than expected. Then I saw that they left a voicemail message. I started to get excited because I know they only leave a message if it’s good news – otherwise they try to call back later. I checked my messages and sure enough, the genetic counselor said she had  good news to report. I called her back, and she said the test results were all normal. I started crying and she asked me if I was ready to find out the sex. She told me it was a boy. I can’t deny that I had a twinge of disappointment, but I was so happy that everything was OK. I called E.B. and since I was bawling I made sure to say immediately that I had good news.   (Most people know this but when you’re pregnant, your hormones make you very emotional. A week or so ago we were watching a movie on  DVD and there was a preview for a movie about the Arctic (kinda like March of the Penguins) and there were 2 baby polar bears playing and it made me cry.) Obviously E.B. was happy to hear the good news.

That night after work I had to go to Target to get some underwear that would fit me, and I couldn’t resist going to the infant section. I bought newborn size pajamas with dinosaurs all over it. I look at it every day and imagine a little baby boy in them. We’re excited that our baby boy will be growing up with our good friends’ baby, Peyton. He’s 8 months old and is one of the cutest babies ever.

I’m back to not sleeping well, but I’m trying not to stress about it or fight it too much.

It’s a boy!

More later, but I just wanted to post that the CVS results were all normal, and our baby has a healthy little Y chromosome!

Of course there’s a Baby Pool !!!

I am amazed at how many friends — these are people who have known me for years, mind you — have asked me if there is going to be a baby pool.  So, in the most official capacity available to me – here on our blog – let me say, OF COURSE THERE IS A BABY POOL.  In fact, here it is: the Bean-Berg baby pool:

$5 per entry, multiple entries allowed.  You have to guess the date and time of birth, the weight of the baby, and the sex of the baby.  You can also make a non-pool guess — no money — just for bragging rights later (but don’t come crying to me empty-handed when you could’ve won the whole enchilada but for risking five little dollars).  The top score will get 50% of the pool, then 30% and 20% for the next two best.

The scoring is as follows: each entry starts at 100 points.  You lose 1 point per hour that your time-of-birth guess is wrong.  You lose 5 points per ounce that your birth-weight guess is wrong, and then there’s a big minus 50 points if you guess the sex wrong.  I’ll be really impressed if the winning score is above 50, but I’d like to at least see a positive score win it.

The due date is October 19th (if you pick Halloween or later, sorry, but we’ll be rooting VERY hard against you!)  We will take entries through next weekend (April 14th) then the following week we will announce the sex of the baby (see “Waiting for Results” blog post below).  You can post pool entries here on the blog (in comments), or email them to me or to Jean.

166 bpm

We went to see the OB this morning. We did not get an ultrasound but we listened to JB’s (aka Jelly Bean) heartbeat. It sounded nice and strong and was 166 bpm. It was a bit of a relief that all looks good 1 week after the CVS.

JB is 11 1/2 weeks old. Some info about this age: “The crown-to-rump length of your developing child is 1.75 to 2.4 inches. The weight of the fetus is approximately 8 grams at this point. The growth of your baby is phenomenal now and your baby’s length will double in the next three weeks. The head is grossly out of proportion and is almost half of the baby’s length. This is the last week of the embryonic period. From now on, your baby will be called a fetus. Your baby’s fingernails appear this week! Your baby’s ears are gradually moving from the neck towards the sides of his head. Inside of your baby’s abdomen, the intestines are developing.At the size of a plumb, your baby is now able to swallow. The urinary system functions. The baby swallows and urinates the amniotic fluid and the fluid is continually replaced. The baby is kicking but the mother cannot feel it yet. All vital organs are formed and, for the most part, function normally.”

My sleeping is getting a bit better (i.e. the muscle spasms are getting better). I still get some nausea; that should last for about 3 more weeks.