It's a BOY!!!

And because everyone should see my son's penis in utero, here it is:



At first the doctor had some trouble seeing the goods. The baby was... erm... exploring its anatomy. When she saw that she said it's usually an indication of a boy. Shocking ; ) But after rolling the wand over my tummy for a while and taking some measurements of the head, arms, and legs, Bean seemed to get on board with what we were trying to do and moved his hands so that we were able to get the money shot! Definitely a boy!

Mark and I are so excited! The doctor said that everything looks good and is growing properly. We got to see a lot of movement today and could clearly see the fingers and toes. I was also informed that I have an anterior placenta, which basically means that the placenta is attached to the front of my uterus instead of the back. It's not an issue, but that's why I have yet to feel much (if any, still unclear about that!) movement! I wish I had known this sooner because I had been starting to worry that Bean wasn't moving around in there! Well, as we were able to see today he's doing plenty of moving I just can't feel it yet. Apparently it's normal for women with an anterior placenta to be a bit behind in feeling movement.

After our appointment we of course made a whole list of calls to important people and sent off plenty of texts with the big news. We had a nice lunch out together and then treated ourselves to some celebratory shopping!

We each picked out an outfit:

Guess who picked which outfit?

Here's a hint:

Of course Mark sought out the football related outfit.

And here's a close up of the darling little monkey footie on my pick:

And Mark was introduced to the wonderful world of baby stuff. He's amazed at how much gear is out there for babies and how expensive it is. It's kind of like planning a wedding all over again, but this time the prices are inflated because it's baby-related.

2 days 'til the big reveal!

We are less than 2 days away from finding out the sex of Baby McCarrell! I'm so excited it's all I can think about right now! I don't know how I'm going to be able to go another 20 weeks without meeting this little one once I know what we're expecting.

For the record - Mark feels like it's a boy. I have absolutely no idea, but I feel that I need to formulate an educated guess by appointment time.

Edit to add: Okay, my official prediction is boy! I don't know if Mark's guess has influenced me and I'm still not 100% sure, but this is my guess. I've been thinking about it all day today and on the drive home from work I realized that in a lot of my daydreams about when the baby is actually here it seems to be a boy, so that's what we'll go with.

17 weeks, 6 days Bump

So... I went to bed last night with a slightly swelling stomach and woke up today with this:


I went from not looking pregnant to looking quite pregnant. Such and odd thing this whole growing a human is. My bump has officially sprung overnight.

17 Weeks today!

According to TheBump: Average Fetus is 5.1 inches in length and weighs 5.9 ounces. Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

I had an OB appointment today. I have yet to gain any weight which is fine by me as I don't have much of a bump to speak of. I just kind of look especially chubby. Not a good place to be in, this in betweeness, but I'm sure my bump is just around the corner. Once I actually start to look pregnant I'll feel better about gaining any weight.

Bean's heartrate was 150 according to the doppler which is still in the girl range according to the old wives' tale which says above 140 is a girl, below 140 is a boy.

Also, we are supposed to have a girl based on the Chinese Gender Chart (yet another unscientific tool).

The good news is all of our questions will be answered in 3 short weeks! Our find out the sex appointment is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6th! And I'm so excited. Now, Bean had better cooperate by being an exhibitionist or I will be most disappointed!

What sex do you think the baby is? Vote in my poll. Please and thank you : )

OMG LIFE IS GOOD! (A guest post. By Mark.)

I would like to introduce our little bundle of joy. OK, it's not so little.

Yes, friends, that's right. I interrupt your deep, burning, literary, food and pregnancy discussions to gloat about my new treasure, Sanyo 42" HD TV!

Ahhh...... HD. So crisp, so clear, so.... WHOA WHAT'S THAT ON HIS FACE??!!!!! There are downsides to ultra-clear, 42-inch goodness in the form of over-the-hill newscasters and sports announcers.

(Oh, Bud Collins... You're a legendary announcer.... And you're freakin' SCARY IN HD!!!)

I know Steph will never say she loves it, but there's definitely some "like" there. I can see it. She's so enamored with the TV she doesn't read that much anymore. It's absolutely mesmerizing.... I now know how families felt in the '50s when they first saw TV. It's like a rebirth. I'm born again in the Church of the Higher Definition. May HD be with you... and also with you.

AND..... I'm soooooo excited for football season. Thursday night, Titans/Steelers, HD!!!! Then the big one Saturday night.... Buckeyes/USC!!!

Football + HD + Buffalo Chicken Dip = HEAVEN

Have there ever been so many "!!!!!" in one blog post! SQUEE!!!!!!

Gotta go, "Pawn Stars" marathon on HistoryHD is on!

Bountiful Harvests #s 3 & 4

2 medium tomatoes and 3 cherry tomatoes.




The good news is that there are 3 eggplants coming along. One that is quite big, but I'm not really sure how big it's supposed to get before you pick it. I'll give it some more time.

I'm Sick : (

I either have some demonic allergies or a nasty cold. Either way, I feel as though I'm dying.

I was just starting to feel better from all of the pregnancy malaise, but Mother Nature is not ready for me to rest comfortably. Ohhhh no.

Since Friday I have been coughing, sneezing, congested, coughing until I gag/vomit, feeling like I'm being smothered from said congestion, and therefore can't sleep. It has been a wonderous few days.

I finally broke down a took some Claritin which doesn't seem to be helping that much. Claritin is a Class B medication. Meds in this category have not been thoroughly tested on humans, but in animal testing have not been found to have any negative impact on an unborn fetus. Likewise, Class C meds are a no-no, and Class A meds have been proven safe. So, I was trying to struggle along without taking anything, but ended up taking something, but it didn't help. Yeah. That's kinda where I'm at.

I've also read that (like just about everything else apparently!) seasonal allergies can be positively or negatively affected by pregnancy. Clearly, mine have been negatively impacted as I've never had allergies this bad in my life. Throw in a fever and I'd swear that I have the flu. (Okay, please don't throw in a fever, I wouldn't be able to survive.)

In better news, I'm at 16 weeks today. Bean is the size of an avocado and ears are developed enough to start hearing sounds this week! I suppose this isn't the best week for poor Bean to start hearing things as I'm sure it'll get tired of me hacking and shaking things up in there! Also, we'll have to stop yelling at our dog to be quiet or the baby's first words will be NO, BELLE! STOP BARKING!

No movement yet, but everything I've read promises I should feel something soon!