(and you don’t throw a fit…)
Yesterday we had our “anatomy scan” ultrasound. We saw that all of the fingers and toes were accounted for.
The heartbeat looked strong.
The ultrasound technician took a look between the baby’s legs to see that everything was okay, but we closed our eyes for that part. (We kept our eyes closed for a while… apparently baby was keeping the legs crossed.)
Yeah… we’re not finding out the gender. That seems to be a hard one for people in this world to wrap their minds around these days. They look at me like I’m a freak when I respond that way. “But… how will you plan?”
How did anyone plan back in the “dark ages” when people couldn’t do that? You just get a bunch of gender-neutral crap and on the kid’s birthday, the doctor announces the gender and you get what you get!
My sister-in-law commented a few weeks ago on my pregnancy update that she was kind of surprised we are going this way because I’m a control-freak. Okay, she didn’t say it like that… just mentioned that I like to plan. Which is true… not only do I plan too much, but I tend to overthink and overanalyze everything in my life.
But when it comes to this… I’m kind of indifferent.
My husband was pretty adamant that it remain a surprise. And since that’s one of the few things that he’s actually expressed an opinion on during this pregnancy thus far, I wasn’t going to fight him. Nor did I really have any fight in me on that topic. Cause like I said… you get what you get.
Plus I have no desire to go all crazy gender-specific in either direction anyway. This seems more practical to me.
However, I do have to go back in two weeks for another ultrasound. My amniotic fluid measured low, right at the very bottom of the acceptable range. The doctor told me to drink a lot more because there was the possibility I’m dehydrated, even though I’ve been downing the water like crazy. I even got an app, Water Your Body, to try tracking it but apparently I’m still (maybe possibly) not drinking enough? Even though I now pee clear?
After the appointment my husband told me to “act like a mother” and take care of the baby. He was kidding, he said it playfully. But it did scare me… I was planning to go for a run in the afternoon and I didn’t because of this. I Googled… the most frightening thing that you could do when you have any kind of health concern. I encountered all kinds of stories of women being checked into hospitals regularly during their pregnancies for IV hydration, people put on bed rest, etc. I don’t want that!
I’m not quite sure what to do. My midwife didn’t bring up my weight at all this visit, but now I’m wondering if I’m still below normal for weight gain (meaning that a few weeks ago I had not gained anything yet) and if that could be having an affect. I emailed her after I came to that conclusion to ask… still waiting on her verdict.
I obviously don’t want to do anything to harm the baby, so that made me a little nervous. I had just started back into running and yoga this past week and got scared thinking my increased physical activity was causing this problem as well. I just second-guess myself and start to fret.
So instead, have a look at my kid’s foot:
PS – Fret is a funny word. Fret, fret, fret… it gets weirder each time I say it.
Jill Will Run 
I have two kids and didn’t find out either time. It was the best decision I made. When they announce “it’s a …” It was true excitement at that very moment and I will never forget it! For us it was a boy and then a girl.
Thanks for sharing! Most people that I know who have waited said it was great… I just think so many people can’t wrap their head around the idea now. The ultrasound tech said it’s really prominent in the girls who are in their early 20’s that come in. It’s almost like “You can do that? Wait? Huh?”
Drink and eat different (in addition to water) to keep you hydrated
1. Watermelon (or any melon for that matter)
2. Coconut water
3. Pedilyte (less sugar and you will need this for little one in the future)
4. Leafy greens
I am wondering if you are lower in potassium and electrolytes. That’s common with low amniotic fluids. I had that issue.
More and more parents are waiting. Those who get gender specific stuff are just a little control freaky for me. A gender specific baby stroller? How will the kid know? ::shakes head::
Do what you know is best for YOU. You know your body best. Trust yourself.
My doc said that maybe I should drink Gatorade… I decided to sip on nuun! I kind of wondered about electrolyte levels after she said I needed to hydrate even more. I have been trying to have a green smoothie each day too, so there’s hydration from that.
I see pictures people have posted on Pinterest of these gender-specific nurseries, ones that look like pepto-bismol throw-up all over the room and I can’t fathom that. Even if I knew I was having a girl, I might keep it a secret so I didn’t get 8000 little frilly girly things! Blech!
Thank you… sometimes trusting myself is hard when this all feels so foreign!
I just have to say “aawwwww, that’s a cute foot!!” at that last one! Cute little nose and hand, too.
Good for you that you’re waiting to find out the gender….No way I could do it, but I admire those that can. I have 3 boys.
My youngest is about to turn 14, and I still have their ultrasound pics. I miss those little tiny feet….
Anyway, I also thought it was funny that GE now puts their logo in the top left corner of the sonogram pics! Here’s to product placement 🙂
LOL! I didn’t even notice the product placement! I’m going to stamp over it with my JillWillRun logo. 😉
It’s a sign of the times..:)
i love that you aren’t finding out. if i had a kid, i would try to not-find out too! i just think that added suspense makes it funner. i also don’t understand why people get super gender-specific when buying their baby supplies… i had a friend register for all pink stuff and i just thought to myself, “what if you have a boy as your 2nd child? are you going to re-register for a carseat, bouncy-chair-thing, etc?”
i firmly believe that exercise is OK during pregnancy (again, in my TOTALLY NOT EXPERIENCED opinion, haha) but I also know that for some people their body / bloodwork levels / the baby just can’t deal with it. hopefully these levels were just temporary/a fluke and you will still be able to do some sort of workout (walking, yoga, something) — i know you would go crazy if you were told you couldn’t!
I know exercise is okay… and I would go crazy if they told me to not exercise. I just also went a little crazy when they indicated there could be a potential problem! But I got over it and went for a run yesterday… I’m slower, but who cares?! I’m running!
Ick… all pink stuff. GAG!
Don’t freak out too much about the amniotic fluid levels. It was at the low end of NORMAL. That’s still normal! It’s just at one end of the bell curve. (My girls were both in the 5th percentile or below for height/weight as babies…but they were both always completely healthy. It never stopped doctors from freaking out a little bit, but it was never a problem.) Just keep doing what you’re doing–hydrating, getting rest, exercising as you feel up to it, and listening to your body. As a runner, you are already experienced at that, so you have a head start.
I don’t think it’s weird that you are waiting to find out if you’re having a boy or girl! I think it’s your baby and you get to do what you want. We found out both times because we wanted to, but I can totally understand not doing so. And even though we knew both times we were having a girl, we still stuck with gender-neutral baby stuff as much as possible. I’m not a frilly girly-girl person myself, and I know that those ultrasounds aren’t infallible. Actually, we never had a nursery for Annalie–she slept with us in our room/bed till she was 15 months, and Elliora didn’t have a nursery till she was almost a year old. They do actually let you buy baby stuff AFTER the baby is born. 😉 Who knew!?
This comment brought me an immense amount of comfort. You’re right, it was still at the normal range. Doctors like to scare people. My friend had a doctor approach her like it was the most awful news in the world that her girls were in the bottom percentiles on height. It was like, “I’m not sure how to tell you this…” But my friend doesn’t even top 5′! DUH! I might be more shocking if they were abnormally tall!
What a relief… I can buy stuff AFTER the kid is born?! Whew… I guess the carseat issue needs to be taken care of before hand… but a lot an wait. We’re not really approaching much of it until June anyway, once Kevin is wrapped with busy season!
We didn’t know the sex of our first baby until she was born. Back then they didn’t do ultrasounds unless it was necessary. I was so amazed that I actually gave birth that I forgot about the sex until they said “it’s a girl.”
We also had a lot of neutral baby things. We didn’t go with any gender specific decor (my daughter and son shared a room for a while) until my daughter finally had her own room and (at her expense and effort) painted her room Pepto-Bismol pink. It hurt my eyes to look at it. 🙂
I did a lot of swimming, yoga and walking for both of my pregnancies, but that was before I ever started running years later. Some people questioned my swimming, which surprised me since it’s what I did before I got pregnant and the midwife said it was ok. I’m not sure how I would have handled the running question. There’s a lot of different opinions about working out and being pregnant, but it’s definitely a good topic of discussion with your midwife/medical professional.
Take care.
So many great comments from much smarter people than me… so let me just say, your kid looks adorable! Love the foot! 🙂
I had to go back for a 2nd ultra sound w/ my first – they said her femors were measuring small. But when I went back all was well in the measurement department. I don’t know what to tell you with the weight other than – let yourself enjoy this time and eat what you crave and when you crave it! – you’ll get your body back!