15 Week Appointment

I finally had my appointment. They took me back as soon as I arrived. That was nice. I was in and out in about 45 minutes!

I have gained 3 pounds since my last appointment- 5 weeks ago (when I had lost a little). So I am now 1 pound heavier than I was when I went for my first appointment at 4 weeks. Apparently that is fine, but I'll admit it bugs me just a little. I can thank my husband for that. He has told me that I am not eating enough and that our baby is probably malnourished. He was joking, of course (I promise), but I'll admit I had a dream the night before my appointment where my doctor told me that exact thing. Joking or not, his comment kinda stuck in my head. But, let me tell you, the comment he made has been far from the worst thing I have heard from people so far. I'll spare you all that comment. Anyway, I guess my little Love-Bug is just burning all my calories. I eat when I am hungry and I suppose that is all a girl can do.

I got to hear my baby's heartbeat again. Damon did not go to this appointment. He was working. I decided I would record the heartbeat on my phone to play back to him later, but he called right as we were about to take a listen, so I put him on speaker-phone and he was able to listen in. I am so glad he was able to hear the live version.

My baby's heart rate caught me by surprise. At our ultrasound appointment (10 weeks) the heart rate was 176bpm. I was expecting it to be in the 160's this time. Apparently I was anticipating the high 160's too, because when she said that the heart rate was 154bpm I was truly shocked. I had to ask her twice, because Damon and I have both had it in our heads that this baby is going to be a girl, and 154bpm flashed a bold BOY in my head.

I know you can't predict a baby's gender based on wives' tales, but it is fun to just see what they "predict". At 176bpm we predicted girl- even the doctor. I think that is how the seed was planted in my mind. Damon has always predicted girl, but when I saw my ultrasound, I was thinking boy the whole time. Somewhere between that appointment and this one I changed my mind to girl. Tammy, the nurse at my doctor's office, said she still feels it's a girl, despite the much lower heart rate, because the heartbeat sounded like a washing machine. This one I have never heard, but she clarified that wives' tales predict that washing machine heartbeats are girls and hoof beats are boys. Who knew? It was funny because about that time my little washing machine turned into a galloping horse. I couldn't hold in my laughter. It was just too funny. Dr. Bolton says that all babies have both heart rhythms, just that each gender tends to have one more often. So, if we are going on wives' tales I guess I am still predicting a girl, but I am really excited to find out what we are having because I think it could be a toss-up. I mean, as I have said before, how can a heart rate or heart rhythm predict the sex of a baby? I guess we will just have to wait and see.

We go back on April 23rd to find out what we are having! Let the countdown begin.
Okay- I already have a countdown- it's 33 days away!