A bone to pick with "Them"

They say each pregnancy is unique. They also say if the heart rate is high, it’s a girl. They also say that if you carry low it’s a boy. They also say that in your second trimester you’ll have loads and loads of energy.

Well I’ve got a bone to pick with “them”. Last night, I fell asleep at 8:45, I couldn’t even stay awake to find out whodunit on my favorite Tuesday night crime drama (It was the PI, in case you were watching – didn’t see that coming) My first trimester was much like the first few weeks of carrying Norah – dead-dog tired, nausea only if I didn’t eat every couple of hours, and then, as if by magic, at week 11, I felt like a million bucks! Well this time, I’m here to tell you that at 16.5 weeks, I feel more like a quarter, you know, 25 cents, than a cool Mil.

I’m still exhausted (see above), I have headaches at some point most days, and while I don’t puke, thoughts of my stomach are never far away (and not in a good way either) and I’ve been having back pain that I didn’t experience last time until near the end. Now, there are a few things that are different this time around… we have Norah, for one. She’s quite independent overall, but let’s face it; she’s only 2 and needs a lot from me still. I have work to do, for another. Yes, it’s true that I was employed the last time I was pregnant, but I was caught in somewhat of a reorganizational vortex for most of my pregnancy, so my actual responsibilities during that time were fairly limited. The down side of that was that I wasn’t sure I was actually going to have a job to come back to, which is definitely not the case this time. I have loads of work to do, with some more just piled on this week… I have deadlines during my planned maternity leave that I’m going to need to figure out how to address. (Here in the US, since maternity leave is so short, they don’t hire a replacement, they just hobble along, one mom down, until you get back)

On the other hand, last time we tore out two walls (one interior, one exterior), build a deck, and totally gutted and rebuilt our kitchen – surely that had to be a lot of work and stress, even though Matt did all the heavy lifting.

Taking all information into account as well as my own gut feeling, I’m going to guess that we’re having a boy! (even though the heartrate would indicate otherwise) I have mixed emotions about this, having never been one myself, but I’m sure as with most things parenting related, we’ll figure it out as we go along. As long as he’s healthy and happy, I am happy to figure it out! With Norah, we didn’t find out if she was going to be a girl or a boy until she arrived, and in fact Matt as so convinced that she was a he that I had to convince him to choose a girls name only 2 weeks before she arrived! This time around, we’re going to find out, next week in fact.

Anyone else care to hazard a guess?