boy v girl: a comparison of two pregnancies

most importantly, can we just all agree that regina spektor is the greatest thing ever? except for the fact that her name is regina. also, i realize i'm a few years late jumping on the bandwagon, but guys, one of those years doesn't count since i had no access to radio and my internet was too slow to stream anything.

regina.

seriously, what were her parents thinking?

anyway, i can't stop listening to 'samson'. over, and over, and over, and over.... it's the number one song on my birthing playlist.

heck yes. i have a birthing play list and as of right now it only consists of 5 songs.

which brings me to the next thing.

truffles.

chocolate truffles rolled in cocoa.  i saw some in costco today and had an immediate and insanely intense craving.  but then i saw that it was $12 for a bag, and i thought to myself, "what the absurdity costco?" i can make those myself. and so i did.  and now i'm sitting here eating the batter with a spatula.

which brings me to the next thing.

birth.

yikes. that word is really freaking me out lately, despite having a fantastic experience birthing reese.

and just to put it out there, i'm attempting {attempting being the key word} to go natural. as in, no epidural.

more on that later.

and so i sit here, 6 days away from estimated d-livery-day, so beyond ready to be able to wear more than just those 4 shirts that still fit, yet not quite so sure i'm ready for him to make his grand debut quite yet.  i think i'm still in denial that a brand new human will be coming to our home.

my brand new human, no less.

in fact, i still have yet to pack my hospital bag despite there being, uh.... progress down there. it's my little way of making myself believe that the birth is somewhere far in the future. foolish, i know.  somehow it makes me feel safer, less scared of what lies ahead.

i hate the smell of hospitals.

too bad being a parent happens to be the greatest thing ever.

anyway, because in future pregnancies i know i'll wish i could recall all the little differences between having a boy and girl, i wanted to write down a little comparison.  just to see if there are any consistent reactions according to gender in the remainder of my pregnancies.  because yes, checkout lady at fred meyer, we are still planning on having more kids despite having "our girl and boy".

so here we go...

pregnancy with girl
felt like i had a slight flu with major bloating within the first week of conceiving.  lasted 3 days.
all day nausea and dry heaving from 6-13 weeks
bright red spotting from 6-11 weeks
things that especially made me want to sit over the toilet: meat, apples, garlic, alfredo/cream sauces, most veggies, and anything to do with christmas.
foods i couldn't get enough of: fruit, ice-cream, smoothies, taco time's veggie burrito, lucky charms, cinnamon toast crunch, cherry rainbows from paces, and milk.
carried low.
victoria secret effect was very apparent.
super emotional.
no swelling, despite the summer 3rd trimester
slept great entire pregnancy, only had extreme fatigue for the first trimester
no digestive problems
dark line on belly started appearing by 10 weeks

pregnancy with boy
felt slightly nauseous in the morning for 3 days in a row within first week of conceiving. also had diarrhea that lasted same 3 days.
all day extreme nausea and dry heaving from 6-18 weeks
only spotted red once at 4 weeks
things that especially made me want to sit over the toilet: lemon bars, mangoes, chicken, being anywhere near a garbage can, fridge, or sink {i basically couldn't step in a kitchen for 4 months. my poor family.} pretty much all food excluding cereal and candy for the first 4 months, the internet - particularly blogging. so weird, i know.
foods i couldn't get enough of: candy {never been a candy person before but gobstoppers were pretty much the best things ever}, prime rib, top ramen, ice-cream, mexican and thai
carried low
victoria secret effect not quite as much as with first pregnancy
not really much more emotional than normal
quality of sleep lower than normal
extreme fatigue 3rd trimester
ankle swelling during 2nd trimester {the summer}
*heartburn
*constipation and its' beloved cohort that starts with an h and may end with a roid. can't believe i just wrote than on the internet for all to read.  it is what it is.  pregnancy is so glamorous.
dark line on belly started appearing around 30 weeks

1st time around, 39 weeks pregnant with girl:

2nd time around, 39 weeks pregnant with boy {excuse the incredible picture quality}:

yup. pretty much the same looking.  which makes sense, seeing as i've gained the exact amount of weight both times.

and there you have it. boy v girl.

now it's just playing the waiting game. wish me luck!





*i was having a lot of problems with these symptoms until i started drinking herbal red raspberry leaf tea around 34 weeks. since then, all symptoms have disappeared. boo yah. i'm a believer. we'll see how it works in labor...