Old Wives Tales

As promised, here are what the old wives tales say about my symptoms:

1. Citrus fruit and chocolate cravings suggest... Girl!

2. Carrying out front suggests... Boy!

3. Heartbeats consistently over 140 suggest... Girl!

4. Minimal weight gain/ shape change in the face suggests... Boy!

5. Back and forth pendant swings over my hand and circular swings over my stomach suggest... Boy!

6. Carrying low suggests... Boy!

7. Young looking grandma-to-be suggests... Girl!

8. Hair- free husband suggests... Boy!

9. No morning sickness suggests... Boy!

10. Daddy-to-be gaining weight suggests... Girl!

The old wives tales lean towards Boy, 6 votes to 4.
Votes in the blog comments are unanimous... 5 Boy!
The baby pool that they are running here at work is leaning the other way, though! 8 girl to 6 boy so far.

Whichever one we get will be great... we can't wait!!!!!!

One month to go!

According to the blog's countdown clock, we have roughly 30 days left to wait. Officially, the due date is May 28th, but there is always the possibility of something happening before then. Thankfully, once Jennie and I finish our class tomorrow at the hospital, we'll be certified baby delivery experts and everything will go exactly as planned ( ... or so I hope).

Nesting

Not me, but Mike! Other than the day that I HAD to clean the shower from top to bottom, I haven't been motivated (or had the energy) to do much of anything. Mike, however, has been very busy! He always likes to keep the house clean, but he was on a mission this past weekend!

Even when he said he was too tired and lacking in motivation, he cleaned and organized the garage. He was busy hanging chairs and mops and such on the walls for quite a while. I thought that would be the extent of his efforts for the day, but he went inside and vacuumed the house from top to bottom and STILL wasn't done!

Thanks to his energy burst, we now have the stroller, car seat, and high chair all assembled! I think Mike had a good time putting it all together because it gave him an opportunity to be involved in the preparation. It was fun to watch him put it all together... I think it is getting as real for him as it is for me! This baby is really coming soon! It was sweet to see the Daddy side of Mike. I can't wait to see him in action, finally!

Our e-wedding album, revisited

Browsing through the visitor stats for the last day or so, I've noticed that the wedding album hosted on my other blog has been getting some traffic.  Kind of a surprise, considering how long ago I had placed it online.  So, for anyone who missed seeing the album the first time around, here it is again:

Boy or Girl?

Just because we have chosen to wait until delivery to find out if this is a boy or girl doesn't mean we aren't having fun speculating! Every time I think I have it figured out, someone will tell me about another "Old Wives Tale" that suggests the opposite of what I was thinking. Here are my results on a few of the things I have heard... please leave a comment on your guess for the gender! I'll post what the tales suggest in a few days, so make your best guess!

1. I crave fruit more than anything... especially oranges and orange juice! Chocolate has also been high on my radar!

2. I have carried the baby straight out in front for most of the pregnancy... only within the last little while have I gotten any wider!

3. The heartbeat has never been under 144 bpm at any of the appointments... 158, 158, 148, 148, 152, 144...

4. My face has not really changed shape at all, but I look like I am in the middle of puberty again (how fair is it that I have to have acne with everything else?)

5. If I hang a pendant over my hand, it swings back and forth. If I hang it over my stomach, it swings in circles.

6. I am carrying very low.

7. My Mom's hair is NOT gray!

8. My husband is not hairy!

9. I did not have any morning sickness.

10. Mike has put on some weight during the pregnancy.

We want names for the baby…

...blog, that is. While "Michael & Jennie Harke's Blog" adheres to the strict rules of the English language, it isn't the catchiest thing around.

Basically, this site is about Jennie and I. Judging from the content of the posts, however, I suppose it is really about the baby. So, time to scrap "Michael & Jennie Harke's Blog" for something more family-friendly.

Personally, I like "For a baby, by at least one baby", but I'm sure the eye-rolling collective (possibly including you, the reader) disagrees. So help a desperate web monkey out and leave a comment with a better name. Thank you.

Oh, and sorry ... the names for baby are still safe and securely hidden.

P.S. As a general rule, my posts are not to be taken seriously. So, if you don't understand what I'm rambling about in this post (like my readers from Texas), pretend I'm typing all of this with a stupid grin on my face.

Handmade baby gifts

Most people know I am pretty crafty, so it goes without saying that I love handmade items. Some of my most favorite gifts we have received are the ones that our friends and family have made for us. Take a look at how special each gift is... we have some VERY talented friends and family!

Belly shots

I went to the doctor today for a regular checkup, so today is as good as any to give an update on how I look! As requested by Mike's Mom, here are some pictures of the growing stomach! The first was taken just prior to Christmas, a couple of weeks after I started to show, and the latest was taken today!

The checkup went well, and I got some very interesting news... if I go into labor anytime after next Monday, they will not try to stop it! Also, as I suspected last night (based on locations of baby hiccups and some swift munchkin kicks), the baby is now head down!!!! He or she is already getting ready to be born... the question is whether we are really ready ourselves!?!?

Nursery in progress… nearly ready!

We have been collecting baby stuff for several years and it is nice to have a place to put everything! In January we bought a crib and a glider and had a good time putting together all of the pieces. Since then, we have been working on a sponged animal border and other wall decorations. My friend Amy has been very generous and given us all kinds of baby toys and clothes. She even gave us a changing table! The room is really starting to look cozy for the baby... now we just need the tiny occupant to arrive!

Baby on the way!

We're finally coming into the home stretch! We are less than 2 months from the due date and we are so excited! It is hard for us to imagine that the baby has gone from what we saw on the ultrasound in October:



to what we saw in January:



and then some!

We had a 3D ultrasound done in February and got to see the face as well!

We can't wait to meet the little one that has been the focus of our attention for so many months!