It Takes Two to Mango

Me and Mango are getting along splendidly.  I am consistently feeling very good, Mango is pretty set on kicking me at least once a day, and my bump is big enough to where I can easily feel it, though it's still not visible yet.  I've had a couple of moments this last week where I sat up from a reclined position without using my hands for support and thought, huh, that's getting harder...  The last time I went to the OB I thought it was so strange that she offered to help me sit up.  Now I get it.

Mango's movements are getting larger and in fact, last week, Seth was able to put his head on my bump and hear Mango moving around.  Mango can't be felt from the outside yet, but Seth said it sounded like little bubbles under water.  It was pretty cool.

This week, Mango is going to weigh half a pound!  I remember back when he/she only weighed .04 ounces.  Ah, they grow up so fast.  This week, Mango's big accomplishment is vernix caseosa (easy for you to say), which is a greasy white protective covering to keep his/her skin from looking too much like a prune.  One website I found likens the fetus at this stage to "a mango dipped in cheese".  Gross.

This is also the last week I'll have to type the annoying "he/she" pronoun, assuming Mango shows us the goods at our anatomy scan next week.  If anyone out there wants to share what they voted for in the gender poll, I'm curious to know.  I voted for boy, because the 3 dreams I've had about Mango so  far are always of a boy baby.  And I placed a boy vote for my niece, who assured my cousin that this baby is a boy.  What did you say?

Since it's our last week to speculate at the gender, I thought I'd see what the old wives' tales might predict:

• Carrying: If you're carrying high, it's a girl; if you're carrying low, it's a boy
• Well, I don't really know, since this is my first baby, and it's kinda early to say, isn't it?  I guess if I had to pick, I'd say low because I seem to always feel Mango maybe halfway between my navel and my pelvic bone.  So... boy?
• Heart beat: If it's over 140 bpm it's a girl; if it's less than 140 bpm, it's a boy
• This one is definitely girl for me.  Every ultrasound I've had so far, and every Doppler scan, it's been in the 160s.
• Cravings: If you're craving sweets, it's a girl; if you're craving salty, it's a boy
• This one has changed as of a few weeks ago.  In the first trimester I wanted Mexican food and spaghetti or some kind of pasta, which I guess I would classify as salty.  These days I'm enjoying chocolate and ice cream.  So, guess that one is a bust.
• Chinese Birth Chart: According to the internet, anyway, there's a prediction based on your age and the month you conceived.  
• This one says girl.
• Mayan Birth Chart: Since the world is going to end in 2012 according to the Mayans, I don't know why we'd listen to them, but apparently if your age at conception and the year of conception are both even or odd, it's a girl; if one is even and the other odd, it's a boy.
• Chalk this one up for girl, too.
• Skin: If you're having breakouts like a teenager, it's a girl; apparently this is because they steal their mother's beauty.
• Ha!  I'm keeping my beauty.  So this one would be boy.
• Morning Sickness: if you were super sick during the first trimester, it's a girl; little or no morning sickness, it's a boy.
• I was definitely not miserable and sick as a dog, so I'd say boy.

I'm foregoing the one I found about mixing Drano into your urine and seeing what color it turns.  Who comes up with this stuff?!

So, if the old wives, the Chinese, and the Mayans are to be believed, we're tied.  Guess there's just no knowing until next week.