Want to be the first to know if Little Bean is a boy or a girl?

Since we are nearing the home stretch, I thought it would be fun to do one of those predict the gender, size, and when the baby is going to come. Since we don't know the gender and my due date doesn't exactly help, I figure these answers should be all over the place. Now here is the best part! Whoever guesses correctly will be the first to know (besides Jack and Ben) the gender of the baby. We will personally call you from Northside with the good news. Here is some information that may help you out. Let me know if I am leaving anything out!
Jack was born 5 weeks early after being on and off bedrest since 27 weeks. He weighed 7 pounds and 14 ounces.
Ben was born 4 weeks early and weighed 8 pounds and 15 ounces. I was on bedrest and meds until November 2nd. Ben came 11 days later.
Little Bean: I will go off my meds October 2nd. At 32 weeks the bean measured 4 pounds and 4 ounces. (I did not have sizing ultrasounds with either of the boys).

Good Luck!

BLACKOUT and an update.

Since the Dawgs will be blacking out Sanford Staduim this weekend and we can't be there in person, I have decided to black out the blog for this week!
We had an awesome fall break. I am not sure what Nate said to the kids, but they were angels. We went to The Bounce House (where I sat), had a picnic and played at the park (where I sat), and had a great time watching football with the neighbors (again sitting). I did venture to the outlets on Saturday. We were there for an hour and Nate personally drove me to the three stores I was allowed to go. I was fine, just a reminder for what I am in store for once I go off the meds. I am still trying to take it very easy and enjoy the last couple (fingers crossed for several) weeks of pregnancy. I will post later on this week with pictures of the kids. We are still trying to figure out what to dress them up as for Halloween. Each year since Ben has been born, there has been a theme. First they were a fireman and dalmation. Then they were Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Last year they were Power Rangers. I am running out of ideas that appeal to both of them.
Also wanted to give a shout out to my friend Katie who hit the third trimester today! Woo-Hoo Baby Gordon!

Negative!

My midwife just called and told me my preterm labor test came back negative this time! In the same breath she told me this is not my get out of jail free card. The reason it came back negative is that my contractions have decreased majorly since bedrest and that I am not putting any pressure on my cervix. So I can venture out a little more, but no standing for extended periods of time. She said I just need to make it two and a half more weeks and then I can run a marathon if I choose. ;) I am still on the medicine, and it is not as bad this time around.
The boys are on fall break this week so I promise I will post pictures of them very soon. Jack has been doing great with football. His name was announced twice over the loud speaker last weekend and he was on cloud nine. Ben is now riding his big boy bike with training wheels. He looks so big!
Also wanted to give a shout out to Hannah Paige (Matt and Erin Harrison's baby) who entered the world yesterday. Erin and I see the same midwife and when she called to give me my test results this morning she told me how awesome Erin did yesterday!

32 weeks!

I had my 32 week appointment yesterday. When I was hospitalized 3 weeks ago, my goal was to make it to 32 weeks. Well that came and went on Thursday and the baby looks great. First of all, I gained THREE pounds in 8 days which is awesome. The nurse who weighed me said she had never seen anyone so excited about gaining weight. I figure the only thing I have any control over is my caloric intake, so I am going to do my best to fatten this baby up. Since I was measuring really small last week, I got to see the little bean this time. The baby is measuring 4 pounds 4 ounces and has hair! My cervix (it wouldn't be a blog post these days without talking about my cervix) is still closed and measuring 4.5cm. We had to increase my dosage on Wednesday since my contractions were picking up in both frequency and intensity, but obviously we caught it early enough that it didn't do anything to my cervix. Also little bean is still breech.
I talked to my midwife (have I mentioned how much I love her) about where to go from here. She thinks since it is still early, I need to keep taking my meds and stay on bedrest. I can do a little more than last week, but the biggest thing is to not be standing up for any length of time. The kids were awesome last week, so I agreed with her. At this point, there is no need to risk it so that I can grocery shop. Nate is slowly coming around to the idea that I can do more things. He always thinks I am overdoing it.
Also a big shout-out to everyone that went out of their way to make my birthday awesome. Thanks for the cards, emails, texts, facebook messages, etc... My parents brought me dinner on Thursday since Nate and Jack were at football practice. Nate and I celebrated last night with sushi take out and a movie. I broke the rules on Wednesday and went to dinner with my friends from college. For my sanity, I needed to see the outside of my house and people other than my family. It was great to see everyone and catch up. Also I know a lot of you who read my blog, also read Katie's. Her internet is down, but she had a great appointment yesterday. Hopefully she will be able to post about it soon.

31 Week Update

I had a good appointment yesterday. Since the medicine seems to have my contractions under control, we decided not to check me this week. Next week I go in for my 32 week appointment, an ultrasound, and we are going to redo the preterm labor test. The ultrasound is to measure both my cervix and to double check the bean's size. I am measuring on the small side, so we want to make sure bean is growing. Neither my midwife or I am really concerned since I just had an ultrasound at the hospital two weeks ago and the baby was measuring on the bigger side. But it will be nice to see the bean again. ;)Right now I am on moderate bedrest. I am allowed to go up and down stairs once a day and whatever time I spend up I have to spend double down. So if it takes me 45 minutes to get ready in the morning I need to spend an hour and a half down. This only applies to neccessities, she really wants me to take it easy for the next week. We are also going to repeat the preterm labor test at my 32 week appointment. Hopefully if that comes back negative this time, then I will really be able to get out and move about. Thanks for all your well wishes! Also, I am absolutely shocked at the preliminary poll results! Perhaps I need to buy a little pink just in case....

A Fun Game

While on bedrest, I have started reading blogs much more frequently. I came accross one of a girl who was on bedrest for SEVENTEEN WEEKS. She was having contractions that were changing her cervix around 20 weeks. She was on bedrest until they took her off at 37 weeks. The baby decided to stick around for another 2 weeks until her water broke at 39 weeks. Anyways, before she found out the gender she did a poll on her blog to see what people thought her baby was going to be. She complied a list of Old Wives Tales and answered them to help her friends and family guess what she was having. So I added a poll to my blog and here are my answers to the Old Wives Tales (minus the ones that talk about boobs. My Dad and brothers read this thing.) Also I would like to disclose that if you have 2 of one gender the chance that your third will be that same gender, is about 75%. On the other hand, Dino (Matt Harrison's Grandmom) has accurately predicted the gender of all four of her grandbabies correctly. She thinks I am having a girl.

OLD WIVES TALES:
1) If you carry high, it’s a girl. Low, it’s a boy. I feel like I am carrying higher this time so we will say GIRL
2) If the heartbeat is under 140 bpm, it’s a boy. If it is over 140 bpm, it’s a girl. GIRL (for the sake of full disclosure, both the boys were higher than 140)
3) Tie your wedding ring to a string and dangle it over your belly. If it swings back and forth, it’s a boy. If it goes in circles, it’s a girl. You can also do this holding the string over your open palm. BOY
4) Chinese Gender Chart (http://parenting.ivillage.com/ttc/ttcsigns/0,,j736,00.html ) Some say this is correct 90% of the time. Girl
5) If you have acne during pregnancy, it’s a girl. If you don’t, it’s a boy. No pimples here, BOY
6) If you have morning sickness, you’re having a girl. If you don’t, you’re having a boy. I had all day sickness the entire first trimester, so GIRL. (I was sick with Ben the entire first trimester as well)
9) If your urine is neon yellow, it’s a boy. If it’s a dull yellow, it’s a girl. Um, BOY. And I don’t like talking about my urine.
10) If you’re hair on your legs grows faster, it’s a girl. I haven’t noticed any kind of sudden overgrowth on my legs. BOY.
11) If the dad to be is gaining weight with you, it’s a boy. If he stays the same, it’s a girl. I should check with Nate to be sure, but I’m going to say GIRL.
12) If you have headaches, you’re having a boy. If you don’t, it’s a girl. Boy (although I am not sure how many of those headaches are due to lack of caffeine)
13) Girls steal your beauty. If you look better than before, it’s a boy. If you don’t, it’s a girl. I am going with my pre-bedrest look since I am currently rocking the messy pony, pjs and no make-up. I received several complements from people who know me and random strangers about how good I look so I will say BOY.
14) If your feet are colder than usual, it’s a boy. If they’re the same, it’s a girl. GIRL? (They are actually hotter than normal)