It's a Girl.

The arrow is pointing to the "girl parts". The backside of
her legs are on both sides of the arrow. Can you see it?!

Yesterday, we found out that our little bean is a little girl! We had been anticipating this moment, pretty much since the day I got pregnant. We were both convinced Baby Saigh was a little boy, so finding out she's a girl was a pretty big shock!

Even though all the "old wives tale" tests (the ring test, Chinese chart, heart rate, etc.) told us we were having a girl, something in my gut said it was a boy. I guess the lesson learned is to not trust my gut and go with the old wives tales;)

As soon as the ultrasound tech put the ultrasound jelly on my belly, and then the little wand... there it was... our little lady... spread eagle! The first words out of the tech's mouth were, "do you want to know the sex?". AJ and I both quickly said yes, and he said, "those are little girl parts." It was so quick!  I always thought the "do you want to know the sex" question came at the end of the ultrasound. But it was obvious that our little girl REALLY wanted us to know that she is a girl!

AJ's jaw dropped and his eyes started to get a little "teary". I just couldn't believe it! I've always wanted a little girl, so you can only imagine the happiness we were both feeling. I couldn't wait to make phone calls and start Facebooking and Tweeting:)

Baby Girl Saigh at 19 weeks. She's the size of a heirloom
tomato!

The rest of the ultrasound was completely normal and our little girl is developing very well. We do have to repeat the ultrasound in a month, because the tech couldn't see from her nose to her upper lip. They need to measure this as one of the "markers", to rule out a Cleft Palate. Of course, my heart sank when the doctor said this, but she assured us that it was simply because the tech couldn't see anything... not because they have reason for concern. Although I am concerned, AJ keeps reminding me that it's nothing, and if a Cleft Palate is our biggest worry then we should count our blessings.

Her closet is already starting to fill up. Shopping for a
little girl is too much fun! PS, that's a Baby Gaga Halloween
costume on the right from Auntie Julie G.

Of course, we've already been shopping. Little girl clothes are SO CUTE! AJ is already questioning the "coverage" of the girl clothes we've seen. I showed him a little swimsuit at Baby Gap, and he asked where the sleeves were!

For those of you who have asked, we DO have the baby's name picked out, but we're not going to "announce" it until she is born. We think we have a pretty good name picked out, and it's one that I had never heard before! Needless to say, we cannot WAIT until our little girl arrives in August:)

Boy or girl? Four more days.

In just 4 days, we will find out if Baby Saigh is a boy or a girl!  I am not a patient person, so waiting for this moment has been pure torture for me.  We could have gone over to Bella Angel for a 3D ultrasound, and for about $150 we could have found out if Baby Saigh is a boy or a girl (trust me, I was so tempted), but I think the surprise on Friday is going to be worth the wait!

AJ thinks Baby Saigh is a boy, but all of the "old wives tale" tests point to girl.  My gut tells me boy too.  Only God knows!  On Friday, I will be 19 weeks pregnant... almost half way there!  People say pregnancy time will fly by, but it's only now that I'm realizing this is so true.  The first three months could not have gone by any slower, but now time is racing by!  More belly pictures to comes soon.

You'll hear from me again on Friday!  Any guesses???

Spinach smoothie.

I pack everything in my Magic
Bullet cup in the PM, then mix
it in the AM.

Thanks to Laurie Crowell at Golden Fig, I now have a NEW way to incorporate veggies into my daily food intake! Spinach is one thing I just can't eat raw, but I know it has so many vitamins and nutrients for the baby. Laurie has come up with a spinach smoothie that actually tastes AMAZING (I literally can't even taste the spinach)!

My husband even drinks these in the morning now and loves them too. It's nice to have a different flavor to mix up my regular "berry orange juice" morning smoothie... not to mention this new smoothie has SPINACH!

Thanks again, Laurie, for this delicious recipe.  Laurie owns Golden Fig on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, where they sell all sorts of natural and LOCAL foods, as well as spices, dips and rubs you won't find anywhere else.

Mix one of these spinach smoothies up and let me know what you think... 

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh spinach (washed)
1 banana
1 cup frozen mangoes
1 cup milk (cow, soy, rice, almond, etc.)
1 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (I didn't have any so I didn't use it)

Just blend everything together and enjoy!

The spinach smoothie
all mixed up and ready to
take to work.

Prenatal Massage.

Six words: I could get used to this.

This weekend, I booked myself a massage appointment at Juut in Wayzata.  I had a little bit of money left over on a gift card (thanks Stewart) and let's be honest... I needed this!  I read a little bit about the safety of massage on pregnant women, and although there are a few pressure points that massage therapists need to stay away from, prenatal massage has a lot of benefits (stress relief, relaxation, circulation, etc.).  I was just looking for relaxation and help with the circulation in my legs.

The biggest difference between a regular massage and a prenatal massage, is that you're laying on your side during a prenatal massage.  I was a little bummed about this at first.  I even told my massage therapist that I'm comfortable laying on my tummy, but she told me it's not recommended because of the circulation to the baby. I just love being able to hang my head through the little face hole and just let my mind and body float away!  But laying on my side was actually very comfortable.  I'd compare it to laying in bed and having your hubby role over to rub your back (always a welcome surprise).  They propped my top leg up on a big, firm pillow, and just like when you roll from your back to your front during a regular massage, during a prenatal massage you roll from one side to the other side.

This massage was the perfect way for me to let my body relax.  I asked my massage therapist to focus on my legs, but I was bummed when she didn't rub my footsies!  Of all places to ignore, you DO NOT skip over a pregnant woman's feet!  I'm sure there's a reason for it, but part of me wanted to say, "um excuse me ma'am... pay attention my tired little twinkle toes".

I've also decided that prenatal massage should be covered by health insurance.  The more massaged pregnant women there are, the happier this world will be!  I'm looking for recommendations on other prenatal massage locations, so if you know of a good place let me know!

16 weeks.

Is Baby Saigh a boy or a girl? We still have to WAIT to find out:(

Papa Saigh and I went in for our 16-week prenatal check-up this week thinking we had an ultrasound scheduled, but we didn't. Now, we have to wait until March 25th to find out if Baby Saigh is a boy or a girl. People can tell us to be patient, but it is SO tough when you have shopping and decorating to do:) I've had a few people tell me to go to one of the 3D ultrasound places. For about $100, we can get right in for a 3D ultrasound and find out if our baby is a he or a she. However, we want to hold off on the 3D ultrasound until we're around 30 weeks, when the baby looks more like a baby. We can be patient!

I'm still feeling great! My energy level is back, sickness is gone, but I still find myself getting sleepy and worn out much more quickly then when I wasn't pregnant. I'm also sleeping like a ROCK! As of yet, I haven't had any issues in the sleep department. Getting comfortable can be a challenge because I'm used to sleeping on my tummy. But, I found that if I lay on my side with a pillow under one of my legs... I'm golden! We'll see how long this lasts. I'm also SO stuffed up lately. I read that this is just one of the many pregnancy symptoms moms-to-be experience, but I feel like I'm turning into a booger factory:) I constantly find myself saying, "Uhhhh, I think I'm getting a cold", but I don't feel sick... just stuffed up. Such a weird symptom!

I'm DYING to feel Baby Saigh move! Our doctor told us that between now and about 20 weeks, I should start to feel little movements in my belly. I was laying on the couch the other day and felt something brush up against my side, but I'm not sure if that was Baby, or gas:) It's hard to pinpoint something you've never felt before, but people tell me that I will just know!

Now that I've gotten better at eating a lot more veggies, my goal for this week is to get some exercise. Finding the motivation to get in a workout before I was pregnant was hard enough, so we'll see how I do now that I'm pregnant. I bought the Prenatal Yoga with Shiva Rea DVD. I hope that by having this DVD in my house , it will FORCE me to do at least one type of workout every day!