17 weeks, 5 days

We are 12 days away from knowing if we're having a baby boy or girl! ONLY 12 days!! Well, hopefully. Hopefully the baby is moving around with hands and feet clear enough to tell :) I'm pretty excited now, but the in a few more days I'm sure I'll be even more excited (let's be honest, I get excited so easily).

Ever since Jesse and I started telling people we were going to be having a baby, the people we have told in turn told us what they "felt" or "thought" the baby would be. Jesse's dad is SURE it's a girl, where as two of my dearest of friends are definitely feeling a boy (Jesse loves you both for that, Em and Megs). I've heard many old wives tales about how you can "tell" if it's a boy or girl..some of my favorites..

Morning sickness: if you have morning sickness, it's a girl. None it's a boy. While this is probably true for lots of women, my mom is a prime example of how this is not the case. She had no morning sickness with either Jess or me but felt awful with Joel. If this one were true, I wouldn't be sure. I avoided most of morning sickness but I guess I was nauseous some. If we count that, girl. If we don't, boy.

The rear end test: my new boss at work asked if my bottom had gotten bigger (it hasn't..I'm still fitting into the same jeans I was before I got pregnant) it would be an indication of the gender. Apparently, if it's a girl, you gain some mass back there. If it's a boy, you don't. If this one were true, a boy.

The age and month test: same boss also told me that if you take the age you were when you conceived (22) and subtract the month you conceived in (12) you can "find out": even is a girl, odd is a boy. So..if this holds true, it's a girl. I did find it ironic that in one sentence she was telling me that "oh, it's a boy!" and in the next "yup, you're having a girl.."

I also heard from SIL Erin that more often then not, a mother's intuition is correct. I asked my mom what she was "feeling" her grandbaby would be, and being the very diplomatic person she is responded with "Fraternal twins! One boy, one girl." Very helpful, clearly.

All the guesses and "tests" people have shared with me have been fun to hear and talk about, but let's be honest: only God knows what's going on. Even so, keep the guesses coming! And if you guess boy, chances are you will gain ground on Jesse's List of Favorite People Ever.

**sidenote** I have discussed the possibility of a girl with Jesse, and while he definitely wants a boy, he said he would be more then thrilled with a girl also, but "girls are so expensive!." He is clearly not picturing his son wanting to play football where we'd have to buy all sorts of useless pads and dumb equipment. Just felt I should throw that out there :)