Jayme Baron is a TODAY producer who is expecting her first child in February. She has been keeping a diary of key points in her pregnancy, and going forward hopes to share her journey with the TODAYMoms community. (Moms, please chime in with your advice, questions, comments!) Below are entries Jayme wrote before the TODAYMoms blog was live....Sept. 3, 2009: Boy or girl?
I am approaching the 18-week-mark (4.5 months) and cannot believe how fast its going. I had a sonogram last week to see if we could find out the sex of the baby (show sonogram) and unfortunately we could not get a straight answer. My songrapher said if she had to make a guess she would say a GIRL and she hasn't been wrong once in all these years. My doctor agreed with her when he saw the sonogram but said we would have to confirm it at my 20 week sono. The day after this appointment I took a "gender prediction" test that a colleague at work gave me. She said its 90% accurate and everyone she knows who have taken it had the sex that the test told them...I was nervous for that test but figured if it said GIRL it would just confirm what my sonographer and doctor said...So I took the test which consists of peeing in a small cup and pouring it into a plastic apparatus that has what looks like big salt crystals on the bottom. If the urine stays the same color or turns orange, it is supposed to mean you're having a girl. If it turns green then its a little boy. So, of course I was doing this at 5:30 in the morning, ON A SUNDAY because that is what happens when your pregnant, you pee all the time, especially throughout the night. MY husband was in the bed sleeping and I was dying to wake him up to at least have company for the ten minutes the test takes to get the results. Results? So, the first 5 minutes the color was unchanged and I assumed it would remain that way and my sonographer and doctor's educated guess would be the right one. Well, I was wrong...IT TURNED GREEN which apparently means its a boy. So now I am completely confused and have no idea if I should believe the "gender prediction" test, the Chinese birth chart, the pencil test, the magic eight ball or the guess of my sonographer. Why do I want to find out the sex?
I know there are a ton of people who do not find out what the sex of their baby is and that is fine for them, but I see it a different way. I want to be as close to my baby and know as much as I possibly can about him or her. The six is a pretty big detail and I feel that know it will help me bond with the baby. I would like to call him or her by the name we have picked out and stop calling it an "IT." I am also a producer at heart and would like to start thinking and planning so that I have an idea of what the baby's room will look like. It will just help the planning of everything. What do I want? People ask me all the time if I want a boy or a girl and even thought I have my heart set on having a little girl, I realize I would like one thing -- a healthy baby. When I was born I had no platelets and was very sick. I was in the hospital for 11 days, which my mom describes as "eleven years." So, I know the most important thing in life is health and that is what I want for my baby. I also know that if it turns out to be a boy I will not be disappointed. Every mother I know says that once they put that baby in your arms you are filled with an overwhelming sense of love that you don't care what the sex is as long as he or she are healthy. Why a girl? The reason why I have my heart set on a girl in case anyone is interested is because I would like to name her after my grandma who passed away five years ago. She and I had a wonderful relationship and I can really only see naming a girl after her. If it turns out to be a boy, my grandma will have to wait and hope my second child is a girl, ha ha. What's next? Right now I am waiting to have my 20 week sonogram which is supposed to measure the baby's bones and they say that is when we can confirm the sex. I will keep you updated on what the results turn out to be. Sept. 8, 2009: It's a girl!
I knew I had to wait 3 weeks until my next ob/gyn appointment to definitely find out the sex of my baby. It was pure torture to hear "We think its a girl but we're not positive." I couldn't take the waiting game any longer so last week my mom and I decided to take a ride to my dad's office. He happens to have a sonogram machine and we thought we would give it a try and see if Jennifer, his sonographer, could detect the sex. On a side note, I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet but if I have a girl I will be naming her after my grandma who passed away 5 years ago. Her name was Sylvia, so I will take the "S" and name my daughter Samantha. My grandma leaves me pennies whenever she wants me to know she is around. They say people who have passed on leave their loved ones pennies and I believe that whenever I see one, it's my grandma giving me a message. We went into the exam room and I assumed my position of laying on the reclining chair and pulling my pants down just below my belly button. Jennifer rubbed some sonogram gel on my belly and then it was time to see if she could give us an answer. My mom and I were holding hands so tight and hoping we would find out. The baby was in the perfect position with it's legs wide open. By this point I had researched images of male sonograms at 18 weeks and I knew if it was a boy we would know. We didn't see any male parts, only 3 little lines between the legs, HER legs. Next thing I heard was Jennifer saying -- "IT'S A GIRL!" My mom and I were screaming and dancing. Of course health is most important but if you read my previous blog then you know how much I wanted a little girl! I am getting what I wanted and could not be happier! I'm not sure if my grandma wanted someone named after her or if she wanted me to have my little girl. I definitely think she played a role in making this happen. When we got in the car to go home their was a penny on the floor of the passenger seat where I was sitting which was not there when I originally got into the car on the way to my dads office. I cut out one of the sonogram pictures and put it in a baby card to give to my husband that night. He was happy to be getting his little princess and I told him I would happily become the queen, haha. (Just kidding...........Not really!!) Today I told everyone about little Samantha and everyone was thrilled for me. I cannot wait to meet this little girl in 5 months.
Sept. 21, 2009: Our first good look at Samantha
Last week I went for my 20 week sonogram. Ever since this process began I have been hearing that the 20 week sono is the best because you can actually see all of the baby's organs and body parts. I couldn't wait for this day. I was also looking forward to having my sonographer confirm the sex of Samantha. Ken (my husband) and I drove to the office, waited for about 30 minutes and then it was our turn...we couldn't wait to see our little girl. Once again I assumed my position on the reclining chair and Patty, our sonographer, put some gel on my abdomen and got started. We were looking right at the screen and the baby was moving around. It was so cute. "I was right, its a girl," Patty said. We could see her arms, legs, face, heart and all of her important parts were there. Patty said "She weighs 10 ounces and her heart rate is 140." All of this was perfectly normal. It's hard to feel a connection to my baby right now because I haven't felt any movement. I know it's because she still has room in my uterus but I still wish I could feel her. People have told me that I should expect to feel a fluttering movement very soon. I am not sure if I have felt it because I don't know exactly how it will feel. Seeing Samantha on the monitor is as close a connection as Ken and I can get to her right now and it is really exciting! To think that I am half way there, and that she will be here in another 20 weeks, fills me with wonder and overwhelms me with love.