Recently friends of ours who are also pregnant told us about a test you can take (similiar to a pregnancy test) that will tell you the gender. Supposedly you can take it as early as 10 weeks and it says it is “proven over 90% accurate in laboratory test.” We had also heard about other couples who had tried it and the results ended up being wrong.

But why not try it we thought. We are going to find out “officially” in a month or so anyway. So Anne went and found “IntelliGender: Gender Prediction Test” and this morning took it.

And IntelliGender says we are having……a Boy!
(This might be just as accurate as shaking a magic 8 ball but its fun to think that maybe it is correct. And when you think about it it’s odds are 50-50.)

Disclaimer to family: This is an unofficial test (although the makers claim 9/10 correct results) so please do not rush out and begin buying all things “boy” — but if you really want to you can.

There is a lot of preganncy advice that gets thrown around these days. Everyone has their little tidbit of things you should or shouldn’t do.  It’s tough trying to discern what is truth or what is just a myth. So I decided to use today’s blog entry and ask a leading expert about some of this so-called “pregnancy wisdom.” I wanted to find an expert who was a trusted and respected voice in women’s health…but even more important I wanted to find someone with a daily talk show and a New York Times Best Seller…which led me to Dr. Phil McGraw.

So here are Dr. Phil’s answers to 3 commonly heard pregnancy “truths.” (as given on his website www.drphil.com)

1)  Pregnant women who carry low = boy, or pregnancy acne = girl.
Dr Phil: “Women tend to carry lower or higher depending on their body type. Taller, thinner women appear to carry higher. Shorter and fuller women appear to carry lower. Neither has any correlation to gender. Also, in a second pregnancy, since abdominal muscles may be looser, the pregnancy may appear to be lower.”

2) Pregnant women shouldn’t eat fish
Dr Phil: “Although women are told not to eat fish due to mercury levels and fears of food poisoning, (a) women can choose fresh fish with low mercury levels and (b) fish oil has many benefits to the baby. After all, women in Japan don’t stop eating sushi!”

3) Pregnant women shouldn’t change cat litter. 
Dr. Phil: “This is true. This virus can be very harmful to the pregnancy. But recognize that contact with kitty litter is not limited to changing the cat litter box. Since a cat walks on its litter, the virus can be tracked anywhere a cat walks, including its paws. Due to this, all contact with the cat must be limited and the house must be kept extra clean.”

4) and finally, are you really a doctor?
Dr. Phil: uh…I need to go and get ready for the show or write another book…wish I could spend more time answering questions…Did I mention I helped Oprah get out of that cattle / burger lawsuit thing?

So, there you go. classic pregnancy ”truths” unmasked by the trusted Dr.  Phil.

Congratulations! We are the proud parents of an orange. Our pregnancy book tells us that at 15 weeks our little baby measures 4 1/2 inches and weighs around 2 to 3 ounces — about the size of a navel orange. I had not heard the term navel orange so I looked it up at Wikipedia. Here is what they say:

A single mutation in 1820 in an orchard of sweet oranges planted at a monastery in Brazil yielded the navel orange, also known as the Washington, Riverside, or Bahie navel. The mutation causes navel oranges to develop a second orange at the base of the original fruit, opposite the stem.

I am not sure I like comparing our little one to a mutation but I like the fact that he is continuing to grow. Here are more 15 week facts:

1) The ears are positioned properly
2) The eyes have moved from the side of the head to the front
3) The little Horch now has coordination and strength to begin moving his fingers and toes.
4) He can also now breathe (or make breathing movements), suck and swallow.

And this has been your 15 week update. The baby is healthy, Anne is feeling good, the weather is beautiful and the Cowboys eeked out a win — life is good.

Yesterday, our unborn Horch got to experience one of our great priviledges as American citizens — the right to vote. Both Anne and I took part in early voting. I voted earlier during the day around lunch time and Anne went after work.

With pregnancy creating different food cravings in Anne, I wonder how it has changed her political leanings. They say that during the first trimester women tend to lean more conservative and then as you enter the second trimester you become more liberal in your political views. (I don’t really have sources to back that data up but that is just what “they say.”) With Anne having just entered her second trimester but only a few days removed from the first does that mean she is a moderate? Or maybe pregnant women go outside the norm (like in food choices) and vote for the Libertarian, Green or even the Constitution party.

I guess we will never know. The only other person who really knows is our little Horch — and right now they are not talking.

“Are you going to write a blog titled ‘chicken, waffles and candy’,” asked Anne nervously as she laid on the couch with her legs stretched over my knees.

“Yep,” I replied as we watched a new episode of The Office which has been slowly declining since season three (we are in season 5).

Last night Anne prepared a new recipe for basil chicken which was delicious. After we were done, Anne was craving a little dessert which is normal in the Horch household where we often keep popsicles or ice cream sandwhiches convienantly tucked away in our fridge.

But Anne’s pregnancy craving had something else in mind — waffles. So she went in and prepared two waffles with butter and syrup. After finishing her breakfast dessert she needed something to top it off so she brought into the living room a huge bag of candy that was initally purchased to give out to trick-or-treaters.

We both sat on the couch eating an assortment of delicious chocolate candy. After looking at her trail of dishes that featured chicken, waffles and candy and listening to some kind and supportive ribbing from her husband she said, “are you going to write a blog titled chicken, waffles and candy?”

And I said, “Yep.”

My wife Anne is a book editor and a lover of great fiction so it would only make sense that our child would have a literary name. It just so happens that Anne’s company just recently published a book called A is for Atticus: Baby Names from Great Books.

 Amazon.com writes that the book “is fully profiled in a fun, savvy, info-packed listing that includes a name’s meaning, uniqueness, modern appeal, and cultural significance.” It’s a fun read if you happen to run across it.

So Anne wrote down some names from the book and we have compiled a boy and girl list.

Boy names:
Huckleberry, Fritz, Frodo, Cheever, Balthazar, Homer, Moby, Obadiah, Pablo, Romeo, Thor, Ulysses

Girl names:
Gertrude, Doone, Blue, Agnes, Fanny, Luna, Mabel, Maud, Phaedra, Phronsie, Sojourner, Tallulah, Trixie, Ursula, Zooey

If it’s a girl, I think I like Blue or Tallulah. And if it’s a boy I am partial to Thor or Huckleberry. (Hmmm…Huckleberry Horch!) Although Homer could be fun — a combination of literature and cartoon. Although everytime our little Homer falls down I don’t know if I want to hear, “D’oh”

My mom emailed Anne and me early this morning reminding us that today we have six-months until our projected due date.

In 6 months it all changes. Our lives will never be the same. We will have a newborn relying us, depending on us…needing us. A new baby that will redefine our life and our everyday schedule.

Tonight, Anne and I got home and decided to go out to eat. We had a nice dinner and then came home and watched re-runs of our favorite show The Office. It was simple and unplanned. It was casual and not bound by any schedule or deadline. It was a pure reflection of a couple without kids. 

But in 6 months that simple dinner becomes not so simple and that relaxed evening now has feedings, changes and bedtime, cryings and back to bedtime (and repeat throughout the night.)

In 6 months it all changes…until then, we’ll try to be as unplanned and unscheduled and “let’s just go” as much as possible.

As our baby hit 14 weeks yesterday, we ended the first trimester filled with morning sickness and entered the second trimester hopefully filled with less queasiness and more energy.

The little Horch is now the size of a fist. Yesterday, Anne was talking about having a stomach with a peach inside. I replied, “Now you’re a stomach with a fist.”

“Hey, maybe that’s my new Indian name–Stomach with a Fist.” And then Anne went into her impersonation of “Stands with a Fist” from Dances with Wolves.

I wonder what my Indian name would be. . . . Dances with Hurls?  Suffers with Cowboys?

Yes, this is a glimpse into the kind of quirky conversation that happens in the Horch household on a daily basis.

Other interesting highlights into our child’s development are: the neck is getting longer and the head is more erect. Some hair is starting to sprout, along with some eyebrows.

Anne had her “worst day of the pregnancy” on Saturday but is feeling much better today. With my Dallas Cowboys getting humiliated by the Rams, Sunday might have been one of my worst days of the pregnancy. On a lighter note, the weather was beautiful this weekend in Nashville.

Anne and I took our baby to his/her’s first concert last night. We want to make sure they get exposure to a wide variety of activities and culture while still in the womb. If our child is going to be a music prodigy (while also a world-class athlete) we believe the training starts now.

We saw country artists Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift in concert at Nashville’s downtown arena known as the Sommet Center. It was sold out and we knew it was going to be loud. Wanting to be wise, I did plenty of research about taking an unborn child to a loud concert. I went to the trusted source of “Yahoo! Answers” where you ask a question and random people give their opinion. (When has a random group of people ever been wrong?) The overall consensus was that the baby would be safe since his ears are protected in liquid and fully cushioned and would only feel vibrations, if anything. That was good enough for me!

Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift attract a younger female audience so we were in a arena surrounded by screaming girls! Before you strip me of my “man card” for going to such a concert I must note that Man Law #579 says that “a man can attend a ‘chick flick’ movie or concert if he is doing so at the request of his wife/girlfriend and therefore excercising his marital/relationship duties.”

It is time for another installment of 5 Questions for Anne, the popular Q & A game where you the readers ask first-time pregnant mom Anne Horch questions about her life and pregnancy. We received thousands of questions from readers all around the world (most of which came from a Nigerian prince who wanted us to be involved in a “unique business oportunity.”) Our staff at TheHorches.com narrowed the mailbag down to 5 questions. And here they are along with Anne’s responses:

1. Anne, how are you handling the pressure of having a boy to carry on the Horch name? (From Rick in Texas)
Easy: it’s not pressure! I’m SO excited about this baby, whether it’s a
boy or a girl! If it’s a boy, we can relax about carrying on the family
name, and if it’s a girl, I get to buy all those amazingly cute girly
baby things I see everywhere.

4.  What is one thing you wish Jeff could experience about being pregnant? (From Brian and Meredith in North Carolina)
Jeff is WONDERFULLY sensitive about the WHOLE pregnancy thing, so I
don’t have any of those spiteful “If he only knew!” thoughts running
through my mind. I’m really looking forward to feeling the baby kick, so
I guess I wish he could feel it too when the time comes.

3.  Are you excited about getting really big boobs? (from Christine in Oklahoma)
Can I really answer this??   What’s this blog rated anyway?

4. Anne, are you really a Cowboys fan and how do you bring Jeff out of depression when the Cowboys lose? (From Rick in Texas)
Yes, I’m a Cowboys fan! It’s a fairly new thing for me–I became a fan back when Jeff and I were first dating. And I think I proved my fan-ness when I cheerfully agreed to watch the Cowboys play even during our honeymoon in Cancun! The games are exciting, and they’re sort of like reality TV (which I love, I admit). Plus the Cowboys have really cool uniforms….. I don’t know if it’s possible to bring Jeff out of a Cowboys-loss depression, but I just try to be sensitive and maybe feed him steak….

5.  How does it feel to be a journalee? (From Brenda in Texas)
Great! I get all the joy of capturing our pregnancy experience without
the pressure of having to do the writing myself!

And that has been another round of “5 Questions for Anne” — Thanks for participating whether you submitted a question or just read the answers. Please remember that these answers were for entertainment and educational purposes only. No wagering should have been involved. Also, TheHorches.com staff was disappointed Paul Mayer chose not to ask a question but look forward to his participation in a future Q and A.

It’s not easy being pregnant. For 9 months you feel sick and your body is constantly changing. You get tired easily. Your emotions are up and down. And then there’s that delivery thing.

Because of their sacrifice, I think that pregnant women should receive certain special benefits during their 9-months of carrying a new life. So here are my “5 perks for expectant mothers” that I would like the next President to write into law when he goes into office:

1) Free food
With unexpected food cravings coming throughout the day and night, women should be able to walk into any grocery store / resturante and take whatever they want. 

2) Free parking anywhere (and I mean anywhere)
A pregnant women doesn’t always know when she has to go to the bathroom. She doesn’t have time to find a parking space in a crowded area. So women should have the freedom to just drive onto the sidewalk next to the entrance and park. They can leave their cars anywhere under the protection of the “Pregnant Women’s Parking Law.”

3) Freedom to change thermostats in any building.
Pregnant woman can’t help it that their body gets cold and then hot. They should have the freedom to be at a Target or Wal-Mart, get hot and be able to turn the temperature down at the nearest thermostat.

4) Freedom to publicy puke
A pregnant woman shouldn’t have to worry about always carrying a bag around with her in case she is feeling nauseous. She should have the freedom to throw up anywhere. If she’s walking in the neighborhood she can just let it out anywhere. Or if she’s at Arby’s and needs to let it out — she has the freedom to throw-up right there. By the law, Arby’s has to quickly clean it up and and then bring her whatever free food she wants.

5)  Free maternity clothes
It seems unfair that women have to buy special clothes just for a few months because they can’t fit into their normal clothes. This seems like a huge financial strain on someone who is carrying the hope for the next generation. So I say that all maternity clothes are free. The government would buy up and control the “A Pea in the Pod” chain of maternity boutiques and make it available to all U.S. women who are expecting.

If you would like to help me get this law passed, please contact your local congressman and tell them to vote “yes” for Perks for the Pregnant!

It has been a slow couple “pregnancy news” days at the Horch household which is why the blog has not been updated. But during a pregnancy no news is usually good news.

Today I came across a statistic on some random website and since its posted on the internet it must be true. It said that the most popular delivery day is Tuesday. So I went and looked up our due date (April 21, 2009) and it lands on a…Tuesday!

We really want our kid to be popular so its good they will come into the world on the “cool” day. Our child will grow up learning to shun the Saturday kids which happens to be the least popular birth day. But then again, what doctor wants to come in on the weekend?

Tonight while Anne was making her world-famous taco soup (one of my favorite meals she makes) she let out a huge sneeze and then made the following observation:

“I think sneezing is my body’s way of throwing up.”

She went on to say that before being pregnant she didn’t really sneeze and now she gets these huge urges that turn into violent sneezes. Afterwards, she feels fine. It’s her body’s way of getting things back to normal, I guess.

I have never read anything about “pregnancy sneezes” but if it substitutes for puking I think she will glady take it.

We are coming to the end of the first trimester. This is good news because everyone tell us that the second trimester gets much better in terms of feeling queasy and everything else that comes with morning sickness.

Yesterday, the little Horch turned 13 weeks and has reached the size of a peach. (How would we know the size of unborn babies if we didn’t have fruits?) Our baby’s head is now about half the size of his or her crown to rump length. And another big development: our baby is starting to develop vocal cords. If he or she is anything like their parents those cords will get well used.

And in other news…We are still looking for “5 Questions for Anne.” We have received 2 questions and still looking for 3 more to be able to fully play.  So send in your questions. It can be anything such as “First thing you would buy if its a girl” …it doesn’t even have to be pregnancy related. Just comment below with your questions. And if you know Paul Mayer, we really want him to ask a question so contact him and send him to the blog.

Anne has discovered that when she does not have food in her stomach that is when she feels the most queasy.

This weekend Anne and I are having a quick weekend trip to Greenville, South Carolina. (Very cool downtown if you are ever in the area). As we were driving around yesterday close to lunch Anne started to feel very, very queasy.

“Should I stop the car” I asked?

“No, I just need some food – I need a chicken breast from KFC”

Now Anne has not been a high maintenance pregnant women demanding certain kind of things. So when she looks at me and says, “I really need KFC,” — We were going to find a KFC.

We were in a more rural part of the area just south of Greenville with not a lot of food options. We had earlier seen a huge fast food strip just 5 miles north on the interstate so we quickly headed that way. Anne sat quietly gripping an empty plastic bag in one hand and the other hand over her mouth.

We made it to the fast food area. Anne was scanning for alternative options. We saw McDonalds, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Subway, and Panera. And there it was…like a giant shining, hunger-quenching oasis rising out of the desert. I had never been so happy to see the smiling facing of Col. Sanders. We pulled in and quickly ordered a combo meal #8 which featured a breast, thigh and leg.

She sat down and took an urgent bite into the Colonel’s orginal recipe chicken breast. It was everything she had imaged. A peace returned to her face as the queasy ocean inside her came to a calming rest.

Another disaster averted. Another queasy stomach soothed. And another close call in the life of a pregnant woman.