And the gender is...

Well, we dont know yet! buuuut....

Colin probably gets annoyed with me sometimes because I am such a planner. I like to know everything going on and I LOVE making sure everything is going smooth. Don't get me wrong, I can relax...but when it comes to figuring out if smurf's gender so I can call it by "baby boy" or "baby girl" is actually very important to me!

So...I found a loophole. ;)

Now, I have an ultrasound appt set for April 26th at 11:00. (it was originally 11:30, but I called back and begged to get in 30 minutes earlier!)


But it turns out, that wont even be good enough for me!
Why Skyler, why can't you just wait?
Good question.
My answer is simple:

All of my lady friends on babycenter.com September Birth Club are talking about their gender ultrasounds that are coming up in the next 1-2 weeks. Some of them have already figured out.
SO NATURALLY, I NEED TO KNOW TOO!

After some research, I found a place 45 minutes away (totally worth it) that does an early gender ultrasound scan between 15-19 weeks.
The reasons doctors make you wait till 20-22 is because they are checking for other markers making sure your baby is developing properly etc. But truth is you can usually get bout an 80% accurate guess before you hit that mark as long as it is after 15 weeks.

So on March 19th at 7:20pm I will be going to a clinic to get an ultrasound to figure out the gender( I will be exactly 15 weeks and 1 day!). I figure if it is wrong ( which is pretty small odds), I will have another gender screening on April 26th with my obgyn.

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

Oh, and heads up! Me and Colin picked out the first name if we have a boy!

Brayden.

We agreed on this one because I liked the name Brandon, and colin liked Aden. So It is kind of a mix of both. Pretty catchy if I do say so myself ;)
And to anyone who doesnt like it, just pretend you do (atleast around me) because I freak out when someone doesnt like a name and I have to start all over again...and it really annoys Colin because we have been through like 100 names doing that. THIS IS THE ONE!!!! MARK MY WORDS PEOPLE! IF THIS BABY COMES OUT A BOY, IT SHALL BE NAMED BRAYDEN.
 I CALL DIBS.

We are in trouble if it is a girl, so far we have not agreed upon anything at all! OH NOOO!

We liked Aralynn. But mi madre hated it so we are on a new slate. Oh blagh.

Oh, and I know it is 5:30 am, and you are all probably thinking OMG she finally got on a sleep schedule!

NO. I HAVE NOT FALLEN ASLEEP YET.
IT SUCKS, A LOT.

I HAVE DECIDED TO TRY TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE DAY LIKE THIS.
PRAY FOR MEEEEE.


SERIOUS QUOTE TIME...
to start, I am in a government class where this stuff was just brought up...and I am actually writing a political paper on it right now...So I AM ABOUT TO GET ALL POLITICAL ON ALL OF YOU WITH SOME PRETTY TOUCHY SUBJECTS. DONT READ AHEAD IF YOU WANT TO SUBJECT YOURSELF TO THINKING IM LOONY OR HATING ME OR SOMETHING.... yeeeep. But feel free to read on...
"Why not?"

I am not sure if that qualifies as a quote, but my teacher told me a compelling story a few years back that has always stuck with me...

A class of college students in the 70's were given a prompt. The prompt told them to write their biggest paper of the semester answering a question similar to " Do you believe that ______ should have the right to ______ when they are _________?" Fill in the blanks with some serious and heavily debated topic, because I forget what it was.

To be simply put, a student wrote on a piece of paper the two words, "why not?" and turned it in. His paper was done in a meer three seconds. The rest of the class looked at him perplexed and continued to write their essays for the next few hours.

The young man who wrote "why not?" as his response to the prompt was the only person to get 100%.

The young man wrote this because the topic what was being discussed ( I believe it was abortion) was something he felt like he could not debate since he was a male and would never be pregnant. It acted almost as his bold form of protest to even discuss this issue when he felt like he had no reason to even place his opinion.

It was a bold statement, one that quite a few did not agree with, and the student risked epic failing the class...but he took the risk.
And it was very worth it for him.

I thought this was great.
Mainly because he got out of writing a huuuuge paper, but also because he took a stand for something even though he was not sure how others would feel about it.

My teacher when speaking was refrencing to abortion, gay marraige...and other heavily debated topics that have always been on the rise.

I had never really thought of answering such BIG topics with such a simple answer "why not?"

While we all have different views, which is totally cool with me and I respect people for them...It changed my thinking.

for instance,

When deciding upon a law, I realized I can't always think inside a small box...laws are made for the community as a whole.

 I may never be in the position where I need to get an abortion, but there are women everyday who face this decision. Who am I to tell a stranger what they can and can not do? I dont know their situation or what they have been through. And even if I did...It should still be their choice.

(A lot of my friends see this differently, and hold very compelling reasoning, and I totally respect them for that.  This is a topic that I dont think will ever be 100% one way or the other, and I understand a atleast half of the 500 people reading this are probably like WTF skyler or RIGHT ON GIRL!!! To each is their own...I guess.)

 When it comes to gay marraige, I am not gay (obviously...you know, considering smurf and such...) so how does gay marraige really effect me? Marraige is a union between two people who love eachother---and we can not choose who we love. So I realized it really does not matter what I think, because what matters most is that gay people, straight people, and everyone for that matter gets the same rights as everyone else.


Though these topics are controversial, I only brought them up because they were what was discussed in my class that day long ago & relate to that quote...or those two words. Also, right now I am having to write an essay on them, so talking about it here gets me a little amped up and gets the creative juices flowing...

 Having these topics brought up in class results in a huge heated debate amongst the students, and it is very educational. I am immensly glad that people around here atleast are not sheltered from the real world and what goes on in it.

I think having these touchier subjects brought to attention gives each student the oppertunity to have a voice.

"Why not?" may not directly relate to those topics or even hold the meaning for what I just discussed...BUT,

my point is my teacher bringing up this "quote" really shaped me as a person.
Learning that lesson taught me how to be my own person, and not just conform to others beliefs.
It taught me how to think a little outside of the box, and see the world differently.

I have learned to believe in what I believe in, and not really follow what other people tell me to.

No matter what your beliefs are on these subjects (even if they are the complete opposite of mine) I encourage you to be proud of your beliefs and stick by them. No one can tell you what to believe in, and that is the power that comes along with being an individual.

So now when I am faced with a tough decision, I always ask "why not?"
And almost like the flick of a switch, I know what I want or what I believe and I can rest easily.

Sorry if that made no sense to you. My ADD is hardcore right now and I am running on E and just cant fall asleep. I am just trying to get a freakin' paper done...I ALSO PROMISE THIS WAS MY FIRST AND LAST TOUCHY SUBJECT BLOG. I mean, that is if you can get past teenage pregnancy... ;)Nighty Night & Good Morning to you!