This is all from my first pregnancy.

First, I didn't have a single genetic test done or a single sonogram. I had a primarily worry-free pregnancy b/c of this. [Aside from the M/S that lasted the whole time.] So with that, I had no indication of the sex of my baby...until one day I read this tiny paragraph in a book for fathers that gave out the basic sex determination based on heartrate [which is based on actual average happenings rather than old wives' tales] which stated the whole over 140/under 140 bit. At this point, I was certain I was having a girl. Her heartrate was 147, 156, 163 and 163 the times I recorded it. So for me, this was true as girls TYPICALLY have higher heartrates.

Now for those signs:

Number 1-
week 36: 145.5 pounds, 34cm
week 37: 144 pounds, 34cm
week 38: 146 punds, 29cm

I never made it to 39 full weeks. Now, my nurse for some reason seeing that I gained 2 pounds but shrank 5cm, decided to fudge the numbers so the dr. wouldnt realize she goofed the week before [but she hadn't...and i'd been weighing and measuring myself after my appts to see if i got the same results...which i did], so no one caught on. except me.

anytime you GAIN weight but shrink in fundal height, it's big news.

Number 2-
The morning of the night I went into labor, I was grocery shopping and had to RUN to the bathroom. TMI time: I had this random and AWFUL diarrhea. It happened just that once, but it was out of nowhere.

Number 3-
After dinner that night, I scrubbed the kitchen for 2 hours. I was scrubbing the sealant for the sink to the countertops, the floors, I even scrubbed switchplates! I cleaned out the fridge...I went nuts.

Number 4-
It was Mother's Day, 2001. I just had this hunch that it would be my day. How cheesy would it be to have a baby on/at mother's day? [and i hate cheesy things so my own personal crises would be to have a "holiday" baby.]


Sure enough, that night I went into labor. Hard and fast. Luckilly, I got all the embarrassing and yucky parts out of the way.

Just thought I'd share b/c so many of the first time moms wonder if there are signs...there definitely are, you just have to realize what they are.