80%???

So I had a doctor's appointment on Friday with a perinatologist and finally got to see my babies! It was so sweet...I saw hands & feet, the head, and even a cute little nose! At one point, it even looked like the baby was waving! I'm so glad HG was able to come to this appointment...it was the first appointment where it truly seemed real...they're babies and not just blobs on a screen!

Baby A was behaving nicely and the doctor was able to easily get the measurements and fairly quickly estimate that it was a girl. I'm sure I bruised the doc's ego a little bit, but I asked him what's the percentage of knowing...and he didn't let me finish and said he had an 80% success rate. While yes, I was curious about his ability I was more curious about being able to really tell this early in the game. I'm only 12 weeks so needless to say I'm positive, but not too positive...just yet!

Of course Baby B was a different story, so not cooperating so I said "sorry, must take after me" and it took awhile and some poking and prodding to get a good picture to get measurements and after awhile he determined that Baby B is a girl as well.

While I'm very excited to have two princesses, I'm not quite ready to decorate the nursery yet. I have an appointment with my doctor this Friday (but his sono machine is WEAK) and again at the end of November, but thankfully I have another appointment with the perinatologist on December 5th. That's when I think I can safely say "let's move forward with decorating the nursery".

Many people have told me that the heartbeat can predict the sex, but no one could tell me what the heartbeat should be so I did a little google research and came up with this...

Q: I have recently heard that the heart rate of a fetus can usually predict the gender of the baby. For example, if the heart rate is consistently over 140, it's usually a girl; under 140, it's usually a boy. Is this true? My baby has ranged from 150 to 155 beats per minute.

A: This belief is based on the fact that women usually have higher metabolic rates than men and, therefore, have a slightly higher pulse rate.
Actually, there is no correlation between fetal heart rate and gender -- and it has been studied. This is an "old wive's tale" that will not die.
Having said that, it is fun to try to guess gender based on heart rate, and because we have no other ways of doing this (short of amniocentisis and ultrasound), it is harmless enough.
You will find, too, that as gestation advances and your baby's neurological system matures, the heart rate will slow a bit. So, it looks like we all start out female, which genetically happens to be true.

Happy Guessing!

Well, Baby A's heartbeat was 170 and Baby B's heartbeat was 150 so based on the old wive's tale the girl gender would fit, but then it is kinda early so it will be interesting to see if their rates stay the same.

On another note, thanks to those of you who voted on the baby name poll. While Reese received the most votes we've finally made up our minds!

Two girls: Kennedy Marie & Kinsley Elizabeth
Two boys (I don't think this is happening): Hudson Joseph & Holden Monroe
Girl/boy: Kennedy Elizabeth & Hudson Joseph

Even though, I'm not decorating the nursery quite yet we're already referring to them as "the girls".