I'm almost halfway there!

Today I begin my 5th month, and I will find out the sex in 2 weeks...on Dec. 30th!! I have no "feeling" about whether it will be a boy or a girl. Of course Zac would like a boy first, but we're good with whatever. I am excited to know so I can buy some bedding and curtains. It's no fun looking at a bare room with bare furniture in it. So far I've not noticed feeling any movement...I think it's just been gas bubbles that I've felt. Unfortunately no food cravings yet...just aversions. As a born food lover, I'm actually quite ready to crave food, but the thought of it still makes me ill. Luckily I can eat just about anything as long as it's not garlicky, herby, or have a very strong flavor, but nothing ever sounds good. The one thing I do eat/chew non-stop is cinnamon gum...Stride and Trident have become my favorites. I am chewing it from the moment I brush my teeth in the morning till I go to bed at night. I also had to switch to close-up toothpaste about a month ago because the strong minty flavor in most toothpaste didn't sit well with me.

I felt so much better this past month than I have the two months before...for that I am VERY thankful! I still have to take the meds and wear my bands, but it is so much more manageable now than it was. I keep trying to skip a pill or not wear my bands, but I start to go down hill fast. It's a good thing I've got great insurance because it looks like I'll be taking meds most of my pregnancy...another thing to be thankful for! Without insurance the generic Zofran costs a little over $4 a pill...I pay that much for 13. Another thing to be thankful for is that I only have 2 more days of work, and then I'll be off for 2 weeks! I always feel better when I don't have to get up early and go to work.

I was told there is a good chance our baby will be really smart. Jane Pollock (one of the authors of a leading educational book, Classroom Instruction That Works - also known as Marzano's high yield strategies) came to talk with all the curriculum leaders in our district. The curriculum director told her I've had a lot of trouble with nausea when she found out I was pregnant. She then proceeded to tell me that she read in a medical research journal that there is a strong correlation with women who are sick much of their pregnancy and high levels of intelligence. Our director said that the son his wife was sick with her whole pregnancy ended up scoring a 36 on his ACT. So I'm hoping our baby falls into that "strong correlation." :) Actually I'll be happy just to have a healthy baby. The lady was amazing to listen to and has the best memory of anyone I know...especially anything to do with medical research. She was inspiring, but I left feeling pretty dumb...I guess that's because my mom wasn't sick at all with me. ;)