Update

So, even though the doctor made it sound like they could tell and other sources backed it up (some sources say you can tell as early as 12 weeks if you have a good ultrasound tech) (and see, I did my research before I got all excited), the policy is no gender check before 16 weeks at my practice. So while they didn't do an ultrasound at all, I did get to hear the heartbeat, which was pretty cool. Dr says I am right where I need to be weight-wise. I told him about how I was 10 pounds when I was born (and 3 weeks late, though I was always a fatty kid), and he said that I only have to worry about having a big baby if I let my weight gain get out of control. He also said I should exercise. Ugh. I really don't want to. Though I suppose if Alann is waking me up at 5:30 every morning anyway, I should just get up and do it. He also told me that women in Utah have smaller babies than women at sea level because there is less oxygen in the air. I hadn't thought of that as having any effect at all. We also had a very comforting (I was so relieved I started crying) talk about their policies and it's very laid back. He said his coworkers teased him about being a midwife instead of a doctor during his residency. I can have as natural a birth as I want. I am glad. I really like my doctor and now I feel comfortable about the rest of the experience too. So onward we go. Now we just have to decide if we want to make an extra appointment in 2 weeks to find out the gender or just wait 2 weeks after that for my regular appointment. The lady that was "helping" me check out wasn't much help at all. I asked if they would do an ultrasound at the next appointment and she just kept telling me to schedule a separate appointment. She obviously wasn't listening to me at all. I think I'm going to call and talk to the actual appointment people and see if they can help. I guess I can wait another month to know.......
Otherwise, we had a REALLY busy Saturday. I finished one of my rose boxes (except for paint) and it looks awesome! Then we left the house and didn't come home for almost 5 hours. We went to the DI (like a goodwill for you non-utahns), (Wendy's for lunch) Savers, Ross, the baby store, Petsmart, Smiths and I was going to go to Home Depot but I was so tired. Alann needed new clothes for school, which is what prompted the outing. We had the most success at the DI. Alann got some more church pants, a bunch of shirts, and I found a cute pair of maternity jeans (for $6). Then Savers kind of sucked. There was this kid there who screamed at the top of his lungs for about 15 minutes, and his mother did NOTHING! She didn't tell him to shut up, she didn't take him outside. She totally ignored him. People like that really bug me. Yes, I have pity for you if your child is acting up and nothing you do makes him stop, but don't just act like he doesn't exist. I would hope that 5 minutes into it, you would realize that ignoring him was NOT solving the problem. Anyway, we did find a new church shirt for Alann, so it was a decent stop. Then we were going to Petsmart and realized that we could stop at Ross, then the baby store, then Petsmart because they are all next to each other. Alann found a few things at Ross, but the baby store was a lot of fun.
We wandered around and oohed and ahhhed. We talked about things that I hadn't thought to ask him about. Like convertible cribs. You know, the kind that go from crib to toddler to twin or full bed. I think they have their place if you only plan on having one child or you have a surprise after you get rid of all the baby stuff (and then get your hubby fixed). But I don't think it makes sense to buy a new crib every time you have a kid, just so he can convert it. Alann says "but you will buy new beds anyway." Well yes, but theoretically, having only single children at a time, you would buy a crib for the first baby, then either when the second comes along or the first is old enough, you buy a toddler and use the crib for the new baby. Then when #3 comes along or the others are big enough, then you buy a twin bed for the oldest, move the next to the toddler, and put new baby in the crib. That to me makes more sense when you are planning on having more than one kid, since the convertibles seem so much more expensive. And you can find perfectly safe used cribs (assuming you know and check for all of the current crib safety guidelines) and perfectly safe used toddler beds (as we don't have a toddler, I don't know if there are safety guidelines but I assume there are). Of course, you can then find a perfectly good used twin bed and maybe just buy a new mattress. Or you can just buy a new mattress and they will give you the stand. Who needs a headboard? My other concern with the convertible is this: is it really going to last? If I buy a convertible crib, I will expect it to last 20 years or until the kid either outgrows it because he is a basketball player (or tall like his father) or he leaves for college. I am just not sold on the convertible crib thing. (Though we did see a REALLY nice floorset crib and dresser set for sale for $579. I just spent that much on my own bedroom furniture. No way I am spending that much on the baby's.) We also decided that we don't want a changing table built into the dresser. A pad on top is enough. We did see some cute dresser combos, but those would have to go with the older kid, which leads us to buying new furniture for each kid.(I recognize the slight hypocrisy in my feelings towards cribs and dressers. So sue me.)
We also discovered that there is a smaller pack and play with a bassinet feature that we really like. We really don't like the big ones after we saw them in person. (I think we spent 20 minutes in the pack n plays alone.) We looked at strollers and car seats and just wandered around. It was a lot of fun. Petsmart and Smiths were in and out trips. I was so tired by the time we got home. I almost fell asleep on the bed, but I was also starving, so I got up and made dinner instead. We made Teene's chicken enchilada casserole (with a few modifications) and it was good. Anyone need 30 corn tortillas? I have them. Can I freeze them? I don't know. Sunday was kind of lazy, but we did take the dogs to the school and played for a while. They are so out of shape! It makes me sad. Then we stopped at Shannon's house on the way home and Weston got to pet them. And Tanner cleaned their front stoop with his drool. Which was nice of him. And that's about all that happened this weekend.