Grenthine

Ooooh congratulations on your pending little one! <3
I have a 2.5 year old girl and while pregnant with her we wanted to know what we were having. I had a good feeling we were having a girl and we were excited to see if I was right. We decided to wait and see when baby arrived and enjoy the surprise. It was an awesome surprise when our doctor told us we have a girl. I'm glad we didn't find out. :)
 
I now have a 2 month old little girl. With her we decided to find out what we were having, just so I could prep better and buy boy bedding and clothes. At our 20 week and 36 week ultrasound the technician couldn't get a clear image and we weren't able to find out until she was born. I bought Winnie the Pooh stuff for the crib and other neutral stuff I needed. :)
 
No matter what you decide, I strongly recommend picking out names for both a boy and a girl. This way you have your names picked out and won't have to scramble to decide on one. And have your names picked ahead of time. :) My husband and I made a list of girl names the night before our second girl was born. We didn't actually finalize her names until just before she was delivered. I picked her first name and my husband chose her middle name. :)
 
Let us know what you decide! :)
 
On the clothing aspect I'd suggest buying cheap sleepers for everyday wear. Baby is going to grow out of them fast and they'll most likely get stained from diaper explosions and spit-up. Though I do have a trick to deal with most stains, so it hasn't really been much of a problem with the sleepers. A good soak in colour safe bleach usually does the trick or spot treating right before the wash as well. :)
 
Also good luck and feel free to poke me if you have any baby questions. :)
good gosh i think I've abused the smile. XD

I have an almost eleven month old and voted "yes" on the finding out but it was pretty much a given. I didn't want any ultrasounds but was deemed a "high risk" pregnancy so I found out at 5 months. We had already been talking about boy names, had already gotten boy clothes and I generally knew it was a boy (instinct and the high prevalence of males on my partners side.)
 
We've been talking about our next one and because we went the natural route with our first a little late, and we're more aware of the happening of having a baby, I think we'll have it be a surprise. I tend to like gender neutral items more and I'm hoping for a girl and also like the surprise/suspense.
 
After that ramble, I think, since it's your first, you should not find out. It's more fun, less worry and you won't be expecting one way or another hopefully. I worry with our second, that I will be a tad disappointed if it's another boy (he has a brother and a sister but his brother has two boys.)
 
I also like the surprise gender cake idea but I would be wicked and have it green on the inside (as to tell that you don't even know the gender!)
 
I think your family will go crazy either way! My family and friends did and I have quite a few very "girly" items from early on that I will hold onto for the future. My son is in a tye-dyed pink/green/blue/purple cloth diaper right now and has worn a pink monkey outfit, so I guess it doesn't matter all that much!
 
Sorry for the length but I just reread the previous and YES if it's a boy or even a girl probably, opt out of newborn clothing. Super cute but lasted less than a month on our little guy (he was also 22in and 10lbs at birth however)

This times a thousand and fifty percent. Poopvolcano is definitely a thing, and hopefully your baby will be growing fast into new sets of clothes anyway - but the guests LOVE buying cutesy clothing and they do look pretty adorable.
 
I don't have children, but have been around them and I have two little tiny nephews (except not really, they are fast growers!) I feel that if you don't want to know, that's your prerogative, there is enough gender neutral things that shouldn't be a problem for the shower and stuff. I personally wouldn't want to know either, but I bet anything my husband would want to know immediately. I would probably give him the option of knowing and taunting me about it, haha.
 
Also when knowing the gender, if they say a girl be careful! They might be tucking in between the legs in the sonogram and the birth may be a bit of a surprise that you were looking for anyway - that's happened a few times!

I am a mother of a four year old and also expecting :P and I'll find out what my fiance and I are having our next appointment as well. I prefer to know because it drives me crazy not to. And you'll soon find out whatever clothes your family buys for your little one will either be soon ruined or he/she can't wear long anyway. I'd say find out and allow your family to shop as much as they like. It helps a lot actually :P As for the frilly/blue stuff all you need to do is just express that you'd like different styles or neutral colors etc. Of course some frilly/blue stuff will be baught most likely but it doesn't hurt to have the stereotype clothing around either (: As for toys, it's always nice to have a variation because kids can get bored of the same thing. For my four year old I put some toys away in storage because she had too many in her play room and after a few months I switched them out with other toys. It's like she got a whole tub of new things and was interested again in playing with the toys.
 
Also maybe only your husband could be told what the baby is and he can tell the rest of the family but they could keep it a secret from you while being able to shop? It'd be difficult probably not telling you or wanting to show you the new things before the baby is born but it might work out :P Good luck and congratulations!

The reason I am so adamant about attempting to be gender-neutral is that I was never interested in dolls, pink, or any other "girl" things as a child (and I'm still not). Dinosaurs were always my favorite, and Legos! I was always SO jealous of the neighbor boy's Tonka trucks, too. Dump trucks are so much fun! But whenever gift-giving occasions rolled around, I always seemed to receive mostly dolls, dress-up clothes, princess wands, and other things that ended up in my little sister's room. I did have an aunt who always gave me books, though. <3 When somebody would see fit to give me a jigsaw puzzle, book, game, even a stuffed animal, it was SO EXCITING!! XD
 
Since this will be the spawn of my husband and I, regardless of gender, the child will be a geek. :glasses: I believe all children should be free to explore their own interests and discover their own path in life.
 
I am pretty sure my husband will keep the gender secret from me, but he'll keep teasing me about it! :P
 
I understand that the baby will grow quickly, and that any clothes that fit them at birth won't a few short weeks later. I also understand that a couple dresses or little suits won't cause my child to feel locked into a predetermined gender role. But I have seen people dress their girls in nothing but pink at all ever, and I admit, it bothers me. I got to wear red overalls and blue shirts and green shorts and yellow PJs and purple swimsuits. There is an entire rainbow, it's such a shame to limit the portion of it that gets worn! Cute outfits I have no problem with, it's more the monochromatic wardrobes I see.
 
Okay, that wound up being more of a rant post than I intended, sorry! :*

The reason I am so adamant about attempting to be gender-neutral is that I was never interested in dolls, pink, or any other "girl" things as a child (and I'm still not). Dinosaurs were always my favorite, and Legos! I was always SO jealous of the neighbor boy's Tonka trucks, too. Dump trucks are so much fun! But whenever gift-giving occasions rolled around, I always seemed to receive mostly dolls, dress-up clothes, princess wands, and other things that ended up in my little sister's room. I did have an aunt who always gave me books, though. <3 When somebody would see fit to give me a jigsaw puzzle, book, game, even a stuffed animal, it was SO EXCITING!! XD
 
Since this will be the spawn of my husband and I, regardless of gender, the child will be a geek. :glasses: I believe all children should be free to explore their own interests and discover their own path in life.
 
I am pretty sure my husband will keep the gender secret from me, but he'll keep teasing me about it! :P
 
I understand that the baby will grow quickly, and that any clothes that fit them at birth won't a few short weeks later. I also understand that a couple dresses or little suits won't cause my child to feel locked into a predetermined gender role. But I have seen people dress their girls in nothing but pink at all ever, and I admit, it bothers me. I got to wear red overalls and blue shirts and green shorts and yellow PJs and purple swimsuits. There is an entire rainbow, it's such a shame to limit the portion of it that gets worn! Cute outfits I have no problem with, it's more the monochromatic wardrobes I see.
 
Okay, that wound up being more of a rant post than I intended, sorry! :*

first of all, CONGRATULATIONS!! :D I'm not planning on having kids any time soon, but I would probably want the gende revealed. I mean it would still be a surprise up until that day :) but than again even if I didn't want to tell my friends/family I would probably end up spilling the beans because I can't keep a secret. i know what you mean by not wanting to overload the baby with clothing stereotypicaly designated to that gender. I imagine when I have a child, the nursery painted yellow :) When my mom had me she knew I was was female yet when I was a baby everyone enjoyed dressing me in dinosaur pattered clothes and overalls. When my mom brought me in public everyone thought I was a boy :/ haha
 
I really like the themed baby shower idea above. Something like in the jungle or under the sea would be cute and encourage more gender neutral choices in wardrobe/baby accessories
 
But I don't see a single thing wrong with waiting to find out the gender :) Unless you're having a really hard time picking out names haha..picking out one for both a boy and a gil could be double the frustration in that department I suppose lol

I personally want to know but I probably won't tell anyone. You can pick a specific theme for the nursery so it is a little easier for family/friends to get something. I hated the whole boys=blue/girl=pink but I understand why people cling to that. People want to get you want you need but they also want to get you something you and your baby would enjoy. There is so many options now but it is just easier to get the standard blue/pink. My friend had a monkey/zoo theme nursery and it turned out beautiful. It was a lot easier for people follow theme than to pick random neutral object. And Congratz

You could find out but not tell anyone. You could make it the theme for your baby shower.
You could have a cake that has pink and blue and then the inside is the color that is designated for the gender.
You could let people know you would like the neutral colors when they purchase things and not just the blue or pink stuff! :)
Congrats by the way!!

I haven't had a baby or pregnancy but I'd like to know the gender! I just wouldn't tell anybody so that it's still a surprise to everybody else :)
Congratulations on your baby!

Thank you all for the congratulations and all your thoughts and great ideas! <3 We're just starting the second trimester, but since I'll be 35 at the birth, and we had a previous miscarriage, my OB wanted genetic testing done to rule out serious problems. So the testing will tell us the gender anyway. So my husband will get his way, he'll have to read the test results! I told him I would rather not know, since I'm terrified of letting it slip accidentally while talking to my sisters or mom. It's been REALLY REALLY HARD to not spill the beans inadvertently about the pregnancy! (We're telling our families on June 7th after a tour of a chocolate factory! Yay!)
 
I honestly hadn't even thought about setting up a nursery yet, we'll be moving within the next few months, so I suppose that'll come post-move. I think the under the sea theme that Shelley suggested would fit well with my husband and I. :) That way, I can use green and blue without judgment regardless of gender! :D
 
Mouseykins, thank you for the offer. I will almost certainly take you up on your offer to be a resource for me. You may end up regretting it! :*

Happy Birthday to you, Astro! That's amazing that space itself gave you a beautiful birthday gift! ;) How fitting!

Personally, I prefer hard copies of things. Maybe it's just because I'm sentimental about things, because I can understand with books, how eBooks would be much better in most circumstances, except for those that love the feel of books and those that "collect" books for displaying on bookshelves, since eBooks don't work at all for those two things. I think people should always have the option to choose between a digital copy and a hard copy.
 
(I won't even go in depth into the benefit of hard copies being yours from the minute you buy them. You can do whatever you want with them at that point, whether it's to prop up a crooked table or sell it, give it to a friend etc. eReaders, there's dropping them, hardware failure, any number of technical issues. Plus, if you don't take it everywhere with you, a fire or whatever at home, is just as likely to destroy it, as your hard copy books. And just to be semi-thorough, if someone breaks in, and your eReader is at home, that's tons easier to steal than your collection of hard copies.)
 
I remember being teased by a friend years ago, for buying a physical CD. He said music was going digital and soon I wouldn't be able to buy CDs, even if I wanted to. My stand was, if that happened, I wouldn't be happy and I'd continue to buy hard copies for as long as I was able to. I prefer a hard copy, whether I rip it to my computer for personal use on that computer, or moving it to my iPod, I will always want that hard copy I can shove aside and use again if needed. (I have a large box of CDs in my closet that I've probably only used once or twice, putting them on my computer originally and maybe a second time when putting them on a new computer.)
 
I'm the same with books. I am a HUGE reader. I'm constantly reading and I absolutely love it. There's something very special that's hard to explain about holding a physical book in your hand. The shape, weight, the feel of the paper and turning the pages. It's not the same to curl up on the couch with an eReader.
 
That said though, I am not entirely opposed to them. (Obviously, to each their own, if someone prefers them, that's great, but for myself, I don't) I see certain circumstances when they are better than a physical book. For myself, my parents just surprised me with a Nook. They knew I'd been wanting one. I have issues with both of my wrists where they are often extremely painful and swollen, where I have a difficult time holding things with the slightest weight. Unfortunately, this also means when they're acting up, it's painful and nearly impossible to hold even a paperback when laying in bed. I wanted a Nook for laying in bed, when my wrists are hurting.
 
Or for my mom, she got a Nook first. She's a huge reader, as I am, so when my parents were going to Alaska for 3 weeks this past summer, with my dad working about 10 hours a day for 2 of the 3 weeks, my mom would be spending a LOT of time in the hotel room with nothing to do but read. She couldn't take library books with her, not just counting returning them when they're due, but enough books to keep her occupied that long, couldn't be taken on a plane. And since they weren't living there, they couldn't get a library card for a local library. I suggested to my dad, getting her a Nook, and it ended up working perfectly. She didn't run out of things to read the entire trip, because she had books from B&N, as well as the eBooks that could be checked out from the local library here. And she still uses it at home. If the library doesn't have a copy of a book available when she's ready for it, there's often an eBook copy available of it.
 
So to shorten it, for myself, I love physical books and will always go for them, if possible. (I have book shelves here at home, and plan to have more, so I love being able to display them as well, until I want to re-read them.) Plus, I collect hard copies of my favorite authors, whether I read the book first from the library, or not. But, there are advantages to eBooks/eReaders, and when I have a reason to use them over a hard copy, I will.

So, my mom (a school librarian) brought home baby chickens from work. A Pre-K classroom hatched them from eggs and they needed a good home. My mom has wanted chickens for a while now, so when no one else could take them she snatched them up. We have seven, and four more are on the way once they are out of intensive care (they have pneumonia). They're a week old. No idea if they're boys or girls yet, but once they're about 4-6 weeks old we'll be able to tell.

So far, everything is going well. You can kinda barely see it on the middle chick in the first picture, but they're starting to get their first set of real feathers! The yellow down is being replaced by white, mostly just on the wings right now. In a few more weeks they'll get their second set of feathers.

Right now they have to stay in the house, but in four more weeks we'll have a coop built for them and they'll be old enough to go outside.

So exciting!

Hello, Wolf! Welcome to TDN forums! Central Canada is beautiful! We took several road trips through that area when I was young. ^_^ It's nice to meet you! I hope you enjoy your time here with us!

...and another vote! Good luck! You'll have to let us know when you win! ;)

Because it makes garlic chicken taste better.
 
Opening all the windows in the house.

Just used like, 1/3 of my likes for the day on this thread xD Loving all the pics so far.
 
Mine are here. All but two are on the backs or sides of my legs and hard to get pics of xD
 
Back of Right Leg
 
Tribute Tattoo. 3 of my favourite artists died in 2010, Paul Gray, Ronnie James Dio and Peter Steele. They all had a huge impact on me as a person, so I got this in late 2010. It's the 9 point Slipknot star with "Negative" written in the outside circle and "Holy Diver" written on the inside points.
 
Right Wrist:
 
 
 
Left forearm (I want to get some branches and leaves done around it at some point)
 
 
 
Left inside leg:
 
It's been my favourite song since I was a kid.
 
Back of left leg:
 
This one's actually my biggest. About a foot high and 6 inches wide. Mostly line work, as most was too narrow for a mag, took almost 6 hours straight >.<
 
 
Anndd... Top of right foot. Worst tattoo ever. I got it when I was 16 and picked the heck out of it. I've never had anything itch that bad.
 
It said 4+5=9 before I picked the crap out of it xD
 
 
 
 
Looking for a good font for my next one. It's going to be on the wrist beside the treble/bass one.

Feral cats aren't running free across the plains (well, some of them are, but their populations are under control). TNR programs are usually employed in cities, where there is a dense population (and thus a high birth rate and increased transmission of infectious diseases such as FLV, FIV, rabies, etc.) and few natural predators (such as coyotes, larger feline species, and birds of prey). This combination means that the population of feral cats would go through rapid increases until the population was brought under control by disease, starvation (if the population exceeds their food source), and/or human intervention (as the cats become a nuisance and likely carriers of diseases that could infect humans or their pets, people will insist that the population is brought under control; in addition, more cats will be hit by vehicles, die by poisoning as food becomes scarce and they eat insects/rodents that were poisoned, etc.). I think cats suffer a lot more from the diseases and food scarcity that accompany unregulated population growth than they do from being neutered or spayed.

Oops, I forgot to mention my name is Shannon! Margaery is a character from Game of Thrones. Nice to meet you, Riah!
 
My favorite species is most definitely a tie between Eyries and Xweetoks. I love how majestic/regal Eyries look - I have a Stealthy Eyrie named Pryme who I love with all my heart. Xweetoks are just adorable. They're so feminine (in my eyes) and look so lovely in certain customizations. I have a Xwee named Freefolk that I'm planning on painting Woodland and customizing her until I've wasted so much NC it's embarassing, haha.
 
I love Krawks, too! They're so fun to customize and I love their faces. Maybe I'll morph my pet Ghoaste into one at some point.
 
I'd say my favorite color is Stealthy because it's so unique between each pet. Between patterned colors, Maractite is my favorite. It reminds me of a Disney movie from 2001 called Atlantis. My gallery is entirely devoted to the color. :wub_anim:
 
 
Hey there! I've just edited my original post because my name is actually Shannon, haha. Sorry my username is so misleading! Thanks for the well wishes!
 
I'm from Texas! But oh my goodness, I love Washington state. It's so beautiful and full of culture! I would visit there every month, if I could. Such an amazing place.
 
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It's usually happening around Easter... which is late this year. So be patient :)

I agree! There was the loveliest sight one day last week. There had been a storm so the clouds were really dark; when the sun came out there was the brightest rainbow I've ever seen and, as you said, everything was sparkly. Such a contrast. ^_^

I'm not quite sure this is a "spoiler" actually. To me, it looks a /ton/ like River Song from Doctor Who, whose famous catchphrase was "Spoilers!"
 
Here she is:

Hello, Angel! It's nice to meet you! :) I like your avatar!

They're beautiful! I especially love the first ring.
 
It's so nice having jewelry passed down. I love jewelry, but family heirloom jewelry has so much more meaning to me.
 
When my mom was 18, she decided she wanted a diamond ring and was going to buy herself a small one. Instead, her great-great aunts gave her one of theirs. It's an antique style that is 9 small diamonds set to look like one large stone. When I turned 18, my mom passed it down to me. I actually wear it daily with my wedding band since I never had an engagement ring, and it makes me think of her. (She's currently battling cancer, so it's an additional constant reminder of her when I see my hand)