we know something you don't know...

secret squirrel by sylvan_

That's right people... we have a date of arrival! The caesar is now as good as locked in (unless something totally unexpected happens in the next week and bub actually moves its head out from under my right ribs) and we know what date bub will be joining us!!!

So0oo exciting!!! (And such an amazing secret to have to keep quiet... I am LOVING it... don't think for a moment that any one of you will get it out of me!). And, the funny thing is, that unless something dramatic happens or if the date is for some reason changed, we already know which one of you has probably won the baby guessing competition (that is, unless you completely mess up the gender, weight etc)...

Yay! Not long to go now til we meet our baby!!!
xoxo

all bets are now closed!!!

Okay, so if you haven't placed your bet by now, you are no longer able to... the deadline has passed and all bets are now officially closed. So, to sum up....

"It's a Boy!" still seems to be the bet of choice.

There are almost four weeks between the first and last predicted birthdates.

The average weight predicted is 3.79kg. If a boy, this would place him at the 75th percentile for weight. If a girl, this would place her around the 80th percentile for weight.

For those of you guessing a time of birth, the majority of you think bub will arrive in the morning.

And here are the guesses (in teeny tiny font!)... good luck everyone!
Hannah xo

the boys have it.... and a new rule

Hello!
Well... it seems the boys have it, with an overwhelming majority of you saying it's a boy! Some of you have admitted to just plucking a guess out of the air, some of you are hedging your bets and using the two guess rule to your advantage, and some of you are using highly technical reasoning, such as how much orange juice I have been drinking, if my belly looks like a basketball or a watermelon, if I am craving sweet or savoury foods... etc...

None of you have mentioned hiccoughs, but this baby has hiccoughs throughout the day, for at least ten to fifteen minutes each time. Not long now til we find out for sure!

Oh! and there's a new rule... if you don't nominate a time of delivery, I will assume you mean midday. If you haven't nominated a time and don't like the idea of being put down for midday, you will need to leave a comment and let me know when you think bub will be making her/his appearance.

A belly update for those of you still keen for updates...

Chat soon, xo

Oh! and a very big congrats to the lovely Cat who has just added another little one to her family. Welcome to the outside world little kitten xo

guessing comp update

Hi all

So here is the latest update on the guesses so far... only a few weeks of guessing to go, so if you want to change your guess (or sit on the fence like Grandpa to be) then now is the time! Looks like we are pretty evenly split between a boy and a girl at this stage... interesting!

Thanks to each of you for playing along.

Hannah xo

a cheeky hint perhaps???

fruit loops originally uploaded by thomas hawk

Mum's diet can determine baby's sex
From: Agence France-Presse
April 23, 2008

OYSTERS may excite the libido, but there is nothing like a hearty breakfast laced with sugar to boost a woman's chances of conceiving a son, according to a new study.

Likewise, a low-energy diet that skimps on calories, minerals and nutrients is more likely to yield a female of the human species, says the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Britain's de facto academy of sciences.

Fiona Mathews of the University of Exeter in Britain and colleagues wanted to find out if a woman's diet had an impact on the sex of her offspring.

Click here to read the full article on the website

This may help some of you out in the gender stakes... xo

baby in the making guessing competition - an update

So, here are the guesses so far.... good luck everyone! Oh, and a very special mention to Glen who has us going well past our due date... thankyou! And to Fi, who has decided that those born on the 4th July are genuinely outstanding people (I wonder where she got this idea xo), so is wishing that for our baby in the making!

Keep those guesses coming! Will update with another belly shot in the next couple of days...
xo

the competition hots up....

Thanks to those of you who have thrown your hat into the ring and are giving our baby in the making guessing game a good go! I wish all of you good luck though.... with Laura in the competition, it makes things a whole lot tougher for everyone else (she is good at this game). But be brave, give it a go!

Speaking of things hotting up, this weekend was a glorious one in sunny Melbs, and we had the opportunity to learn something new sbout our little person. Bub either loves the sunshine, or will only ever be able to sleep in a very dark room... sitting in the sun this weekend, bub got so active I was watching the chandelier on my discobelly tshirt dance all over my stomach... hilarious!



This weekend also saw the start of some developing tensions between James Brown (aka the pug) and bub... JB was very unpleased yesterday when he was firmly booted whilst sitting in my lap. Poor little dog will learn a whole lot about his position in the house in the coming months...

Anyway, keep your guesses coming!
xo

Hello! and baby in the making guessing game

Hi! Welcome to our new blog all about the pickles family - a pug, two grown ups, and a baby in the making.

You have been invited to view this blog as you are a special person in the pickles' life! If you know of someone I have forgotten to invite, please just send me a little email at summer.pickles[at]yahoo.com.au and let me know (quite possible I have forgotten bundles of my favourite people... am blaming it on pregnancy brain, or as one of my fellow fattie, soon-to-be-a-mum friends says, "mum-nesia").

This is the place to get all of the updates about growing bellies, puppy adventures, the land of renovations, and general pickles updates. We hope you will enjoy! Make sure that you de-lurk and leave comments, messages etc --- I promise that I will do my best to reply to you all.



Now, this first post is focussed on the baby in the making.

This is your opportunity to show off your baby tipping talent and really shine! Baby is due on the 9th July 08. Both parents are tall - dad to be is 6'3" (or 6'4"... can never remember?), mum to be is 5'9". Bub is said to be big at this stage... two weeks ahead. Neither Mum- nor Dad-to-be know the sex, so your guess is as good as ours (this blog is only pink because I like pink... it is not a hint!).

So, let the guessing game begin!

All you need to do is to leave a comment with your guesses for bub's gender, date of birth, time of birth, weight. Rules are as follows:
* each person may enter only twice (yep, we're happy for you to hedge your bets!)
* tipping will close on 23rd May 08
* every entrant will start with one hundred points. 15 points will be deducted for incorrect gender, 1 point deducted for every day away from the correct date, 1 point deducted for every 100 grams away from correct weight (for those of you still thinking baby weights in pounds, here is a helpful imperial to metric converter.)

Let the games begin! The winner will be awarded AN AMAZING PRIZE! So make sure you are in it to win it!

Chat soon,
Hannah xo